Yesterday, I meant to ask you to tell me the story of the first car you bought yourself

"E90M3" (e90m3) 01/31/2018 at 10:35 • Filed to: None

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Then I got on a roll and wrote this:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

So today, I want to hear about the story of the first car you bought. Not your first car, but the first one you bought. Maybe your first car was the first one you bought. Doesn’t matter if you used your money or if you used your parents money, I want to hear about your buying experience.

The picture of my M3 from the dealer listing.

Nibby > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:40

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Not much to it... I’ve read about it and knew about it inside and out. Went to a dealer in October 2015, drove one, told them I was interested in a quad cab with a Hemi. Wanted a 2015 since it’d be cheaper and they were trying to get rid of them. My childhood friend works for Chrysler so I got a discount from him... even though it was already quite discounted. I’m debating keeping it or trading it in for a 2019 when they come out.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:45

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I was 23, recently had a pay raise and wanted to a) unload my Mazda 6 V6GT and b) get a “drivers car” as I had recently started reading Jalopnik.

I wanted an Ecoboost mustang, but my wife was not very pleased with this plan. I ended up one night sadly deciding that maybe a Fiesta was more our budget and stumbled upon something called a “Fiesta ST”. I went to a fantastic dealer and the sales guy handed me the keys and said “we close at 8pm”. I drove this thing for a couple hours and decided that I loved it.

Unfortunately, this dealer didn’t have one in Molten Orange so I had to buy from a shitty dealer, but got the car I love.

3 years and a ton of mods later, I still love it. And I still want a Mustang.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/my-fiesta-st-build-long-1822395991

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:45

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I had a shit job and a was still a full time student at the university. I lived with three other people faaaar away from campus, had no money and made no money. I was rear-ended in my civic and now couldn’t get to campus. No car meant potentially dropping out, or taking time off from school. So took out every last penny to my name (basically just what Safeco gave me for my civic) and bought this. It was my reliable daily for four years and I eventually earned my degree.

DayManFighterOfTheNightMan > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:50

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1996 Accord EX just like this one.

136K miles. Served me well thru college. I even took it on some really rough unpaved roads to reach weekend hiking trails- “I’m sorry officer...I didn’t know you couldn’t do that.” But it was reliable as hell. Only problem I ever had was with a window regulator/motor. Sold it to get a Subaru.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:52

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I was 16, it cost $900 and my dad went with me to look at it. It started and drove. Was trashed to hell but I drove it for two years before it was completely unsafe to drive. Girls liked it, dogs adored it, my friends thought I was nuts and all the muscle cars wanted to race.

BeaterGT > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:53

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It all started with selling my 1997 CR 80 for $800. And then I scrambled together another few hundred bucks and bought my first car, a 1995 Pontiac Firebird with the not-so-fast 3.4 V6 and a 5 speed. It was for sale at the billiards hall not a mile from my parent’s house.

The beautiful part was it was originally listed at $3,000 and no one bit. Then the price was dropped to $1800, so naturally I offered what I had....$1300. The previous owner used it as his highway DD and it had a 9 ball for a shifter. The ol’ Firechicken only needed some starter work which was taken care of by a family friend and shortly thereafter, I was one-wheel peeling down the street.

Wobbles the Mind > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:54

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I finally decided to checkout a clean Kia Amanti that had its price dropped online from nearly $12,000 to just over $10,000. Car was clean, smooth, and my salesman was pretty much Gil Gunderson from the Simpsons.

I showed them a similar Amanti that was listed at $8,000 which I was going to go checkout in Durango that weekend (back when I drove up there for work monthly). I got a car with a $12,000 price written on the windshield for $7,500.

*I would still spend $7,500 on this exact Amanti today! I’m so pleased with it.

By the end of everything, Gil drove the Amanti while I drove my Rio home (I didnt trade it in), got to meet his son since he lived in the same apartments as me, drove Gil back across town in the Amanti...it was a nice day!

Future next gen S2000 owner > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 10:58

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I had just gotten to my duty station and needed some wheels. Being a proper red-blooded American male with more something than brains, I decided I needed a true blue muscle car. Once my sign up bonus came in, I bought the car with the biggest motor within my budget. It needed work. I did nothing of the sort until I decided to rebuild the motor. That didn’t turn out so well.

Loved that car. It developed a misfire on one cylinder after a night at the drags. I carried around a spark plug socket and a batch of fresh plugs in the glove box. It would take me less than a minute to swap out the plug on the offending cylinder.

