The Car Care Thread

[topher]

I love my car; 10 yrs old 60k miles.

[sleepy]

I hate my car. Nine million years old, nine million miles on it. Probably only 3 miles left. I just hate spending money on cars.


Plus, this car doesn't have power steering, and I have to throw all of the might in my 5'2" body into it whenever I need to make a turn. And even sometimes that's not enough, so I just keep driving straight. Okay, it's not quite that bad, but it's close.

But the thought of car payments and higher insurance scares me, and I hardly ever drive, so it's cool, I guess. On the other hand, I need a new muffler, a new clutch, and god knows what else. Whenever I'm driving and hear a weird noise I just cover my ears or turn up the stereo and sing LA LA LA if I can't hear it, nothing's wrong! Not the wisest move, I suppose.

[shawnalanne]

We bought our first ever brand new car two years ago it's a PT Cruiser and we love it. It's awesome having a new car, but I do hate the fact that I have another 3 years of payments on it. We just have the one car because I don't drive much and can take the train into work, but I find I'm a bit more freaked out about driving it than I have ever been about any of the clunkers we've had before. I'm much more nervous about getting in an accident. However, I don't have to worry about the electrical randomly going completely out or the starter dieing or any of the other fun things my last car did to me while out and about, and that is a relief.

[magazinewhore]

Oh, my thread! I was in a car accident three weeks ago which totalled my '97 Corolla. I loved that car, it was paid off, had 65K miles and was beat up, but very reliable. An idiot hit me and pushed me into the car in front of me so my car got smushed like an accordian. I'm okay (little bit of whiplash and some lower back pain), but yesterday I bought a new '06 Corolla. It's beautiful but I'm so scared to drive it! Also, I almost had a panic attack after I signed the papers. Originally, I was going to get a couple year old used car but the prices weren't even that much off for a '04 or '05, so I bought a new one. It's sitting in the carport staring at me. Seriously, I'm a little scared to drive it. I'm glad to hear SchwanaLane say the same thing. I called me Dad crying yesterday after I got it. It's hard to make a purchase like that by yourself.

Moral of the story: don't make major purchases when you have PMS.

PS- I also had a car that didnt' have power steering. It almost killed me to turn the wheel. I also had a car ('93 Corolla) that would flood a bit on the passenger floor when I would drive it in the rain. When I would go downhill, the water would run and pool where a passengers feet should be. It was my Flintstones car.

[topher]

Magazinewhore, a brand new car in the city? Why?
How I miss my wife's old Saturn for city bumper car parking?

Here is a list of the cars that I owned:

1) 1980 Toyota Corona (yes, Corona) great college car, I got it for fee and made the trip to IU a lot of fun
2) 1980 Chevy Impala- piece of crap, transmission went 2 months after I got it from Grandma Topher
3) 1992 Jeep Wrangler- how I miss this car. What a blast for the summer, top down. Winter sucked even with the hard top. My friends called it The Whistling Igloo , I moved to the city, didn't need it , sold it, bought my wife's engagement with the money
4) 1995 BMW 325 - my car, my baby, best ever, not to sound snooty but I will only drive BMWs from here on out
5) 2004 Mercedes M class- the wife's suburban luxury cruiser that sucks up gas,

Go ahead and mock me.

[magazinewhore]

Don't say that, Toph! I'm already terrified of driving it. I just came back from Target on Elston. Ugh.

Actually, I bought it in part because in a week I'm starting a job in Oak Brook. Who knows, if I like my job and decide ot move out of the city, maybe I'll move to the burbs where the drivin' is easy. I've about had it with driving in the city. In some ways, I've had it with living in the city.

And, a Beamer? I like keepin' it real in my 'rolla.

[ladymadonna]

I really, really, REALLY miss my '73 VW bug. It was born the year before I was! It was the best car I have ever owned. I sold it after I found out I was pregnant with kid #1, because you know, it wasn't exactly kid-safe.

It was the best car though. I never got stuck in the snow. If it broke down, I could consult my Zen and the art of VW maintenence and fix whatever was wrong with a penny, a hammer, and some duct tape. I felt like MacGuyver! We could also fit at least 9 drunken college kids in it, and the one time I was rear-ended in it, I had NO noticeable damage, because it was a mini-tank!

I now drive a 2003 Ford Windstar mini-van, and the coolest thing about it is my Dave Matthews license plate frames hubby got me for Xmas. Maybe after I get the kick-ass sound system put in it, I will like it better.

[kostgard]

My first car was a Beemer... a 1977 320i that was about as old I am. But I have to say, it was a pretty damn good car for how old it was. I had it for about seven years, and while it did have a few problems, it never broke down on me anywhere and always got me home. I would definitely go for a BMW in the future, but I'm also toying with the idea of a hybrid as my next car, so I don't know.

But my current car is pissing me off. It has been a good car, but yesterday the "service engine soon" light came on, and now I have to pay 85 bucks just to find out what's wrong with it - and it could be anything from the gas cap isn't on correctly to the engine is about to blow up. I wish there was someway that the car owner can find out why it's complaining, but then I guess they can't charge you the $85 if they did that.

[Oxynia]

We had a wonderful old BMW when we lived in England and felt sorry to have to leave it behind when we moved here (that pesky right-hand-steering-wheel thingie they insist on over there). Magnificent car, so safe and sturdy. We priced used ones here but they were just marginally less expensive than a new one, and we didn't want to have a new car that we'd feel all precious about in NYC. We just wanted a car for weekend escapes and ended up with a 1995 Jeep. It lives in the garage around the corner during the week and on weekends, we envisioned loading up the kids and the dog and getting out of town.

Funny thing, we tend to spend weekends at home so it's not getting much exercise apart from the odd run to Costco or Stew Leonards up in Yonkers. But so far, no major faults or mechanical issues. Although it's 10 years old, it's only got 7000 miles on it. How long can we expect it to hold up?

[Sunnyhorse]

We just picked up our new Mini Cooper this week -- I sold my Mitsubishi Eclipse (my second -- anyone who's looking for a reliable car should check out the Eclipse, or its mechanical twin, the Galant) to my brother-in-law, who will give it a very good home (I get attached to my cars, in case you can't tell). Mr. Sunnyhorse has been driving the new car all week (I work at home, and our pickup truck gets lousy mileage, so it sits idle most days unless I need to go into town for something), so I haven't had too much time with it yet. I hope it'll be as reliable as my last two cars have been.