I'm sad...

[Judaeus Apella]

Well, I finally did it. I'm moving on soon to another car, so I said goodbye to my baby today. My first car, my cherry red 1995 GMC Sonoma that I've owned for 10 years. So today we donated it to the cancer society and I watched a guy raise it up by the back wheels and drag it away. It was so sad and pathetic, the way it was taken away. It even made my mother sad. She loved that truck and used to borrow it constantly every year for gardening supplies. She'd drive it around the yard, dropping things off. It was the kind of truck that would NEVER stop running no matter what was wrong with it (a mechanic's truck), which was good cause EVERYTHING was always wrong with it and it was starting to become a real drain on my bank account. So I had to move on. She had a lot of problems but at least she never let me down, and I never got stuck anywhere.

Goodbye, I'll miss you hun... we had good times... like the time we raced and won against that shiny Dodge Viper by outsmarting the driver. :-D I still remember him cussing and hitting his steering wheel.

[Shaz]

You should of just bought a decent tool set and fixed it up. Good luck making your new car last that long.

[Judaeus Apella]

I don't know the first thing about working on cars, and if I wanted to take classes... Id need something I could drive there. This thing had SO many problems, half the parts on it would have had to have been replaced. Rear drive train, air conditioning, heater, dash board, stero , stereo wiring, speakers, radiator, radiator hoses, engine wiring, head gasket, transmission starting to go, gas tank has a big dent in it, wheels are rusty, underside of entire car is rusty, tail gate needed to be entirely replaced, pasenger side had a nasty gash in it, door light switch broken, cab light broken, steering wheel was nasty, paint on most of the truck needed to be fixed up, .... too much work to bother keeping.

Besides, I WANT A FREAKIN CAR!!!

[Shaz]

The cost in materials and tools will be less than buying a car that will last you less time and be less reliable in the long term.

[Judaeus Apella]

1. When you fix a car it costs a lot all a once, money I don't have.... but monthly reasonable bills aren't a problem.
2. I said I want a car. I don't want a truck.
3. Paying for tools and materials wouldn't help me, I wouldn't know how to fix the truck....
4. I DON'T WANT A TRUCK.

Why are you making an issue out of this, don't you have something more important to think about? And besides the truck is GONE. Its probably already been auctioned to a new owner. I just hope they don't strip it.

[[XC] Lead Head]

IMO, to fix cars you need to have a natural knack for all things mechanical. You just have to "get" mechanical stuff. If you don't have that natural grease monkey gene in you, all the teaching and classtime in the world isn't going to help you.

I see this everyday in my auto class at school. When my teacher shows us something in the shop, how something fits together/works you see some kids that just stare at it blankly, while you can "see" a little light turn on in others showing that they understand what they're looking at.

[Judaeus Apella]

I actally have that gene. I started taking stuff apart and putting it together since I was a toddler. If it was mechanical, I could fix it as a teen. But you either have to know someone who works on cars to teach you or go to classes. I've been thinking about it for a while... but my fear is, aren't cars going to change in the next 10 years or so? So whats the point? Its not like that skill is going to serve me that well when I'm much older....

[[XC] Lead Head]

I had nobody show me. I just winged it. I already know much of what my auto class is teaching me.

You don't just learn how to work on one car, you keep learning as you see new stuff. You add to your knowledge. Cars will slowly evolve, they aren't going dramatically change over night. You just keep updating you knowledge with it.

[Judaeus Apella]

Oh, no I mean from gas to electric... I'm afraid the gas engine will one day go the way of the dodo.

I've done tasks like installing a new stereo. I did it perfectly. My soldering job was excellent, had to remove the entire dashboard face, I got a great deal on some good speakers... but in the end I really hated the stereo, took that back, and undid all the work. I included all the parts with the truck in the glove compartment though. I've also taken apart both doors to install new mirrors, flushed the radiator... I remember going down into the engine and fixing a small electrical problem.... did the same thing in the dash. I think it was a loose plug or something in the dash.

