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Hello. I'm a second-career law student. I lived in Houston for a long
time but now I live in Kansas. Single, no kids, but I do have two cats.
Like a lot of people, I landed here because of a specific problem I need
advice on, but I also would like to hang out and learn from people. I may
be needing a new car in a couple of years, so I'm also interested in
reading people's experiences with various cars. I'm not even sure whether
I want another sedan or a small SUV or what.
I drive a '95 Saturn SL2, which I bought new in December of 1994. It only
has about 78,000 miles on it because I never lived more than about 3 miles
from work during the time I've owned it. It generally runs pretty well but
it has numerous cosmetic problems which I haven't had time to deal with
(and at this point, some of them are probably not worth it, like
refinishing the peeling hood). I like this car but the cosmetic problems
include water leakage into the trunk and occasionally through the sunroof
(which also doesn't work properly any more). So I am definitely thinking
about replacing it, though for financial reasons I am probably sticking
with it a while longer.
I hope everyone is having a nice day. I am -- we got a snow day off from
classes and I slept in!
kansas girl
kansas girl
Welcome!
Chris, go dust off them 'guns':laughing:
dvdrose18
Well, she bought a NEW car in 1994. Most 16 y/o's can't afford a new car,
so I'd say she was at least 20 then. That puts her at 33+ y/o. Chris is
what...17? Good luck bro.:thumbs:
And despite what it seems like, we are for the most part a civil group
here. As far as your car goes, I'm just going to say that I hear a lot of
people regret getting rid of a car that ran well. To be honest you could
probably fix the leaking problems yourself, weatherstripping isn't that
hard to deal with. The peeling of the hood is only cosmetic as you said,
but if it bothers you MAACO can do it pretty cheap. It will probably peel
in 2 or 3 years, but look at it this way: if you do the weatherstripping
yourself you can probably have these problems fixed for under $200. You
yourself said the car runs fine. If you've got the $ and want a new(er)
car, then there really isn't any debate. However, if it's really a tough
financial decision keeping your car for a few more years may be the best
way to go.
giant016
I haven't worked out in a couple of weeks, so I'll put this one up:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/chris_knows/thebestcopy.jpg
(Artist's rendering of what I might look like within 6 weeks).
Giant, she might be 30 but she goes to school, so we have a lot in common
:laughing:.
Welcome to the forums :thumbs:.
chris_knows
Thanks guys, but I was approaching 30 when I bought the car. I am probably
not the girl Chris is looking for in any case. :laughing: Maybe I
shouldn't have mentioned I'm single, I wouldn't like to give the wrong
idea! :doh:
Anyway, yeah, I am reluctant to get rid of a car that is basically working,
at least until I get some fancy $125K law firm job. Except that's not
going to happen, because there aren't so many of those jobs and I'm not
going to the parts of the country where they exist anyway. I do have a job
lined up, but I'll be on state salary, which is not going to buy anything
new and fancy, so I'm inclined to stick with ugly but reliable. Mostly I
want to start thinking about it now in case my car decides to suddenly die
in some horrible and expensive fashion. If I already know what I want,
I'll be much better off.
I'm tempted to get some kind of sealant and just put it all around my
sunroof and seal it off permanently. It doesn't work anyway -- sometimes
it opens, but then it doesn't want to close, and the last thing I need is a
sunroof stuck open. I took it to the shop a few years ago and the guy
said, "well, we can replace the mechanism, but it'd cost you $800... if I
were you, on a car this age, I'd just leave it closed." Which was the
conclusion I had already reached as soon as he said "replace" and
"$800."
That was not the complete list of cosmetic problems, either. It's been
banged up three different times from the back so it has a broken taillight
lens and bad paint on the bumper and the trunk has to be slammed extra hard
to close. And the headliner is falling down, probably in part due to the
sunroof leaking. And the usual door dings, etc. Oh, and I pulled almost
all the carpet out of the trunk after I discovered that it was moldy. I
could probably spend $1000 fixing the cosmetic issues but I haven't decided
if it's worth it.
And I can't afford any of it until I'm working. Right now I have to save
what I have in case of stuff that really needs fixing, like the brake
problem I posted over in the maintenance & repairs forum. Brake problems
pretty much can't wait!
kansas girl
