PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

That was the Pinto hatchback. Mine was a wagon.

It was a bit unique in that instead of the more common 2.3L engine, it had the German built 2.0L with a 4 speed manual. It was also a Squire edition....so it had fake woodgrain

 

Air-conditioning?

 

Pintos were actually available with A/C...

 

Yes. But inop

 

Looked exactly like this one.

 

Did you put a sound system in it?

Also, is your family exclusively a "white car family" now? I saw what I thought was a white Prius in a photo with your Storm Trooper, and then you showed me that pic of your daughter's white Yaris...

 

I would totally drop a 302, 4-speed, and posi rear in that...

 

My dad bought me a Tacoma, but it isn't that nice!

Seriously, parents in Mission are buying their underachieving kids brand new Tacomas?!?!

 

$6,000 off ain't bad!

I refuse to finance a vehicle unless it's 0%...

If I ever buy a new Tacoma, I'll save up my money and pay cash, dammit!

 

What do you mean it's not about that...?

Of course it's about that!

The 4-bangers in Pintos were rather anemic!

 

So, why were telling me it's not about putting a V8, 4-speed stick, and posi rear in a Pinto?

 

@Jamesboy2233

Do you know what the term Buy Here Pay Here means in the used vehicle business?

 

And I also want to be able to use the A/C without feeling like I've lost power in two cylinders!

 

My near-mint 1996 Nissan Pathfinder fell victim to one of those schemes after we traded it for the Taco...

Wanna hear the story?!?!

 

In May 1996, my dad bought this 1996 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4x4 brand new at Rothrock Nissan in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He financed it, but never missed a payment and paid it off in 2000 or 2001. The included pictures were taken at the dealership in September 2009, the night we traded it for the Taco...

The Pathfinder was involved in three fender-benders (two of which were the other person's fault) between 1999 and 2008. The damage only amounted to replacing the front and rear bumpers...

The factory radio started acting up in 2003 and we replaced it with a Sony CD player, the A/C also had to be recharged in 2003, the suspension had to be replaced in 2005-2006, and it failed emissions testing in 2007 due to a hole in the exhaust (which was fixed, and it later passed with flying colors).

Basically, the ol' Pathy was a solid vehicle! To date, it holds the record for the longest time my family has held onto a vehicle. My dad bought it in May 1996, and traded it for the Tacoma in September 2009. It was relegated to "spare vehicle" status in 2005 when my dad bought a 2003 Honda S2000, and my dad started teaching me how to drive in it when I got my permit. He made plans to give me the Pathfinder and sign the title over to me when I graduated from high school, but I wasn't ready to drive in certain situations, I ended up letting my permit expire, and the Pathfinder continued to age...

In May 2006, my dad put the S2000 up for sale and bought a used 2002 BMW 325Ci convertible from his older brother. The Bimmer became his daily driver (except in snow and really bad weather when he drove the Pathfinder). The poor S2000 ended up sitting on my dad's younger brother's property for almost a year because my dad could not find a buyer for it, though my uncle did start it up and drive it around the lot from time to time and my dad did keep the insurance and registration up to date. My dad finally sold the S2000 in July or August 2007 and drove the BMW for another year before trading that for a new Acura TL in September 2008.

 

No sound system. However, I did replace the AM-Jam with a AM/FM unit from a '76 Ranger.

Yes..all white. But the lease was up on the wife's Prius in November. So it was replaced by an '18 RAV XLE Hydrid AWD.

 

@Jamesboy2233

So that brings us to 2009...

By the summer of 2009, the Pathfinder had over 100K miles on the clock and was really beginning to show its age. It had very minor rust (most noticeably on the running boards as you can see in the pics), but it had always passed inspection following the replacement of the exhaust system (it failed in 2007 and we had it for two more years after that). The A/C blew ICE COLD, the heat worked great, and all accessories (like the power windows, heated seats, and cruise control) worked. But like I said it had over 100K on the clock. It was also 13 years old, and it got really bad gas mileage (15-16 MPG on average) and required premium fuel. It also seemed that every fucking time we brought it in for inspection, something had to be replaced!

