Saying goodbye is never easy. It hurts. It’s a frame of mind that is backward-looking – one that looks far too closely at all of the energy that was expended and at the sorrow of a future that will never be. If you had asked me almost three years ago if I would be in a similar predicament to the one I found myself in during the spring of 2020, I’d have never believed it.
I’m still rescuing shitboxes. Granted, I still have my health, a little less youth, some far better wrenching skills, I still have the same house and I’m still writing about cars with David Tracy. Only now I work for him, and he has been the one lately unloading a cadre of vehicles from his abode so he could make some life changes. I still have many of the same cars as I did around three years ago as well. This is both a good thing and a bad thing.
It’s a good thing because I love them all, regardless of how poorly they treat me at times. It’s a bad thing because there is a constant drumbeat of other cool cheap cars that need rescuing showing up daily on my local searches. This is especially poignant due to the recent downturn in the used market. It’s also bad because I only have so much parking available.
Every year, more and more cars that were previously out of reach become economically feasible for each of us. That means that you’re facing a future where you’re continuously gauging whether that “newly affordable” F8 Green six-speed Dodge Challenger R/T you’ve been eyeing for the past six years is a better option than your current fleet of shitboxes.
Well, the day has arrived when I have resigned myself to selling one of my cars. And what better way to do it than to bring it to my homies here in Greater Autopia to help me decide?
Here’s the current list of pros and cons for each one. Please be gentle, these cars may not look like much, but “looking like much” may be vastly overrated.
1993 Dodge Stealth, base trim, 5-speed
This car has come a long way since we last read about it! It now has a shiny new MAACO paint job (I did all the bodywork myself, I just don’t have a paint booth) and is still running strong with 216,000 miles on the clock. That’s right: I drove this car 2,000 miles in three years. Mostly because it was sitting at the paint shop for most of COVID.
I found this car on the local (Wilmington, NC) Craigslist for $500 and was able to talk the seller down to $300. It had no 2nd gear at the time, a CEL, leaking valve covers, bad engine mounts, a beat-up interior, a bad window regulator, bad alignment/suspension components and paint that was Carolina sun-baked.
I ended up fixing all of the above—the replacement door panels are in my garage—along with a new LED 3rd brake light. I think I got one of the last ones on the internet. It’s slow and it has a ton of miles on it, but it has a five-speed manual and cold AC. These cars are very much going the way of the Spectacled Cormorant.
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Limited, 6sp
I got bitten by the Crossfire bug a couple of years ago and found the perfect (to me) version in Florida. Called out of work, rented a car, drove and picked it up that day for $3,500 (killer price). Sporty and fun with the six-speed manual trans and in probably the best shape of any car I have. It’s garage-kept and in great condition.
The issue with these cars is that there weren’t too many made and that Mercedes parts for them are going through the roof in price. In some cases, they are becoming really hard to find. For example, the SKREEM security units are not available from Chrysler dealerships any longer, nor via the aftermarket. If yours stops working, your car is a paperweight unless you ship your unit (along with your PCM and your key) to a small outfit on the West Coast to have them re-code it.
Keys are selling for $900. Used headlights are selling for $350. Windshield glass is becoming an expensive rarity. The next rock chip can spell certain doom. You can see where this is going for ownership of these cars.
Yes, the platform and running gear is all SLK320, but the body and interior have divorced parents that are estranged. There is very limited aftermarket support for this car and near zero dealership support/knowledge of them. With that said, values are slightly climbing and I’ve seen cars in worse shape than mine selling for $5,000.
This may be the last two-seater, manual transmission Chrysler, ever.
2002 Jaguar XK8
This is a weird one. The below pictures show what it looked like when I found it on Wilmington Craigslist for $300. Also, see my girlfriend’s facial expression regarding her thoughts on the matter.
“No wheels, didn’t run, cheap price” was the description. I got the guy down to $290, bought a junkyard set of wheels and tires and towed it home.
