My car is a huge piece of shit. I just dropped $600 today fixing it up, so I can drive it without dying. It's 10 years old, and has 20,000,000 miles on it. The worst part is that I can't buy something new because of my $250,000 in school loans I have to pay off. GOOD THING I MAKE MINIMUM WAGE!

Tell me about how much you hate your car.

Not to rub it in or nothing, but I'm glad I don't drive, I live a short walk from the trolley stop that takes me into town, and from my work, so I can just walk to where I need/want to go as long as its not outta town.

I'm sorry, but I love my car. What I hate is when my dad touched it for only two days while I took his rig down to California to deliver a boat trailer, and the brake system has been screwed up ever since. New pads, new rotors, a trip in for an alignment job, it never straightens out the pulsation or air in the lines.

I'm thinking he screwed up the master cylinder or the power booster valve.

The only other thing I truly hate are the roads out here. They're never repaired properly. My brand new rear struts are already weeping fluid from going over so many bloody potholes, and my premium Michelins with the 90k mile warranty are patched to hell from sheet rock screws, industrial staples, etc.

I need to find a state that understands a major thoroughfare is supposed to be more advanced and better maintained than a logging road or firebreak trail.

When I do, it's time to save some cash, and get my hands on one of these.

(And this dealership is the attached neighbor to the dealership I worked at)

my car pretty much sucks

it's a fading blue 1989 Mazda 626

the A/C does not work, the radio works but its display does not, there are leaks when it rains, only the front right window works, the speedometer is about 5 MPH off, the fuel gauge is about 1/8 off (learned that the hard way), and it's hard to accelerate more than 60 MPH

on the slight plus side, it has just over 80K miles on it, gets 25-30 mpg and runs well albeit a little rough when at idle

BrikHaus wrote:stuff

lulz at plight of med students. thank god I'm only thinking of getting into the medical field not actually making it in.

Tokster deposits 50 chan dollars into brik's new car fund.

mines imaginary

no car compares in shittyness to my boyfriends old car
it was a 1998 Poniac Sunfire GT
the windows didnt roll down, it had no ac and it you drove for 5 mins it over heated.
He put over $2000 in that car and it only got worse

I have a 1995 that's falling apart. Gotta pump the brakes, the front windows don't roll down, and the dashboard shakes if it goes over 60. At least the AC works. I was going to trade it in with the cash for clunkers deal but it didn't qualify by 2 FUCKING MILES PER GALLON. EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T GET THE ESTIMATED MPG! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

THE Hal E. Burton 9000 wrote:my car pretty much sucks

it's a fading blue 1989 Mazda 626

the A/C does not work, the radio works but its display does not, there are leaks when it rains, only the front right window works, the speedometer is about 5 MPH off, the fuel gauge is about 1/8 off (learned that the hard way), and it's hard to accelerate more than 60 MPH

on the slight plus side, it has just over 80K miles on it, gets 25-30 mpg and runs well albeit a little rough when at idle

1) AC recharge and conversion kit to get the system running on R134A instead of the old stuff <$100, can be done in your driveway

2) Aftermarket stereo with install for <$200

3) Soffseal replacement weatherstripping, sealant, and a gasket scraper

4) Check if tire size is correct. If not, replace with standard tire or plus size as appropriate. If that is not the cause, trace the schematics for the gauge cluster back to any common points shared between the faulty gauges. If it's not a fuse, bad wire, or other issue blatantly obvious, you probably need a new fuel pump sending unit.

5) To treat the rough idle, use fuel injector cleaner, pour it in before you fill the tank, and run the car for distance (30+ miles) on the freeway. If this does not clear it, take the throttle body off of the engine, remove the idle air control valve (the small, 35mm film canister size cylinder with the two prong wiring harness plug), and clean EVERYTHING out with carb cleaning and a toothbrush. Also check the air filter and PCV valve for possible replacement, since any contaminants or unburned fuel deposits will flow right back through the intake system through these two guys as part of all that fun EPA regulation.

It could also be the fuel line, especially an obstruction in the fuel filter. Since it's a Mazda, which is built by Ford, replacing the filter if it's outside of the tank is a snap. GM and Mopar products get a little more interesting, depending on the platform used (I needed to crawl under my old '86 IROC-Z with 3 feet of socket extensions to take out half of the spark plugs, and don't get me started on the "ship in a bottle" project of replacing the starter assembly).

If rough idle still persists, check the ignition system for bad plugs, bad wires, incorrect timing, the usual. Most OBD I and OBD II systems adjust ignition timing automatically, so you'll need to find the wiring harness that links the distributor to the computer, and disconnect it to get a good base timing reading.

