Seeing as how this could possibly be the most overdue Members Ride thread EVER... I thought I would take you back to the beginning.
July 2007:
pistons
Just after my 21st B-Day, an Escalade EXT ran a red light and clipped the front bumper of the Benz as I was taking a left through the intersection that he was speeding through.
The Benz was totalled but everbody was ok. While I am waiting for the insurance payout to come in so I can buy a new car, I am now taking the VFR to work everyday.
July 27th, 2007
I am distracted (semi long story if anybody is interested) while approaching the first intersection after leaving my house on the way to work. I run the red light and t-bone a 2007 Ford Explorer just behind the B pillar.
Bike before:
Bike after:
Here I am about 50 minutes after admitance to the ER... taken by a co-worker who read about the crash on CHP's website and come to the hospital.
Basically I broke my left arm/wrist in several places, I broke my cheekbone (yes even with a full face helmet), seperated my pelvis by a cm or two and had a good amount of rash.
My new wrist:
So now I have no transportation which is ok because I will be off my feet for about 4 months anyways
While I was re-learning to walk and use my left hand, I began the search for my next car.
I love snowboarding so anybody who has tried to put chains on a loaded rear wheel drive mercedes in the snow knows that it is not fun at all.
So I wanted AWD.
Problem is I have a horrible driving record with speeding tickets for the last few years... So out goes anything turbo.
I settled on the legacy due to mainly photos of members rides off this site which came up when I searched for pictures of the body style.
It took me about 3 months to find a legacy that had the coveted 2.2L motor (every mechanic or subaru tech I spoke to recommeded it over the 2.5 GT), WITH leather and a moonroof... it just so happened to be down in San Diego.
So the day it popped up on Auto Trader for $4500, I called and requested tons of pics which were sent to me (about 40 of them) in about one hour.
It was MINE!!!!!!
Called and inquired about service records which the guy didnt have any of... he could only tell that it was a Subaru Lease for the first part of its life in Colorado... then came to So Cal after the first owner.
The lease ended before the 120k Service (Timing belt ect) so I asked the car lot if they had a repair shop... which they did. I put a $400 non refundable deposit on the car which covered the cost of the parts for the timing belt job. The mechanic called me once he could look at the components and estimated that they had less than 15k miles on them based on the wear he sees. I told him to replace the stuff anyways while he was in there and save the old parts.
I bought a ticket from Sacramento to San Diego one way for about $80 and flew down to take a look at it. The dealer met me at the airport in the car and let me drive it back to his lot... it felt solid and drove great.
After the full walk around and another drive test... I shook his hand and we sat down to write up the offer.
I had already paid $400 in a deposit which also covered the cost of the t-belt parts. There were a few issues with the interior that the seller conveniently missed in his numerous photos so I talked the guy down to $3700 plus the $400 in parts for the T-Belt.
Paid the man and drove it home!!!
More to come... this is all I could get out before work.
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Originally Posted by nikolaus.conrad
