Like the ticket post, this was a draft that’d get updated to remember what cars I’ve had.
First car: 1995 Civic Dx 1.5 non-vtec automatic, +200k miles 16 bent valves from a failed HG repair. Driving her home was my first time behind the wheel on a paved road, I was 15 at the time.
The rest in chronological order
1992 sc400, traded the beat up civic after the first year of ownership. The sc had no bushings left on the steering rack and LCA’s Image: sony1492 Bought this 92 sc400 with a manual swap and coilovers. The chassis was wrecked, ran it for a year before transferring it onto the blue bodied car. Image: sony1492 Needed a more reliable car to get to community college. It was $700, it was pretty nice with a 5 speed manual and plush seats, clean interior but it had driveability problems that I didn’t know how to fix at the time. Image: sony1492 1997 c230, she was cheap due to a blow head gasket, still ran it for a couple months to school. Had really good brakes and neutral handling Image: sony1492 Brother bought it for a few hundred bucks with the body damage and stuck 2nd gear. We replaced a fuse which got the trans going, after some sledgehammering and ebay fenders, it was right as rain. Image: sony1492 This is after a couple years, my brother and I passed the car between us over time. She had really low miles so after the front end, it was a pretty nice driving car. Image: sony1492 Great memories Image: sony1492 Bought this 05 spectra for a couple hundred bucks with lots of body damage, did the bare minimum repair and sold it to some Argentinian trimmers for cheap. Image: sony1492 This little manual 323 was one of my favorites, I still miss it. Someone was moving and sold it for $300. Went a good 4 months but would not pass smog because of a tick at idle, so it went away. Image: sony1492 V6 auto, kinda quick, very easy to drive, also shit. Sold it because the oil pressure was not looking good, it died some time later Image: sony1492 325i, replaced the head gasket, radiator hose blew on the test drive and seized the motor. Image: sony1492 1983 300d, luxury boat for $200. Interior was trashed and the driver seat sagged on one side really bad. It belched black smoke and had untold number of miles, but she never let me down. Sold her because couldn’t really drive it more then 50 miles and afraid the trans or motor would give up. Image: sony1492 Bought the 89? 190e, had a clean body , sunbaked but clean interior, and ran. The day after buying it the transmission died, she refused to shift past 2nd. Got rid of it for next to nothing Image: sony1492 1988 civid dx 5 speed, rust bucket Image: sony1492 If you’ve noticed a theme of untrustworthy cars, I bought this at the smog shop only after it had passed. Paid way too much but a smog was worth more then anything to me at the time. She ferried me to and from work 70 miles away 5 days a week for 3 months. It sat around for a month or 2 being unused after buying the black sc400 and wouldn’t start, I was over it and sold for $100 Image: sony1492 1993 sc400 that got a manual swap, eventually twin turbos too. Blew up a couple engines and parted it out. At the time it had soaked up too much money, and my brother was telling me to let it go. In hindsight I should’ve kept it, wouldn’t mind another SC, but I think I’d keep it close to stock Image: sony1492 Wanted reliable second car to do long projects on the sc400. Reliving the glory days of the first elantra sounded good, but it was not to be, 250k had not been kind. The engine sounded like it was fixing to blow and the trans felt off. Sold it with a valid smog a few months later. Person I sold it to abandoned it in my name, id failed to file my release of liability so I ended up paying $2000 for the “storage fee” from a tow company. Image: sony1492 Wanted modern reliability, safety, build credit, and something quick again. Financed this, huge mistake. Paid $2k to get rid of it when I traded it in on the scion Image: sony1492 2009 Mini clubman JCW Image: sony1492 1996 Honda Civic 5 speed, Bought this for $1500 because the mini was too unreliable. 250k miles but she was okay, there was a drawn out problem with the seller and it took 6 months to get it into my name. Got rear ended in that time frame which made the cars money back and continued driving it for another 6 months. Sold it because it was tired, the engine knocked a little too loud for comfort on startup and the clutch had been gone for the last 15,000 miles Image: sony1492 1979 Chevy Scottsdale 3/4 ton, 4 speed manual, Current Image: sony1492 2016 Scion iM 6 speed, current Image: sony1492