Car Problems

DarkPrime · Post by **DarkPrime** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:32 am

I have the worst luck with vehicles. I've been trough 3 cars in 4 years. Not because of accidents, but because of mechanical problems that cost less to get a new used car than it is to fix the problem.

My first car: 1989 Chevrolet Berretta GT. Maroon. Ran beautifully & strong. The radiator got a pretty bad leak. I could drive it short distances, if I kept refilling the radiator. So it sat for about a month while I scraped up enough money to fix it. In the time that it sat, some squirrels built a nest in it and chewed through 75% of the wiring. Estimated cost to repair: $3500

Second vehicle: One of the guys on my crew at the Fire Station I volunteer at sold me his 1984 Toyota X-tra Cab pickup. It was a 5-speed, 4x4, I loved it. After about 14 months, within the space of a few weeks, the transmission ground up the 5th gear syncro, the master cylinder went bad, the main oil seal spung a bad leak right over the manifold causing a fire hazard and the 4 wheel drive locked into the 2 wheel drive position. Estimated cost to repair: $+/-3000

My current car: 1989 Buick LaSabre. It has 12-disc CD changer and a huge sub. Drives strong. Just yesterday, it started making a noise like a pebble in an empty can. A mechanic friend of mine says it sounds like it may be the water pump or one of the bearings. I await an estimate.

What kind of trouble have the posters here had with their cars? Accidents? Mechanical? Acts of God? It would be interesting to hear.

Gwilym · Post by **Gwilym** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 10:44 am

My bicycle got stolen once.

Post by **Popcorn** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:37 am

My car repeatedly fails to exist.

VGJustice · Post by **VGJustice** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:58 am

I've got an '87 Suzuki Samurai. Perfect, but low power. My mom needs to borrow it for an extended period of time, but I'm cool with that (I don't actually have a liscence, and its wheel makes it impossible for me to drive anyway. It was a gift, who am I to complain?). Currently, it does not run as the original water pump finally threw in the towel. Now, I may never get to drive the thing, as the cost to repair it and to replace the steering wheel far exceeds my budget ($0, American).

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:23 pm

I drive a "maroon" car, too. I feel your pain, brother. I feel it.

DarkPrime · Post by **DarkPrime** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:25 pm

I didn't complain about the color of the Beretta. It looked quite sexy on the car. I think I have a pic of it somewhere...

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:28 pm

WELL I STILL FEEL PAIN, GODDAMMIT.

The only real car trouble I've had lately is that I accidentally broke my passenger side rear view mirror off. See, my buddy has a really tight driveway and as I was backing out, I was trying not to hit his damn house and ended up smacking their neighbor's fence.

And I can assure you, dear GHZers, that all the duct tape in the world would not hold that mirror back in place again. No, it only ended up making ugly stains all over the mirror and door.

VGJustice · Post by **VGJustice** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:41 pm

Amazing Grant wrote:My car is fuggin ugly. Cry for me.

That's what I got out of it.

DarkPrime · Post by **DarkPrime** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:52 pm

Here are some pics:

Beretta

Toyota Pickup

R.I.P. guys.

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:55 pm

I once backed over a tree. There was no damage to the car, but the tree now grows at an odd angle. Also, my car's AC sporadically goes out during the summer.

Darkprime, your avatar is much improved.

Post by **Popcorn** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:53 pm

Locit wrote:I once backed over a tree.

There was no damage to the car, but the tree now grows at an odd angle.

I can relate to that. I once backed over a group of small children. There was no damage to the car, but the survivors too now grow at an odd angle.

SuperKnux · Post by **SuperKnux** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:10 pm

Oh Pop, I love you. Have I ever told you that?

Post by **Popcorn** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:20 pm

I love me too, man. I love me too.