That’s when the “Jaguar ownership” side of the car started showing. “Valet Mode” was on and the car only came with a Valet Key. Valet Mode only allows the Valet Key to unlock the driver’s door and turn the ignition. The battery was dead and is located in the non-accessible-with-a-valet-key trunk.
Master Keys for the car are $1,200 at a dealership and the “tibbe” key type is not supported by most local locksmiths. That’s just one example of how seemingly needlessly, ridiculously, expensive parts can be for this car.
It took a ton of work to get the engine back to life also (see photo above). But hey, it’s now running, it’s British Racing Green with only 113,000 miles, and the AC works! I reupholstered some of the interior too.
Okay, honestly that’s about all the good there is here. It also leaks coolant, leaks oil, both seats are electronically fried in place (and require drilling to get the motors and seat frames out), the dash blower motor is shot which requires the entire dash to be removed, the top doesn’t work, there’s no radio, the headlights are leaking, the trunk is leaking, the rear shock bushings are completely gone, the paint is peeling…
I don’t want to give up on this thing after all the work I’ve done to it, but I feel like I could wrench on this car the rest of my life and still never get it right.
1994 Trans Am GT
It’s green, it has T-Tops, and yes it’s an automatic, but who cares. I bought it with a blown motor and threw a junkyard LT1 in it. Not an easy task, as it must go in from the bottom.
That motor turned out to be bad, so I had to throw a third engine in it. Interestingly enough, junkyard LT1s aren’t as easy to find as you think these days. I also deleted the rear Batmobile-type spoiler (way too flashy for my tastes).
I’ve lusted after this exact car in this exact color since I was a teenager, so it’s a bit of an early-years bucket list item, regardless of how many times GM’s cheapassery of that era boils my blood.
1994 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible
Dude. It’s gnarly. It’s rad-era teal and it’s a convertible.
I picked this one up for $200 in rough shape. It had rained in the car for years, so I replaced the busted, swampy interior and tuned up the suspension and drivetrain (plugs, wires, O2 sensor, tie rods, trans fluid/filter, etc.)
It’s now weeping coolant from the water pump and she smokes badly from worm valve stem seals, which is endemic to these Mitsu 3.0-liter engines. The top leaked and the radio had been recently stolen. It was a $20 junkyard unit. And no, I don’t understand meth-head logic either.
It’s currently under the knife getting a remanufactured rack & pinion since the OEM unit just started leaking all over my driveway recently. Interestingly enough, body parts are getting harder to find on these as they’re starting to disappear from this earth.
Example: the front turn lenses in the 1990+ models are just about unobtanium in non-cracked condition. They were made from cheap plastic that cracked in the sun. You can see this in the below picture.
I think I have one of only two in Wilmington.
1997 Dodge Ram
I love it, but I rarely use it. And I’ll be candid here and say it’s the one I’m leaning toward parting with the most.
I bought it for $600 with a blown trans and a cracked dash. Both were fixed and now it mostly sits in my driveway. It was super useful hauling engines for the Trans Am last summer, but as David showed us this week, renting a new-ish one from U-Haul is only $20.
This is a tough one because it’s one of the more utilitarian, valuable and useful vehicles I have and I feel like it’s a big pile of money sitting on 4 wheels in my driveway. I love it, but it’s not passionate love. More of a friends-with-benefits type of deal.
2004 Dodge Durango SLT
David loves the design of this truck, especially the headlights. Bought it for $400 with 225,000 miles on it and it has been a trusty tow vehicle for the fleet for the past six years. I used it to grab both my current Trans Am and previous Firebird Formula (both from Virginia) and tow them each back at 75 mph down I-95 with the AC on without breaking a sweat.
I replaced the usual wear items (rotors, compressor, fan clutch) but it’s been remarkably solid for a truck that was on its way to the crusher when I got it (for the bad compressor and high miles).
She’s up to 245,000 miles now and has never let me down once in six years. This one’s a keeper.
2013 Chrysler 300S
This car was gifted to me by The World’s Coolest Uncle, Jim Toukatly. He bought himself a new Model X and decided to gift me his old 300 as long as it “stays in the family.”
