Selling the G? Somebody stop me!

[kheetar]

Alright here's the deal. I currently own a '96 G20. I bought it in high school when my '70 El Camino became a money pit. Currently I'm spending most of the year up here in Berkeley, while the G20 remains at home in Orange County, mostly just chilling in the garage except for the occaisional drive to work by my Dad. When I bought the car, it was love at first sight and has remained so ever since. How could you not love such a sexy little thing? The previous owner didn't put many miles on it and the odometer is still under 50K. I've been sans car up here for three semesters, and I'm realizing life sucks without a car. However, in Berkeley it sucks to be a car. If I had a nickel for how many beat down cars I've seen around here, I could afford a WRX. People up here park by ear.

Excepting a few minor scratches, the G20 is still pristine. As long as I've had its been pampered, and I'm afraid that if I bring the car up here all that effort will have gone to waste. I know no matter how careful I am with it, its gonna get fucked up, not to mention all the miles that will accumulate between here and home. So I think its best to save myself from the heartbreak and sell it(as heartbreaking as that will be). I'm thinking to purchase a car thats already beat down to bring up here and save the difference to pay off my student loans(yay) when I graduate.

Anyone have some input on what I should do? Or is anyone interested in purchasing the car from me?

More info on the car: Beige exterior, cloth interior, 5 spd., Infiniti chrome wheels, tires are pretty fresh, the only mod I've done is window tint. As is, I think the car is worth at least $10K(enough for a Mark II MR2..hehe).

[i_rebel]

don't sell it.

buy $500 dollar hoopty, and have fun beating it up . . . play chicken in the parking lot with it . . . if somebody cuts you off on the road . . . you can tap their bumper without worrying about damaging your car . . . you can try crazy tuning ideas with it . . .

- like cutting a hole in the hood for the car to "breathe" better . . .
- or taking everything out of it, to save weight . . .
- you can put stickers all over it, and call it a show car . . .



what ever you do, don't sell it.

[CEBoyd]

I had a 1990 Celica that was like that.... My neighbor hated me and kept leaving notes asking me to park the car elsewhere and not in her sight. I threatened to put stickers or jesus freek stuff on it and she shut up. I was tempted to put the American flag all over it thought to show my patriotic side... BUT alas, I sold that car and bought a 93.5 G20. I'm sure my neighbor is extremely happy now and someone else out there is unhappy about seeing a beat up old, dented, 1 headlight stuck in the up position celica out there.. LOL

[kheetar]

LOL CEBoyd I just saw a Celica just like you described on my way back from class. Beat down, faded blue paint, one headlight stuck in the up position.

Yeah I've been thinking about getting a POS I can park anywhere and not worry about, but I want something that will make the trip between here and home(a 5 hour drive) several times a year. So I'd probably have to sell the G anyways.

[primera_gte]

i doubt you'll clear 10K for your g, i've been looking at a lot in the past year.

anyway, i don't know if you really want to be driving a beater back and forth. most of the time a beater is used to get groceries or be a pack mule to work.

if you can find housing with underground parking consider taking the g to college. only take it out when you really need to go somewhere.

[CEBoyd]

Yeah, one thing about that Celica is that it wasn't pretty but it was 100% reliable, including long drives..... BUT you sat really low to the ground and with 118K on it, you sat even lower.. I like how you sit higher up in the G, and I love the visibility in the G.... I'd advise to keep the G too and see about getting an assigned space and invest in those magnets for the doors that prevent door dings... If you parallel park and are most concerned about the bumpers, then just start saving now to repaint/refinish the bumpers.. that isn't the worst possible thing to happen.. Whenever I park at a friends house in the city (Chicago neighborhoods), my bumpers almost always get scuffed... Eventually it will bug me enough to get them repainted.. and in a few years they will need it again... so be it... life happens... you gotta drive and enjoy the car and just be smart about how you park it and how you drive it when being around other cars that look pretty beat up (as in, let them pass you up or cut in front of you if they want and just suck it up and say to yourself that your car is still in great condition)

I also doubt you could get 10K for a 96, I've seen 96 G20s sell anywhere from 4K to a high of 8k with low mileage and fantastic condition... I was watching G20 sales and pricing for several months before buying my 93.5.

I hope you decide to keep it!

[kheetar]

There's actually a parking space open right now in the lot below my apartment complex. However, there's no gate so any freak off the street can come in and fuck with people's cars. In fact, the manager told me that several cars have gotten broken into since he started here. Also, it costs 70 bucks a month for the space, and theres a 90 dollar deposit(what this goes towards, I don't know, even the manager doesn't know ). And you have to pay for 6 months in advance, so I'm looking at writing a $510 check.

If money weren't an issue I'd probably go for it, but I think that's way to much to pay for a space in an ungated lot. So bottom line, I'm gonna hold out the rest of the semester, see if I can find another apartment with a gated lot, and figure out the car issue over the summer.