Car/Color/Engine: 1982 Chevy Chevette / orange 4-door hatchback / Isuzu 1.8L I4 diesel engine, NA, 51 HP
Features: 5-speed MT, RWD, seats 5
Owned?: yes
Purchased for/from: $600, from a metalworker in Oregon.
Summary: This car had a great running, high-compression, super-fuel-efficient diesel engine. When I could get it to start, it ran well. However, getting it to start was the key. For most of the time I had it, there was a broken glow plug stuck in one of the glow plug holes, meaning that the engine only had the benefit of 3 glow plugs on 4 cylinders to help it start. As such, except during the hottest months of summer, the car could only be started in the morning if the engine block heater was plugged in overnight. I finally got the stuck glow plug out about a month before I sold the car, but then the electrical mechanism powering the glow plugs stopped working correctly and so the car was still extremely difficult to start. The engine was much weaker than my Mercedes engine, but had better acceleration (due to the much lighter weight of the Chevette and the manual transmission). The car would easily go 70 mph on the freeway, but at and above 75 mph the engine strained. Also (unlike the Mercedes) the engine would lose power going up long/steep hills. It didn't lose power to the extent that the Isuzu Trooper did going up hills, but it was sometimes necessary to shift down from 5th to 4th (and sometimes even 3rd) gear. This car was very frustrating to own due to several issues: (aforementioned) starting problems, a jury-rigged alternator bracket that needed adjustment/tightening about once a month, and (this didn't happen until very close to when I sold the car) a need for a new accessory belt (which, due to the alternator bracket not being the original, was a longer belt than the car normally required).
What I Liked: Due to the body style, this car was actually very comfortable for me, giving me lots of head-room. The tilt steering wheel was nice too. Driving around town the car got about 45 mpg, on the freeway it got 50 mpg (55+ mpg if I limited my top speed to 60 mph). Had a cool gold coin installed (by the metalworker I bought it from) on the steering wheel. Peppy manual transmission was fun to drive and shifted very easily and naturally between gears (although 5th gear never felt quite right). Putting the transmission in neutral and revving the engine when someone tailgated me was fun and effective: doing this threw a dark grey smoke cloud right into the tailgater's vehicle, which almost always resulted in them passing me or backing off (this tactic is especially effective against convertibles with the top down). Handled decently in the snow, despite being RWD. Probably for the opposite reason that the Mercedes did well in the snow, ie the Chevette was so light that it more or less drove on top of the snow and ice and didn't sink in.
What I Didn't Like: The massive starting problems. Dealing with stuff falling apart all the time. How difficult the car was to get in and out of (very low to the ground). Having windshield wipers that were always on unless the windshield wiper fuse was popped out. How ugly the car was (a "beater" in every sense of the word). The lack of a headliner, which left the foam under-headliner pad dropping bits of ancient yellow foam on my head. The slowly disintegrating electrical system (by the end the glow plugs, windshield wipers, and turn signals were not functioning correctly). The lack of a passenger-side rear-view mirror. The way the glove compartment door had to be slammed closed in a very specific way in order for it to stay closed. The lack of good door seals, resulting in a somewhat-noisy interior as well as water getting inside the car (which during the winter resulted in frost forming on the INSIDES of the windows, which would have been an issue if the car ever started in the winter).
What Happened to It: Sold for $650 on eBay to a guy from Spokane. He paid the $50 deposit, and then proceeded to ignore my requests for him to come get the car and pay me the balance. My landlord was selling the house I had been living in, and therefore I had to remove the car from his property. I was moving away from Ellensburg for the summer, and absolutely did NOT want to have to drive the car the 650 miles to Reno. So, when I continued to get no response from the eBay buyer (it was now about 6 weeks after he had originally bought the car on eBay), I posted the car on Craigslist and sold it to a different guy from Spokane, who bought it for $400 with the intention of fixing it up and using it as his commuter car (apparently he had a 30-mile commute to and from work every day and was paying ridiculous sums of money to keep his full-sized pickup's gas tank full). I have not heard from him since the sale, so I have no idea if he got the car fixed and is now enjoying a much-less-expensive commute, or if he gave up and sold the car to someone else, or if he got frustrated with the car's endless problems and pushed it off a cliff (or at least took it to a junkyard). I hope he did get it fixed and is enjoying the 50 mpg.
Two days after I sold it to the second Spokane guy, the eBay guy texted me that he "coming to Ellensburg Wednesday next week to get the car." I politely explained to him (via text) that I had had to get the car off of my landlord's property and, having not heard from him, was forced to sell it to someone else. He then told me that I should go do something to myself, and that he hoped he would "never meet" me. I replied politely, apologizing that I was forced to sell the car to someone else, that I had wanted to sell it to him, and that I actually ended up taking a $200 loss by selling it to someone else. I ended with a suggestion that, in the future, when buying a car, it might be wise to stay in contact with the seller until the transaction is completed. I didn't get a reply, and haven't heard back from him (nor do I expect to).
No comments:
Post a Comment