His father, my grandfather, insured Utica Chrysler Plymouth after the war, so everyone in my family drove Mopar starting in the ’60s since that company helped put food on the table. This is the background of my Mopar leanings.
This car will be given to my 7-year-old old nephew in nine years, so it’s going to stay. Plus, Mark Tucker also ended up with a badass 300 recently, so it’s pretty cool that 2 writers here have slightly different flavors of the same car. A future comparo write-up of his Varvatos V8 and my 300C V6 is upcoming if David approves/allows/is in a good mood that day.
Plus, it’s brown!
1993 Chrysler New Yorker “Salon”
Velour, grandma’s couch/living room on wheels, fake gold, fake chrome, fake wood… what’s there not to like?! I rescued this car from a back alley in a bad part of town for $500 last summer and brought it back to life after it was facing certain death-by-crusher.
I’m really glad that I did, as I get more compliments on this car than any other. Especially from younger Millennials and Gens Y & Z / These Kids Today With Their Devil Worshiping Rock & Roll Music. I think it’s weird too.
The dash is apart now while trying to fix a broken speedometer. If I can’t fix it (the part is unobtanium), I may just use a speedo app on my phone going forward.
This style of car is now extinct. I have one of the remaining examples.
2003 Dodge Stratus Coupe SXT
I bought this one in 2015 for $225 from a woman in Nashville, TN. Her daughter had just been in a front-end collision and had broken the radiator, but continued driving until the head gasket blew and the head warped. I filled it with water, limped it home and repaired it in my then-apartment parking lot. I also popped some sweet-ass hood pins in the mangled hood to keep it down.
I wrote my second piece ever here at The Autopian on this car; you can check it out here. It was the sophomore effort that kept me from becoming a one-hit wonder here, and I’m wicked glad it went over as well as it did with y’all.
The car was originally from Kentucky and has some nasty rust on the rockers and left quarter that serve as a badge of honor here in rust-free Coastal Carolina. I put a leather interior in it from a junked Sebring Coupe (see mismatched dash color), and that’s about it. It’s currently my daily. Under $1k invested has yielded eight years (!) of faithful service from this great little Mitsubishi-made machine.
1995 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, supercharged
You may have read about this recent purchase here, as it was brought about to smite that fancy-pants Publisher, Matthew B. Hardigree, and his new BMW. Yes, I know it looks like Shrek has been using it as a hovel in his post-fame years and that it also doesn’t do things like move under its own power or smell very nice. It’s also a health hazard, as it’s filled with mold and is also carrying a tank of bad corn-gas and what also seems to be a bad starter.
Okay, when I write it all out like that, it seems pretty much like a shoo-in for the one to get rid of out of everything listed here, but you would be underestimating my intense desire to win this upcoming pseudo-gauntlet I threw down at Matt and his BMW. Plus who doesn’t love a supercharged, green car that is the moldiest, grossest underdog on the planet?
A rebuild series (similar to David’s project Cactus) is envisioned here because writing about this type of car and scenario is so much more fun than writing about one on the opposite end of the spectrum, which would be: “I bought a tan ‘98 Camry with tan interior. There was nothing wrong with it so I put gas in it and drove it. Meh. The End.”
See what I mean?
2004 Chrysler Sebring Convertible
This is my 12th Sebring and also my most recent purchase. The last ICE drophead Grand Tourer from America’s #3 automaker, ever. They’re dirt cheap to buy, cheap to fix, cheap to run, very pretty and a very bold choice in my book.
This one was $600 and just needs a new battery and a trans service (ATF+4 only). Find another better, running $600 convertible. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Yes, I know that my fervent defense of the Sebring Convertible places me in the minority around here, but I will stand firm on my beliefs and what I hold to be an open mind to all cars. Always see the best that there is to see. Always focus on positivity. Focus your Center. Balance your chi.
Now exhale slowly and say it with me: Seeeeebring.
