Eeeekkkk!!!! You had some doosies! Funny how the parents, even though they aren't contributing anything financially, still have a say in what you buy as an adult. They have powers of persuasion.


The '96 Jetta is not a surprise; seems to be the theme with old VW's; You got out lucky and quickly


The Avenger just sounds like a bad car. It wasn't good brand new, but the different shades means it had a tough life


I remember renting the Galants out at Enterprise back about that time. They had lots of wood grain inside. They were okay; not great, not bad. Just kinda generic


The Integra; that's the generation everyone swoons over, and it did seem like a competent little car. Interesting that you didn't like it....


And the Fiesta; sorry about the quality issues with it. That'll make every ownership experience miserable. Hope you got out of it without hurting yourself too much financially

 

My Galant was the base model, so all black & grey plastic

The Integra was very good, it just didn't compare to my EF Civic Si, but that's to be expected when the Civic weighs 400 lbs less, has better gearing and has mega high end suspension as compared to the Integra's cheapo pieces from the previous owner.

Live & learn I guess. Best of luck with what you decide to do.

 

Even after owning the '14 Fiesta ST, which has a lot more power and technology than my 97 Integra GS-R, I have a hard time selling the Integra because of how good it is.

I keep it around for a spare car and to help lower my insurance further when my kids are on the policy... being the oldest car they are automatically rated on it.

 

I had 3 new Fords and now a used Fit, the first Ford was a '79 Fiesta, a fun very light car. I put 110,000-170,000 on the next Fords (Escort GT and Focus ZX3). I spent about $1000 on each over each lifetime in repairs. Pretty good, but not as good as my parent's Camry 250K and Matrix (270+K and just an alternator!). They also had a small 82 accord hatch. Nice and fun car but it rusted to pieces. They all did back then. The Focus was a new model but the 2nd year, still it had many recalls and a few warranty suspension noise issues but after that was solid and very fun to drive.

When if was almost 14 and much broke in a year or two, AC, fuel pump, oil pan leak, needed a timing belt. When a brake line failed from corrosion, I decided to put that repair money towards a newer car. I also wanted 4 doors and an automatic. It would be natural to get a Focus or Fiesta but I read about their transmission issues, space limitations, etc. Researching possible cars, the Fit sounded good and I liked it since gen 1. I drove a few used ones with low miles and bought a '12 Sport. Love it so far. Some issues like the small battery and not the easiest to work on but nothing is perfect. I miss the Focus for it's fun to drive nature, maybe it was the stick. The Fit is very practical and fun to drive too.