What should I do with this car?

[atomicradish]

I'm unsure what to do with my 94 Eagle Vision. It's my first car, so I would rather not sell it. It has 168,000 miles on it, and the paint is in really poor condition. It has a nice interior with leather seats, cd player, overhead console, etc. Only minor work is needed on the interior. The problem is, it has a big engine 3.5L 6 cyl, and only gets an epa rated 16/26/19. Another problem is the car only came with a 4 speed auto in all 5 years of its production. Same with the Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde, which have interchangeable parts.

I can't decide what to do with it. It's starting to accrue a lot of surface rust from the paint coming off in huge chunks and I have nothing to store it under. The FE is pretty dismal, and with the auto 30 mpg looks like a stretch. Should I try to give it a $50 paint job, put some aero mods on it and drive it? Or just keep it parked until my current car dies on me? I don't know... I probably wouldn't care if it weren't my first and favorite, but I do.

[SVOboy]

I'd prolly just sell it, if it were me, unless you can transfer some of the stuff you like to a car that is a little bit more FE-friendly.

[socalsuperhero]

depends on what you are looking for. As basic transportation it sounds like it fits the bill. The only case where it would make sense financially to sell it and buy something else would be if you planned on putting a LOT of miles on it.

That being said, I'd be stoked if I could get that kind of mileage out of my explorer.

[Tango Charlie]

If I'm hearing you right, this is not strictly a monetary/FE dilemma. It's a question of sentimentality. It's your first car, dude. There will never be another (first). I wish I had my first car back. 1985 Ford Tempo. Don't laugh. Cybil was the best car I ever had. I was stupid for getting rid of her.

[whokilledthejams]

I miss my first car too, but if you don't drive it, and it's not actually useful, it's time to let go. Take some pictures, and keep the happy thoughts.

Then, part it out and cut up what's left for scrap, because it's probably worth more that way.

Also, I sort of recommend the 2nd gen LH cars. My girlfriend has an 00 Intrepid, and she loves it. Decent highway mpg (we did 28mpg on a 3000 mile trip to TX last winter, with three people, a week's worth of luggage, not driving that gently, and xmas gifts). It gets low-20s in town-- pretty decent for a 3500lb full-size car. The 2.7 has a sludge issue that Chrysler won't acknowledge, but frequent oil changes and synthetic oil are supposed to avoid that fate (so far, so good!). That, and you can get a solid, clean Intrepid for practically nothing.

[Zukibot]

You can probably save money by having multiple cars on your insurance policy, but only get comprehensive for the Eagle if you are not driving it. I like the idea of painting it too. You should go for it. Maybe get a cheap tarp to put over it.

[Johnny Mullet]

With that kind of mileage, it's pretty much spent. It is your first car, so maybe hang on to it for sentimental reasons.

[ebacherville]

i always like having a extra car around if i have problems with my others.. but i dont insure my extra cars, if i need to drive it i just call my insurance and transfer coverage over to the other car..

[jesse.rizzo]

What's all this about keeping first cars? I totaled my first car (1990 Camry) twice. That's how you get your use out of a first car. Drive it for a bit, wreck it, and learn your lesson not to drive crazy anymore.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by jesse.rizzo

What's all this about keeping first cars? I totaled my first car (1990 Camry) twice. That's how you get your use out of a first car. Drive it for a bit, wreck it, and learn your lesson not to drive crazy anymore.

Yeah, if I still had my '77 Cutlass Brougham 350 Sedan, I'd be broke from gas.


Soft Top -- Oh Yeah

But I do miss the pillow-top brown plaid interior -- comfy. I spun out on a gravel road and took out an S-10. No damage -- seriously, a tank. But the transmission started acting up...

My favorite car -- '99 Civic Si Coupe 5-speed. Perfect and hypermilable. Darnit I miss that car.

OK -- advice regarding nostalgia. If the car means a lot to you, clean it up and have it as a backup ride -- use it for an as-is beater. I'm hanging on to Teggy as long as possible for personal family reasons, so I can sympathize (plus it's a darn good car).

RH77

[atomicradish]

Thanks for the advice, RH. I am going to hold on to the car. Sometimes you just have to get your thoughts out there to sort them out. The vehicle is high mileage, (relatively) low fuel efficiency, and in need of a serious paint job. That essentially eliminates selling it. The car is only valuable to me, and to the scrap yard. The scrap yard wouldn't pay me enough to justify getting rid of it.

I have only a lay person's knowledge about cars, so I really can't do anything to it. The most complicated thing I have ever done is change a radiator hose. I certainly managed to impress all of my friends by getting the car up and running again (I was 6 hours from home) without calling a mechanic! That being said, I will run down to Wal-Mart tomorrow for some paint swatches and see about doing a roller job.

The paint is coming off in big chunks right now. It's unfortunate because just last year, my dad and I painted this car together. Apparently the primer was bad, and the paint became dull in a matter of months, and the above pictures was the end result. Perhaps this is an opportunity to bring out the pressure washer?

