Transport a car that's not worth transporting?

My son. The Boy.

When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife also
picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman Green.

She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99 Mystique.
The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed it.

For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a pretty
(but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she gave it back
to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought from her cousin, who
was relocating cross-country.

Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the Anti-Car, a
$500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came to rest. That car
quickly racked up more than the purchase price in repairs, and was
eventually hauled off for scrap.

Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the '99
Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to the New
York area. And promptly trashed the car.

Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for many
months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs, and now we
have to do something about the Escort.

Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see exactly
why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it transported down
here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a local junkyard, just to
clear the paperwork.

I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and the
notion that they always need attention and money thrown their way...

dwight

dwight wrote:
> My son. The Boy.
>
> When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife also
> picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman Green.
>
> She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99 Mystique.
> The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed it.
>
> For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a pretty
> (but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she gave it back
> to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought from her cousin, who
> was relocating cross-country.
>
> Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the Anti-Car, a
> $500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came to rest. That car
> quickly racked up more than the purchase price in repairs, and was
> eventually hauled off for scrap.
>
> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the '99
> Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to the New
> York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>
> Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for many
> months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs, and now we
> have to do something about the Escort.
>
> Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see exactly
> why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it transported down
> here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a local junkyard, just to
> clear the paperwork.
>
> I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and the
> notion that they always need attention and money thrown their way...

I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
(one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK! Your's chooses
to torture the poor vehicle over time while ours just puts the
proverbial bullet in the back of their heads. The good news is that he
now pays for his own car insurance and he is off our policy.

"Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
...
> dwight wrote:
>> My son. The Boy.
>>
>> When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife
>> also picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman Green.
>>
>> She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99
>> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
>> it.
>>
>> For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a pretty
>> (but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she gave it
>> back to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought from her
>> cousin, who was relocating cross-country.
>>
>> Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the Anti-Car,
>> a $500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came to rest. That
>> car quickly racked up more than the purchase price in repairs, and was
>> eventually hauled off for scrap.
>>
>> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
>> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
>> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>>
>> Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for
>> many months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs, and
>> now we have to do something about the Escort.
>>
>> Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see
>> exactly why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it
>> transported down here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a local
>> junkyard, just to clear the paperwork.
>>
>> I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and the
>> notion that they always need attention and money thrown their way...
>
> I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
> problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
> (one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK! Your's chooses to
> torture the poor vehicle over time while ours just puts the proverbial
> bullet in the back of their heads. The good news is that he now pays for
> his own car insurance and he is off our policy.

my kid totaled 3 cars in 2 years, no one injured, cheap cars cave in the
front when he ran into things.
Stay fully insured, and the kid too.
My kid is walking right now, for about 1 1/2 years. gave me relief from
"fixing up the junker" business.
No sure what to do next,
his grandma may buy him a car, but same problem, kid trashes cars, hope he
grew up some in the 1.5 years.
Hell, I bought my own first car for $100, a 1960 chevie 6 banger, an old
hunting car out in a field on a far where it broke down, no shocks, house
paint on car, had to fix it up myself, put 10,000 miles on it, it blew out
some rings and fogged blue smoke, I sold it to two guys for $50 they needed
to drive a car on a week end, they sold it to someone else for $25, and I
saw it being driven around 2 years later, no one bought me a car.

Nomen Lapetos wrote:
> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
> ...
>> dwight wrote:
>>> My son. The Boy.
>>>
>>> When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife
>>> also picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman Green.
>>>
>>> She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99
>>> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
>>> it.
>>>
>>> For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a pretty
>>> (but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she gave it
>>> back to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought from her
>>> cousin, who was relocating cross-country.
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the Anti-Car,
>>> a $500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came to rest. That
>>> car quickly racked up more than the purchase price in repairs, and was
>>> eventually hauled off for scrap.
>>>
>>> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
>>> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
>>> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>>>
>>> Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for
>>> many months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs, and
>>> now we have to do something about the Escort.
>>>
>>> Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see
>>> exactly why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it
>>> transported down here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a local
>>> junkyard, just to clear the paperwork.
>>>
>>> I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and the
>>> notion that they always need attention and money thrown their way...
>> I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
>> problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
>> (one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK! Your's chooses to
>> torture the poor vehicle over time while ours just puts the proverbial
>> bullet in the back of their heads. The good news is that he now pays for
>> his own car insurance and he is off our policy.
>
> my kid totaled 3 cars in 2 years, no one injured, cheap cars cave in the
> front when he ran into things.
> Stay fully insured, and the kid too.
> My kid is walking right now, for about 1 1/2 years. gave me relief from
> "fixing up the junker" business.
> No sure what to do next,
> his grandma may buy him a car, but same problem, kid trashes cars, hope he
> grew up some in the 1.5 years.
> Hell, I bought my own first car for $100, a 1960 chevie 6 banger, an old
> hunting car out in a field on a far where it broke down, no shocks, house
> paint on car, had to fix it up myself, put 10,000 miles on it, it blew out
> some rings and fogged blue smoke, I sold it to two guys for $50 they needed
> to drive a car on a week end, they sold it to someone else for $25, and I
> saw it being driven around 2 years later, no one bought me a car.

