I killed my Mazda.

[D.O.G.]

As the title says, I finally killed Baa-17.
It developed an apparent steering issue last week, that turned out to be an intermittent differential lock-up that made turning corners very exciting.

My mechanic advises that repairs would cost more than the car is worth.

I was going to get rid of it in July anyway, but can't afford a replacement right now. So ...

Introducing my Wife's car (now mine for the next four months) RedCelica.

A '94, red, autotragic, Celica ZR.
My wife gets terrible mileage from it, I'll see if I can do any better without permanent mods.

[Gasoline Fumes]

You can't get a used transmission for the Mazda?

[jcp123]

Well, that sucks. I was convinced for a while that the trans would be what killed my Echo; it held up and I got rid of it after a busted radiator. Would have taken about $40 and an afternoon to fix, but I was over it by that time and even the wifey (who, as with your Celica, had given me the car to begin with) was saying I should rid myself of it. Apparently having been her parents' first-ever brand new car didn't hold much sentimentality for her. A new experience isn't a bad thing, anyway!

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

You can't get a used transmission for the Mazda?

This latest problem isn't so bad in itself, but it's the straw that broke the camel's back.

Baa is 20 years old, with 330,000 k on the clock, the clear coat is peeling, it has a scrape down one side, the strut tops are cracked, the windscreen is cracked and it's a repaired write-off (back when that was legal here).

If I was keeping the car, I'd consider repairing it, but I've already talked myself into upgrading in July.

[DSMHondaGuy]

Bah, quitter. Those are the best cars! Best because you don't give a **** if someone dings your door, or you scrape the paint on that limb or well you get the idea. I love cars/trucks like that that are mechanically sound but look like crap. Means I don't have to worry about "should I park way out there in the lot some some ass hat doesn't ding my car".. Nah screw that I'll fit her in this tight spot right up front!

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by DSMHondaGuy

Bah, quitter. Those are the best cars! Best because you don't give a **** if someone dings your door, or you scrape the paint on that limb or well you get the idea. I love cars/trucks like that that are mechanically sound but look like crap. Means I don't have to worry about "should I park way out there in the lot some some ass hat doesn't ding my car".. Nah screw that I'll fit her in this tight spot right up front!

Yup, that's the liberating part about beaters, something I found with my Echo. And because of what I do for a living, it turns out a beater is really what you want anyway, so I traded a beater for a beater. But I completely understand what the OP is saying, when you feel it's just time to move on to something else.

[teoman]

That is the thing i hate with new cars. When i bought a new car (corolla 1.4 diesel with the robotic transmission) every little ding and scratch makes you sad.

I cannot imagine buying a new car/suv and taking it mildly offroading (like an audi q7). That would be just terrible, havig leaves branches bushes scratch the paint. So what would be the point of such a car? None. Sure if you are that one guy that lives in a house that has a 1 mile mud track leading up to it. But besides that why would you want a showroom grade offroad capable car??? (Like a rangerover?)

Even when i had a 2003 mb ml350, I did not take it places i had imagined i would due to fear of damaging it. And its not about the availability of disposable income, its ruining something nice. So something that is not so nice to begin with is definitely the way to go

For me buying cars at the 4 year mark and using them untill 10 years old is the most sensible thing to do (as i do not have the facilities/ability to so most repairs myself.)

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by DSMHondaGuy

Bah, quitter. Those are the best cars!

I agree. I've never bought a new car and don't plan to any time soon.
I'll be upgrading to a newer second hand car, so I can keep it till it falls apart.
At this point in time, I'm thinking of a diesel Hyundai i30, but that's not set in stone.

[Assiduous]

Hi D.O.G,

Sorry to hear about the demise of your Astina. As a fellow Astina owner i've been interested in your fuel economy achievements since you popped up on AstinaGT. I noticed that your updates on fuelly stopped in 2016. Was 5.1 L/100km as good as you managed over a tank? Did getting rear ended halt your progress? Have you put the Baa-17 tank numbers up somewhere?

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Assiduous

Hi D.O.G,

Sorry to hear about the demise of your Astina. As a fellow Astina owner i've been interested in your fuel economy achievements since you popped up on AstinaGT. I noticed that your updates on fuelly stopped in 2016. Was 5.1 L/100km as good as you managed over a tank? Did getting rear ended halt your progress? Have you put the Baa-17 tank numbers up somewhere?

G'day and welcome to ecomodder.

I lost the enthusiasm for pushing myself to get good numbers for a while and stopped posting results mid 2016.
Yes, 5.11 l/100 km was Baa's best tank.

Rather than just pick up again in late 2017, I started posting fills here again under the Baa-17 name.
Same car, lots of individually minor issues that I was slowly working through before the diff problem.
Baa-17's best result was 5.54, but by then I'd stopped doing shift work, so it's numbers were never going to be as good as previous.

The BA series Mazda Astina are a great model and I seriously considered getting another one.
Light, nimble, plenty of go without being overpowered.
The only thing it lacked (mechanically) was a six speed box with a tall cruising gear.

Pete.