Confession Time

[Grey Ghost]

Six years ago I leased a BMW 525iT (six cylinder 'touring' wagon). The lease expired and I returned the car without even considered buying it. It was a handsome, competent driver but nothing more.

The other day I saw a 525iT of that vintage and actually had a pang of regret. After all, my clients might think I was more successful if I drove a newer car.

They don't hold their value very well as cars of that vintage seem to sell for $10-15,000. Even 90s-vintage gas 320 wagons fetch more than that.

I know, a 'random' post...

[VLayton]

So? My first car was a Oldsmobile... (hmmm, I hope that isn't some psycological insight on me)

Course, I haven't really ever lusted after another one.....

[Don350SDL]

You know, skip, a well-cared-for vintage car might impress your clients more. Polish and wax her, maybe a detailing, just make it look like new...

I've owned a Plymouth ($110), Buick, Toyota, Volvo (1988) - since then, nothing but MBs. Oh, a stint with a ford minivan.

[dawette]

Driving a new car one day and your mint vintage car the next is even better. I went the plymouth, volvo route too. A 1965 Plymouth Fury III, 2dr htp, 383. My parents bought it new, drove it 100k, kept it in the garage in near mint condition. They gave it to me and I sold it to a friend after college. Only to buy it back from him again 15 years later after it was stored in a garage and not driven more than 300 miles. I will never sell it again. :D

[Maxbumpo]

I had a '67 Plymouth VIP (with Commando V8 - 383) when I was in college. Fantastic cornering ability for American iron of that vintage, and power coming out your ears. Unfortunately it burned almost as much oil as gas, had rear axle problems (don't know why ;) ) and I couldn't afford to fix her up. Paid $275 for that car, drove about 1 year, sold various Mopar trim bits for $75 and scrapped her for another $100.

[dawette]

Ahh, the memories of youth. While we're at it, I remember when I was in high school, me and a friend of mine bought a 1974 Pinto from a fellow classmate for $5.00 with $10 worth of gas in it. He didn't have the title so we used it as a woods car and had soooo much fun driving it like a go cart/atv. The next week back at school my classmate asked for the car back. Turns out it was his sister's car that she left home while in college. There was not a straight panel left on the car, the head gasket was blown, and all the gas was long gone, and we had just sold it to someone else for $20.00!

[Highway Star]

I got my first car in 2002, one of the staff at my high school heard I was considering a career as a auto machanic said he had a couple cars in a field near his house, and that I could have one if I could fix it up. He had a silver '85 Buick Riviera :cool: and a '87 Plymouth Horizon (stick shift) :rolleyes: , guess which one I picked :cool: . After I got it towed home, I found out I had picked the wrong car: The only good thing about this car was the very comfortable dove gray velour interior, water pump was shot, tires were bald, brakes non-existant, all 4 shocks basicaly gone, trunk rusted out, no Reverse, radio burnt out, paint covering more rust, dead rat in the passenger arm rest, carb was so out of adjustment it got 3 miles per gallon, drank a quart of oil every 100 miles, but worst of all: Rust had eaten the frame into ribbons directly behind the rear wheels, and ate all the rear body mounts away so that when I put it up on a hoist, THE CAR STARTED BENDING IN THE MIDDLE :eek: :eek: !

So what did I do?

Gave it a name (Ravenous), put new brakes and a new waterpump on and drove it to and from work for year while I saved up for a newer, safer car, which later turned out to be the Ford. I was on my way home when a kid from out of town in a red Jetta made an illegal turn in front of me and I smashed into him at 15 MPH. Both of us where wearing seatbelts, nobody was hurt ('cept the Jetta. 15 MPH and it never moved under it's own power ever again). After the cops came and talked to us and called a tow truck for the Jetta, I picked up the pieces of the grille and lights, tossed them in the trunk and drove that

Big
Ugly
Imported
Compact
Killer

home, parked it, and after the insurance people inspected it, gutted the interior, drove it to the junkyard, said a tearful "Old Yeller" style good-bye and walked home.
Used the $ I saved to buy the Ford as a daily driver, used the insurance check to buy a new '85 Rivirea (Big Blue) as my leadsled project.