In all other respects he is a good kid. He even maintains his car very
well. He just can't drive worth a $hit. All wrecks were him hitting
the car in front of him in the rear.

In article >, Michael Johnson wrote:
> Nomen Lapetos wrote:
>> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> dwight wrote:

>>>> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
>>>> it.

>>>> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
>>>> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
>>>> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.

>>> I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
>>> problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
>>> (one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK!

>> my kid totaled 3 cars in 2 years, no one injured, cheap cars cave in the
>> front when he ran into things.

>> his grandma may buy him a car, but same problem, kid trashes cars, hope he
>> grew up some in the 1.5 years.

>> saw it being driven around 2 years later, no one bought me a car.

> In all other respects he is a good kid. He even maintains his car very
> well. He just can't drive worth a $hit. All wrecks were him hitting
> the car in front of him in the rear.

My '73 maverick... side swiped by 17 year old that crossed the centerline.
My '86 626 smashed by a 17 year old that cut me off (while going much
slower) and then slammed on the brakes.
My '97 mustang.... front passenger side corner smashed because of a 16
year old that turned left across my path about 5 feet in front of me.
My mustang again, rear-ended by a guy just out of his teens.

While teenagers are out there destroying your cars, they are trying to
take mine with them. None seemed to understand that cars didn't grow on
trees after hitting my cars.

That aside... maybe if they had to put their own time and effort into a
car maybe they'd be a little more careful with it? I dunno, just sick of
being hit by teenagers... I won't even get into the near misses.

Brent P wrote:
> In article >, Michael Johnson wrote:
>> Nomen Lapetos wrote:
>>> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> dwight wrote:
>
>>>>> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
>>>>> it.
>
>>>>> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
>>>>> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
>>>>> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>
>>>> I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
>>>> problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
>>>> (one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK!
>
>>> my kid totaled 3 cars in 2 years, no one injured, cheap cars cave in the
>>> front when he ran into things.
>
>>> his grandma may buy him a car, but same problem, kid trashes cars, hope he
>>> grew up some in the 1.5 years.
>
>>> saw it being driven around 2 years later, no one bought me a car.
>
>> In all other respects he is a good kid. He even maintains his car very
>> well. He just can't drive worth a $hit. All wrecks were him hitting
>> the car in front of him in the rear.
>
> My '73 maverick... side swiped by 17 year old that crossed the centerline.
> My '86 626 smashed by a 17 year old that cut me off (while going much
> slower) and then slammed on the brakes.
> My '97 mustang.... front passenger side corner smashed because of a 16
> year old that turned left across my path about 5 feet in front of me.
> My mustang again, rear-ended by a guy just out of his teens.
>
> While teenagers are out there destroying your cars, they are trying to
> take mine with them. None seemed to understand that cars didn't grow on
> trees after hitting my cars.
>
> That aside... maybe if they had to put their own time and effort into a
> car maybe they'd be a little more careful with it? I dunno, just sick of
> being hit by teenagers... I won't even get into the near misses.

To bring some balance to this I have never been hit by a teenager since
I was a teenager. In today's world, replacing a car is a piece of cake.
They are for sale everywhere and for cheap dollars. In my teenage
years buying a car was the big nut to crack and getting it insured was a
an after thought. I think my first insurance bill was under $200 a year
back in the late 1970s for my own individual policy. It's the reverse
today.

I think there are too many things to distract teenage drivers. They
have IPods, cell phones, laptops, making out (can't get too critical on
this one), 120 db rap songs playing on remote controlled stereos,
watching a DVD movie on a 7" LCD screen jutting out of the dashboard
among other things. All this is vying for their attention while driving
over the speed limit. The only thing that distracted my was inserting a
cassette tape. There is not a lot of bells and whistles on a 1971 Chevy
Nova to divert attention. My point is that if we had all this stuff
when we were younger I bet there would have been a lot more wrecks too.

You are right about one thing.... too many kids today don't know what it
feels like to work hard for something. It definitely gives them more
respect for property to have earned it. Once our son had to get his own
insurance policy he only totaled one car in the last three years. We
consider that a vast improvement.

"dwight" > wrote in
:

> My son. The Boy.
>
> When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife
> also picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman
> Green.
>
> She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99
> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
> it.

Clue number one.

> For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a
> pretty (but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she
> gave it back to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought
> from her cousin, who was relocating cross-country.
>
> Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the
> Anti-Car, a $500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came
> to rest. That car quickly racked up more than the purchase price in
> repairs, and was eventually hauled off for scrap.

Clue number two.

> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.

Clue number three.

> Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for
> many months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs,

Hopefully not back to your house...

> and now we have to do something about the Escort.

Now let's pause for a second. Why do you have to do something about the
Escort? There are several options you may not have considered. One
involves fire. Another one involves theft.

> Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see
> exactly why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it
> transported down here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a
> local junkyard, just to clear the paperwork.

I must question the assumption that the car has to come back. To do
things proper, why not just have The Boy contact a local junkyard up
there to pick it up? You could mail the title (if he doesn't already
have it) and be done with the whole thing. If the title is gone, that
leaves the options I alluded to above.

