I’m 19. I’ve been riding my bike and bumming rides for years, and getting a car was never a big deal to me. I always kinda kept my eye out for cars and was looking for an older, reliable vehicle, preferably a Toyota pickup.
Well, the other day, I was down on 4th Ave. (The hippy part o’ town) when I saw the most gorgeous car ever. It shone to me like a beacon of hope. Everything in my peripherals vanished; time stood still.
Before me sat a beautiful 1978 Datsun 280z 2+2. Gunmetal grey, original tires and a FOR SALE SIGN! So I call the guy up and ask what he wants for it. A grand. That’s it. :eek: So I was kind of thinking it was a total piece of crap under the hood so I was wary. I went and asked one of my friends who has had about every car out there in his life if he’d go and check it out with me.
We went and checked it out and asked what was wrong with it and why he was selling it, yadda yadda. Turns out, all it needs is a new water pump and the guy just got sick of having to keep an eye on it to fix it. He’s going to the UofA and he walks everywhere anyway. The guy is just the nicest dude ever, and tells me everything that’s wrong with it. Little things too, like broken knobs, and cracks here and there. What the scratches on the side were from, etc.
So, I’m getting it. I don’t know much about cars, and this will give me an opportunity to learn about them and be able to fix it up myself. My friend who went with me is going to show me how to fix it all too, since he’s had three Z cars in his life.
Anyway, WOO!
Good for you! Have fun with your new baby- may it run problemfree for many, many years or as long as you need it.
I used to spend a lot of time on 4th Avenue, as I lived downtown for a few years, and I love that part of town. The people watching is excellent. Do those two old hippie guys still ride around on their bikes?
Congrats! I don’t think I’ve been down on 4th Ave yet. Of course, I quickly develop a routine when I move someplace new and have to push myself to go beyond it.
A new (or new to you) car is always a fun thing. Is it sad that I occasionally vaguely wish that something would happen to mine so I could car shop? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’d never do anything to it though -I do like my car.
Alice, I think I’ve seen them. I might have seen one of them riding his bike like a bat out of hell as a cop car chased 'im. Have you seen the chainmail guy? The one with the soda tab chainmail? … That guy’s a dick. :rolleyes:
Lsure, you should totally check it out. As Alice said, it’s great people watching. I once saw a guy on stilts dressed as Pan, you know, the mythical half goat half man dude. The guy was at least 9 feet tall, painted lime green, and was just walking around. Wasn’t even a holiday or anything :eek:
If you haven’t bought it yet, find a reliable mechanic to do a pre-purchase mechanical check. This should cost you about a hundred bucks. The guy may be a completely straight shooter, but any number of very expensive problems could be coming up. On the other hand he could appear to be a nice guy but knows that the engine and transmission is on its last legs and will cost you $4000 to fix.
I’ve always wondered how exactly this would work? It’s not like you can drive the car, which you don’t yet own, to the mechanic, right? Does the mechanic go to the car then?
It can work either way, but there’s no reason you can’t drive a car belonging to someone else, providing they’re comfortable w/ the idea. Getting a car inspected and running a Carfax check is very practicale advice. It will cost you around a hundred bucks, but could save you much more.
Original tires on a 1978? Wow, it mustn’t have very many miles on it?!? :o
I’ve been to 4th Ave once. Unfortunately, I forgot my ID, and couldn’t go to the bars. Fortunately, I was with my parents, so was able to have a margarita at TGIFridays, IIRC, so not all was lost!
I have had my car for nearly 10 years. It was my first car (well, second, having used my brother’s car for some months before getting this one), and it’s been with me through cegep, 6 years of living in another province, it enabled me to move in with my then-boyfriend and commute to school, thereby leading to us eventually getting married. I commuted to work for 2 years while he did his master’s program, and with that car we were able to drive the 8+ hours home a few times a year to see our families. We used it to move back here to Québec, and I used it for a year to drive to work. Now I’m a student and I only use it 2-3 times a week (easier to use transit to get to school) and I still can’t get rid of this thing! That car has been such a huge part of my life, I can’t just sell it! I need an accident (with no injuries) or a rogue snow plow to run it over, or it needs to finally die and be unreparable, but seeing as it’s a Toyota, it’ll probably run another 10 years and cost me next to nothing.
The best thing about Toyotas? You can’t kill them!
The worst thing about Toyotas? You can’t kill them!!!
Congrats on the new car, Havik, and may it hold up as well as mine has!
There’s a really strange guy that rides the buses up and down Campbell who wears goggles and a tube of toothpaste strapped to his arm. Apparently he’s been doing this for years. . . He obviously has some issues, but is taken care of (at least a bit) by someone, since he’s still around, same routine.
Cripes, haven’t seen that one yet. I hate the SunTran, and rarely ride it so yeah. One time on it, there was a very… decrepit hooker that got on the bus. This was right around Tucson High, was like the third time I’d ridden the bus and it was hilarious. The old bag continuously flirted with high school boys who were all very freaked out by her. Then, when the bus came to a stop, she yells “WHOOPS!” before she falls and does the splits down the aisle…
Congrats!!! I too just recently took possession of my first car. (am also 19). However, your car is infinitely more exciting than mine (I got my brother’s old Buick Century). best of luck to you.
Generally, you have to convince the guy to drive the car down to the mechanic of your choice. You tell him that he can use the report himself for future reference. Sometimes the seller will have a mechanic’s report already done. I personally don’t trust these as he could have gotten a biased report from a sleazy mechanic.
I’m happy for Havik but let’s face it. He’s buying a 29 year old car for $1000. I hope the car lasts a long time and his buddy the Z expert can help him with repairs. Good luck and congratulations to him.
Shoulda chosen some super girly name like “OMGPONIES321FlowersRfun2”
The guy I bought it from lives just down the street, and he’s going to actually be going to some art shows I’ll be putting up, so I’ll be in contact with him for the most part.