Post by **Esrever** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 6:25 pm

After an extended adventure in used car shopping, I became so disgusted that I gave up and bought a brand new 2005 Toyota Echo.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:11 pm

My first car, a Mercury Sable, was a color we officially call "maroon". Despite being the same exact thing as a Ford Taurus, and therefore a Ford, and therefore one of the worst cars on the road, it ran pretty well. Pretty damn well. <a href=http://ghzforum.nathantsui.com/viewtopi ... =418>Until some dumb bitch rearended</a> me so bad the insurance agent totalled the car.

So I went out and got a used '95 Saab. Which, you know, sounds like a good idea. I'm sure she was a good car before her previous owner ROAD HER TO HELL AND BACK. I paid just short of $5000 for her, which isn't bad at all. Aaaand then a month and a half later, I paid about $300 to have a couple of radiator hoses fixed, because they has burst and thrown coolant all over the engine, which scared the shit out of me because coolant burns really fast and there was a lot of smoke. About a month after that, I discovered oil in. my. coolant. tank. Goodbye, $1300. And the place I bring it to is very inexpensive. It took me several months to pay my parents back. I was not a happy camper.

So now I'm waiting for it to just up and stop working, or explode, or something. I just changed the oil and the damn thing is still ticking, so there's probably something else expensive wrong with it. Which means my next big purchase is going to be a new car, which I don't have money for upfront, which means some sort of payment plan, which means I'm going to have ANOTHER bill to pay, which means I am never moving out of my parents's house ever.

I also had a flat tire a month ago, which ended up being a bent rim, which ended up being another hundred bucks.

/whine

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:11 pm

I'm almost 19 and I still do not have a license (it didn't help that I failed my driver's test because I forgot I was still in revserse), so at least the majority of you have something to drive to to go whereever. I still have to rely on my parents.
~Neo

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:13 pm

Neo Yi, you posted like a second after I did, and now there's an edited note on the bottom of my post because I had to fix a typo and now EVERYONE KNOWS. THANKS A LOT.

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:21 pm

BWAHAHAHAHAHAhaHAHAAHAHA!!! And HA!
~Neo

DarkPrime · Post by **DarkPrime** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:58 pm

Slight update: I dropped it off at the garage this evening. The mechanic said it was a "unique sound". Looks like it is the water pump, though it might be the air conditioner clutch. The a/c went out about 2 days before this sound started.

If I didn't live 7 miles from civilization, I would just go back to biking.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:59 pm

I used to have a bitchin' Camaro on cement blocks, but someone stole it. I don't know how or why, but they stole the Camaro.
For fuck's sake, it didn't even have seats!

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:21 pm

I can relate to that. I once backed over a group of small children. There was no damage to the car, but the survivors too now grow at an odd angle.

I actually know a guy who really did accidentally back over his infant child. I'm told he kind of turned into a different man after that incident...

Post by Bo » Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:39 am

I was run over by a car when I was one. I have bitchin' scars on my back and leg.

Oh, and I drive a maroon 1992 Oldsmobile EightyEight. It's done pretty well for me, except for having to replace the alternator ($150) and a brake line ($260) in the last year. I am somewhat looking for a new car, but during the school year I drive maybe once every two weeks, so it's not much of a priority.

Omni Hunter · Post by **Omni Hunter** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:45 am

My Micra just stalls for no apparent reason, plus it has next to no room for my mates who are usually bigger than me. I'm not sure about kids but I'm sure I ran over a fox once.

DarkPrime · Post by **DarkPrime** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:49 am

Green Gibbon! wrote:I actually know a guy who really did accidentally back over his infant child. I'm told he kind of turned into a different man after that incident...

My friends Dad hit a girl and killed her. He was going down the highway and she ran out into the road. After he hit her, he just sat in his car until the police got there, because he was so shocked. They charged him with involuntary manslaughter, but the charges got dropped. His car was mangled. I have pictures of the car somewhere on my PC. The hood and roof were caved in on his car.

Nakasan_UKG · Post by **Nakasan_UKG** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:40 am

"My car repeatedly fails to exist."...

..And it's comments like THAT, that is the reason I have lurked this place my whole life + more.

Keep up the utter random comedy guys/girls/others!!