Forum Overview :: Rants :: Re: Poor Ol' Nigga Thinks It's A Cadillac

[quote name="Bill Dungsroman"][quote name="Ice Cream Jonsey"]I used to think I'd always only get American cars. Hell, I grew up with Captain America and baseball and apple pie and rah rah rah, but everything you say here is correct. And that bit in Snow Crash about Americans producing shit except for pizza, microcode and movies will eventually be true. Here's my car lineup, only because I love these lists from everyone and was sad to see them deleted. As an aside, my dad sells used cars so I've only bought them from him. He's offset his inability to help with schoolwork or college by saving me from ever having to negotiate with the liars, thieves and scum that make up everyone in the used car business.[/quote] Your dad sells used cars? The caltrops Parade of Embarassing Reveals continues! Actually, that's a great hook-up. Getting a used car that has only been in the former owner's possession for a year give or take (like maybe your WRX?) is a smart buy. if you're smart about it. You buy new and don't hardball the shit out of the dealership, your car loses 4 grand give or take once they drop the keys in you rhand. If you can't throw down 20% by trade-in and/or cash down on a new ride, you gotta get gap insurance. It's not a racket <I>in theory</I>, but you have to go online and purchase it straight from the manufacturer. It's good that it's your dad, too. That fucking Cutlass convertible thing I rode for awhile I got through my girlfriend's uncle. He owned Carriage Cars III in Vegas, which any diligent search of Review Journal or LV Sun archives will provide you with hilarious articles about how the joint was a front for the mob. So, one day Unc sold the dealership away and quite literally disappeared. Not that I hope he was offed or anything, but his departure had some wacky side effects. Being BDR as I am, and worese still years ago, I had no clue that Carriage Cars III <I>Return of the Wiseguys</I>was a fucking mob front. I was driving that stupid Cutlass because my ol' Stanza lasted about as long as its name implies. I practically coasted the fucker into his dealership, just like I had a few years prior with the Firebird, and Uncle put me in it "temporarily" until he could "find me a car like I wanted" (an SUV, as if I could afford one). No, he was pawning off all of his rides before making his getaway. I traded that fucker in forthwith for a barely-used Altima. Meanwhile, my girlfriend, who was puttering around in a (ha ha) Neon and making under the table payments to him, got her car repo'ed. [quote]o Silver & blue Chevy S10. I can't even remember the year. It wasn't around for very long as it was the truck I learned to drive on and a manual. Coming home from the DMV written test, the old man pulled over to the side of the road and told me to give it a spin. It's always rainy and sloppy in April in Rochester and I accidentally ripped up this guy's lawn trying to put it in gear and get it back on the road. I haven't driven any better since. This one sold for $750 a couple years later on the as/is line at the Butler auction, even though it stalled out. o 1987 GMC S-15. Diarreha colored and the only automatic I've ever had. I had it from 96,000 miles until around 150K and sold it to another dealer at the auction. It was still going with 250K on it last we heard. This fact convinced me that Americans make great, long-lasting vehicles. Maybe they do sometimes, but not when it comes to...[/quote] Well, they aren't bad at making trucks, I suppose. Maybe not the minitrucks, more your full-sized behemoths, but an S-10 from the 80's wasn't a bad choice - and not at all, as your testimony implies. [quote]o Red 1996 Dodge Neon Sport. These things are designed to need a head replacement at 70,000 miles. They're cheap, disposable garbage and I crashed it into a guy coming home from work after having it for only three years. The "blue book" value on it was $4,500. It was leaking two quarts of oil a week and I couldn't afford to get it fixed. I wouldn't have been able to get $500 for it, realistically. Also, every cliche about cops going for red cars more often than other colors seemed to come true with this one. This is the one that got me into legal trouble. Crashing it was the best thing I could have done. I followed it up with... o Black 1998 Dodge Neon R/T. In my defense, I got it for five grand when it was three years old. I think by this time DC had solved the problem with Neons needing a new head gasket after 70,000 miles, but when I took it in for the water pump I was told that I ought to get the head replaced as well. For the hell of it, I guess. I read up on this and learned that Chrysler will give you some money for the head gasket replacement, but they wouldn't for me. I suspect it's because the dealer I took it to (I know, I know) lied about it needing a new head and while Chrysler wasn't going to tell me he was lying, they also weren't going to pay for a new head gasket. I wrote off American cars at this point. Fuck 'em all, I'll give some other nation a chance to try to screw me. I know that it's possible that dislking them because of a Neon is like writing off video games because of those Christian Bible shooters, but still. Fuck those guys. I agree with everything you said there, BDR.[/quote] It's not. It's Dodge. As in, "Give them the." [quote]o 2004 Subaru WRX. Dad's driving it out this weekend. I hate to be Tycho and Gabe when it comes to buying a car... but limit break me, Kupo.[/quote] What're you, a fucking Rally racer? Kidding. <a href="http://www.edmunds.com/new/2005/subaru/impreza/100399100/roadtestarticle.html?articleId=100385&tid=edmunds.e.roadtest.content...Subaru*" target="new">Edmund's</a> a reliable (but hardly the be-all end-all of car info sites) seems to like it. I priced one for my girlfriend. We're in the process of finding her a new car, her pink Hyundai Accent somehow made it to 130K (she took meticulous care of it. We're still donating it to Goodwill in a state of nondriveable), but no more. I've spent weeks in a fit of OCD-fueled fact finding for this. It's my own relationship Fussbett Bookshelf, if you will. I researched and priced out several cars in different price ranges, and the WRX was one of them. I got her approved at a great rate for 25K though (I just had to, you know, con a Mormon credit union into thinking I was the cousin of a high school pal who is now a/our financial consultant), and my realtor's brother is a loan broker for several of the local dealerships. He's going to get her whatever she chooses at dealer cost. She wants an '06 Eclipse, which is easily in her price range at cost. [quote]Still gotta find someone to buy the R/T, though, but it's now got so many things wrong with it (no horn, line break in windshield, 113K miles, needs new tires) that I feel guilty trying to sell it. I've never sold a car to a private owner before. I imagine doing so is a ball.[/quote] Ugh. Used cars more than five years old are tough to do anything with. <a href="http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.sp?kbb;;WA033;&98101&&path&;1998;Dodge;Neon" target="new">Kelly Blue Book</a> gives trade in, private sell, and suggested retail for your old ride. I'd estimate you could get around 2-3 grand at best, hoepfully no less than 1500. [/quote]