It was time to trade in.

After nearly a decade and a half on the road, Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s (D-At Large) Mercury Mystique is no more. Today, Mendelson arrived at the Wilson Building in a brand new ride—a black, four-door Ford Focus hatchback.

The 1997-model Mystique, as much as Mendelson wanted to keep it, just could go no further. Mendelson’s chief of staff, Denise Tolliver, says that after more than 175,000 miles, the compact sedan was done. The council member held on to the car more than 10 years after Ford, which owns the Mercury marque, stopped production.

Though Tolliver said Mendelson was sad to let go of the Mystique, there are upsides to trading in, and not just when it comes to the number of cup holders and that new car smell. The Focus, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of about $22,500, gets much as 40 miles per gallon.

“I drove him over to pick it up,” Tolliver said. Still, it seems Mendelson hasn’t completely let go of the street-weary Mercury. There might be some kind of sendoff in the works.

“He tried to get the Mercury repaired. It just died,” Tolliver said. “I think we’re going to have some kind of funeral.”