"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
12/01/2018 at 09:00 • Filed to: None
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"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
12/01/2018 at 09:00 • Filed to: None | 5
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My car history is a short tale, but one that keeps getting a lot better. It all started as low as it gets: A 1994 Chevy Cavalier. In white, just like this one:
Isn’t she gorgeous? No? You’re probably right. I got it for $200 from my uncle’s father. It had a leaky headgasket that they had
fixed
with stopleak. Then I
fixed
it a second time with stopleak. Finally, it pretty much drowned itself to death when my dad tried to use it to pull down a tree. Still not sure why he did that, but that’s kind of redneck.
Second car? My grandmother’s Ford Escort. Some day it was a 1987.5 and others say it was a 1988.
It had automatic seatbelts and a speedometer that only went to 85. It did more than 85. How much more? No one will ever know. One time, I was driving down the road when suddenly the rear shock tower collapsed from rust. That didn’t stop it. Though the death of its transmission did it in.
Okay, I promise you, this list will start to get better soon. But first. We need the first real car. I bought this 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix for $3600 in 2007. This was the day I brought it home. See that puddle? It decided to puke coolant everywhere 2 hours after I bought it. Thankfully the car dealer took pity and fixed it for free (needed a manifold gasket). What did this car in? Nothing.
For the most part, these were okay cars. Unfortunately, they were made out of crap bargain bin parts. The brake lines rotted out and exploded while I was going downhill in the snow. The windshield wipers unscrewed themselves. The interior was fully of crappy plastic that didn’t really line up.
Driving 30 miles in the snow with your head out of the window because the windshield wiper flopped onto your side mirror? Time to trade it in.
I traded that thing for a 2007 Scion tC. Here’s the thing I learned: never buy a car on a spreadsheet and on the reviews of regular people. Regular people reviewed this car well. In fact, they raved about it. It checked all the boxes for my commute. But you know what it didn’t really do? Fun.
I was sitting at home on a Sunday one night and got a horrendous email from my boss. I didn’t sleep all night. I got up the next morning, called in sick, called my friend Hunter, and went out and bought this - my first brand new car:
2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. I still have it. Though if you want it, let me know. It’s for sale. 69k miles, first $15k takes it. Great car but I don’t really get to drive it because....
Late 2017, I bought this: 1991 Mazda Miata with 199k miles. I’ve since put 8k miles on it. It’s my favorite thing in the world. Sort of. With my roomate/coworker, we get straight in the carpool lane every day. Best $900 car (+6000 for parts and tools) I’ve ever spent.
But if you thought we’re done, you would be incorrect. Because this May, I bought this (picture is from the CL ad):
Is it a car? I’d say yes. I’ll have it street legal soon! For anyone who doesn’t know. It’s an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
Okay, now for some callouts of cars I’ve driven over the past few years that I’ve enjoyed:
F-Type Coupe R (and basically every other version)
Abarth 595 Competizione (it’s fun, but it’s not for me)
2019 Miata (you will be mine)
991 911 GTS (yeah, this is the right spec)
VW Scirocco
GTS (okay, it helped to drive it on the ring)
Nissan Armada (the SUV that helped me understand trucks thanks to a 3500 mile roadtrip)
I’ve driven plenty of others, but those are the ones that stand out.
shop-teacher
> Nick Has an Exocet
12/01/2018 at 09:08 |
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That’s not a ‘ 94 Cavalier up top. I assume you meant ‘ 84?
Decent history, good progression.
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Nick Has an Exocet
> shop-teacher
12/01/2018 at 09:25 |
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It’s the right generation but wrong year. Believe it or not, that second gen car was worse than you think.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Cavalier#Second_generation_(1988%E2%80%931994)
WilliamsSW
> Nick Has an Exocet
12/01/2018 at 09:31 |
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They were all bad. Not many cars sadder than a Cavalier sedan.
ihm96
> Nick Has an Exocet
12/01/2018 at 09:31 |
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Lol its funny how some cars convince people to blow thousands rebuilding engines before giving up and others cause people to have the reaction of oh a piece of plastic broke well this car isnt worth the hassle lol. Also, I’m not sure you can blame pontiac for old brake lines being old brake lines. 10 year old rubber goes bad no matter the manufacturer. You’re collection is definitely trending upwards in fun haha
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Nick Has an Exocet
> WilliamsSW
12/01/2018 at 09:40 |
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Cavalier Wagon. I know that’s supposed to be better, but it’s just not. It says “I could live in this if things got real bad.”
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Nick Has an Exocet
> ihm96
12/01/2018 at 09:41 |
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Haha yeah the trend is good. I don’t blame Pontiac, just the previous owner. I don’t think the car had a single undercarriage wash in its
entire life.
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WilliamsSW
> Nick Has an Exocet
12/01/2018 at 09:42 |
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Most Cavalier wagons I’ve seen actually look like someone is living in them.