My Car History

I figure this is a good reference. I'll refer to this from time to time. I probably should fill you in on my car history:

1992 to 1993... Oldsmobile Cutless Ciera. Drove it to Samson High School, despite living two blocks from the school (driving was truly the coolest thing). It was my dad's car, he let me use it. Result? Totaled in driving through Elba, Alabama, on my way back to Troy in October of '93. Three months after paying it off.

1993 to 1996... Buick Century. Drove it during my college years. Notable for the "bench" seat in the front, but also extremely easy to work on. Brian Wilbanks and I changed the alternator on it in about an hour at FarmHouse. Result? Four months after paying it off, it was totaled it coming back from an all night shift at WKMX one Saturday morning. Was supposed to take Heather Howell to see Beauty & the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta the next night. That didn't happen.

1996 to 2000... Oldmobile Cutlass Supreme. Two door, bad a** car that drove well, but required constant maintenance. The alternator that cost $100 and one hour to replace on the Buick Century cost $400 and overnight to replace, because it required the services of a mechanic. Result? After paying it off three months prior, totaled when making an ill advised left turn, and hit by a Mercedes. While uninsured.

2000 to 2001... Chevy Blazer. Bought at Cars Alabama, the place downtown that says "you can get your down payment back if you make all your payments on time", which is a great coup for Cars Alabama, because if you are forced to go Cars Alabama to get a car, you probably aren't the type of person who will actually be paying your payments on time. (see: Dollar, David, circa 2000). I actually really, really liked this vehicle. It was from 1988, and I drove it for a year and a half. Result? After a while, I was riding on four bald tires and the entire steering column was loose, and moved. So, I traded it in for...

2001 to 2008... Mercury Sable, 1999. Purchased at Jim Burke Used Cars. Always look back and felt bullied into the car, as I had my eye on the small Toyota. It's a 9 year old car, and I've had it for 7 of those, now at 138,500+ miles on it. You want to know what I've dealt with this one?

• Replaced motor mounts, engine heads, oil parts, rack & pinion, and can now feel the transmission slipping.
• The heater doesn't work, so for three winters now, I've been kinda cold.
• The defrost doesn't work, so for three winters now, I've broken two different ice scrapers and destroyed about a dozen cassette tape cases.
• The driver side door doesn't unlock from the outside, so for two years, I've unlocked the car from the passenger side--this sucks in the rain.
• Replaced battery cables, when batteries kept dying