my car
My car..
It was born in 1993, to a Japanese family, the Mitsubishi’s. The car was immediately shipped to America, where Dodge renamed it, and sold it as a Dodge Colt. The early days of the car are unclear, but at the tender age of 39,923 kms, it fell in with a bad crowd, resulting in an accident that nearly took its life. It was written off, but, thankfully a veteran mechanic took this plucky car on and nursed it back to health. Bolt by bolt, screw by screw, our young Colt came back to life, more determined than ever to yet again ride the open road and feel the pavement beneath its wheels.
Enter its second owner.
It was a bright spring day and Julie was awash with hope; for today she would buy her first car. She saw many cars that day, but it was our hero who caught her eye. The car stood there, fresh paint, new shoes, and a good cleaning left this once forgotten car shining in the sun. Julie immediately saw the possibilities that this car offered. After a drive and a lot of consideration, Julie adopted the car.
Life was good for Julie and the car. The miles effortlessly fell away, as time passed and lives changed. This time would be brief, as there was a dark cloud looming in the distance, the slick talking auto mechanic who had eased his way into being a trusted member of the family was taking more and more liberties with the work being done. Parts were replaced when there was no need to do so, issues were getting misdiagnosed even after several trips, and the final straw was the car coming back from maintenance with a dent. Julie did not know what tragedies were happening behind closed garage doors. She didn’t know that parts did not need to be replaced. She simply didn’t have the ability to care for the car, and she knew it.
With a heavy heart, just before the cars 100,000 kms milestone, Julie had to admit that she could no longer care for the car, the car needed a new owner.
This is where I came in. It was the end of the dotcom boom. I sold my last car, and was going to not have a car for a while. Julie offered me the car for free, and I, having seen the car a number of times, jumped at the chance. YES. I said with no hesitation, she immediately started back-pedaling, its had troubles, it does not pass AirCare, I have put 1000’s of dollars into it she said. Bah, I said, it’s a Japanese car, it will rise again.
I took the car home and started writing my list of issues, I went over the car with a fine tooth comb. The next day I started with my list, “ok, rear view mirror held on by tape”, I removed the tape, like layers of a bandage, when it was off, it was clear that this previous “mechanic” had not noticed the screw. I undid the screw, reseated the mirror, and voila! mirror fixed. The rest of the issues were not as easy, we had some hard times, myself and Dave, my mechanic worked hard to get the car back to its prior glory. Fuel pump, water pump, brakes, transmission, clutch, every major system has either been replaced or overhauled. The car was running in tip-top shape, but still the elusive AirCare pass was unrealized.
At 150,000 kms, life was back to great for our little car. It had spend a month driving to whistler and back every day (in the winter even), it started EVERY time it was asked to, and with rising gas prices it was still less than $40 per fill. Life was good.
Crash, bang, thud, then silence.
I pulled over immediately. What had happened? I looked behind the car, and there lies a black belt, torn to shreds.Well, not the worst, thing I thought. I looked at the engine… Hmm.. no belts missing.. nothing amiss.. Was that from my car? I drove it, looking keenly at the dials.. heat, alternator, all good. What was it? After some research, it was the AC belt. Wow, I thought, the AC didn’t work anyways, so no point having a belt. The next day I had to get the car AirCare’d. When the car passed aircare, I was in shock! Does the removal of that belt really cause this car to pass aircare? Yes, it did. My car is now back to the glory days of its youth. Showing the signs of age for sure, but now a reliable car that is looking for a new owner.
Yes, my time with my car has come to an end. We have helped each other over these last 7 years. Yes, I love that little car - and I want to put him in good hands.
Details:
-211,424 KMS as of today.
-1993 Dodge/Chrystler Colt. (made by Mitsubishi)
-Major accident early on. No issues except old age since.
-Snow Tires on front. Makes it a formidable snow car. Commuted to and from whistler daily in the winter 05.(I worked at the Whistler - FIS 2005 World Snowboarding Championships, and it got to minus 20, car started every time.)
-TWO spare tires. one full tire with rim, and one “donut”.
-Passes AirCare - (read story for crazy details there)
-Dent on right side
-Driver side lock broken, so I installed an alarm with keyless entry. Problem solved.
-I lost my stereo faceplate, so you will need to get a new one.
-comes complete with fuzzy seat covers
-Items replaced in my ownership. Radiator, Clutch, Transmission, fuel-pump, alternator, thermostat, tires, brakes (complete), stereo.
-I talked to my mechanic, and he would be happy to keep doing the oil changes/maintenance. (it’s not needed anything major for years, since at least 04)