Like the Mercedes-Benz commercial says, no one ever poses with their toaster.
Cars appear in reverse chronological order of ownership/use. Click on pictures for larger photo.
1996 Chevy Silverado 1500
Pictures coming soon. Bought as a graduation present for Valarie from Andrew's dad. Soon after purchasing, we had listed the cap in the newspaper to sell. The night before we got a phone call from an interested buyer, some vandal came through our parking lot and shot out the rear glass window in the cap with a BB or pellet gun. Other vehicles were hit as well, but it rendered the cap's worth to $50-- a cap that was worth $1000 new. The vehicle now sports Val's special license plate, which we'll see as soon as pictures are uploaded to this page.
1999 Ford Mustang Convertible
Bought in January 2003 as a replacement for the Festiva. Several months prior, we were test driving the various sports cars. We were going to check out the Camaro, Mustang, and Trans Am. We test drove a Camaro first, then the Mustang. Never got to the Trans Am.
Then, in January, we drove to Cincinatti and back in one day to pick it up from a Subaru dealership. Andy learned how to drive it in the snow (it's rear wheel drive) that same day, since Erie, PA was hit by strong lake effect snow squalls. We also learned PA doesn't salt the road very often. It's been a pleasure to ride in and drive, especially the convertible part.
The picture of the car with all the people in BDU's crossing in front is the only pic of Andy in the car.
1990 Ford Festiva
Bought as a replacement for the Tercel for the whopping price of $650 in March-ish of 2001. Three days after purchase, the engine block cracked and leaked oil all over. $500 repair. But, the car performed reasonably reliably, especially for a car 11 years old (at the time). It was a topic of conversation for sure. It did get great gas mileage (around 38 MPG). The only option on it was the sunroof... it didn't even have a radio- the previous owner took it out. Certainly a pimpin' ride! We sold it in April of 2003 for $600 to a kid in high school.
1988 Toyota Tercel
When Valarie started school again, we soon found out we needed a second car. So we shopped around, and found this 88 Tercel, bought it for $700 in February 2000. What a rust bomb! It lasted 13 months, which wasn't too bad considering. It failed inspection because the front tire spring (the big coil spring above the wheel used to absorb shock) was so rusted at the top, it wasn't connected to the car- you could push down on the wheel and pop it out. That's why it failed inspection. Technically, this was the first car Andy ever owned outright, since the Escort was still being paid off when we purchased this car. We bought the Festiva and drove this car to the junkyard to be put out of it's misery March-ish of 2001.
1995 Ford Escort
Ahh, the escort. The first car Andy has ever bought. This car was bought in June of 1997, one month after graduating from college and getting married, when the Blazer stopped working. It was, and still is, "the family car". Valarie currently drives it to and from school. It carries a lot of sentimental value, since we've owned it for almost our entire marriage. The car has been driven between Alabama and Rochester 3 times, and once from Rochester to Texas. Many trips in NY state and surrounding areas. Valarie drove this car while she was on co-op in Maine. This is the car Julian and Ziggy both came home in. On it's third transmission, with lots of memories, it will be a sad day when this car is 'retired'.
1987 Chevy Blazer
Used breifly by Andy (March to June of 1997). Andy's dad bought a new truck and gave this one to Andy to use to replace the Rusty, er.. um.. Justy. The transmission leaked fluid, then slowly stopped working until it would barely back out of the parking spot at the apartment complex at RIT. It was taken to a garage, the engine and transmission both needed replacement- $5,000- and it was retired then and there. Soon after, shopping for a car began (and the Escort was bought).
1987 Subaru Justy
Car was purchased by Andy's mom in December, 1987. Andy got his learner's permit on 3 MAY 90. He remembers this day, because he joined CAP the day after. He began learning how to drive in this car in the Amherst, NY area, where he was living at the time (his parents still reside there). The crosshair in the linked pic is his parent's home. A little ways off of the bottom of the map is the parking lot of my middle school, one of the places he went to learn to drive. His parent's driveway was where the first gear grinding and driving took place. The car is a stick shift, so Andy learned right away how to use a manual transmission. He went to RIT September 92, then his mother gave him the car when she bought a new one in the winter of 1993-1994. That's when the fun began.
