Pivotal moment in life....

RareGMFan · December 16, 2005, 01:24:31 PM

Well.....some of you may have noticed I haven't been on in a while. Have had several things going on, most not so good. But mostly, I've been thinking a lot about where I am at this point and time in my life, and where I plan to go from here. I will have to make some difficult decisions this upcoming year. Namely......the selling of all my cars. I've mentioned several times about how much trouble it has been to own 4 cars while living in an apartment complex. Number of spaces being taken up is not really an issue, but the amount of work needed is. I can't do major repairs like that in the parking lot, and even if I could, I simply don't have the time anymore due to several things that have happened with my job over the course of this year. I've had several friends comment about how unrealistic it is to have 4 project cars with no garage for them. I was well aware of this, but kept trying to convince myself otherwise, that I could make it work. But after 2 years of treading water with them, I've finally come to grips with the reality of the situation. It just isn't working.

And so......as much as it pains me to say this.....this spring, I'm going to clean up the cars, tie some loose ends with some minor repairs......and let them go. :( I'll use the money to buy one reliable, newer car. I'm leaning towards a '99 & up Grand Am GT, but I don't know yet for sure. That's not too important at this point. I battled with this back and fourth for a while, even mentioning it at our last mini-meet, but I'm finally solid on my decision. It's really going to suck, but I know it has to be done. What sealed the deal for me is when I started thinking about what these cars have truly cost me over these last few years (not just monetarily). I've put off finishing my education due to them, I've put off buying a house due to them, I haven't had one, decent car with no drivability issues due to them, etc. Then comes the monetary issues. $78/yr x 4 (for registration stickers), $300/6 months x 4 (for insurance; yes, they're all FULLY covered), not to mention the cost of maintenance, repairs, and modding x 4. They've chewed up a LOT of financial resources, not to mention, are tying quite a bit up just sitting there.

The thought of having one, reliable car with one, small insurance payment, while being able to put quite a bit more change back in my pocket (have TONS of spare parts I need to sell off, too) made the decision a lot easier. I can get my ass back and school and finish once and for all, and should have MORE than enough financial cushion to buy a house after all this is done. I'm sure I'm going to miss the cars, and possibly be bitter for some time after this, but it is for the best in the long run. I'm not 20 anymore. I have different priorities now, and I need to get that in order. The other thought that eased this decision a bit for me is realizing the fact that it's not like there won't be more of these cars out there when the time comes that I'm ready to buy them again.

Well....there you have it. Not sure why I felt the need to write this all out. Maybe I just needed to see it out there, in clear and defined text. But anyways, that's what's been going on right now for me, and why I haven't been around much.

skalor · December 16, 2005, 02:10:17 PM

It's sucks when you come to realize that the things you love are just too much of a hassle. I know I couldn't handle 4 cars living in an apartment complex. I can barely handle the 4 cars I have now because I only have a 1 car garage. :P I would sell the cars, finish school and buy a house. There will always be some 6KAWD or TGP out there that can be a project for when you have the time and money to do it.

Now, my wife drives a '99 GAGT and looking back on it I wouldn't buy it again. We had the car since Feb. '04 and we've already gone through both front wheel bearings. One bearing just had the ABS ring go bad, and the other the actual bearing went bad. Also, N-bodies eat front brake rotors a lot and our were already severly warped after 1 year. This was also after we test drove it and I told them that the rotors would have to be replaced before we got it and they put new ones on before we picked it up. Another thing is that the trans has no dipstick. You have to pull a bolt on the passenger side near where the axle comes out to check the fluid level. :roll: The vinyl on the door panel are also starting to peel from the the top of both doors too. I would look into the a newer W-body as they are easier to work on and have a much higher quality in my opinion. My '99 GTX was a lot nicer than my wife's '99 GAGT and the insurance was only $50 more for the same exact coverage.

Prospeeder · December 16, 2005, 07:11:40 PM

Mechanicly my moms 99 Grand Am has been great, No brake or ABS problems ever, wev put about 60k on the thing, Waterpump went out, we replaced the LIM gaskets just because, Paint is flawless, Interior rattles, poor quality, vynal on the door arms are lifting, and the seats are horribly uncomfortable, but overall good car, its got 96k on it now

GangstGP · December 18, 2005, 04:49:33 PM

I thought you only need insurance if they are running?

dbtk2 · December 18, 2005, 11:05:03 PM

Quote from: GangstGPI thought you only need insurance if they are running?