Behold, a 1965 Galaxie 500 with a 390. I had a blast in that car. White over green with the original hub caps. This isn’t my car, mine was in a bit worse shape.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:02

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I was 17, and had just passed my driving test. However, as the rules are that you can only drive on your own at 18, I wanted to wait a couple of months. Then my Grandma passed away, and left her car (an automatic 2002 Peugeot 307) to my dad, who decided to get rid of it, and give me part of the money to help with buying a car. Instead of selling, he decided to trade it in on my car, meaning I had to buy my brother out of the 307 (my dad wanted to split it between us). So we traded it in, got a fair trade-in offer, for trading it against my 2011 Renault Twingo (with added cash obviously), but we wanted to pay less than what they advertised the car for. The dealership wasn’t planning on that going down especially easily though, as they were of the oppinion that a full tank of petrol wasn’t needed, as I was already getting it at a ‘steal’ according to them. Luckily my dad helped negotiate the price down some more, and a full tank of petrol. But it took a while.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:02

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I was 21 (2008) , and got my first real job. With my first paycheck I bought my electric guitar and 6 months later I bought my first car with my money. I wanted a SAAB 9-3. It was either this or a C-class or a BMW 3. But I didn’t even test drive the others, my heart was set on the SAAB. I was working at a remote camp in BC, so when I spotted this one online, I called the guy. It was on a used car lot, it was a lease return. I bought it sight unseen.

2.0t, 5 speed and black. 9-3s were well equipped, so sunroof, heated seats and a million buttons on the dash (I counted over 80 buttons?) I LOVED it. (I came out of a base 97 Cavalier)

Best feature was the turbo whistle. 3rd gear pulled so hard!

Then I met my wife. My 1st kid was brought home in it. I bought it at 76 000 km and gave it at 240 000 km, so I did about 102 000 miles with it. I kept it for 7 years.

At about 200 000 km, I started to let it go a bit, by ignoring the CEL and driving it in limp mode for more than a year. It became my winter beater when I bought my 2014 Mustang. I drilled holes in the bumper to put spot lights. Heated seats stopped working. I changed at least one light bulb every month. I sold it and the Mustang when I bought my current Optima.

I sold it for parts to a guy who had over 30 SAABs in his life for 600$. I miss it even if I know every modern car is better in every way than it was.

CalzoneGolem > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:07

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My first car was also the first car I bought. It was named Scourge: Death to the winged because the first time I went for a drive with all my friends a bird swooped into the windshield while we were driving like 50 down a highway. The car went on to kill two more birds, one I couldn’t swerve because of traffic and the other I didn’t notice it happen just saw the little thing smashed into the grill. There was also an unconfirmed bird kill. I found a mass of feathers jammed underneath the bumper in the air dam.

(not actual car)

It was a 1996 Chevy Lumina. Got it for half of my summer wages.

I wouldn’t say I was really a gear head at this point in my life. I had just gotten suspended from college half way through my senior year for drinking on the campus, my mom had to come pick me up because I didn’t have a car.

I spent some time being depressed and sleeping in my mom’s basement. Eventually I stopped doing that and got a job and made some money and bought this wonderful piece of machinery. I had wanted a van so that I could easily lug my junk back to college but I could get much more for my money with a sedan.

Not long after I got the car home I began modifying it. I installed a banging stereo for me tunes, a neon light that flashed to the music and took off those stupid plastic wheel covers and threw them away.

Tensions at home between myself and my mom’s boyfriend were high because he was a hateful sack of shit. I moved out before I told him what a hateful sack of shit he was and went to live in my aunt’s basement. I only had a few months before I went back to college so it didn’t make sense to rent a place. It was actually this move where I borrowed my dad’s truck and so learned to drive a manual.

A couple weeks to go before college and my aunt kicks me out for what I believe to be a trivial reason, and I end up living in my car and couch surfing until I move back to college.

I kept that car through the rest of school, 3 apartments and 5 jobs. The head gasket went and it overheated and died.

Party-vi > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:08

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Thanksgiving 2003, I showed up to a house in the mountains of Kentucky with my dad and a family friend, handed over $1,700 to a guy holding a mostly empty bottle of Wild Turkey, and we pushed my new-to-me “Swamp Bitch” 1949 CJ3A swamp racer onto a trailer bound for Maryland. It had been retired from racing for a couple decades, and it was all mine.

Milky > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:12

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I was 16, driving around a hand me down ‘93 Bonneville, working and saving money. Then I found about a dealer that had “TOO MUCH USED INVENTORY” they were clearing out. The deal was at 9am they’d drop the price of every used car in the lot, some would even be dropped to $88. You stood by, or sat on to claim a car was yours, hoping the price would drop a lot.

My mom went with me, she on the hood of the XJ, myself on a ZJ. IIRC all the shit boxes were listed $2k, the Grand Cherokee I was on dropped to $1k. The Cherokee went down to $88. Tax, title, registration made it about $200 and I was the happy owner of a 1992 Jeep Cherokee with 190k miles and a lot of rust.

I’m actually super disappointed the few pictures I had on myspace got deleted. This was 2006 after all. The next year I got a Grand Cherokee and Facebook.

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 01/31/2018 at 11:18

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That’s excellent. Nothing like stumbling upon an excellent car.

WilliamsSW > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:19

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Mine looked just like this, except it had the factory steelies with skinny bias-ply blackwalls and factory wheel covers (and single exhaust). 