[rjacob]

I miss my SECOND car, a 1967 Mustang. My first car was a piece of crap 1974 Mustang II. I don't miss that car at all.

Sell it for what you can get.

[Tango Charlie]

Originally Posted by jesse.rizzo

What's all this about keeping first cars? I totaled my first car (1990 Camry) twice. That's how you get your use out of a first car. Drive it for a bit, wreck it, and learn your lesson not to drive crazy anymore.

Some of us don't like to learn the hard way.
I've avoided many (unfortunately not ALL) pitfalls in life from observing other people's consequences.

Foolishly, I had assumed that everyones first car experience was favorable like mine. If the car is a thorn in your side (yeah, I've had those, too...), then definitely get rid of it. But the way you talk about your car, atomicradish, I'm afraid you'd really kick yourself if you scrapped it. I'm glad to hear you're gonna keep it. It sounds like the perfect car to develop your mechanical skills on, if you wanted to.

Also, some guys can buy and sell cars and actually come out ahead, but for most of us, a buy/sell cycle is just a way to lose money.

[wagonman76]

Id hang onto it. Its always good to have a backup ride. You really never know when youll need it. Plus if you keep it on insurance, the multicar effect may outweigh what it costs. Like a guy I work with who keeps his old beater Jeep CJ on PLPD, because the multicar drops the insurance on his Yukon by more than what it costs to insure the Jeep.

I really wish I still had my first car. 84 Cavalier wagon. It had some electrical problems but always ran great otherwise. I painted it bright blue and wanted to put some Z24 wheels on it. My mom made me get rid of it because she was afraid the front end would fall apart with 199k miles, but that was because she didnt know. There was no play in the steering at all. We sold it to someone my mom knew (didnt seem to concerned the front end would fall apart on her) for $300. She took it across the country and back with no problems except a flat tire.

I still do have my 2nd car though, a 90 Pontiac 6000 SE wagon. After 9 years and 255k, the rear trailing arm rusted from the floorpan. I repaired it with a dryer skin, but the car still needed a lot of work though it ran great. I built a small powered V plow for it, so for the last 4 winters it has been my snowplow car and works good. Certainly better than scrapping it.

Yes Im a fan of wagons. Ive had 3 others as well, one of which I scrapped to make room for another. My only sedan is the Celebrity.

[i_am_socket]

I do miss my first car, an '88 Tempo. It had the comfiest seats, tons of space, and beat a few early ricers too. It also had broken A/C, a dome light the didn't turn off, developed a hole in the cat that scared the crap out of me at a stop light, and was basically a money pit like my next 2 Fords.

If yours isn't a money pit, hang on to it. You never know when you might need a beater.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

Yes Im a fan of wagons. Ive had 3 others as well, one of which I scrapped to make room for another. My only sedan is the Celebrity.

A bit off topic -- a friend in college had a Mid-80's Celebrity Wagon. It had a 4-speed manual which I thought was odd. According to the story, it turns out that his Mom knew someone at the assembly plant, and had it installed as a custom item. Got to drive it once -- 2.5L -- nice ride.

Not sure if there's any truth to it, but I had only seen them in automatics...

RH77

[IndyIan]

Just by looking, the Intrepid looks pretty good aerodynamically, I've always wondered what would be possible in terms of FE with them. I assume they must glide very well so it might be worth while trying it out with some P&G and see what you get.
Do you have a specific MPG goal or just trying to save money? My neon is rated at 30mpg highway and you can see below that I smoke that just with tire pressure and techniques. Unless you drive alot you probably won't be saving money after buying something else. Especially if you can get 35mpg out of your car.
Ian

[texanidiot25]

Google around for the $70 dollar rustoleum paint job tut. There's two really good ones I found, one features a 64-ish Mustang, painted red, the other is a Corvair painted white with blue stripes.


This was painted with a roller and rustoleum paint. It's a lot of labor, but the results are better then most stock paint jobs and have been proven to last pretty long too.

[atomicradish]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

Just by looking, the Intrepid looks pretty good aerodynamically, I've always wondered what would be possible in terms of FE with them. I assume they must glide very well so it might be worth while trying it out with some P&G and see what you get.
Do you have a specific MPG goal or just trying to save money? My neon is rated at 30mpg highway and you can see below that I smoke that just with tire pressure and techniques. Unless you drive alot you probably won't be saving money after buying something else. Especially if you can get 35mpg out of your car.
Ian

The Eagle has a great cd from factory at .31. That combined with its weight gives it an extremely long coasting distance. I would like to get at least 30 mpg out of it. I don't know if that is too optimistic or not considering it is an auto.

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by atomicradish

The Eagle has a great cd from factory at .31. That combined with its weight gives it an extremely long coasting distance. I would like to get at least 30 mpg out of it. I don't know if that is too optimistic or not considering it is an auto.

Conservative driving could probably get 30mpg without trying too hard. Like I said above, in a 2nd-gen Intrepid, 28mpg at 75mph with three people and a couple hundred pounds of stuff wasn't a big deal.

This was in a 2nd gen Intrepid, mind you, with a .28 cD. Still, the early ones aren't too bad, either.