1992 Chevy Cavalier Z24
The Birthday Car
Megan's Car - RIP 2/2005
For our daughter Megan's Birthday, my wife and I got her a car. The night of her birthday when she was convinced that we didn't get her anything at all. there it was. After dinner we all went to the Garage and there it was. The Z24. It had a big red bow wrapped around it just like on TV or in the movies. Actually, our bow was a little smaller than you see on TV, but it worked. Megan was ecstatic.
I figured getting Megan a car would accomplish a couple things. First, help teach her about the costs and responsibilities for operating and maintaining something like an automobile. Two, let her be proud and independent, allow her to be in control and have a little fun. Next and somewhat selfishly, to keep me from having to shuttle her everywhere she wants to go. Last, teenagers need to be driving cars like my wife's Audi or giving the 17" Wheels on my Focus curb shots.
I bought this car from a co-worker, Roger. He and his wife have had it since 1994. Its covered 132,000 miles and never been wrecked. Its in pretty good shape inside and out. Roger does all his own work and is one of these guys that fixes things such that they won't have to be dealt with again. Everything on the car works! There is a 12 disc changer in the trunk and up-graded boom-boom speakers. The sunroof doesn't leak. It runs pretty tight: engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, etc.
I also chose it for its automatic transmission, ABS and overall size. Its not too big to be intimidating, but not so small that I feel like I'm sending my daughter out on the road in a cracker box. Megan and I had looked at half a dozen cars together and she liked this one the best. She loves the color. About once a week I like driving it also. One of the jokes at our house is me asking Megan to borrow her car. Before granting permission she always asks where I'm going, who with, and when I'll be back. She always reminds me to return her car with a full tank of gas. She will typically toss in a comment like, "Make sure you don't speed or have any accidents"
The Cavalier served its purpose. It gave us two years of faithful service and took more than its share of bumps and bruises while Megan learned to drive. Its final trip included some very expensive under hood component failure that shut the engine off and ran it into a parked car. There is more to the story and I wasn't there. I may never really figure out exactly what happened. I salvaged $200 out of it, not running. as is - where is, and walked away.
Its replacement - The LeBaron.