I started saving up for my first car when I was about 14 (I was born in 1968)- it was ALL that I was looking forward to – it would give me my freedom (at least in my own mind). My dad had his own business (with partners) and I worked there for a summer, saving everything. As I recall, I was paid around $3.35/hour.

My parents cut a deal with me where they would loan me an amount equal to whatever I saved – probably figuring that I could get a more reliable car that way.

What I wanted was 1960’s American muscle, and really wanted a convertible – with a budget around $2,000 – not a bad sum in 1984, but it wasn’t getting me a pristine ’65 GTO convertible, either. I spent months poring over the classified ads of the Chicago Tribune, and dragging my dad all over the city to look at old cars in various states of disrepair. I’ve forgotten most of them – the only one that sticks out is a red ’65 Mustang convertible that was parked in a city garage, with half an inch of dust and sagging rockers. All of this was before I got my license – so I had to be content to be a passenger on any test drives.

Meanwhile, my dad was excitedly telling me about every 70’s Nova or GM colonnade coupe he came across - - while I did nothing but humor him and made excuses to not buy them. He has always had a thing for Novas for some reason – my mom’s first two cars were both Novas (1963 and 1970 models)

Finally, I saw an ad that basically said “1965 Cutlass 2dr HT, PS, PB, Auto, buckets. 23,000 miles $2000 obo” and that’s about it.

It was only about 20 minutes from home, so I called, it sounded interesting, and my dad agreed to go look at it.

We drive over to Northbrook to look at the car, and as we’re pulling up, I get VERY excited, as I see a beautiful bright red ’65 Cutlass parked on the street. But as we get closer, I realize that the red car is a 442 –and parked in front of it is a beige two door hardtop, with skinny blackwall tires, and one fender missing about 25% of its paint. We park and go up to the house - - and a very scruffy looking guy comes out.

Needless to say, the beige car is the one for sale. The 442 is his DD. Besides that, there is ANOTHER 1965 442 in his garage, and a ’65 Cutlass convertible (basket case) his back yard.

He explains that he recently bought the Cutlass from an older lady in Peoria, that it had been sitting for years, and he freshened it up to sell it – and that the car really did have 23,000 miles on it. The car was as straight as an arrow, and the only rust on it was on that one fender - -surface rust, probably an old accident repair. And the interior was immaculate – a time capsule. We took it for a test drive and it passed with flying colors – it wasn’t exactly what I had been looking for – I hated the color and it wasn’t a convertible - but it was a great car, and we agreed that it was the one.

I still remember my first time driving that car after I got my license – it was so different from the ‘80’s cars I was used to - - the ridiculously overboosted power steering, the big flat hood in front of me, the pull of the 330 V8- - and I loved it.

I drove it through that summer and planned out what I was going to do to it —- mainly involving a paint job to change the color + some wheels - - but then I made a mistake and fell in love with another - - a guy in high school was selling a ’65 Skylark convertible, in a stunning Verde Green, for $2,400. I managed to convince my dad to let me flip the Cutlass for the Skylark, which turned out to be a POS mechanically, until I totaled it.

The Cutlass, though? A couple came over to buy it in a ’67 Cutlass convertible (also with a 330 4 bbl / Jetaway). After they test drove it, they were seriously questioning me as to whether the car had a 330 or a 400 in it. I swore it was a 330 (as far as I knew) and they were sold.

If I EVER run across that car again (and yes I have the serial number), I will buy it back at any price. I still have fond memories of driving around in that car all summer with the crappy AM radio cranked up, listening to Springsteen – that was the summer that Born in the USA came out. Good times.

E90M3 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/31/2018 at 11:19

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Taking time off from school would have been no good. This start your on all your Toyotas?

I guess an advantage of living on campus for me was the fact I could walk to all my classes so I didn’t have to rely on anything but my feet to get me there.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:21

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Yeah! I was just coming into being a Jalop and had never heard of the Fiesta ST before, but was intrigued by this seemingly unknown car on Ford’s site.

E90M3 > Wobbles the Mind 01/31/2018 at 11:22

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I wish I had that kind of skill/luck negotiating my car prices. It took me three weeks to get the dealer to come down on my 3.

E90M3 > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/31/2018 at 11:23

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Being a proper red-blooded American male with more something than brains, I decided I needed a true blue muscle car.

Pretty excellent reason for buying one.

Takuro Spirit > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:23

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I was working at Hardee’s and biking to work and school. I wanted a car for when I turned 16 and had a couple hundred burning a hole in my pocket.

My aunt had bought a ‘77 Firebird Esprit used in the 80's(?) that I remember riding in, seeing all the time, and even crashing into (long story) when I was growing up.

One day while visiting them and my new cousins, she mentions that since its been sitting in storage and can’t fit child seats in it, she wants to sell it. I ask her how much and she says “$1500, but you don’t have to pay me all at once.”

My uncle said it needed a few things but he’d help get it running, and give me the car with some new parts.

It wouldn’t pass emissions due to a bad EGR valve (included), have a valve cover leak, bad shocks, and a hole in the exhaust Y-pipe that made it sound AWESOME.