You should only need insurance to drive it down the road, and full coverage isn't required by anyone unless you have a loan on the car. IMO it is kinda overkill to have full coverage on all 4, considering that if you saved up the extra money that you'd save by not having full coverage and just put it in an account, chances are by the time something happens that you would normally make a claim for, you just take the money out of the account. If your yearly insurance cost, plus your deductible is more than 1/2 the value of what the insurance company would give you for the car if you totaled it, then its not worth having full coverage. I had full coverage on my STE for about 8 months, went to liability and I'm saving a shitload. I've made no claims so what good is the full coverage doing me? My insurance is $32/mo. for the STE, and considering I'm 18 thats pretty good IMO, the Lumina was the same amount when I had that.

Shawn

GangstGP · December 19, 2005, 01:23:56 PM

but I would never have a car that is not disabled parked in my name without insurance.

dbtk2 · December 19, 2005, 02:10:52 PM

Quote from: GangstGPbut I would never have a car that is not disabled parked in my name without insurance.

Most people wouldn't, but the law just states you have to have it to drive the car. The only time I would consider having a non-disabled car with no insurance is if it was being stored in the garage and the homeowners insurance covered it if something happened.

Shawn

RareGMFan · December 20, 2005, 01:02:44 AM

I've gotten mixed reviews on the Grand Am GTs. I'm strongly considering one because I like how they look, and I think the 3400 is a good little motor. Preferably, I'd like to find one that has had the LIM gasket changed already. I don't care for the looks of the gen II GPs, however. I know they're better quality, but they're too bland looking for my taste. I'd whined up blowing all my money on dressing it up (ram air hood, SS grill, etc) and modding it, so I'd end up right back where I started. I'm also strongly considering an SUV in case I shoot for doing eBay full time. A change in jobs is another one of my many agendas in this life overhaul.

Quote from: GangstGPI thought you only need insurance if they are running?

Yes, well.....they are running. Just....not very well. All of them are in use, so they all have insurance. As to the type of coverage I chose.....I'm not too worried about being the cause of an accident. Haven't been involved in one in all of my 12 years of driving. In fact, if I could, I'd have ONLY comprehensive & collision, and NO liabiltiy. Collision is costing me an entire $10/month on each car, and that's for a $100 deductible. I highly doubt that $120/yr (per car) I would save is going to cover the cost of any serious damage in a hit and run situation. The only claims I've ever had to make were two incidences of someone hitting my cars in a parking lot, and leaving. At $900+ a pop each, I'd say that small amount I pay per year paid off.

Since the turbos won't be used for a couple of months, I just changed them to comprehensive only, which is a whopping $12/6 months. That should help cut some of the costs of owning these little bastards. Anyways, there's a few months to go before any moves are made, so we'll see what happens, here. I'll keep you all posted.

TurboGTU · December 20, 2005, 01:29:36 AM

Yea, Cars are cars. Unless you have rare cars like the Rolce Royce Phantom ghost, they are all commen cars. You can find one latter down in life that you can afford after you get your life settled.
For me..Im looking into buying a house and invest in that than in my cars. For now..I just want to work my butt off to have money for a house to invest in for $$$$ and then worry about women (or having a family for me) or cars. Studied already, Work now...play latter :wink: :lol: . Women can be real money pits and dramatic like cars :lol: :roll: . You love them both (I love my wonen more..hehe) but you have to look out for yourself first.

If you still love the AWD stuff. I would consider a AWD Suburu or a Chystler mini van. Real relible...Try a 63-early 80s GM. THEY littraly pay for themselfs. My 65 hot rod truck cost gas. Nothing more. Get the brakes done almost 1 1/2 years and just tune ups. Sure it cost 5K for the motor work(race motor), 1K for the trans and 10K for body work..but at the end..I got a new truck for 1/3 the cost of a new..garanteed to brake down for alot of money ultra commen regular Joe Smuck truck.

You can buy a new car and then just refinance every 2 years and trade it for another or do a lease.

The only long lasting somewhat "rare" GM we had was a 81 Cadillac Sadan De Ville V8-6-4. It had the cylinder deactivation controll...or kinda like desplacement on demad for fuel economy. Sure it was rughf when it did its deactivation..but it was the most relible "modern" "rare" car we had.