Time To Choose
I know I may have a problem with owning too many cars, but hey, at least I’m passionate about something, right? Even if that something is a quiver of shitboxes. Also, have you counted up Mercedes’ fleet?
There’s also a sweet-ass Nitro R/T for $800 that I have been making moves upon that may also appear in my driveway in a couple of weeks. Who doesn’t love a Nitro? Oh, wait, what’s that? Most of car culture? Hogwash. Those trucks are gorgeous. How am I one of the few and the proud that think so?
Regardless, the herd must be reduced. Let’s hear which you would choose in the comments below, as I could use help from a rad and informed readership.
We don’t have a “thumbs down” button yet, but it’ll definitely be -1pt from me for anyone that responds with something along the lines of “they all suck!” The factory warranty expired long ago on most of them and they are still alive due to the love and care of passionate owners like The Collective We.
Thanks for your help, my Autopian friends!
All photos by Stephen Walter Gossin
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
I might be getting a thumbs down 🙂
Keep the :
Stealth – for fun
The 300 C – for the nephiew
The Durango- for towing
The Buick- ’cause I like to read.
Sell all the others, and buy a ton of different motorcycles
You have too much overlap and probably don’t even have enough time to move cars around to take them out and use them. Pick one from each category.
DD – *300, stratus, new Yorker
Drop top – *lebaron, Sebring
Fun car – firebird, crossfire, *stealth
Hauler – Durango, *ram
Project – jag, *buick
I’m surprised that you’ve suggested keeping either the Jag & Buick as a viable option.
Agreed that they do have a patterned overlap when categorized as above.
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Keep: Stealth, Park Avenue, Stratus, 300S, Durango, Sebring
Sell: New Yorker, Ram, Lebaron, Trans Am, Jaguar, Crossfire
Very surprised to see a Sebring beat a Crossfire in the above!
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Get rid of the nasty, moldy Buick! It’s awesome that you’ve saved these & will save more. My favorites are the Ram, Stealth & 300
Thank you for the kind words, Tim!
The Buick admittedly the roughest of the bunch, but also the best story material. The same can be said for crazy exs.
Cheers!
The Sebring convertible is a keeper because convertible adventures are so so so much better when you have a convertible whose value is not a consideration in the spontaneous “probably a bad idea but the memories and stories might be worth it and I’m not getting any younger” decision process. Btw coast to coast in a convertible with the top down eve if it rains in the summer is great, I recommend I70 in July.
The New Yorker interior is something we will never see again. Not as cool as a Citroen, but still.
I think the rest of it is worth more as whatever cash you can recover and spend on other cars than as driving around things.
Oh and keep one of the trucks. If you collect broken cars you need a truck.
Glad to see Hugh gets the New Yorker “rolling couch” ethos! Every day there will be less of them in this world and more are not being made.
Thanks for reading and for the comment – cheers!
Keep the Crossfire and the girlfriend. They’re quality, interesting, and in good condition. Lose everything else.
I showed this comment to her and her response was:
“Love that person!”
Is it a bad sign that I read this article then thought to myself ‘I should see what’s on Marketplace for under $500 right now’?
That’s the spirit!
Keep the Stealth, it is the coolest of the bunch.
Keep the Durango. With towing capacity, this is your truck.
Keep the 300 until the fam wants it back.
Keep the New Yorker just because.
Sell the rest. Start working on flipping cars.
This is one of the few responses where the New Yorker beat both the Crossfire and the Trans Am.
Weird certainly is good.
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Also, is that “look” Blue Steel or LeTigre? I can never keep them straight.
‘Twas more of a moment of pensive thought on how my buddy Mark was doing with a 2WD truck in the snow, out West.
Glad you made it through the Snowpocalypse, my friend!
My truck is 4WD. It’s my wife’s silly California-spec luxury SUV that can’t handle the snow. Big Green is a beast in the snow.
Well you asked for it.
Stealth – An interesting vehicle, but it’s a base model and while a stick, you can have more fun in something else.