As Andy tells it:
"On my way to Rochester Skydiving (yes, I jumped out of a plane, just not on that day- bad weather) driving along the I-390 North when the hood of my car was balooning up. The front edge had rusted away, and the wind was catching between the sheet metal top and the frame bottom. This is when I learned that hoods are constructed of two main pieces. Well, I learned because the wind (while going 55) ripped off the top half of the hood. I saw a white flash, and then the hood top on the road behind me. I couldn't get it because I was folloing someone. The skydiving instructors (whom I didn't know) got a good laugh out of my half-hood. "
"With my half-hood, I was driving along Andrews Memorial Drive, just north of Perkins road when the bottom half of my hood flew up into my windshield. The hook had given out. I went to wegman's and bought some duct tape and secured it for a while."
"Well, I then finally got a new hood (cost: $125. No junkyards had any Justys) and put it on the car. It too flew in my face (I forget where,though). I banged it back into shape, and pressed on. It seemed OK to me..."
"Well, it wasn't. It flew in my face again (number 3), and I then decided to bungee cord my hood to the front grill, which worked great."
"During the summer of 1995, I was on my way back from work at Freddy's (uuggh!) when a car approaching westboud on Jefferson Road turned left in front of me to go southbound on Hylan Drive as I was heading east on Jefferson Road. I collided into her passenger door with my right front end. The hood was obviously damaged."
"Well, as I limped the car to the repair shop (on West Henrietta road- look at the map above- just south of Jefferson road) the hood flew into my face again (number 4)- at 25 mph, mind you. So no damage done to the car."
"The car got fixed, along with the hood. I was driving along Jefferson Road again (headed west this time) when the now-fixed hood flew into my face again. (that's number 5 now) I bought a new bungee chord, and decided to use it."
"Well, one bungee chord wasn't enough. I don't remember where, somewhere in Webster or Irondequoit, but hood-in-face number 6 happened, ripping through the bungee chord. I got out of the car and banged it back into shape with my hand. I re-bent the bungee chord so it would hook, and found a second one in the back of my car, and used it. All was hunky dory for a while."
"I finally decided to dip a little money into the car, and brought it to a dealership in January 1996 (hisss!), the only one in Rochester for Subarus, and get a couple of things fixed, to include the hood. Well, the customer service agent told me everything was working fine when I left with the car, and I felt like I no longer needed the bungee chords. And all was hunky-dory for a while."
"Spring break 1996- for RIT, it's in early march. I was headed south on the I-390, south of the city. The newly-posted 65 MPH speed limit made travel speedy. Here I am, going along at 65 in the right hand lane, and whap! Hood in face number 7 occurs. I get out, bend it back into shape, curse the dealership for not fixing it right, and then attach three bungee chords to the hood for extra safety. I continue along (Valarie was with me) and about 30 minutes later, when I was in the left hand lane, WHAP! Hood-in-face number 8 occurs, and the windshield finally broke. Cracked all over (not too bad, I could still see, but definitely cracekd everywhere). I try to get the hood back down, but I cant. The lever arms were mangled beyond belief (after 8 violent hood-in-faces, bending the metal beyond its designed range of motion, it got a bit damaged). I couldn't bend the hood all the way down, nor could I close it because the front edge of the hood had bent forward (the latch was sticking outside of the front grill). It ripped through all three of the bungee chords. So I had to get the wrench out, and detach the whole hood. Fortunately, it fit (barely) in the back."
"For the next month and a half, I am driving around with no hood. It became a bit famous around campus- "the car with no hood." I was hearing reports about friends of friends who I don't know noticing the car. I took so long because (even though I went to a body shop and not the dealer) the hood lever arms took forever- the only place where the parts could be ordered was through the dealership. Of course, I had gone back to the dealership the next day after it happened, demanding repairs. However, the customer service guy gave me some bull about the mechanic saying the work wasn't guaranteed. Well, he forgot to tell me that, but the owner of the dealership refused to pay. Grrrrr!!!!"
"Finally, I got the lever arms, and the body shop guy did a great job of fixing it up for me."
"Summer 1996, I fail inspection because the front lever arm was cracked (??). I send it back to the same body shop, and he fixes it up for me real nice (Fargo Collision, Webster NY- good place!). However, when the owner (Frank Fargo) put my car key in his drop box, he accidentally slid it in a crack in the wood. When we went to retrieve it, he couldn't find it anywhere. Then he ripped out the blocks on the inside to his drop box. Nothing. He went outside, and finally had to tear off his nice wood paneling to get to the key. It had slid all the way down to the ground. I felt bad for him- probably at least $100 in damage because he dropped my key in a crack."
"Winter, early 1997. I finally sell the car to Don, for $300. It will be missed! (Sniff Sniff)"
