beaters

So for the past few years, cheapskate that I am, I’ve been buying beater cars on Craigslist and driving them into the ground. For much of 2003 and a good part of 2004 I drove a ’95 Ford Aspire that I bought for $888. All I put into it was a new tire, and it drove fine for 15 months … well, until the exhaust fell off. But hey, it was good while it lasted– great on gas, easy to park.

But after so long driving a tiny car, I was sick of it. I kinda abandoned my common sense and bought this 1989 Mitsubishi Montero on Craigslist for $700. It was soo much fun … drove it down to D.C. and a road trip through New England in August. But I did sink a little cash into it … including replacing a busted window and last month installing a new XM stereo … about a week before the thing went kerflouie. The brakes just lost all pressure; I think it was somehow related to problems with the “cv joint.” Anyway, it was just sitting there for awhile — but no more! I just sold it. The buyer’s inheriting a buncha problems (which they know about), but hey, they got a vehicle they could drive home — and I’ve got $120 cash.