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Why did I sell
the Corvette? Sort of a long story, but after 5 years and 102,000 miles (totalling
258,000), I realized that the car needed to belong to someone who wanted
to work on it. I spent $8-10,000 on it in five years, which I
suppose isn't bad. I had paid $8200 for it. However, after getting
a completely new air conditioning system, new power steering pump and
rack, lower ball joints, and a master cylinder in 2002 (about $4000
total), the heater core started leaking. A heater is not exactly a
necessity in southeast Texas, so I just bypassed it. It was then,
however, that I realized that I didn't want to spend several hours on my
back installing a $50 part, and that someone else should have it.
That's basically it. A high school senior in Magnolia, a friend of a
friend of my sons, had been wanting a Corvette for a long time. He
was in
auto shop class, and had saved enough money from his job to buy it...
where else could he get a 'Vette for $3750? I felt good about selling it
to him, and hope he'll keep me posted on his progress with it.
So what now? Well, I found a 1999
Saturn SL1, 5-speed, with only 48,000 miles, and bought it for
$5800. The Saturn is basic transportation. It has 4 doors and the
back seat is large enough for people to ride in for awhile without being
uncomfortable. It only has 100 hp, but it only weighs 2350 lbs. If it
had an automatic, it would be dreadfully slow I believe, but with the
5-speed I'm able to pass fairly easily when necessary, and the light
weight and manual shift contribute to the enjoyment of driving.
It's a car I expect to neither love nor hate. The Saturn is one of the
least expensive cars to insure, as well. My hope is that it will last me 6-7 years (120-140K
miles) with little repair expense, and about half of the gasoline usage
of the Corvette, until Adam and Jesse finish
college... then I'll be 'Vette shopping again!
Don't expect to see any web pages
devoted to the Saturn <grin>. I'll probably put up a picture or
two, though, on my main "automobiles"
page.
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