I guess I didn't really WANT to work on that truck cause I didn't want to keep it. I was waiting for an excuse to get rid of it. lol I really hated that truck in more ways than I loved it. I don't know what you call it... but if I was in some wet grass, the wheel with the least traction would be the one that spun and the one with the most would just sit there doing nothing, so that plus the fact that it was a pickup, meant that it spun out around corners constantly. It got to the point where I had to learn how to drive sideways. I remember drifting perfectly across 3 lanes, and this guy on the other side of the median strip gave me two thumbs up. haha

But this was definitely a mechanics truck, you have to keep a close eye on it and know what every noise means, because there was ALWAYS something wrong with it and I really do mean ALWAYS. I don't want a vehicle like that. Why would anyone who was sane?

[Dave_Sz]

you either have to know someone who works on cars to teach you or go to classes.

ummm, no.

[StickyRICE]

ummm, no.

I'm with this guy, everything I've done on the poopra has been read and try and do, and do it enough you either get it or you don't. Also you pick up a lot of neat little tricks form people.

[Judaeus Apella]

Guess what... I don't really care. If I learn about it one day I will, maybe not.

The point of this thread was that I was really sorry to see an old member of the family dragged away like that, but I see it now as a needed change for better things yet to come. It's obvious that sentiment was wasted on you guys since you only care about picking apart everything I say and point out that I'm wrong. I thought you might tell me about what happened to your first car. Anyway it was a passing sentiment, and right now all I care about is the next car I'm looking around for.

Besides, if we ever get another truck for hauling things... I'd rather have one with a larger bed. That thing was SO SMALL. We used to get ripped off at this gardening supply place. They'd fill up the back of your truck with anything you wanted for one rate, no matter the size of your pick up truck and we always got ripped off. I'd watch people drive away with double what we got for the same damn price. Or we could just buy a trailer. That's a lot cheaper than a truck.

[trance565]

can you turn a wrench?
do you know what a bolt is?
do you know what a wire is?
do you know what a pulley is?
if you answered yes to ANY of these questions, you can work on a car, go get some wrenches and get to work soldier.

anywho, a trailer would be pointless if you don't have a truck to pull it.

my first car... well i ended up getting my brother's mustang, so my integra ended up sitting out front only being driven once every week or 2 for about a year before we sold it.
mustang got totalled it was my real first car imo, i worked on it ever since middle school lol.

[StickyRICE]

Guess what... I don't really care. If I learn about it one day I will, maybe not.

The point of this thread was that I was really sorry to see an old member of the family dragged away like that, but I see it now as a needed change for better things yet to come. It's obvious that sentiment was wasted on you guys since you only care about picking apart everything I say and point out that I'm wrong. I thought you might tell me about what happened to your first car. Anyway it was a passing sentiment, and right now all I care about is the next car I'm looking around for.

Besides, if we ever get another truck for hauling things... I'd rather have one with a larger bed. That thing was SO SMALL. We used to get ripped off at this gardening supply place. They'd fill up the back of your truck with anything you wanted for one rate, no matter the size of your pick up truck and we always got ripped off. I'd watch people drive away with double what we got for the same damn price. Or we could just buy a trailer. That's a lot cheaper than a truck.

Acutally, I can relate. I had a 94 celica that was my first car and learn a lot about wrenching small time stuff of course but, the day the supra came along and I traded the celica for the supra and I felt like I lost someone important so yea I can definatly relate to what your feeling.

[Judaeus Apella]

Anyway, its not me who would be using the trailer. My mother used to trade me her SUV for the truck so she could use it for buying gardening supplies and fill up the back with dirt. I told her to just get one of those older models that are easier to maintain and use that. But she could pull a trailer with her SUV. Either would work I guess. Our neighbor's son has an old chevy truck from... I think the early 70's. He never has a problem with it. He drives over every weekend and helps her with her yard. She's really old and OCD about her lawn. There could be a nuclear bomb going off in the background, and she'd be mowing her lawn at 7am.