Crossfire – Nicely sorted and a good example, but does it excite you to drive it, something you look forward to? Maybe, but unless you want to keep it as a “museum piece,” sell it while it’s got value.
Jag – Too far gone and the end result of restoration will not equal what you might get for it.
Trans-AM – Not worth the time and frankly they were pretty junky when they came out, don’t hate me.
LeBaron or Sebring (convertibles) – I’ve owned both and while the teal is pretty cool, the Sebring is the one to hold, get rid of the LeBaron, way more to be wrong or fail than the Sebring, but keep a convertible, always nice to have.
Durango or Ram – Keep one but not both. Determine what fits your hauling needs and ditch the other.
300 or New Yorker – Same as above. The 300 is better and the New Yorker just hasn’t aged well.
Stratus – You’ll have either the 300 or the New Yorker, let the little sedan go.
Park Avenue – It’s the project car, of course keep it!
That cuts you down to six, rid of duplicate styles and vehicles not worth the effort. But what do I know, I’ve never owned more than four at a time.
I knew you had a lot of cars, Mr. Gossin, but seeing them all in one place … woof.
I’ll start with a big vote FOR keeping the Park Ave. It’s got underdog (and upper respiratory disease) written all over it. Very excited about the content to come.
From there: sell the Ram, the Crossfire, the LeBaron (paint the Sebring teal blue), and the Jag, and it looks as though you may already have a buyer for the Stealth. Keep the rest, though you might throw the New Yorker on FB just for grins.
1) Was the “woof” that necessary?!
2) Interesting call on the teal for the Sebring, although I’m not sure the general design language of that car would wear it well.
3) Internet guys talk a big game, but rarely back it up; the Stealth is certainly still for sale.
Thanks for reading and for the comment – cheers!
I’ll preface this with the fact that my comments will be a mishmash of logic and my own odd biases.
Keep the Stealth. It’s in nice shape, it runs well. It’s rare, but not super desirable, so the value is low-ish for resale, but it’d be damn cool to drive around in.
Sell the Crossfire. It has value now, and it’ll be a money pit soon.
Sell the Jag. It’s a money pit NOW. And it’ll never be right.
Sell the Trans-Am. GM Cheapassery at it’s finest, but because it’s a T/A it has some value. Let someone else deal with it.
Keep the LeBaron. This is my bias showing. I have a strange love for late 80’s/early 90’s Chryslers, likely because my Grandparents had a silver and chrome (with the chrome luggage rack thing) 1991 Dodge Spirit that I have fond memories of – they kept it in IMMACULATE condition, even as it exceeded 300000km and was their main vehicle until 2006.
Keep 1 of the Ram or Durango. I would sell the Durango, but that’s because I’ve literally never seen one in the last 10 years that wasn’t a horrible rust-bucket being driven by the worst example of a drunk-driving redneck. And that Ram is downright pretty inside for a 97, while the stink of Daimler cost-cutting stains that Durango.
Keep the 300S, because you have to. I’m no big fan, but that’s another weird bias talking. Early-teens me thought the early 2000’s 300s were ugly and way less classy looking than the 2002 Sebring my family had, which despite having a neglected 2.7 ran for over 300000km before dying.
Keep the New Yorker. See Lebaron comments.
I’m neutral on the Stratus. I think the coupe looks worse than the sedans of the era. And the leather looks rough. But a reliable vehicle has value.
Keep the Buick, if you do the articles. I do love me some 3800 series content. And that’s not just because I owned both a ’98 and ’02 Regal.
Keep the Sebring. Admittedly, it’s nostalgia for the 2002 Sebring sedan my parents had, and 2004 I had a few years later. I just like ’em.
Sell the ram. Donate the jag to some poor soul who needs it’s parts. Sell the crossfire, no time like the present. Keep the Sebring and the t/a! Stealth and stratus can both go as well.
That should pare things down and leave room for new finds.
Stephen, sell them all and purchase a junkyard so you can continuously cream your pants while having a huge supply of crap cars to work on. It shouldn’t be difficult to find a bone yard full of crappy Chrysler products.