I gave them a few hundred bucks the day he got it running and delivered it to my parent’s driveway.

I worked on it for the next few months until I turned 16 and decided I’d rather work then go to school, then nearly got my work permit pulled, then got kicked out of eligibility for driver’s ed due to my grades/work ethic.....

I drove it around anyways. Small town. Who cares. Only got pulled over once by State Patrol in a FORD AEROSTAR.

When I turned 18 I got my license and drove it for another year or so before I hit debris dropped on the freeway on my way home from a girlfriend’s house.

Unable to find parts/afford repair I traded it in on a truck I kinda always wanted.

I miss it. Even though it had a hole in the floor and questionable interior mods done by me, and a 305 V8 that burned oil and fouled plugs and had a 2bbl carb that needed constant fettling... I know where it is, I should stop by someday and see if they’ll sell it back to me.

fintail > Party-vi 01/31/2018 at 11:24

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It was over 20 years ago, I was 18, the car I started driving when I was 16 (66 Galaxie) was damaged and my dad said it was too much work to repair, I wanted to drive something different than an 85 Tempo that was in the family, and I spotted this in a parking lot with a “for sale” sign:

(the car didn’t have wide whites nor was as shiny at the time)

I had seen the car around town now and then for a few years, and jumped at the chance, took down the number. I called the guy, drove the car, and knew this was the one - the price was right (especially after negotiation, it had a few issues) and I instantly felt at home in it. The rest is history, as I still own the car.

Party-vi > fintail 01/31/2018 at 11:26

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That’s gorgeous.

fintail > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/31/2018 at 11:26

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The first car I drove regularly was a blue on blue 66 2 door HT with a 390 (this was about 25 years ago). Sounded great with dual exhaust, drank fuel like there was no tomorrow, and was the most cold-blooded car I have driven.

Nibby > fintail 01/31/2018 at 11:26

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gimme pls

(ok at least more pictures)

TheRevanchist > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:26

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The year was 1998. I had driven a Geo Metro (Metrosauras Rex) at the time, custom rims, pinstripping, and dark-tinted windows. But, I just graduated college and got my first accounting job. At this time, I decided I needed a car that spoke to being professional, yet had reliability.

So, after years of my parents driving some Fords and Dodges, and seeing the bullshit they had to deal with in these cars, and them starting to buy Nissans for themselves and having less bullshit to deal with, I knew I was getting a Nissan. Specifically, a 98 Nissan Altima (pictured not mine, but the same everything).

Now, that is not a tacky gold color. That is “champagne”. I swear.

That was quite a regal looking car for someone 23 and had that business-is-boring look that accountants may need from time to time. This was reliability. And I had no clue what I was doing when I bought it, paying full sticker price. Man, I was a complete dumbass.

CalzoneGolem > fintail 01/31/2018 at 11:27

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Damn son I think you were $kaycog’d

fintail > Party-vi 01/31/2018 at 11:28

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Oops, replied to you instead of E92.

Thanks. It is also photogenic, the color and shine masks some “patina”. It’s not restored, and I have no plans to do so. I can enjoy it as-is.

Future next gen S2000 owner > fintail 01/31/2018 at 11:30

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I don’t think drank is the proper term. Guzzled is better.

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:31

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Little old Oswald. Basically I had gotten my license and was looking for a car I could afford and found this. My dad repeatedly told me not to buy this thing because it had 150k miles and was bound to break. My parents went as far as telling me they’d match my money so I didn’t buy a piece of shit. I did anyway. $1400 later I was the owner of my very one 2001 Ford Focus ZX3, I loved it and thrashed it and drove it everywhere. It is the car that eventually led to the FiST and now the Mustang.

fintail > Nibby 01/31/2018 at 11:33

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Here’s the car hanging out at the latest MBCA gathering:

fintail > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/31/2018 at 11:35

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I want to say it might have attained 8 mpg in town.

It also took 15-20 minutes to warm up properly so it wouldn’t randomly stall - a carb or thermostat issue, perhaps, but my dad couldn’t solve it.

interstate366, now In The Industry > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:35

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The first car I bought was an absolute beater of a 1991 Prelude Si. It had blown the alternator (somehow the owner hooked it up incorrectly) so it needed to be towed to my house. It was awful. Fart can, electrical nightmares, clear coat peeling, rust, saggy doors, trunk held water. But it was a fun car. No pictures, but it was black on black with an automatic. My current one is black/tan with a 5-speed and overall in better condition.

diplodicus > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:47

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Had a 1999 Ford Escort Zx2 manual that me and my sister had shared in hs and college. It was at like 230k miles, original clutch was starting to slip a little, exhaust had completely rotted away, had been involved in a few hit and runs so the body was fucked. I just didn’t want to keep fixing it. Found an SVT Focus and paid 3k cause they guy was supposedly an engineer at ford and I assumed he took good care of it. Here is a pic from when I brought it home actually. You can see the ZX2 that I beat the absolute shit out of.

