I need your help

Dijos

Dijos

Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
2,600
This thread is not exactly about a car.

Many years ago, I bought (new) a 95 Neon sport coupe. I drove the hell out of it, it lasted me through 2 or 3 apartment moves, about a dozen girlfriends, my son, a flood, a hailstorm, many drunken nights, a few scary ones. Well, a few months back, it started running worse and worse, and I took it off the road. I need to put it up and really work on it to put it back on the road.

The real issue is, I love that car. I own a much nicer car now (2 much nicer cars, actually), but I'd rather drive the neon. My wife said that this week she was going to have it towed; I told her I'd divorce her. it is getting to a point that I'm sort of sick of looking at it in its present condition, and I can use the driveway space, but I keep having dreams that I'm driving it again, and in my dreams, I'm so happy. Soooo..

Today, some kid comes by and is all up in my driveway, and my wife asks," can I help you?" and he's sheepishly," Well, I have been looking at this car for a while, and I see that you don't drive it, and I love the first generation neons, and I'd be interested in buying this car". He's got some riced-out neon already. Apparently, he's in love with my car.

Well, you'd think, problem Solved! car goes to good home, wife is happy, etc. But no, as the kid wants to use my beloved for parts. 100% original (yes, I know that it's not vintage, nice or anything, but I really like it), and to be used for parts? Ugh, breaks my heart.

And one more thing to contemplate on the tree of woe: I've given up my dreams of getting a motorcycle again, building a hot rod, and some other (somewhat silly) dreams of my youth. My wife drives a 1 year old passat, and I drive a 98 jetta. I feel like I don't want to give up one more thing that I like, and face down a life of being a polo shirt wearing, no fun having cubicle monkey (a gun that I'm staring down the barrel of right now).

Any life advice for me? I just want to know that I'm not being totally ridiculous about this. Thanks, Joe
 
Hi Joe. Sell the Neon and get a Harley, man! I know you say you love it, but it ain't like it's a vintage GTO, or something like that. Hey, there's an idea. Sell the Neon and get a GTO. :)
 
Dump the Neon ASAP, and buy a convertible. :thumbup:

I sold my beloved Lincoln Mark VIII after buying a Honda S2000. Haven't looked back!

-Bob
 
I spent three years building up a '65 Baja Bug. Rebuilt motor, new clutch, new front beam, steering gear box, wheel bearings, big oil cooler, the works. I got it with the intention of taking it out to the desert when we go camping. Well, my wife has had a neck and a back surgury in the span of two years. Camping has become a once a year affair and it's campground camping, no offroading in the Anza-Borrego. So while the car is fun, it is in no way, shape or form a good daily driver. It's bouncy, loud, cramped, cold in the winter, hot in the summer and it's a total death trap (hood, nose and fenders all fiberglass with lap belts).

So I got an old Mazda 626 to putt back and forth to work in. It isn't sexy. It has four doors. It doesn't corner like a roller skate. It can't take axle eater dips at 40mph. But it has a heater, it doesn't leak in the rain, it isn't sporting a 40 year old AM radio and it has shoulder belts. It's not as cool but it's a better car.

I agonized over what to do with the Baja. I think I'm going to part her out. This last winter the passenger side floor pan went from being a little rotten to a lot rotten. I spent three years under that car. Blood, sweat and tears went into her. But I can't keep a third car and I don't feel like taking the body off to weld in new floor pans and resealing the entire car so it doesn't happen again. So I'm saying goodbye to her.

We got my wife an '03 Civic because the diff went out in her '65 Plymouth Valiant. It was one of the few to roll out of Detroit with bucket seats, console shifter instead of the pushbutton tranny and a 273 V8 instead of the slant 6. It was a sleeper with a ton of potential. But it needed too much work. Diff, front end, body, interior. I had spent three years under one old car and was looking at three years under another. I went so far as to finding the codes for the rear end and in which cars I could take it from. But that would mean putting her up on blocks while I tore the whole back end off. Once I had a stronger rear end on there I could look forward to tearing the front end apart to replace all the bushings. The original plan was to put a pre-1972 340 in it. Smokin' small block. But I couldn't afford another project car. Hell, I can't afford one project car. So we said goodbye to her too.

As much as I know you don't want to hear this, I say sell her to the kid. Good luck, either way.

Frank

P.S. I love the "tree of woe" referrence.
 
You're not being ridiculous at all. It's like a death in the family, I know, but ... let it go for organ transplants. At least "your" car will have some life on the road. You aren't going to get this one going again and the kid will really appreciate it.

Promise yourself something for it, though. Before you sell it, decide on something you want and can get that matters to you.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
You're not being ridiculous at all. It's like a death in the family, I know, but ... let it go for organ transplants. At least "your" car will have some life on the road. You aren't going to get this one going again and the kid will really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly.

Face it dude, you ain't never gonna get that Neon roadworthy again. It's had a full life and now it's done. The only place it's going is the junk yard where it'll be parted out anyway. At least the kid will do it lovingly.

[music=Amazing Grace / Instrument=Bagpipes / Volume = low / Tempo = soulfull]

You owe your old friend a dignified end and this is it, being of service to his fellow Neons.

Right now, he's just rusting away being of no use to anyone except to your selfish sentimentality. With the kid, your car can continue a life of useful service.

[/music]
 
I had a '87 dodge charger. It did not come near earning that badge (2.0 four cylinder, front wheel drive), but I loved that car. It had seats that cradled me as if taylored, great gas milage, and would hit 120mph(eventualy). In 1997 I was looking at putting in the third $300 carb and decided I should get something new. I traded it in for a new dakota 4x4 (got next to nothing for it). I have regretted it ever since. It won't cost a dime to keep a car that is paid off and if its old and not in the best of shape, you won't get anything for selling it. Keep it around, work on it here and there, kind of a hobby maybe. I sure wish I had that old P.O.S. of mine back.
 
Chuck, that is the funniest thing I have ever seen from you.

Let her go, but give the kid a stern look that says, 'dont be a stranger when you have your project running'
 
the choice is clear, dump the neon with a maximum allowable crying time not to exceed 2 minutes, have your wife time you. then take the money and run giggling like a schoolgirl and buy yourself a scoot. I prefer harleys because i'm a masochist and have a really good set of tools, but get whatever you like and ride it. nothing fights away cubicle monkeys like a bike. oh and by the way as you get older it gets worse. later,ahgar
 
Dijos said:
...a 95 Neon sport coupe...My wife said that this week she was going to have it towed; I told her I'd divorce her...
Click to expand...
Sell the car, and buy a new wife.:D.:D.
 
dump the old Neon and Jetta and get a SRT4

i can't imagine you'd miss either one at that point

well, that or a WRX ;)
 
Dude, ( hand on shoulder, looking you square in the eyes)................
....................It's a neon.
 
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