Mode of Transportation

[lomk 20,663]

So this is a little thread I decided to start up to talk about cars. Specifically, I'd kinda like to hear about what kind of car you drive. But this can go a few ways ways, really so I'm gonna throw out a couple options.

 

A. Share some thoughts about your car

 

Tell me about the car you drive right now (considering you own a car). I'm just gonna throw out some things you can mention about it. Here are some guidelines.

How many miles does it have on it? Have you put all the miles on it?

What do you use your car for?

Do you like your car? Do you hate it? Why?

Are there any stories you can tell about your car?

And so forth.

 

B. If you don't have a car, then let's say you've been given $15,000 or €12,000 to spend on a car...

 

This is pretty straightforward. If you were given $15,000 in the U.S. or €12,000 in Europe to spend on a car (you must use it on a car or you owe the money back or it disappears), what kind of car would you look for with this kind of budget? Would you buy something that's going to work when you pick it up or would you buy something for a really, really low asking price and fix it up with the remaining money? You may have to use your imagination, check the classified ads, or do an online search for this. Assume the car is being sold by your neighbor so there's pretty much no cost to have it shipped to you and you don't have to drive halfway across the country or continent to go get your new car.

 

 

C. If you don't have a car or you feel like the other two ask for information that's too personal to you, then you can share your favorite car.

 

The kind of car someone prefers can tell a lot about that person. Like does that person care about saving money or the environment? Does that person like to look flashy? Does that person prefer safety overall? So share some thoughts about your favorite car and maybe why you like it so much. You can opt for this if you don't drive a car, you don't plan on getting a car, or you just don't want to share anything that relates to the other two. 

 

 

I'll get this started! 

 

I'm gonna attach a picture of my car and share my thoughts

 

So here's my baby.

 

 

 

 

The car I drive is a 2000 Honda Prelude. There's nothing particularly special about it.

 

I got this car from my foster parents (who, from here on in, I will refer to as my mom and dad) for my 17th birthday. When they gave it to me, they had this huge sack. There was a sack in that sack. And the whole sack-inception thing went on about five or six times until I got to this tiny sack with a Honda key and a remote on it. I looked at my dad for a second and said, "It's not what I think it is, is it?" And he said, "Yep, we got you a lawn mower."

 

"Yeah, dad...a lawn mower with power locks?"

 

So when I went into the garage, I was pretty surprised by what I saw. At the time I never knew these things ever existed. My first thought was that it's a Civic. Not that I'd be mad if it was a Civic. Really, I was getting a car for my birthday so I would have been happy with anything. 

 

Four years later, this car springs oil leaks all the time. It's like every time I get one fixed, a new one pops up. And it's not like I drive it really hard. 

 

I did have a scary moment in this car once. I was driving home from hanging out with some of my friends. It was about 11:30 at night and I was taking this road that went around town and avoided all the stoplights. Well this road had flooded a few days before and the shoulder crumbled in places. There was some oncoming traffic so I moved over. Next thing I knew, a dog ran out in front of me so I hit my brakes. When I did that. I also ended up with the right side of my car on the crumbling shoulder. Physics determined that one side was slowing harder than the other side so I lost control and spun out in the ditch. So that explains the missing turn signal and beaten up bumper. 

 

Anyway, I'm not sure that I'd trade this car away for the world. Like I said, it isn't anything special, but it's special to me. I love this car because I don't see many of them, especially any in as good shape as I keep this one. I get a lot of people who tell me that for what it is, my car looks great. Probably because I've kept everything as close to stock as I could. And it just won't die. This car has right under 180,000 miles (290,000 km) on it and it's broken down on me. I'd trust this little car to get me from Seattle to Miami to LA to New York if I needed to. And when I'm older in a steady career, I'm probably going to keep driving this thing. One day, I want to restore it from bumper to bumper, keeping as many original parts as I possibly can. 

 

So despite its little problems, I freaking love my car. And it's not expensive to own either

[GhostPony750 958]

Well, that's a nice gift you got here.

 

If I had $15,000... I'd buy a muscle car, obviously. I'd pcik a Roadrunner, but if it's too expensive, probably a Buick Grand National or a Mustang. I really love muscle cars.

 

Well, it's a muscle car or nothing actually, except for my first car.

[Ac3xAssasin 452]

I'll be getting my liscense in less than a year, and if I was given 15,000$ I have my eye set on one car... The Subaru Outback.  

