Amateur. Currently bombing around in a 1998 Camry with 160k miles. Not actually that much, but I am so done with this car.
Nice dent in the rear bumper courtesy of the streets of Hartford and a 6" rear fender relocation thanks to a monster blowout on the highway. Funny story about that actually: I noticed an egg on one of my tires, so I put the spare on and was on my way to get new tires when a
different tire blew out. Had to put the egged tire back on and literally hobbled to the nearest shop. Whole car was rocking side-to-side from the imbalanced spare and misshapen tire, both on the same side of the car.
Currently have an obnoxious exhaust leak I'm debating not fixing since it really isn't affecting performance of the car. Might get under there and slap a beer can on there if I get the time. Gives it a nice throaty growl that will undoubtedly be very strange to see vanish entirely with a Tesla! Recently did a partial engine reseal (and timing belt) due to leaking oil. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be completely rid of oil! This thing burns that *sugar* like crazy when it's not leaking - at least a quart once a month. I guess that means oil changes are less important since it changes itself?
Pretty sure I have a serious power steering leak, although I'm not losing fluid. Sometimes shakes and is hard to turn when it's cold. Usually gets better once the car warms up. I think I can ride that repair out.
Starter is toast because apparently that's a common problem in Gen4 Camrys. So that means I'm out there a few times a year banging on the starter with my handy dandy "starter starter" - a block of wood. $100 part and easy replacement. I should really do this, but if all it takes is some TLC to get the engine going, I may as well save the money and put it toward 1/10 of painting my Model 3 a pretty color.
I may have a coolant issue. This is new. The cold reservoir is empty all the time, but the car isn't overheating. That's also assuming the temperature sensor isn't malfunctioning!
And this isn't even counting all the money I've sunk into it over the past few years!
Ideally, I'd like to simply drive this thing into the ground. Engine/transmission is still okay, which means I've got quite a few more miles, but everything else is breaking down around it and I'm putting in the bare minimum to keep it running. Forecast is good though. I got a good feeling that I can make this bad boy last a few more years and will be able to sell it to the shop for parts. Nobody's gonna want to buy this mess.
A new car means inherently fewer problems, and an EV means even fewer maintenance issues, and I am so ready for that. I might not be as thrilled with the growing pains of a brand new vehicle, but I am prepared to deal with that because it's going to be a goddamn Tesla!
My worst fear is if the Model 3 is a bust for some reason. I don't know what I would do. I'm 100% sold on EVs and have no other choice... at least nothing I would want to drive.
