Seeing your old car again...

[H-carWizKid]

I guess I kind of grew attached to my old Acura- everytime I see a Red 3rd generation Integra I always look for details that might indicate that I was seeing my own.
Last saturday it happened. My girlfriend and I were headed into the new Ikea in Frisco TX, as we walked through the parking lot I looked over and I saw my old Milano Red 94 Integra GSR.
I recognized a certain combination right away- the Type R Spoiler, the S2000 antenna conversion, and the DOHC VTEC stickers just below the moldings in front of the rear wheels. It caught my eye, so I walked over to it, and looked down at the VIN- yup 000038 the only VIN I ever memorized.

So there it was.

And I felt a little disgusted. The closer I got to it the worse I felt.

The paint was in awful condition. I could see a cheap looking intercooler through the lower front Valence, and the car has been lowered beyond the capabilities of the camber correction kit that I had installed.

The 16" wheels were replaced with factory Honda Accord 15"s- painted flat black, and scored up from encounters with the curb. All in all it was pretty depressing.

My girlfriend was pretty surprised. I had mentioned the car once or twice before, but she had never seen it. She knows what a car guy I am, so I think it struck her odd that I was so sorry to have gotten rid of the car she was looking at in that parking lot.

The car was still there when I left, I could hardly look at it as we passed.

I actually felt a little guilty.

Anyone else ever encounter their car after it was sold? For better or worse?

Philip

 

[CL65 Captain]

Yea, I saw one of my old cars sitting on the side of the road.

It was a 1987 Renault Alpine GTA V6 turbo (not the US crappy GTA 4 cyl). Stopped and the problem was the clutch cable had snapped. I told the guy that I had gone through 4 cables in the first year. Dealership had to buy back the car from me under the Lemon law. Guess they resold it to a sucker. I learned my lesson never, ever buy a French built car.
:tongue:

 

[Joel]

I wish I could see my old college car: 240SX

 

[The Kid]

I see my old M3 on Ebay about once a year :biggrin:

 

[deedubb]

I see my old M3 in my home town alot and miss it. I remember one day i stopped the person driving it and they went on about how they had built the car and added all the aftermarket parts and whatnot....i just smiled and said "nice car" and walked away knowing that I put all the wrench time on that car (which still looked exactly the same as the day i traded it in).

 

[Motegi]

Yes I saw one of my old cars once. It was actually mechanically the worst car I've ever owned. Of course I always keep my cars fairly clean and I detailed the thing to death before I drove it to the dealer to trade. It had quite the few miles on it but looked and smelled like new (didn't run like new however).

The salesperson ended up giving me an astronomical price on trade in (my eyes bugged out when I saw the numbers) so I hurriedly signed the papers, tossed him the keys, and ran off with my new car. I dont think they drove it at all before giving a price. I learned the very next day that the salesman was fired on-the-spot for agreeing to the deal...

Several months later I saw some unfortunate individual driving it down the street. I'm sure the dealer sold it at a pretty hefty loss (or dumped it at auction).

 

[RP-Motorsports]

I had a guy fly to Milwaukee to pick up my A4 2.8 Quattro with c/f hood, Reiger front bumper, projectors, 18's and a DTM exhaust. About 3 years later I was in Philly heading over the bridge to NJ in a rental zoning out, and my old Audi passed me! Still looked bad ass.

 

[NeoNSX]

Shortly after getting the car i currently drive, i parked at a large shopping center to see a movie with mates. When i came out there was a note under the windscreen wiper "Hi, i'm the previous owner. Please take good care of my 'chuggers'. regards." Fortunately it was washed and cleaned.

With a nickname like 'chuggers' no wonder the car was happy cornering hard... it wanted to lose that image.

 

[Jin1976]

Looking at my old 89 Civic Hatchback now own by my cousin reminded me of worn gearbox, accident scratch front bumper and broken lower body frame. Spent almost the price I paid for the car on new paint, new engine, A/C, seats, exhaust only to find there's a lot more repair to do. I became fed up and sold it. It drain my pocekt on repair more than it cost on my NSX. I think I'll go for a Toyota (Echo) for daily driver.