 

 

I could probably get one used in the neighborhood of about $5,000

[Lucky Bolt 34,915]

Here’s my baby. 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L 

(this picture was taken some weeks ago) 

Spoiler

It’s got over 200,000 miles, is my first vehicle. Purchased it off Craigslist last March. I’ve since put a LOT of work and literal blood sweat and tears into this truck. Probably more than I should’ve.  And I still have so many plans for it. It’s my daily driver at the moment, but I plan on getting a second truck in the near future (I’m thinking something smaller, like a Dodge Dakota. Been wanting one of them for a while.) 

 

But oh the memories I have with this truck already. By the way his name is Matt. 

[Splashee 28,537]

Scooter. I outrun most cars with it on the street, so, do I need a license for that? *runs*

[Lucky Bolt 34,915]

3 hours ago, Bas said:

That's older than you are lol

Shoosh!

[Early Sunsets 2,106]

I hate driving, but if I had to get a car and had 15k I'd probably get a 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, because why not. It's fairly compact but still has enough space to pack for a long road trip, and it's an SUV that can go 0 to 60 in five seconds. Nobody expects that from an SUV. Just ignore the 19 highway mpg.

If I had a bit more freedom (the title does say transportation, not car) then I'd get a 2019 Suzuki Boulevard M109R. I think it's one of the coolest-looking cruisers out there, and it has a 1783cc engine (so it probably shouldn't be my first motorcycle). Also it's shaft driven, so no messing with a chain.

I wanted to post pictures, but I get an error message that just says "-200", and under uploaded images it says upload failed, so whatever.

[Pentium100 2,057]

My main car is a 1982 Mercedes-Benz W123 with a 2L 80kW gasoline engine and manual transmission. I like the fact that it is reliable and simple, so I can fix problems when they happen (especially if it's electrical related, which is usually a blown fuse or a bad connection) or I can go to pretty much any mechanic and they can do it, no need for computers, scan tools and such. The metal could be a bit more rust-proof though, as currently the main type of problem I have with the car is rust. Also, whatever manufacturer Mercedes bought the body seals from (window, door, etc) probably sucked, because I had to replace pretty much all of them to prevent water leaks. Another car, a 1984 VW Jetta Mk2 is only two years younger, but the seals are in a much better shape.

The car is modified to burn LPG (which is cheaper) I can switch which fuel I want to use, I have a somewhat good speakers and amplifier in there, I use a tape deck as a source, sometimes I connect my MiniDisc recorder to it. I have also recently got AC installed in my car (it didn't have that from the factory), so it's no longer hot during summer.

Anyway, I use the car almost every day to go anywhere I need (to work, to a holiday place etc), this year I drove it to Poland (800km one way, I was near the border with Germany).

Nobody knows the true odometer value - the instrument cluster was replaced twice, with nobody bothering to set the odometer of the new one to the same value as the old one.

I like old cars - one of the reasons is the simpler design, no computers, almost no fancy electronics. The metal is usually thicker too, so it does not get bent that much in an accident and can be straightened out. The type of car that I like is a sedan, so, if I needed another car, I would probably buy something like a 1970s Cadillac DeVille (I do not really like automatic transmission though) or maybe something like a GAZ-24 Volga.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Pentium100

[Lucky Bolt 34,915]

11 hours ago, Bas said:

 

What lol

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I have a 2009 Smart Fortwo cabriolet. She’s metallic blue with a silver sports stripe, has a little over 101k miles and is loaded, with an incredibly smooth  Kenwood CD/DVD player. This is my favorite of all the cars I’ve had by far. Previously I had a Jeep Cherokee, Ford Aerostar, Dodge Caravan and Geo Metro. I named my car Electra because she sparkles in the sun like she’s crackling with electricity. I also call her Blue Angel, Pacifica and her pony name, Blueberry Twinklewheels (a name my brother invented as a mockery but I liked it anyway). If I was rich and could afford any car in the world I’d still drive my little Smart. It’s endlessly versatile and I can even change its color by trading out her surface panels (a simple four hour job if so-inclined). I’ve added metallic blue stub antenna and tire valve caps to match the paintjob, and a small vinyl window decal (they don't show in this photo, which was taken before the additions).

Edited November 23, 2019 by Dreambiscuit