The Sunbird is resting again.

"mazda616" (mazda616)
08/19/2019 at 19:40 • Filed to: Sunbird

Took it back to my friend’s garage today. Drove it to work this morning, though. My son enjoyed getting dropped off at the babysitter’s in it.

I also went by the detail shop I use. They do “maintenance washes” for cheap if you do a full detail with them. After the miniature road trip this weekend, the car had plenty of dirt and bugs.

57,635 miles now. It had just over 56,400 when I bought it a year ago.

DISCUSSION (13)

Nick Has an Exocet > mazda616
08/19/2019 at 20:14

I appreciate your preservation of this car. Objectively, these were not good. However, that’s not to say that saving a few J-Body’s is a bad idea. In fact, it’s an f-ing awesome idea. I had 1994 Cavalier on that platform as my first car and I would love to still have that car or see a similar car at a car show.

mazda616 > Nick Has an Exocet
08/19/2019 at 20:24

Thanks! I agree. They weren’t the best cars, by any means. But, it’s a fun little novelty piece now.

Nick Has an Exocet > mazda616
08/19/2019 at 20:36

Yeah, exactly. I have a sucky start to my car history: 94 Cavalier base , 87 Escort base , then 97 Grand Prix SE 3.8.

When I was replacing my Escort, I test drove a 3.1L V6 RS package Cavalier Convertible. To this day, I still remember the cowl shake. When you hit the gas, you kind of had to wait for the body to stop jiggling before it went.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Nick Has an Exocet
08/20/2019 at 07:14

I gotta ask, how many of those were anywhere near new/low mileage when you got them?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > mazda616
08/20/2019 at 07:17

Sad to hear she’s getting locked away again....

mazda616 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
08/20/2019 at 08:36

She’ll be back out this weekend. Severe storms in the forecast today, so she needs to be in the garage.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > mazda616
08/20/2019 at 10:07

Makes sense then! Keep her safe!

Nick Has an Exocet > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
08/20/2019 at 14:36

Absolutely none of them. They all endured harsh New England winters, too. It’s funny, if you’re in California, an 8 year old car is a car. If you’re in New England, an 8 year old car is sprinkled across the road like the ashes of hope.

The Escort was actually low miles (60k, I think) but it was rotting from underneath. I had a strut come right through the strut tower on it. The Grand Prix had a lot of miles (120k? ish?) and aside from rotted out rockers (which I fixed), was in the far best shape.

The Cavalier, I bought for $250 from a relative who was too old to drive, lasted quite a while before it blew its head gasket. The final nail on that one was my dad trying to pull down a tree with it while it choked to death in it s own coolant.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Nick Has an Exocet
08/20/2019 at 16:05

It’s funny you say that, I still see stuff like this around pretty regularly here in WI. One of which is a mint 88 Cavalier wagon!

Is it really right to judge a car based on used/abused examples?

Nick Has an Exocet > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
08/20/2019 at 16:09

Well, the Cavalier Z24 I drove was pretty mint. The only thing wrong with it was the price.

I also don’t know. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I sat in a 2CV recently that was in terrible shape that still had all the charm of the original.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Nick Has an Exocet
08/20/2019 at 16:19

I just find generally when people have bad opinions on older cars they’re based off 100k+ examples that have been poorly maintained/beat and seem crappy because of it.

Not saying you, just a lot of people in general. “I drove one of those once, what a POS”, turns out it was a rotted to hell ____ with 200k. Like huh, I wonder why it was crappy.

Nick Has an Exocet > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
08/20/2019 at 16:27

Haha yeah. I’ve always stated that my Grand Prix wasn’t a bad car but that the model in general suffered from bad buyers.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Nick Has an Exocet
08/20/2019 at 16:51

Hey, I know that issue, finding a decently cared for Mopar is next to impossible.