It turned out to be a money pit. I was also always into BMWs except more the old ones. I almost bought an e30 instead of that SVT but when I tried to register for R3v to message a guy selling a total project, I got banned because I didn’t own an e30.

So after pouring money into that svt I finally decided to look for something I liked more and found my e39 540i, which is another money pit. And then a guy ran through a stop sign and I couldn’t stop and hit him with the SVT and insurance totaled it and I took the money because I was just done with that cars bullshit. And used it to buy my rusty e30.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 11:51

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It was my first Toyota, it was simply what I could find that ran and drove at the time. The Tercel thing was its own animal. However, it did make a big believer in the R-series motor, which I why I bought the Celica and the longbed.

E90M3 > CalzoneGolem 01/31/2018 at 11:58

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I had just gotten suspended from college half way through my senior year for drinking on the campus

I almost got suspended from school for drinking, but I was underage. Did they not allow drinking on campus or were you underage?

E90M3 > WilliamsSW 01/31/2018 at 12:01

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Good read.

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 01/31/2018 at 12:02

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I think I knew about it because of Top Gear or something. I actually took a picture of one at a light because I didn’t realize that they started selling the ST in the US. This was back in 2013. I got turned into a car guy back in 2003.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:03

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That top gear segment on the ST was awesome.

WilliamsSW > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:06

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Thanks. Perhaps most telling is the fact that I can whip that out in 10 minutes - 34 years after it happened.

A few oddities that I recalled afterward - we got the original title with the car, signed over by the original owner, and it was titled as a 1966.

Also, one time I was first in a left turn lane, with a jacked up, primered ‘71 Chevelle behind me, revving his motor. I actually took the turn a bit slowly and waited for him to floor it to try to go around me before I gunned it - and still pulled away from him. We were stopped next to each other at the next light, and he was just looking at me incredulously - not mad, just a bit confused, I think. :)

E90M3 > TheRevanchist 01/31/2018 at 12:08

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And I had no clue what I was doing when I bought it, paying full sticker price. Man, I was a complete dumbass.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I bought my first car at 24. Luckily, I paid what I wanted to and the while the dealer put a document fee on there, it was only $150. Which I wouldn’t have protested, since they brought it to me from 400 miles away.

E90M3 > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish 01/31/2018 at 12:08

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I’ve driven one of those before, wasn’t bad at all.

CalzoneGolem > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:12

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Dry campus plus someone at our get together was underage.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:12

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Preface: The day the FiST was unveiled, 18 year old me knew that I needed one, but 18 year old me was completely unmotivated to do anything.

Fast forward to 2016, I’m employed making okay money with a 4Runner that was showing it’s age. Not wanting to shove thousands into a vehicle I truly didn’t enjoy living with on a daily basis, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on something small and light. Originally I was just going to purchase an NA Miata outright, but after debating with myself for a while, I decided I wanted to burden myself with car payments. The first thing I turned to was the ST. I went to test drive one, and all of my expectations were surpassed. Alabama me who loved trucks his whole life was convinced he wanted a subcompact that was lowered from the factory. I almost pulled the trigger on a Magnetic base model one, but I really wasn’t ready yet. I waited a few months, changed my mind a couple of times, almost got a Camaro, but realized that wasn’t what I really wanted. I went to the dealer, deposit in hand, ready to order my perfect FiST. I had it all spec’d out, Kona Blue, Molten Orange Recaros, sunroof, and no navigation. Before the salesman ordered it, he lit up, and asked the question that he knew I wouldn’t say no to, “How would you like to have it tomorrow?” True to his word, they found one somehow, within 300 miles, and had it the next day.

Just under 2 years and 33k miles later, I don’t have any regrets about it.

E90M3 > WilliamsSW 01/31/2018 at 12:13

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That is pretty telling. Although, I feel as car people we always remember little things like that.

E90M3 > CalzoneGolem 01/31/2018 at 12:14

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That’s pretty shitty. I only got in trouble cause I was 18.

My senior year I was double fisting at the chick-fil-a on campus, on a game day, couple of GT cops walked by and all they said was morning.

E90M3 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/31/2018 at 12:18

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“How would you like to have it tomorrow?”

Uh, yeah. Render the salad unto Caesar.

One thing I wish about the M3 is that I would have been able to buy it new, so I could have gotten all the options I wanted.

WilliamsSW > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:18

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Very true - - but of the dozen cars I’ve owned, I have very vivid memories of some, and others I barely recall at all. Needless to say, it’s the boring cars that I’ve mostly forgotten.

E90M3 > WilliamsSW 01/31/2018 at 12:20

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I’ve only had 4 cars, two of which I still own. I haven’t really forgotten them. The explorer because I had it so long. The 128i because I shouldn’t have bought it. The M3 because I adore and still have and the 328i because I still have it.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:26

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I wanted everything but nav and black wheels, so I was kind of surprised they found one in that combo.

