What happened to the mule?

In the series, "the mule" was a quad bike (with trailer) that was used on planets to mover goods and the crew around while on planets (such as river in her cryo box)

It got blown up in war stories and we didn't see if the crew tried to salvage it. (kaylee probably could have fixed it lol)

In serenity, "the mule" was a land-speeder type thing (the kind of thing they race in estrela wars episode one or drive through the desert in episode four) - they hover over the ground but seem incapable of proper flight.

not that i'm complaining - that chase scene would have been a bit shit on a quad bike or a shuttle, but where did it come from, how did they afford it and why do they call it the mula ?

I haven't read the comics yet so if it is in there somewhere just say "it's in the comics" rather than a spoiler