HHR SS Story
02-04-2011, 07:23 AM
#42
Senior Member
Join Date: 02-17-2010
Location: Stow, Ohio
Posts: 161
No offense, but this is exactly why a new, teenaged driver shouldn't get a nice car for his or her first ride, especially if he isn't the one footing the bill. I speak from experience on this one...as a 17-year-old driver back in 1987, I thought I was invincible, especially once I got behind the wheel, and could do anything I wanted. I got into four accidents over my first two years of driving, and every single one of them was my fault. I look back on that and thank all my lucky stars that two of them involved only my car, and that no one was hurt due to my immaturity and stupidity.
My first two cars were a 1978 Monte Carlo, and a 1976 Cutlass Supreme...my parents, rightly so, made me pitch in for both. They had rust and were eyesores. They wouldn't have dreamt of helping me to buy something better, and in hindsight I can fully understand why. I couldn't afford my first brand-new car until I was 28 (a 1998 New Beetle), and I was so excited to have it that I took meticulous care of it, and have done the same with every new car I've purchased since.
I just don't see how a 16-year-old can appreciate something like a new (or very nice used) car, appreciate the work and $$$ that goes into getting it. I know I sure didn't. Honestly, if you had saved up the green to pay for that HHR yourself, would you have been so quick to take it onto a field? And in a sad way you wound up getting REWARDED for that, with an even better ride.
Not trying to paint all teenagers with the same brush here...this is just something I feel strongly about. Starting off with a P.O.S. (or, in some cases, several P.O.S) makes you appreciate your first newer car that much more when you finally get it.
My first two cars were a 1978 Monte Carlo, and a 1976 Cutlass Supreme...my parents, rightly so, made me pitch in for both. They had rust and were eyesores. They wouldn't have dreamt of helping me to buy something better, and in hindsight I can fully understand why. I couldn't afford my first brand-new car until I was 28 (a 1998 New Beetle), and I was so excited to have it that I took meticulous care of it, and have done the same with every new car I've purchased since.
I just don't see how a 16-year-old can appreciate something like a new (or very nice used) car, appreciate the work and $$$ that goes into getting it. I know I sure didn't. Honestly, if you had saved up the green to pay for that HHR yourself, would you have been so quick to take it onto a field? And in a sad way you wound up getting REWARDED for that, with an even better ride.
Not trying to paint all teenagers with the same brush here...this is just something I feel strongly about. Starting off with a P.O.S. (or, in some cases, several P.O.S) makes you appreciate your first newer car that much more when you finally get it.
02-04-2011, 02:24 PM
#43
Senior Member
Join Date: 07-05-2009
Location: High Bridge
Posts: 388
It's funny how things have changed...in 2011, if you want to buy a decent ride for your kid at a fair price, you can find nice used 1996 models (15 years old) that have held up well, and aren't painful to look at, provided they were well cared for. Some of them don't even look all that dated.
Back in '87, it was a different story...cars that were 10 years old looked it and then some. Body rust, faded paintjobs, sagging interior ceilings and worn-out upholstery...most cars from the 70s and early 80s did not hold up well at all...especially the American models. Cars aged so much faster back then.
02-04-2011, 02:54 PM
#44
Senior Member
Join Date: 02-17-2010
Location: Stow, Ohio
Posts: 161
That's cool...I wasn't attacking YOU personally so much, and I'm glad you didn't take it that way. It's obvious from your other posts that you're a true enthusiast, and it sounds like you learned from your mistake with HHR #1.
It's funny how things have changed...in 2011, if you want to buy a decent ride for your kid at a fair price, you can find nice used 1996 models (15 years old) that have held up well, and aren't painful to look at, provided they were well cared for. Some of them don't even look all that dated.
Back in '87, it was a different story...cars that were 10 years old looked it and then some. Body rust, faded paintjobs, sagging interior ceilings and worn-out upholstery...most cars from the 70s and early 80s did not hold up well at all...especially the American models. Cars aged so much faster back then.
It's funny how things have changed...in 2011, if you want to buy a decent ride for your kid at a fair price, you can find nice used 1996 models (15 years old) that have held up well, and aren't painful to look at, provided they were well cared for. Some of them don't even look all that dated.
Back in '87, it was a different story...cars that were 10 years old looked it and then some. Body rust, faded paintjobs, sagging interior ceilings and worn-out upholstery...most cars from the 70s and early 80s did not hold up well at all...especially the American models. Cars aged so much faster back then.
02-05-2011, 10:42 AM
#45
New Member
Join Date: 04-11-2010
Location: Northport, NY
Posts: 9
My HHR SS story...
5 years to rust through? I remember my first car--a new 1967 MGB. My old man bought it for me because I managed to wangle an ROTC scholarship to college. That car rusted out in about 5 minutes! So much for not building them like they used to!
RE my HHR SS: I was intensely interested in when they would first appear on Long Island. Kept bugging my dealer until, in late January 08, the big day arrived. Beautiful red with black interior, but turned out they had ordered an auto trans model--not what I had in mind! Since I needed to drive the 5 speed before I'd ever consider buying one, my local dealer was nice enough to point me to one at another dealership 2 1/2 hours up the road. You know how that goes--I went, I saw, I bought that next week. Didn't intend to and didn't really want to purchase that far away from home--but with the $1K rebate, my GM credit card points and some haggling, I guess I got a good deal!
Never did get to use the seller's free lifetime Mobil 1 oil change bonus though...that dealer (as well as my local one) are now out of business.
RE my HHR SS: I was intensely interested in when they would first appear on Long Island. Kept bugging my dealer until, in late January 08, the big day arrived. Beautiful red with black interior, but turned out they had ordered an auto trans model--not what I had in mind! Since I needed to drive the 5 speed before I'd ever consider buying one, my local dealer was nice enough to point me to one at another dealership 2 1/2 hours up the road. You know how that goes--I went, I saw, I bought that next week. Didn't intend to and didn't really want to purchase that far away from home--but with the $1K rebate, my GM credit card points and some haggling, I guess I got a good deal!
Never did get to use the seller's free lifetime Mobil 1 oil change bonus though...that dealer (as well as my local one) are now out of business.
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