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Old 08-07-2009, 09:30 PM
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BodhiBenz1987 BodhiBenz1987 is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon_SLC View Post
I felt attached to my Plymouth Acclaim LX. After years of driving expensive cars, I bought it slightly used, at a great price and drove it through 6 years of school. I fully expected it be a piece of crap! It turned out to be the most reliable and comfortable car I've ever owned. And it was a lot more fun, than you might think. During the same month, the Catalytic converter melted, and the transmission went out. The car had 230k miles, and just was not worth putting a lot of money into. But it had never been in an accident, all body parts, and most other parts were in excellent condition. I was just about to have it taken to the junkyard, when I came across a low mile Lebaron with dents in all the right places! It had been owned by an elderly person, who drove by Braile! I spent a few months swapping out the good parts from my old car, and ended up with a reliable and beautiful (IMO) reincarnation. I use it for tough duty work like taking my dog to the dog park, driving on unpaved mountain roads, driving through blizzards, trips to Home Depot, towing trailers of trash to the dump, etc. I have my time, and $1300 invested. Five years, and 35k miles later it has only needed 2 repairs. A starter, and a radiator, both of which were cannibalized from the old car.
I don't think that's crazy, even for an old Chrysler ... if you get a lot of use and enjoyment out of it, $1,300 and time isn't much to lose. Cars, to me, aren't some kind of dull appliance that you just throw away and replace when they get tired. Obviously there's a balance you want to hit (depending a lot on your resources, skills and other responsibilities/priorities), but I feel like the more skills you have, the more options you have.
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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)
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