In January 2009, I joined a group for young adults with Aspergers called The Coffeehouse Center of Bucks County. I very quickly made a lot of friends and my social life took off. Most of my new friends with AS, and all of my friends who didn't have AS, had driver's licenses. Some of my licensed AS friends had to share cars with their parents, and plans often had to be delayed because of this. I decided that I needed to put my balls to the wall and get a license. My learner's permit had expired in December 2006, so I had to retake the test. I finally got a new learner's permit in August 2009. My dad understandably refused to let me drive his $36,000 Acura (then just a year old), but again started giving me lessons in the Pathfinder. My mom also let me drive her 2004 Honda Odyssey, and I drove that quite a bit after I got my license too. I would say that I probably was not allowed to drive the Acura, at least not solo, until 2012 or 2013 (I got my license in 2011).

My biggest complaint about the Pathfinder was that it predated AUX inputs. The aftermarket Alpine CD player we had in it at the time was from 2005 and didn't have an AUX input either (at least not in the front). I had plenty of money saved up from odd jobs, graduation money, and the various part-time jobs I'd had in 2006-2008, but my dad hinted that he'd pay for an iPod-compatible stereo. However, after less than a month of driving lessons in the Pathfinder, my dad decided that it was getting too old and it would be better to just buy a whole new vehicle instead of dumping more money into that one. By the end of September, we'd decided on the Tacoma, and as you know that is what I ended up with!

 

That looks just like my cousin's '18 RAV XLE, those hers isn't a Hybrid...

She bought hers and got 0% APR!

 

I just do a 3 year lease on the wife's ride. Every 36 months she gets new vehicle. Always new, always under warranty. She's happy. I'm happy.

 

@Jamesboy2233

So, my dad initially almost walked that night because the Toyota dealer (Peruzzi Toyota in Hatfield, PA) only wanted to give him $1,500 for the the Pathfinder. However, I really wanted that Tacoma (and he did too), and the dealership was willing to negotiate on the price of the Tacoma, so he pressed and pressed...

He ended up getting $2,300 for the Pathfinder, and that combined with negotiating the price of the Tacoma down resulted in him paying less than $15K for a brand new 2010 Taco!

So, my friend Emily was looking for an older 4x4 to replace her POS Ford Taurus at about the same time, and I'd offered her the Pathfinder for $3K. She had cash, but she wasn't sure she wanted it. It was only a few days after we traded it that Emily decided she wanted to take a test drive. I gave her the contact info for the dealer, she called the dealer, and found out that it had already been sold.

Emily ended up buying not a 4x4, but an '04 Altima, which she not only financed, but it also ended up being a turd (and she still has it; It's paid off now but it's still a turd)...

So, for the next 6 years or so, all I could do was wonder had become of my beloved Pathfinder...

Then, my dad found the original window sticker in his files and gave it to me. Window stickers, as you know, have the VIN! I immediately punched the VIN into CARFAX, and found that the Pathfinder had been purchased a few weeks after we traded it. The new owner took delivery in October 2009, and apparently financed it (despite it being a 13-year old vehicle with over 110K miles that was worth maybe $4,500 at the most). They missed a payment or two at some point, and the CARFAX report shows that it was repossessed in May or June 2010 (I forget). Aside from a recall issued in 2011, the trail goes completely cold after the repossession. There is nothing to indicate that the Pathfinder was totaled or otherwise involved in an accident, and unfortunately all signs point to the poor Pathy being left to rot in a tow yard somewhere...

Specifically, I've traced it to the sketchy Lower Bucks area of Fairless Hill, Pennsylvania.

I can't even begin to describe how much this pisses me off, because while it had some cosmetic issues and was starting to show signs of age, it was fully operational. The A/C was ICE COLD, it ran great, it drove great...

There was not a thing wrong with it. Even in the last few months we owned it, people would see it and be absolutely shocked when I told them it was a 1996. That should tell you how good my dad took care of it! It had a clear title and had been paid off for almost 9 years when we traded it, and now it's been left to rot!

Is it against the law to refuse to sell my Taco to somebody if they can't pay cash?