E90M3 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/31/2018 at 12:28

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It is a very specific list of options. I’m surprised as well.

Nibby > fintail 01/31/2018 at 12:47

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sweet! how’s the interior? how does it drive? how’s ownership cost been? maintenance? sorry if I’m asking 47 questions but I’ve always loved these things

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 12:58

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Mine was both. The first car I had, was the first car I bought. About 4 months. Before I got my license I got my first job. My dad told me that if I had a job he would lend me up to 2000 dollars to buy a car and I could pay him back 100/ month interest free. With a few catches. It had to have 4 doors, and be automatic. I shopped for about two weeks, and two days after I got my first paycheck, ended up buying a 92 Camry for 1800 I paid it off about 9 months later. It was a good first car. It was slow, it was boring, but it was thought and could carry 4 friends as far as we ever wanted to go. After the trans went out I had a very good excuse to buy my next car, which had to be a Honda and manual, I bought a 99 Civic sedan EX. Then 10 months later I bought my dream car a 91 Civic hatch, for a whopping 600 bucks. Then proceeded to dump 1,000 dollars into the suspension and brakes. lol

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 13:00

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And an admittedly odd color combo.

CalzoneGolem > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 13:01

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Yeah, on like 98% of college campus I would have graduated two years earlier than I ended up graduating.

Nonster > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 13:27

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It was a month or two before I turned 16. I wanted something I could fix up and really learn more about wrenching and I had a few grand saved up from my job. I knew I wanted a Jeep and had a strong preference towards CJ’s. Then one day I saw it sitting in front of a mechanic’s shop with a for sale sign. A rusted out (but solid frame) and well worn 1982 Jeep CJ-7.

It would only run for about 20 minutes and then would just die and it had no seats so I drove it home sitting on a little plastic stool. Thankfully I didn’t fall out.

I later got my Ranger to use as a more reliable DD, but I kept the Heep for about 5 or 6 years. I spent way to much money and learned a metric shitton about working on cars in the process.

fintail > Nibby 01/31/2018 at 14:20

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Interior is old. It is Tex, and there are some issues at a couple seams, but it is presentable. The wood has aged fairly well. It drives nicely - starts easily and runs like a modern car, isn’t annoyingly slow, has a gentle ride and big squashy seats, a huge steering wheel, and acres of headroom. Although these were used in competition, the car has a lot of body roll, and a swing axle, so it doesn’t beg to be tossed around too much. It is happy cruising along, I seldom take it over 70 mph anymore.

It might get 1500 miles in a busy year these days, so maintenance isn’t too bad - but when something goes wrong, it tends to go wrong big. It could use a little mechanical and suspension freshening, but nothing harmful in terms of being roadworthy, so I take things as they come up. Restoring one system would be opening Pandora’s Box, so I am careful with what gets attention, and don’t get ahead of myself.

In 1997, a piston ring broke, which ended costing a lot due to other needs addressed at the same time. In the early 00s, I had some front suspension areas refreshed which cost a grand, and it has had a few small hiccups along the way, but overall maintenance isn’t bad averaged out over time. I know a good indy mechanic who isn’t afraid of the car - that’s a big thing for something like this.

Nibby > fintail 01/31/2018 at 14:33

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brb buying one... ONE DAY!

I’ve read the 68-73 are the best ones to own. Sounds like they’re reliable and mechanically sound. Does it feel like a tank, solidly built when you drive it? I

AndyG_UK > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 14:42

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Does it count if I put the money I got from selling my first (1984 Mini Mayfair) that my pa Everyorents bought me??

No? Good!

It was a 1986 red Vauxhall Nova 1.2 Antibes (special edition!). GodI loved that car, had funky red interior, a slide AND tilt sunroof, a Nova SR rear spoiler, a rev counter, 5 speed gearbox, I loved it like a child, even when the head gasket went and I was without him (his name was Neville the Nova) for a week while a friend of a friend who was a mechanic fixed it after work.

The day after I got him back from getting the head gasket fixed I spent the morning cleaning and waxing him, went for a nice little drive on that lovely sunny spring day, when a stupid old git in a Ford Sierra didn’t see my bright red Nova coming down the long straight his junction was on and pulled out as I was going past it, poor Neville was no more, I was heart broken. My only joy being that Neville protected me much better than the Sierra did him and I walked away with minor bruising and some neck ligament damage, he got taken away in an Ambulance (once they managed to force the door of his car open!).

It still hurts to think about poor Neville now still...............

fintail > Nibby 01/31/2018 at 15:50

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Build quality is immense, and it indeed feels like a tank - susprising as it isn’t a particularly heavy car, but the metal is very solid.

My car is a 220SE (fuel injected) which as a fintail were made between 1959-65. The later cars like you mention have larger engines, V8s aren’t uncommon in later run cars. They are also generally easier to find than fintails, and aren’t really expensive for what they are. The biggest thing to look for is rust, and neglected cosmetics. Engines can be fixed, but interiors and bodywork can be hard to get right.

