My car...

I have two tires that consistenly go flat. Both are full of fix-a-flat. It's held now for about three days with no additional air. Both have been patched once, and then repatched because the patch didn't hold. It's a 1991 Toyota Tercel. 13" tires. I thought these would be cheap to replace. They aren't. With big tires all the rage nowadays, 13" tires are harder to find and have to be special ordered. Fifty bucks a tire. Crap. Fix-a-flat and patches. Such is life.

It's currently at 210,000 miles. I bought it about a year ago for $900. So far I haven't put any money into repairs though it needs brakework, a new exhaust, I put a quart of oil or two into once every month or so, and something is fishy with the suspension/steering. No air, AM/FM radio only, no cruise, it's pretty functional.

At least it runs. I've never been one to really care about cars. My last car was a 1990 Honda Accord that I ran into the ground (the leaky gas tank and dead alternator was the last straw). It had well over 200,000 miles on it (the Honda Accord before that had 225,000 miles when I gave it to my brother-in-law). I remember asking a Chevy sales rep before buying my first Honda Accord in the late 90s if he could guarantee me that a Cavalier would go over 100,000 miles and he looked at me as if I asked him to explain quantum physics.

It lasted almost ten years but I probably averaged a car payment in repairs every month in repairs. No driver's side mirror for seven years, having lost that when I fell asleep at the wheel on the way to my wedding and bumped off the back wheel of a semi-truck. Literally. Left the treadmarks on my car for those seven years as proof. Passenger's side mirror was cracked.

The rear bumper was Maaco'd. Having been rear ended, the other person's insurance company would pay to replace the bumper but said the rust where the bumper was attached was a pre-existing condition and they wouldn't pay for that. If I hadn't been hit, my bumper wouldn't need attached. It didn't matter and I wasn't about to get a lawyer to fight them. So I took their $1,000, got Maaco to attach it for $500 and I walked away with $500 in cash. The bumper held. It's nice to not care sometimes.

When it rained, the car leaked. Literally. The roof and all the seals around the windows had been siliconed so that wasn't it. But a puddle would form behind the driver's seat. I ended up drilling a hole in the floor (and no, I didn't drill a hole in the gas line) to drain it. The interior driver's side door handle didn't work, the key would sometimes get stuck in the ignition, the right touch required to remove it. Toward the end I just left it in the ignition, never worrying, always hoping, my car would be stolen.

I scrapped it for $90 with my high school weightlifting equipment that had been rusting in my basement.

Was given a 1994 Dodge Spirit as a gift. Same damn thing. Ball joints. Bad struts. Bad fuel lines. I put a boatload of into it as well. Scrapped it for $150.

At least our 2004 Saturn VUE has held up for three years, with no money put into it, although this counting the miles on a lease is a real headache. The warranty has certainly come in handy. Needs brakes, though. And the CD players hasn't worked in months and is not covered under warranty. We were told it didn't play mp3 CDs but this isn't true as it now plays nothing. It's cut back on the lease miles though as I have no reason to drive it other than the occasional privilege of having air conditioning.

Hate cars. Need 'em. Hate 'em.