> I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and
> the notion that they always need attention and money thrown their
> way...
>
> dwight

Nah, he's just not a car guy. As long as he's not in jail, you've
succeeded as a father.

Joe wrote:
> "dwight" > wrote in
> :
>
>><snip>
> Another one involves theft.

Hey, even thieves have some standards. I'm sure it has been looked over
and then pasted over by more than one person.

>><snip>
>
> Nah, he's just not a car guy. As long as he's not in jail, you've
> succeeded as a father.

Very true. A friend of mine has spent $250k keeping his kids out of jail.

dwight wrote:
> My son. The Boy.
>
> When I bought TFrog back in 1993, we came home with two cars - my wife also
> picked out a '93 Escort GT, a sweet little scooter in Cayman Green.
>
> She really liked that car, but gave it up when she bought her '99 Mystique.
> The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed it.
>
> For my daughter, two years younger, I bought the Princessmobile, a pretty
> (but quirky) '88 LX convertible. After two fender benders, she gave it back
> to me and moved on to a '99 Escort coupe that we bought from her cousin, who
> was relocating cross-country.
>
> Meanwhile, my son took it upon himself to buy his own car, the Anti-Car, a
> $500 Plymouth Horizon that spewed oil everywhere it came to rest. That car
> quickly racked up more than the purchase price in repairs, and was
> eventually hauled off for scrap.
>
> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the '99
> Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to the New
> York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>
> Now it sits in a parking lot in Tarrytown. It's been sitting there for many
> months. The Boy is moving BACK down here to the Philly suburbs, and now we
> have to do something about the Escort.
>
> Looks like Dad's going to have to drive up to check it out and see exactly
> why it's not running. Barring anything major, I'll have it transported down
> here ($500-$600?). Beyond that, I'd donate it to a local junkyard, just to
> clear the paperwork.
>
> I have failed as a father. My son really doesn't understand cars and the
> notion that they always need attention and money thrown their way...
>
> dwight
>
>

Iffn it's that bad why not just rent one of those little rampy
things from U-Haul and drag it back yourself? Hopefully he will have
employment lucrative enough to keep him in a new car every 5-7 years.

--
And if a cow had wheels,
it would be a milk truck. - Steve Linford

Brent P wrote:
> In article >, Michael Johnson wrote:
>> Nomen Lapetos wrote:
>>> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> dwight wrote:
>
>>>>> Mystique. The little GT became my son's first car. He promptly trashed
>>>>> it.
>
>>>>> Spin the wheel. Wife moved on to a 2004 Escape, daughter picked up the
>>>>> '99 Mystique, and son bought the '99 Escort just before he moved up to
>>>>> the New York area. And promptly trashed the car.
>
>>>> I would take a couple of cars tortured to death over time without a
>>>> problem. Ours managed to total 5 cars in two years. Two of those five
>>>> (one mine and one his Mother's) came in the SAME WEEK!
>
>>> my kid totaled 3 cars in 2 years, no one injured, cheap cars cave in the
>>> front when he ran into things.
>
>>> his grandma may buy him a car, but same problem, kid trashes cars, hope he
>>> grew up some in the 1.5 years.
>
>>> saw it being driven around 2 years later, no one bought me a car.
>
>> In all other respects he is a good kid. He even maintains his car very
>> well. He just can't drive worth a $hit. All wrecks were him hitting
>> the car in front of him in the rear.
>
> My '73 maverick... side swiped by 17 year old that crossed the centerline.
> My '86 626 smashed by a 17 year old that cut me off (while going much
> slower) and then slammed on the brakes.
> My '97 mustang.... front passenger side corner smashed because of a 16
> year old that turned left across my path about 5 feet in front of me.
> My mustang again, rear-ended by a guy just out of his teens.
>
> While teenagers are out there destroying your cars, they are trying to
> take mine with them. None seemed to understand that cars didn't grow on
> trees after hitting my cars.
>
> That aside... maybe if they had to put their own time and effort into a
> car maybe they'd be a little more careful with it? I dunno, just sick of
> being hit by teenagers... I won't even get into the near misses.
>


I feel that. I had a 1992 Ram D15o that I bought new. It was
replaced by the Mustang. I drove a very busy and congested 5 lane road
to work everyday. On a particular corner where there is a bank, IHOP,
Gas station and an Albertson's grocery a 17yo girl decided she needed to
turn left onto College Dr. out of the center of Albertson's parking lot
instead of using the traffic light on the corner that has a nice left
turn lane with a protection arrow. She leaps out in a long wide arch,
the rattling Buick V6 trying to give all it could even with it's top end
starved for oil. Poor little 3.8... I thoroughly totaled that Regal and
did a bit of damage to the front drivers corner of my truck. You HIT me!
She seemed less concerned with the fact that had things happened a half
second different her 13-14 yo brother in the passenger seat could have
been killed. Dad said I must have been speeding cuz his lil baby was an
excellent driver. Same lil bimbo pulled the same exact stunt 2 months
later at a different but just as busy intersection.


--
And if a cow had wheels,
it would be a milk truck. - Steve Linford