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 15:52

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Oddly My first car was the first car I bought. I also bought my second car. But my parents bought my current car. I do things backwards, I know, but there is a good reason behind it. My first car was an ‘84 e30 318i. My parents had always told me they would buy me my first car(within reason), unfortunately at the time they did not have the financial resources to do that when it came time for me to purchase a car, so I ended up buying the car myself. Not much of a story to it, I saw it on the side of the road, it looked interesting and was pretty cheap with no rust and only a minor dent in the front passenger quarterpanel. The car had obviously sat for a while, which gave it some quirks(like the tach never showing over 2500 rpm), but it was small, cheap, a manual, and fun, so I got it. My second car was a ‘97 328is that I bought for $5600 because I wanted another manual BMW and I needed a car because the engine in my 318i blew up. It was in the right price range, ran well and available.

My ZHP however came about for entirely different reasons. If you recall, I paid for my first car all by myself, despite my parents saying they would buy my first car. I never complained about this, I understood that shit happens and they just weren’t able to help out at the time. I never brought it up later in life, and to be honest had completely forgotten about it. My father, on the other hand, never forgot about it. And it apparently was something that really bothered him for quite a few years. In his twilight years, he made a career move that ended up nearly tripling his salary(retired got a pension, then went back to work as a consultant making 2x what he was making before). He also backed into the 328is at some point and put a crease in the passenger door, which made him feel even more guilty. On top of that he decided he wanted to start doing HPDE, as it was one of the few things that both of us could partake in as a father-son bonding thing(he has congestive heart failure and lung issues, so he can’t really walk all that far or fast). There were questions about how well the 328is would have held up to running in an HDPE.

After talking about doing HPDEs for a year or so over dinner one night he told me how bad he had always felt that he and my mom were never able to help out with my first car and offered $10k to buy a new car. I had always had a soft spot for a ZHP, which at the time were still somewhat new and very, very in demand. Most ZHP listings were taken down within a day due to being sold. We found one in FL listed for $12k, called the seller that night, turns out it was only 45 minutes after the listing went up, and he called back 3 hours later. In that time he had gotten 4 more calls, including someone offering over his list price, but he offered to us first because we had the first call. We flew down to FL 2 weeks later, picked it up and drove it home to MD then went to our first HDPE 2 months later.

Die-Trying > E90M3 01/31/2018 at 18:39

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it was THE summer that i left high school, and me and my friends had been hanging out ever since, and we were always beating on the old junk that they owned, driving them into an early grave. i was the only one who didnt have any junk to beat on that i could be mean to , without it keeping me from going to work if something broke. as luck would have it, we always drove past this old shack that had an old truck parked in the side yard. hadnt seen it move in the last 5 years ATLEAST..... i worked up the nerve, and asked the old guy who lived there if he would sell it. i was going to hit the guy for $500. he asked if i would give $400. it had a title, it was a v8, it was a manual, and a step side. i couldnt run to the bank fast enough.

i paid the guy, got the keys (IT CAME WITH KEYS!!!) poured some gas in the tank, dropped a battery in it, and made it 3 blocks before it died. we towed it to my friend’s house with his dads yard truck. once we had it there, we got to looking it over real close. the carb was all stopped up, and the gas tank wouldnt hold fuel. it had holes all along the bottom of the IN CAB gas tank it had a nagging miss that we were having a hard time pinning down.... my friends dad kicked my truck out, and it had to go. to my house. where my folks would see it. what i had bought. with my money. well my dad had a fit, and called it junk.

i kept working on it. the alternator bolt was broken. it had been tightened into the head so far that it had broken into the water jacket. everytime you would fill up the radiator, water would run down the bolt until the water level came down past the bolt. the entire fuel line was stopped full of rust, which i managed to unclog. i got a gimmie carb for it. i fixed the gas tank, by using a gas torch, and filling the holes with solder(oh to be young and stupid again). it still had the stupid miss that wouldnt go away. i swapped out the broken head. took me a month in the rainy part of the year. still had the miss. finally got to adjusting the valves....... it had 5 lobes on thier way out. “it is junk. you should sell it. see if you can get ANY of your money back. i dont know why you would of bought that sorry peice of junk in the first place”- i recall my dad telling me as we listened to the truck struggle to run. the words stung.

i talked to my uncle. “flat lobes? no big deal. lets put a cam in it” so we ordered a cam. a couple of weeks later the cam showed up, and we swapped out the cam in a day. the truck had new life. it ran, it was peppy. my dad hated it. while working on the truck, the discovery was made that it wasnt a 350, like it was supposed to be from the factory it was instead a 307. i ran the 307 hard, until one day the truck succumbed to the dreaded 307 broken piston skirt. it had a horrible knock, and when my dad heard it i recall him saying “you should of sold it while it was running good, now you will be lucky if you can get anyone to even haul it off” by this time, i had made a lot of new friends through other friends, and had managed to amass a pile of parts spares.

