nick09
(Banned)
- 6,169
- NY
- nlck09
Before I post about my current car, I'll post my first car that I've owned, which was a 2001 Ford Escort with the 2.0L i4 engine. I've never taken any photos of my car since I hated it with a passion. Bought from the son of an elderly man, it was not driven much(most likely only for food and medication for what ails an old man), so it only had 52K miles on it. My dad bought it for $2.1K despite problems with some semi-locked brakes(which was fixed easily), the old man crashed the right rear side into the left side of the house(replaced with a part in a different color), and came with three bad tires and a spare used as an everyday tire.
During normal use I hated the interior, AC that could not keep you warm in the Winter time or cool in the Summer time, the underpowered domestic 2.0L i4 engine(108hp is a lot for an old sedan but this was 2010 not 2001 and it was boring), bad mid-tone paper cone speakers, small amount of room for my 6' 2" frame and my knees were constantly making contact with the steering wheel while the seat was adjusted in the furthest position, seat was bad for my lower back during normal driving and I felt like being stabbed in the lower back every time I went over a speed bump due to the stiff suspension which seemed like as if it was mounted directly to the seats!
But that is not all of it, there is much more to it. The steering wheel felt as if it was mounted right next to the engine block and I've felt vibrations from the steering wheel. Through a few thousand miles I SAW my steering wheel shake along with the glove box cover shaking and the upper part of the passenger seat was shaking making annoying sounds whenever the engine was on. By now I've installed decent speakers and a headunit with an option to make two RCA inputs into an AUX IN for my ipod. That was the only thing I liked about driving in my car and what kept me from going mad.
Go to the future of 62K miles and my car has stalled me and my friend just outside of the area I drove out in the late and warm months of winter. The thing was dead and it would not turn over. I got some help from another person and they said it's gotta be the rockers. Got the car towed to my house and looked at the engine with my dad and we checked the rockers, they were perfectly fine and the problem was something deeper inside the engine. My dad had the idea to rev the engine and I honestly stood back and feared for my life when I heard the noise the engine was making(metallic grinding pretty much) and died with a loud bang and smoke coming out of the engine. Got the info from the regular mechanic for the family's cars that it was the forth cylinder that that had it's valve fall down after the seat getting crushed from high temperatures, piston head snapped in half when the car was revved by my dad, and the piston rod punched a hole in the cylinder. I decided with my dad that we would give the car to our mechanic as the pay for checking the engine and did a 2 week hunt for a good car(I was lucky that it died towards the end of my college quarter).
This brings in my 2003 Chevy Malibu into the picture. My dad purchased it for $4.2K with 82K miles. Engine is extremely smooth compared to the escort, had 68 extra horses in the 170hp 3.1L V6 engine, and drives nicely on the highway. Interior is better, sound system rocks for the vehicle's age and is easy to control while driving. Seats are also better and my back has never felt this good in a car. The transmission is a 4-speed AT but is better designed for city and highway use than the escort and shifts better than shoving in a gear like the escort did when it needed to move to a different gear. The brakes actually work well and gives me a lot more confidence into my driving and I love driving now. Overall it rules over the escort with an iron fist of metal.
Here's a few pics of my current car:
And yes it does have a foot operated handbrake and next to the left of the wheel it has a hidden cupholder which is an awesome feature and my friend said "What!? There's a cupholder there!? Awesome!" when he saw me pull it out. One massive plus is that it actually has a tachometer so it's fun to see how it moves.
Now for the current bad news. There is something wrong with the brakes because the left front tire is covered in red brake dust(even the sidwall of the tire) while the right front hubcap is only covered in regular brake dust and the wheel itself is not covered in brake dust. My dad plans on driving the car on the weekend to see how the brakes sound. Hopefully this is not a massive problem as the brushing for the left front wheel makes a loud sound every time I encounter a bump or dip(it's been this way since purchase of the car).
During normal use I hated the interior, AC that could not keep you warm in the Winter time or cool in the Summer time, the underpowered domestic 2.0L i4 engine(108hp is a lot for an old sedan but this was 2010 not 2001 and it was boring), bad mid-tone paper cone speakers, small amount of room for my 6' 2" frame and my knees were constantly making contact with the steering wheel while the seat was adjusted in the furthest position, seat was bad for my lower back during normal driving and I felt like being stabbed in the lower back every time I went over a speed bump due to the stiff suspension which seemed like as if it was mounted directly to the seats!
But that is not all of it, there is much more to it. The steering wheel felt as if it was mounted right next to the engine block and I've felt vibrations from the steering wheel. Through a few thousand miles I SAW my steering wheel shake along with the glove box cover shaking and the upper part of the passenger seat was shaking making annoying sounds whenever the engine was on. By now I've installed decent speakers and a headunit with an option to make two RCA inputs into an AUX IN for my ipod. That was the only thing I liked about driving in my car and what kept me from going mad.
Go to the future of 62K miles and my car has stalled me and my friend just outside of the area I drove out in the late and warm months of winter. The thing was dead and it would not turn over. I got some help from another person and they said it's gotta be the rockers. Got the car towed to my house and looked at the engine with my dad and we checked the rockers, they were perfectly fine and the problem was something deeper inside the engine. My dad had the idea to rev the engine and I honestly stood back and feared for my life when I heard the noise the engine was making(metallic grinding pretty much) and died with a loud bang and smoke coming out of the engine. Got the info from the regular mechanic for the family's cars that it was the forth cylinder that that had it's valve fall down after the seat getting crushed from high temperatures, piston head snapped in half when the car was revved by my dad, and the piston rod punched a hole in the cylinder. I decided with my dad that we would give the car to our mechanic as the pay for checking the engine and did a 2 week hunt for a good car(I was lucky that it died towards the end of my college quarter).
This brings in my 2003 Chevy Malibu into the picture. My dad purchased it for $4.2K with 82K miles. Engine is extremely smooth compared to the escort, had 68 extra horses in the 170hp 3.1L V6 engine, and drives nicely on the highway. Interior is better, sound system rocks for the vehicle's age and is easy to control while driving. Seats are also better and my back has never felt this good in a car. The transmission is a 4-speed AT but is better designed for city and highway use than the escort and shifts better than shoving in a gear like the escort did when it needed to move to a different gear. The brakes actually work well and gives me a lot more confidence into my driving and I love driving now. Overall it rules over the escort with an iron fist of metal.
Here's a few pics of my current car:
And yes it does have a foot operated handbrake and next to the left of the wheel it has a hidden cupholder which is an awesome feature and my friend said "What!? There's a cupholder there!? Awesome!" when he saw me pull it out. One massive plus is that it actually has a tachometer so it's fun to see how it moves.
Now for the current bad news. There is something wrong with the brakes because the left front tire is covered in red brake dust(even the sidwall of the tire) while the right front hubcap is only covered in regular brake dust and the wheel itself is not covered in brake dust. My dad plans on driving the car on the weekend to see how the brakes sound. Hopefully this is not a massive problem as the brushing for the left front wheel makes a loud sound every time I encounter a bump or dip(it's been this way since purchase of the car).
