Was saving up to buy a new car in 2025..

Seems like things never really go as plan for me when it comes to financial planning.

I was planning on keeping my car till the end of this year to save up enough for a new Toyota. I wanted to replace my money pit Chevy Cruze with either a Corolla hatchback or Camry. I have also been keeping my eye out for a cheap small truck to use for in-town Home Depot runs as well. I figured with proper maintenance and driving like my pedals are made of glass it would last till 150k+, the Cruze didn't even have 100k miles on it yet.

Two weeks before Christmas, my Cruze blows another hose on the way to work (Replaced blown bypass in February 2023 and radiator neck in late 2022) right after having the fuel pump replaced at the dealership just a month before. I finally lost it after investing over $5k in 2 years on this junk (the car only blue books for 7k).

So, I towed the car home, replaced the oil cooler hose, and washed out the engine bay with a gallon of purple cleaner. Filled it with fluid and then immediately drove it an hour north to trade it in for a new Tacoma.

And that is the story of why my truck is named "Thank God this isnt that piece of shit Chevy Cruze I traded in"

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to the TW

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Great first post.

 

Who knew Chevys were pieces of shit?

Everyone.

 

sh*trolet

Tacoma's a much better choice. Congrats!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Good choice! My silverado got traded last month, I knew it was time. : )

 

Lol.... funny first post. Welcome to TW! Best financial move was to get out of that money pit Chevy Cruze.

 

You must be buying the wrong Chevys.

 

Lol

 

Welcome to TW!

 

My only Chevy was a 1977 van, bought new in San Francisco.
The paint was literally coming off as I drove it off the lot at Ellis Brooks Chevrolet.

The 350 and 3-speed trans was the solid part of the vehicle.
Everything else was flaky.

I had Iskenderian grind me a custom cam on tight lobe centers, specifically for all-in at 2700 to 3000 rpm.
Added Hooker headers, the usual Edelbrock and a Carter 600.
Wound up with a very nice RV power plant.

The HEI crapped out right at the prescribed 50k mile point... burned through the rotor between Boise and Idaho City.
Sold it in 1983 for $500 less than I paid new, made another mistake and bought a Dodge Power wagon 4x4.
No more Dodge for me, either.

I was a Toyota wrench in the years before that... but they didn't offer what I wanted at the time.

 

Nice Chevelle! My mom got a '68 chevelle in a pale yellow to replace the old falcon we had. Beautiful car, my sister totalled it that year on Christmas eve. That was a bad christmas. She wound up getting a toyota corona mark iii to "replace" it. lol

 

Welcome

 

I had an El Camino in high school that I miss dearly. For some reason, about 5 years ago these things skyrocketed in price and I've given up on owning another at a reasonable price.

What a beauty, I will never not be a fan of side pipes. I guess I get that preference from my dad who put them on his s10 blazer

My dad loved his Chevy Van, I have good memories of staring at the road under my feet on the highway

 

Chevy's ____________

 

We should talk. DM me your idea of a reasonable price for a numbers matching big block and TH400. I have a couple non numbers matching El Caminos that are easier on the wallet if the investment side of classic cars is less important.

 

Ford and Chevy build a decent full-size truck and SUV. I still think the Toyota offerings are a little better overall, but you can get a decent truck from them. There isn't a single other vehicle made by Ford or Chevy that I'd touch made in the last 20 years. If you want a car or small SUV buy Toyota or Honda.