i had a 350 that i had gotten from a guy, and a cam that was “a BIG cam” as the guy called it from a different friend. i rounded up some hump heads, headers, and put together a replacement bullet. it was a HUGE cam. the truck sounded like a pro stock drag car. it was quick too. i could put it sideways in just about any gear. i put 3 inch exhaust under it. the neighbors hated it now too. they would call in at LEAST 3 times a week to make noise complaints against it. i was constantly breaking rockers, and bending push rods. but the truck was now fast. i had upgraded the intake and carb, and just about everything else that i could find. i kept things in adjustment, regularly fine tuning the hydraulic lifter lash, until the summer that they took the zddp out of the oil, and the cam ate a lobe. dang. the neigbors celebrated among themselves. i pulled the cam, swapped in another big cam, but it was not to be. the truck overheated half way through the break in......

i finished the break-in after the truck cooled down, swapped the oil, only to find that it was full of metal shavings. i had one lobe that was less enthusiastic than any of the others. i drove it to get a second opinion from a friend. on the way over the oil pressure crashed.

i had a replacement bullet laying in grass at home. real convenient like. i ran the replacement for a few months, it had come from a guy who ran dirt track. it had a nice cam in it, and the combination was simple, and was pieced to all work together, until it started popping head gaskets. it was at this point that i swapped in my hump heads from the earlier engine, and some roller rockers. the truck was quicker than ever, and the head gaskets kept giving it up. i finally found the culprit. someone had sleeved a cylinder, but the sleeve had moved, and the deck surface was cracked. i was currently out of ready to go spares. it was rebuilding time.

i took the block that had eaten a cam, and took it apart like a two dollar watch. i sent it to the machine shop, and had fresh cam bearings put into it, and turned the crank. i took all my best parts that had been on the last engine. and i was running again....... until i wasnt. the engine was great, it ran strong. unfortunately the heads on it were 60-ish years old. it dropped a valve going down the road, and took out just about everything in the block except for the crank, and camshaft. luckily i had had enough time to amass another pile of spares, the crown jewel of which was an ex-dirt car engine, that had been meticulously put together at one point. it had lots of spendy parts in it. the day was saved. balanced, blue printed, milled, decked, squared, good forged guts in it. i put the next pair of hump heads from the pile on the new bullet. ran it that way for a LONG time. and then tradgedy struck.......

the camshaft was secretly walking in the block. moving forwards to back, util it ate the cam gear..... i bought a cam, from a speed shop, i got a good deal on it, it was bigger than ever before it was a roller.no more eating lobes, put a button on it for good measure. and it needed more valvespring than i could get onto a hump head... fortunately i had bought a spare bullet from a friend that had given up on IT when it ate its camshaft. IT had aluminium chinaman heads, that were good for as much cam as i had now put in the block......without the 1.6 rollers i had been running. so i put some stamped stock rockers. i got as far as the end of the road, before the truck dropped two cylinders. i wracked my brain trying to figure out what could of have happened. i finally did a compression test. 5 of the cylinders were way low. i pulled the valve cover to dig in. it looked like someone had taken a sledge hammer, and smashed the valvetrain.....

i had broken rockers, studs, pushrods that were snapped in two. some on the same cylinder. but the truck still run. i went to the speed shop, and got a fresh set of studs, put them in, and sprung for a set of roller rockers in a stock ratio. the truck was running, AGAIN...... o

over this time there had been other minor mishaps, like the time the rear end went dry and ate the gears, or all the headers that broke from the vibration of the engine. the rear yolk ate at least 40 u-joints, mostly from the wallered out cup where they rest.

the truck was in the best shape ever. could outrun most of the latest cars on the road, some not by much. but it was quick. was a good run, up until last year, in july when a kid that wasnt paying attention to what she was doing pulled out of a side street across my lane at the last second. i did everything that i could. locked up the brakes, and downshifted, locked up all the tires. there was nowhere to go. i broadsided the kid’s car at just under 40 mph.

when everything quit moving, i looked around. the windshield was shattered, the steering wheel was bent, there was a hole the size of a basketball where transmission was. there was a large lump that now touched the pedals, and i couldnt see beyond the hood. i wiggled all my fingers, bent my knees. everything seemed to still be where it was supposed to be. i unbuckled my seatbelt, i grabbed the door handle, and gave the door a shove. popped right open. i shoved it open with a little difficulty, but it opened, and i was able to WALK away. took care of me one last time.....

well, at this point most folks would say, well, it had a good run, 19 years, time to move on. but i havent. while yes i could get another truck LIKE mine, it wouldnt be THE truck. and after all the time that i have put into it, it would feel shamefull, to just turn my back and walk away, now that my friend here is laying hurt. my dad was overheard saying “he should of let them just haul it off, and take the payout”......so i have made the commitment to put my truck BACK together, AGAIN. its a matter of time and effort. it will be back.....

pip bip - choose Corrour > E90M3 02/01/2018 at 05:05

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1978 UC Holden Torana when i was 16, 98k km on it had it for 2 years then bought a Commodore