Hey! My name is Vic. You may hear some people refer to me as "the Vic" or "Vic 76". I used to be a Sheriff patrol car for the Erie County Sheriff's Office in New York. My car identifier was 76. It was put on my roof, my doors, body panels, inside on the dashboard, etc. 76 was my identity in ECSO.

I was first put into service in 2011, and served all over Erie County. I worked shifts on Grand Island, out in Clarence, down in Springville, over towards Angola, and much more. Unfortunately, all this work means I started to have breakdowns & mechanical mishaps more and more often. Eventually, it got so bad that I couldn't do my job anymore. I loved helping people and it broke me that much more knowing I couldn't do that anymore. 

In the spring of 2021, I was auctioned off to a gentleman in Orchard Park. He bought me with the intention of re-selling me, but realized very quickly that I had a lot of problems, and it was going to cost more to fix than he deemed I was worth at the time. In giving it one last attempt before shipping me off to be scrapped, he posted a listing on Facebook Marketplace and was selling me for very cheap. I understood that I had a lot of issues, but it made me sad that he couldn't fix me up, and that he thought of me as only scrap metal.

Along came Caleb. Shortly before finding that Facebook Marketplace listing for me, he was in the market for a new vehicle. He wasn't looking for anything fancy, as he had a very limited budget, but figured I was worth a shot. So, after a quick once over to confirm I moved under my own power, he came down with a trailer and some cash and scooped me up! I was no longer bound for the scrap yard!

If only I could talk... I would have told him all the issues I had and would have warned him about them sooner than he noticed them. I had a bad coolant leak, my exhaust manifolds were shot, catalytic converters blocked, bad fuel pump, dying alternator, etc... I was pretty sick. Unfortunately, so was Caleb. He was struggling financially, and he couldn't really afford to fix me up the way he wanted, but still did his best. I did my best as well since he depended on me to get to work.

What I really loved about me and him being a team, was that he's a volunteer Firefighter and an EMT. He gets to go help people, and I LOVE helping people. So, once I wasn't so sick and he was able to afford some nice, new(er) parts, he put some lights back on me. Whenever he got up in the middle of the night for calls, so did I. When he needed to go to work on the ambulance, I diligently started right up to get him there. It made me feel useful again. I was no longer just a bunch of scrap bolted together - I was back to saving lives!

Fast forward to today, and I've still got some ongoing issues that need to be fixed, but in due time, Caleb's gonna fix me back up right so I can keep on helping people just like he does. He takes me with him to run his business, we go on long drives when we're feeling a bit sad, and we both get to take some pretty cool pictures too!

If you see me driving out and about with him, don't be afraid to give us a honk or a wave! I love it when people ask about me. I've got LOTS and LOTS of stories from all the emergency calls I've taken, and I'm happy to share them with you anytime!

Thanks for listening to my story! It was nice chatting with you!