So what I’m hearing here is that you ARE a huge ’91 Plymouth Acclaim fan?
I currently have 8 cars…. I have had as many as 14, and burned through more than 50 over the years. While your ideas may vary, my choices with this fleet would be pretty straightforward:
Keep the Stealth, 300s, Crossfire and Durango.
Maybe keep the Trans Am GT, New Yorker, and Ram
Ditch the others.
I love love love Jaguars, and 2002 is a good year, but you can get an excellent example of that model for a fraction of the time & money you will put into that one just to make it useable.
I like to think of myself as a car market bottom feeder, but finding my yard filled with 7 dead Mercedes sedans taught me that it is worth buying somewhat decent examples – in particular, any car you can get in good condition cheap is not worth buying in bad condition. For 3K you could have started with decent example of the New Yorker to tool around in, and saved your time and money for a cars where the time and money can have a real impact. I also recommend getting a van. I have 2, an MPV that acts as my utilitarian people & stuff mover, and a full size Chevy that is used for towing and storing lumber and other materials, clearing up garage space for tools and parts.
Check your tip line
There are a few. I have the same name of FB as I do here, if Gotham is in trouble and Commissioner Gordon needs to reach me.
Cheers, Dave!
Holy hell almost all of these are absolute garbage. Get rid of the Lebaron, New Yorker, Stealth, Stratus (yes), Sebring, Buick, Jag, Crapfire, at the very least.
You realize you’re reading The Autopian, right?
Shitboxes are what we do here.
Thanks for reading!
Maybe but he’s right, many of these cars are just shit and fuck it, life’s too short to collect worn out shit cars.
“You can’t choose what you love.” -wisdom
The Jaguar is an easy thumbs down, too much work needed and probably sellable as a parts car. Oddly I would sell the Crossfire now because it’s worth good money but parts availability is a time bomb. Also ditch anything in the fleet that does not spark joy, including the pickup. Multiple spaces is more room to work on projects and space for the next cool thing
Excellent call on the “spark joy” piece of the equation.
Using that as a metric, I would say that the Ram would probably be the one on this list that sparks “meh”. Decisions, decisions.
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Uhhh jeez man I have eccentric tastes, but I would sell almost all of this. It sucks because none of it is worth much, despite how much effort you put into it. I would cut your losses now, and sell all of it except the 300C since you can’t sell it, the stratus since it’s already sorted, and the ram truck. And then I’d use that money for a replacement truck/van/suv tow vehicle that will MAINTAIN VALUE, and buy that, sell the ram.
You seem to have fallen into a similar trap to DT; it’s fine having projects, but they need to be financially viable, or at least break even. The crossfire might be the only one to go up in the future, so maybe consider keeping it as a sunday driver, it’s in nice shape too.
Also, yeah, fuck that buick, that was a stupid purchase. Pay someone to crush it and get it on video. Light it on fire first.
And this from the guy with an old, pre-Ford-electrics Jag XJ…wow. 😉
I’m not really here with these cars for the money; it’s a passion play. I have a job for money.
The Buick is on deck for a fun, gross rebuild series, which will be much more fun than your above burn/crush idea.
I actually prefer cars that aren’t worth much. I believe taking the monetary aspect out of the equation lets you just enjoy and have fun with the machine for what it is, where it is.
Thanks for reading and for the comment, my dude!
And then I’d use that money for a replacement truck/van/suv tow vehicle that will MAINTAIN VALUE, and buy that, sell the ram.
You seem to have fallen into a similar trap to DT; it’s fine having projects, but they need to be financially viable, or at least break even.
Counterpoint: Most of David’s projects have returned some surprising amounts of money. The base model Holy Grail ZJ, for example, he bought for $3,000, fitted with cheap junkyard parts, then sold for just under $10,000. He paid basically nothing for the allegedly stolen Jeep FC then turned around and made bank on that, too. And I mean he did literally nothing with that Jeep but let it sit in his yard with a seized engine. lol Somehow his Midas touch turns old Jeeps into piles of cash.
