Our fleet of vehicles grew by two this past year, along with drivers in the house. We've added a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis and a 2000 Mazda Miata. Quite a juxtaposition, I know, but the Mercury is what my oldest chose and once he finishes paying us back it will be his. The Miata is a return to my youth when I didn't have to carry around three kids and a ton of groceries. It also gets better gas mileage than my 2009 F150. So now, we have a '98 Dodge Neon RT, an '09 F150, the Marquis, the Miata, a '64 Chevy Greenbrier, two '66 Chevy Corvairs, a '64 Chevy Corvair Wagon, and a '69 Plymouth Roadrunner. I'm not going to even count the parts that make up the '66 E-type Jag. You can see why I said we have a fleet. Though I must admit not all the antique vehicles are running. Only the wagon and one of the '66 Vairs are on the road right now, the others need new engines, among other items.
The Mercury was my oldest son's choice when faced with searching for a car for between $2500 and $5000. He has really enjoyed driving larger cars and likes the soft ride it has. My seventeen year old calls it "The Blue Pillow", since that's what he thinks it feels like when driving. As long as the one who drives it likes it, it doesn't really matter.
The purchase of the Miata though really was triggered by the realization that my seventeen year old will need a car next year when he goes to college. He's applying to several different schools, none of them anywhere near home. He really wants to get away from home. I've wanted a Miata since before they were available, but back then there was a huge mark up on them. Now that we've had this one for a few weeks though we're thinking of getting an even newer one for after he takes this one to college. The next generation models have a few more features that would make the car even more enjoyable, but in the meantime, I'm having fun with a new-to-me roadster.
3 comments:
That is quite a fleet. It must be almost a full time job doing the basic checks on them so the teens don't throw a rod through the block of one of them. :)
I'm with Bernardl. That's what I'd call a fleet. You better make sure to either be a mechanic of have one in the family
My husband does most of the work. It's a hobby for him, but he's good at it. Chose to keep it a hobby years ago rather than pursue it as a career so he'd keep on enjoying it. :-) We've been training the kids on basic stuff and some not so basic stuff, that way they can at least do the basic maintenance themselves.
My eldest isn't really into it, but my seventeen year old is definitely a 'car guy'.
Post a Comment