Thread: Here we go again

Tweet

I'm starting to realize that this is my life now. My youngest boy Christian has had his Trailblazer for about a year or so and he does like it, but he's getting sick of putting gas in it. We told all our kids that we will buy your first car that you approve of but you can sell it later if you like and get something different if you like. They all could sell their first car for far more than we had invested in them. Christian approached me with that earlier than I thought and he wanted to find a Dodge Avenger . He has taken very good care of his Trailblazer
( his older brothers trashed their cars in a short amount of time ) so I gave him the go ahead. He never really got over the first Avenger we almost bought for him before the Trailblazer, but it was too much money. He has 2K from his job this summer and his Blazer should bring about 4K so he has some money for the switch. We found a 2013 with the V6 and 92K miles that we ended up getting for $2800 with deer damage. It needs a hood, grill, fender, light, and both pass doors, but it came with the replacement rear door in white. The radiator support is good and the bumper is fixable. I added it up and we should be done for just under 4k but Christian is going to be responsible for paying the tax and license on it as well. We drove it about 75 miles back home and I got to tell you I now hate our 13 Impala compared to this Avenger, and on top of that it was averaging 28-30 mpg.

Looks like a nice score

I agree, that was a great buy IMO! That should make him a nice car for sure. I've been looking at getting a mini van for the wife this way. They are still bringing way too much so far though.

I really like what you are doing with Christian Seth. Showing him that with some sweat equity and a little ambition you can have nice stuff and not just throw money at something. It's a great lesson and one I hope I'm passing on to Cade.



.

Deer damage?
Who let's a deer drive their car? They can't get a very good grip on the wheel. No wonder it got damaged.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Deer damage?
Who let's a deer drive their car? They can't get a very good grip on the wheel. No wonder it got damaged.

I understand this completely, should this cause me concern?

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

I understand this completely, should this cause me concern?

If it makes sense to you...……..……..yes!

Originally Posted by DennyW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sfrhhJRRlo

That's downright hilarious.

Originally Posted by DennyW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sfrhhJRRlo

While were on the subject, a co-worker of mine came in the shop laughing. He said there was dead deer on the shoulder of the road and he was watching a car inch closer and closer to the shoulder. When he got close enough he seen that the person was staring at there phone and never looked up, and sure enough he drifted over far enough and smoked the dead deer! He's sure it had to have ripped his bumper off

The back door is the only part we have for the Avenger so far, so we bolted that on today and Christian prepped it for paint. I showed him how to scuff the edges and crannies real good and be sure to hit every part of the door. I inspected it and after the second attempt it passed. We got a white door, but as luck would have, it's obviously is the wrong shade,but the inside of the door is the right color so the outside has been painted before. It kinda stinks cause now I have to blend into the quarter panel instead of the back door. He also took the rear spoiler off because it was rattle canned flat black which looks good on the car, but the paint was chalky and thin so that will get a repaint in matte black.

Since you work at a tractor shop, you should use some John Deere Blitz black on that spoiler. Maybe it could save ya some money.
.

We got all the parts in and Christian is busy scuffing up the jams and removing bent up sheet metal. I'm actually starting to think he starting to not hate this kind of work. He was asking about how to use body filler today, I'm thinking about letting him fix some dings on the Avenger replacement panels. White is a good color to start on and I can check his work which is getting more thorough, the fender scuffing passed on the first try this time.

You might as well let him at it especially if he's interested in learning it. That is another industry that is in dire need of good technicians. Even if he doesn't want to go in that field, those are good skills to have for your own work later down the road.

I'd agree with Ryan. If he shows any interest, let him explore and learn. And don't be hard on him if it isn't "exactly" right from the get go..

Christian got the front door on and gutted today, he's being so anal about scuffing the paint I really don't even have to double check his work. He mentioned today that he might like to do more of this. When everything is fitted, we'll pull the parts off again and scuff the hinge area and jam all the replacement parts.He was laughing cause I kept taking his picture over and over