If plugs and/or wires are the problem, also go ahead and replace the oxygen sensor (a threaded, large bolt-like thing that's threaded into the side of the exhaust manifolds before the catalytic converter. If you're getting a "check engine" or "service engine soon" light, that's an error code, which likely means you need to replace a sensor for the engine to run better. Get a code scan at a shop, or pay the $500 for a mostly universal scanning tool, as they're not that difficult to use.

As for the body, white, red, and green are the lightest paint pigment colors for most automotive applications, and every pound you shave off of the car is equivalent to an extra 10 hp under the hood. Honestly, I'm fond of Mazdas in red or mustard yellow (hell, ANY car looks good in mustard yellow, whether it's a Porsche, Chevy, Dodge, or Lotus).

Evangelionfreak...

I've had a couple bad cars (quite literally ran into fuel leak and brake line leak problems that could have had me burst into flames while on pizza deliveries a few times). What I list below is the ULTIMATE FIRST CAR for ANYONE who wants a cheap mode of transportation where:

1) Parts are widely available (and therefore CHEAP). Parts that are more expensive are HIGHLY UNLIKELY to fail.

2) The car WILL get you home even if you have to keep putting water in the bone dry radiator with a giant leak (been there, done that)

3) Snow traction with only chains in less than a foot of snow, but mild inclines is a MUST with adequate control

4) Enough trunk space for 3+ friends, or, if you're creative, a jacuzzi.

5) Servicing is sticks and rocks simple in tool-deprived garages belonging to relatives who can't replace light bulbs without a technician (think the Soviet doctrine of aircraft design).

6) Better styling than most modern budget sedans, and can pass as an "adult's car" when you finally get out of college.

Goatman's Pick as the Ultimate First Car

Get the version with the THREE SPEED automatic transaxle (the A604 overdrive trans is infamous as lawn furniture), and the 2.5L four cylinder for the best in reliability and reasonable performance (Approx 120 hp, and 147 lb-ft of torque).

It's big enough to hold four to five friends (assuming the smallest of them doesn't mind sitting in the center of the front bench), comfortable enough to seat them all without complaints, and in it's white paint with bluish-gray interior and pinstriping, especially after a good wax, it can look pretty sporty for a granny car.

20,000,000 miles? Really? thats enough to the moon and back four times.

GoatMan wrote:When I do, it's time to save some cash, and get my hands on one of these.

(And this dealership is the attached neighbor to the dealership I worked at)

Lotus? Nice choice, man. ;)
As that site doesn't seem to load for me, can I ask which model?

I still need to save a lot of money, and that will take a *lot* of years, but one day I know I'll finally get my Elise R (custom JPS paint job included )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3dpbRm7C_I


sorry couldn`t resist

My car actually isn't in that bad of shape (I gots a '96 Saturn SL-2 ;) ). The only problem is that the back right window is kinda funky...I can push it open and shut...which is weird.

Other than that my car is perfectly fine!

i drive a VW bug. i didnt choose it. i spread my rage to all of u.

I managed to acquire an '02 model Renault Laguna for the price of a wheel-balancing. They're not worth a lot since they don't have the best reputation for reliability. Previous owner thought a CV joint went after hitting a pothole, so he gave it to me for free (save him the bother of scrapping it, before the government incentive), since the cost of getting it fixed was more than the car was worth.

Or so he thought.

I took it to a mechanic, thinking I could get away with using a second hand part, only to find I didn't need to. CV joints were fine, only the balancing weights had come off the wheel.

Previous owner took it better than I would've alright, he just smiled and sighed, and got into his new Mercedes.

Insurance is the real limiter on first cars over here.... most new drivers either buy something small and sub 1-litre, something old, or just register it as their mammies car. Neither of which is really helpful if your 6ft 4 and need a large car to fit in in the first place.

The Laguna is big, comfy, goes alright, stops alright, and the insurance isn't to bad because nobody steals them, nobody rallies them around like morons.... they're in a low enough group that it doesn't hurt too much. Slight problem in that, if it does break it'll be an expensive fix, supposedly they break very regularly. Mine hasn't, but I'm not too keen to tempt fate by bragging about it.

Most importantly though, unlike Micra's and Mini's, the Fire Brigade won't have to cut your legs off to get you out of the burning wreck if you crash it.

@OP: I don't drive. I walk. Cars suck.

I take the bus everywhere. The city of New Brunswick's infrastructure caters to the Rutgers students. Convenience is everything. I can even take a train back to my hometown up north.

My car has two wheels and gets whatever MPG I feel like.

Combs wrote:20,000,000 miles? Really? thats enough to the moon and back four times.

40, actually...

BobBQ wrote:My car has two wheels and gets whatever MPG I feel like.

Would that be like the one where I get about 100MPG on holidays, and a good deal more than that when commuting

Original owner...sparkplugs are a royal pain to replace, but I've loved it every day I've had it.