1990 Suzuki Swift
Fall, 2001


This is an interesting story.

A coworker's son (the kid who bought my Chevy Astro from me, in fact) picked up this beauty from a friend at school for $180. It was red. The kids decided to spray paint it white. Their goal was to take this car out to the woods and jump it until it died (probably not too many jumps, I'm guessing). Their mother decided this was in fact a bad idea, and came to work announcing the car was for sale. Another coworker decided to buy the car from the kid for an even $180. In fact, he drove it from OKC to Norman, approx 20 miles, with no problem.

Two days later, that co-worker got a speeding ticket on the way to work (no, no in this car) and decided he needed to sell the car for cash. Always seeking a good opportunity (good is debatable) I decided to pick up the car for $120. My original plan was to cut the top off the car, remove the doors, and make a smash up derby car. My alternative plan was to fix up the car and sell it for a profit.

Here is a brief list of things that were wrong with the car: Front hood, missing (found later, beat to hell). Body had several dents, rust, was ripped at the fender. Tires were all showing metal. Two windows were uninstalled and in the back seat. Car had been spray painted white. 3rd and 5th gear were missing, 4th had problems. Most interior panels were missing. The battery, air cleaner, and wheels had been spray painted silver.

I told myself that if I had not touched the car in one month, I would sell the car on Ebay. 32 days later, I drafted up an ad and sold the car. I got $135. Subtract the $50 listing, and that comes out to $85 - a net loss of $35. Oh well.