I rarely lose money, too. Even when I bought a Frankenstein monster of a Phaeton with dead everything I was still able to break even. Besides, when you work for a site like this, even money-losing projects are viable because you can write about them!
Most of us don’t mess around with old cars for the money. I don’t care if I lose money on a car, I just care if it makes me smile.
That’s only because of his fanbase. Give me the same jeep and I wouldn’t be able to get half for it.
No poll? You need a poll attached to this.
Dammit, that would’ve been a great idea.
Things are always 20/20 in the rear-view mirror.
Thanks for reading and for the above!
1-800-PickNPull
…because junking running cars isn’t wasteful?
2.2l TurboII was a one year thing in the lebaron, 1989. These are a never crush car
92 was a 2.5l “high torque” TI.
Anything 93+ should be scrapped. V6 only, mostly auto with a handful of 543 5spds.
You fail to adequately define the mission and motives so many solutions exist. Pick which solution you like best.
1. Where does the car hating girl friend park? You dont have time for 2 jobs, all these cars and a girlfriend. Tata 1 space just opened up.
2. I like quite a few of these but you claim you rescued them because the used car market is limited? Well put these up and sell what you can. Also buy more. These are just a DT mess 5 years earlier.
3. 2 trucks 1 with a cap. Which suits you better? You need at least one. Sure a Uhaul for $20 a day, plus tax, plus mileage, plus gas to get to return and run, plus non availability, plus this many shit cars. Needing one once a year rent.need one weekly you need to own ONE.
4. PARTS if you cant get them fix it as best you can and sell all that dont have parts available. Yes all.
5. That POS Trans Am. They all suck and your model is the ugliest of ducklings. Anything thats comes with T&A in the name should be way better. And if it didnt suck wouldnt GM be rereleasing something totally different but under that name?
6. Remember 3D printing the Lebaron lens or any plastic part is soon to be cheap. I would prefer a woodgrain convertible to Teal. But you poors and your Budweiser and feetball.
Take your pick I could have gone on. But for the future offer advice, let people bring their cars to you. Teach them to fix them to provide an everwidening Autopian Universe. Fix a mans car he drives it today, teach him how to fix it he drives forever. But dont teach women I have a hard enough time impressing them with car repair and spider killing skills i dont need them having 1 less reason to talk to me. LOL
At a minimum, sell the Ram and the Crossfire. You be able to get some decent money for those.
Part-out the Jag. As others have said, it is just too far gone.
Sounds like you not really getting much from the Stealth, so, Elsa, “Let it go!!!”
Any true Autopian loves a series of wrenching nightmares with a self-imposed deadline. So keep the Park Avenue if for no other reason than to have plenty of fodder for articles. Just set a date for getting it done to keep you motivated. From your article on buying that car, I seem to remember being surprised at the prices of new ones. Get it running and then flip it.
Ditch the T/A and keep an eye out for a manual one (or Camaro).
That should give you enough time, money, and space to feed your compulsive behavior, and then write about it for our enjoyment.
Dump the truck as you have no reason to keep it with a Durango and the $20 Uhaul.
Dump the LeBaron, it’s not valuable, hard to source parts and easy to replace.
Keep the 300, family is important. Keep the Stealth, they are just cool. Keep the Durango, there aren’t many vehicles that can haul like one and still be comfortable.
I don’t envy the choices you have to make. Do what feels right and move on, I miss a few of the cars I owned in the past, but the past is gone.
1) Agreed on the truck comment.
2) I would counter that the LeBaron actually is difficult to replace, as there are not too many for sale these days. Replacing it with something like a Sebring, yes, but with another teal LeBaron, no.
3) “Family.” -Vin Diesel
4) thank you for the kind sentiment and for reading – cheers!
Get rid of the Jag. I’d part out the LeBaron as well.
The LeBaron runs fine and will have a new rack & pinion this weekend.
It’s one of the last ones around in my area. Why part it out?