Cars I Have Owned...
*The Cars I have Owned...
I don't believe in buying a new car because of the immediate loss you take in value when you drive it off the dealers' lot so I had a string of second hand cars in my life. To be more accurate, it was this belief coupled with the fact that I was poor most of my life so I would have only enough money to buy a beater and drive it until the repairs exceeded the cost of a new beater.
1972 Ford Mustang II
$400 - This car burned as much motor oil as it did gasoline towards the end but it was reasonably reliable for the price tag.
1984 Chevy Citation
My mother, having reached the end of the line with it because of its'
unreliability simply gave it to me. Absolutely the worst car I have
ever owned. It was completely unreliable. Lemon laws were introduced because of cars like these.
1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle
$400 - I had to remove all the seats and rivet a new floor in place.
Also needed a new starter but the body was in great shape otherwise.
It was easy to fix when broken and fun to drive. Bright yellow, this
thing was great and I wish I hadn't decided to go racing off road
through a forest at night thinking I was in a rally car. I sold it back to the guy from whom I had purchased it. Other than the dent in the front (stupid tree jumped out right in front of me) it was in better condition than when he sold it. Hey, it had floor now!
1971 Volkswagen Van
$325 - Also needed a floor. Plenty of room for my bike and all my camping gear. The body was on
its' last legs. I couldn't afford a starter for it so I had to push
start it. It also didn't have a muffler when I bought it so I had to
buy that to keep from getting stopped by the police when I drove
through nice neighborhoods. I owned it for just over a year and I got
plenty strong push starting it a few times each day. When the engine went out, I had it taken for salvage.
$275 - Fun car. Hard to get parts some times and they were never cheap. Eventually rusted away. My brother had a yellow one that was one year newer. I figured he might fix mine for me since he was so good at it...nope. This one went to the scrap yard.
1976 MG Midget
This car spent more time on blocks than any other I owned. Parts were expensive and not easy to work with. I wouldn't sell it to save my life. I wanted to restore it. I tore the vinyl and foam dashboard out and then replaced it with one that I made from Birch with my father. I didn't sell it until after university when I got it running long enough to trade it in for a truck.
1990 Chevy S10 Pick-up
Very reliable. Great vehicle for carrying bicycles and going camping. Unfortunately, the police in Chicago used to ticket me all the time because you are not allowed to park a pick-up on residential streets. This was an asinine law as there were countless SUV's and large sedans that dwarfed my S10. I guess it was just prejudice because trucks were for the working class. I traded it in to avoid getting anymore tickets.
1991 GMC Jimmy
This small SUV was great. It had all the room I needed for my bikes as well as gear and friends. It got decent gas mileage and was in good shape. This was the first vehicle that I owned which had sophisticated and computerized components that prevented me from doing much more than changing the break pads, the oil and various filters. I had to use qualified mechanics to get this thing checked out. I ended up giving it to my father when he needed a reliable vehicle and went without for a couple of years since I was living close enough to work to walk.
1987 Jeep Wrangler
Awesome. Easy to fix. Easy to park. Snow storms were a blast. Awesome. Had a soft and a hard top. It was loud to drive on the highway because of road noise but this thing was like having a pet dog for a car. I miss it. I had to get rid of it though because my conscious was killing me driving around in a jacked up Jeep sucking gas and spewing exhaust. I traded it in for the Mazda.
2001 Mazda Protege 5
The epitome of reliability. Good for grocery runs and big enough to hold two bikes inside and two on the roof rack. I sold it when I moved to Asia.
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