My impudent car

[Pisces]

This is what I have had to replace on my toad of a car since August:

-Transmission
-Radiator Hose
-Thermostat
-Water Pump
-EGR Valve
-Catalytic Converter
-The Radiator itself
-The Head Gaskets
-Had to patch some antifreeze leaks

And now, to top things off, the alternator needs to be replaced.

MY CAR IS A VAMPIRE!!! IT IS SUCKING THE LIFE AND MONEY OUT OF ME!

All these replacements have cost me roughly somewhere between $2500-$3000 over the past few months.

I hate Luminas. Apparently, "it's extremely difficult to determine what's causing it to overheat if it isn't something obvious."

And I hate Graham Tire.

[GhaleonOne]

Ford and Chevy's suck. 'cept Mustangs. That's the problem.

::smiles at his '97 Accord with almost 200,000 miles and still runs great::

Just watch... it'll blow up now that I said that.

Nah, seriously, an alternator for a US made car probably won't run you too much.

[localflick]

In getting an alternator, don't get a rebuilt one! They're cheaper, and I foolishly got one when mine broke. The rebuilt one was messed up, and put a constant drain on the battery. So I ended up paying for a diagnostic to find what was draining my battery (couldn't be the NEW alternator right?) and new battery. Thankfully the bad alternator was replaced for free. At that point though, I really didn't care.

[GhaleonOne]

You know, I had to replace an alternator on my old piece of crap Buick before I got this car, and they were actually charging more for the rebuilt one than the brand new one! That was rather stupid. They tried to claim the rebuilt ones were better because their store rebuilt them.

[PrettyGirlJean]

Ford and Chevy's suck. 'cept Mustangs. That's the problem.

Hey, Chevy's don't suck! I have a 94 Chevy Cavalier and I luv my baby! It's my first car, I've had it for about 5 years now and she runs like a dream... well, there were a couple of times when there were leaks in the radiator hose and the time when the thermostate went... but those were just flukes. I will agree with you about Fords though... my parents bought a brand new one (granted this was a long time ago) and the engine blew up within a few months of them getting it ^^;

[GhaleonOne]

Yeah, we've never had good luck with Fords. I think my family has had 7-10 of them blow up, die or something. Yet they keep buying them because they're "good American-made cars". Blah. I've never had trouble with my Accord, plus I like it far more than any of the Fords they've gotten (except the old Mustang).

[PrettyGirlJean]

7-10?! Wow.

I'm still trying to decide what my first new car will be. I don't want an Van or SUV (Sorry, I'm horrible with car names and types ^^), but one of those nice trucks that seats at least 5 (comfortably) and has that nice trunk space. Also, it must have a seat adjuster that lets me raise the seat... I'm tired of sitting on a pillow. It really sucks to be 4'11" sometimes ^^;

[GhaleonOne]

Yeah. My grandparents on my mom's side have had 2 Fords go out. An older one caught fire while driving it about 15 years ago, and about 3 years ago their Taurus just blew up. And my grandpa is one of those anal old men that take care of their car to the extreme and is always on you for every little thing. "A car is like a human. You gotta take care of it." Blah blah. My parents old Aerostar mini-van (made by Ford) died in rush hour traffic in the middle lane and they had traffic blocked up for a mile because of it. That thing was totally gone. My mom's new husband had his Ford blow out last month at 5 in the morning out in the country while driving to the airport in town and ended up missing his flight to Chicago. Their other Ford died 2 years ago. My other grandparents have been through two Fords as well. My dad has been through 1-2. And even the old Mustang hasn't run for years, but it is a '71, so that's a little different. And my brother's ex-girlfriend has been replacing things on a monthly basis with her Ford Focus. Which is only 2 years old...

Yeah, Ford's suck hardcore.

[phyco126]

Fords suck.
Chevies rock.
Kia's are okay.
Saturns are the shizznaz.
Hondas are... uh... good. But I hate them anyway.

Now then. Fords suck the worst. Nothing but trouble for our whole family. I have a Ford Focus, it's a darn good car too. I push it to the limites, racked up miles, hit curbs nearly a dozen times or so, but so far the only thing I had to replace on it was the back seatbelts (the buckler things jammed) but they where covered under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for that. Still, not going to get to keep her though. *cries* Ah well, life goes on. ;-;

Now Saturns, yeah. People may hate them, but they be good cars. *smiles* One day, when I win the lottery, I'm going to by a saturn!

[SilverOcean]

If it were my car I would probably just resell it.

[phyco126]

Hehe, the Pinto. The car bomber's favorite toy.

Seriously though, Eric would probably buy a car if he could. You have to think of it this way, while over the long run it would be the same cost to buy a car, repairs don't require $500,$1000,$1500 down with monthly payments. Sometimes, it's just "cheaper" to fix this and that over the course of the year, than buy a car down right with ALL the money needed. Make sense? Because I think I lost myself somewhere....

[localflick]

My car's the same way where it's more affordable to fix whatever's wrong than to buy a new car. It feels crappy though. Like when you rent-to-own something you can't afford. You end up paying more, but it's spread out in payments you can afford.

...At least in getting a new alternator he can trade in the old one and get a core discount. Then they can rebuild it and have it break in someone else's car.

[Asmodean]

I loved my Chevy Beretta!!!
It was a 1990, and it served me loyally for 5+ years. It was well over 200,000 miles! I went over a guard rail with that car, spun that car numerous times, hit a couple deer, got HIT by a deer, other various animals, all most went into a telephone pole and it still ran!!

I just recently traded that car in, and I felt horrible as I left the car lot, for Chevy Aveo.

:: sniffle sniffle :: I even took a picture of my Beretta!!

[Sonic#]

I feel I must defend my Ford Focus.

It's not a perfect car. It gets a little bit loud on the interstate. Manual locks, manual windows, tape player... it doesn't have much. But it works. And it works well. All I've ever had to do is the regular maitenance. Keep it decently clean, check the fluid levels, change the oil, the filter, and radiator fluid when I should. I just got done driving it to Atlanta and back, and... there was a certain amount of U-turnage and suddenly having to take tight turns, which makes me cringe, but the car took it well. And it gets good gas mileage...

Oh, and it has the all-important head room that I need. When I was looking for a car, that was a big thing. Some really big and nice cars, roomy and nice ... wouldn't work because I would've had to have my head at a 30 degree angle.

Of course, this does nothing to assuage Eric's claims. (Sausage!) So...yeah. That sucks. And anyone who's had a Ford go bad, you're fine in claiming what you do. But mine's either a prodigal Ford, or it just rocks.

[phyco126]

Well, Sonic, too have a Focus, basic package, 3 door hatch back, but mine has a CD player Yeah, I get good gas mileage. I can go an average 400 miles on the interstate (though I always keep it at 300 so I don't run out of gas, if I'm traveling beyond my own city,) and an average of 300 in the city. Which is hela good, considering my old (and way less powerful) car only got 200 in the city IF I was lucky. Not to mention the old car had a bigger tank

Anyways, I love my Focus. Like you said, it takes tight turns very well (not to mention taking some of those turns at 40-50 miles an hour ) It's done me good, and I have to honestly say its the first (and last) ford I will like. Ever. Though I'm still waiting for something to happen with it