It was a start to a new path in my life, but the universe had other plans and made it known in a spectacular finale.
Working hard at the auto parts store paid off. In less than a year I had gone from part time sales associate to Parts Manager. It included the added responsibility of opening and closing of the stores, inventory, money management, and conflict resolution (the customer is often wrong or confused).
It was a great job and I think highly of it. To make time pass we would often crack jokes, prank each other, or show off our fine sales skills.
Pranks were often “shrink wrapping” each other’s cars when the opportunity presented itself, or placing anti-theft tags on the staff and watching them struggle to find the tag. This one guy in particular, whom I’m still friends with to this day, was a natural salesman. Young children often came in with their parents, I think they were maybe shy or intimidated by the store, or maybe they wanted a toy.
Most auto parts sell Hot Wheels or scale model cars. This guy would seize the opportunity for a sale and loudly announce “Okay guys I’m gonna go put the Hot Wheels away right here by the end of the aisle!” It was hilarious watching this go down. You would see the kid perk up then actually start asking their parents for the car. I would say it worked more than 90% percent of the time.
At home, my girlfriend had moved in with me and my family, under pressure from her family to leave. She had finished a Medical Assistant course and acquired a steady job of her own. She was a petite girl and always wanted a truck. We talked and of course I wanted to make her happy, so we went car shopping. She always liked old Chevy trucks and wanted one of her own, and it had to be Blue. Being a Ford man myself I failed to convince her to switch sides.
This was around the end of 2006, when the new Chevy models were coming out. We went to look at the new Tahoe. I was amazed at how beautiful the truck looked in a dark blue color. It had after-market rims which made it a real knockout. At $50k plus and us being first time buyers…we kind of felt it was not for us.
We headed to Firestone Blvd in South Gate California, which has what seems like block after block of small used car dealers. Most places did not have what she wanted, the ones that did were either too expensive or had higher mileage and wear than desired. We even had one dealer state they would not sell us the car we wanted and the only car they would sell us was a crappy Chevy Malibu. We gave up that weekend but went back for another look around the next weekend.
We finally found a Tahoe she liked. The dealer handed me the keys for me to take a test drive in while my girlfriend waited at the dealer, she did not have her license yet. Me and a cat named Ginger went for a test drive. It wasn’t really for me, so the decision was up to my girl. We bought it as the feedback from the cat and I was positive. And so for around $10k, that truck came home with us.
Hated dragging my rump across the seat cushion to get in
She was happy as could be with her truck. I just never could get myself to like it. It came with auto type tires which I quickly switched over to all-terrain tires. This vastly improved its off road capability despite it being 2wd. There was a creaking from the interior when going over curbs or on to my driveway. When new, the driver’s door would close with precision, but after a few weeks and a couple of re-alignment attempts it just wouldn’t anymore. I gave up on that.
The biggest problems was a backfiring or exploding sound from the Vortec 350 engine when trying to start it. I looked at forums over the years and it seems to be caused by over advanced timing. Still being green, on a budget, and the intermittent nature of the event meant that I just ignored it.
At this time gas prices were up, which really put a strain on our budget with that big 5.7 liter engine. At one point when we needed brake pads we paid $13 dollars for some at an auto parts store. They seemed normal until I had to do a panic stop where the 110 south meets the Hollywood freeway. The truck miraculously stopped, although the pedal sank to the floor then gave off the distinct smell of burned pads, NEVER AGAIN! We got a second much more efficient car to alleviate the stress (next COAL).
At this time my girlfriend was also heavily hinting at having a family. My schedule and paycheck weren’t up par yet, not that I didn’t enjoy trying. It just did not happen for us. And the universe was in agreement so it sent a sign…
Imagine the Xterra 90 degrees in to the street
We had spent the previous night driving around, we slept in that truck then decided to go home and sleep in an actual bed. Around 10 am we were abruptly awakened by my mom yelling that our truck was crashed in to. In disbelief I quickly went outside and looked. The truck was previously parked right in front of the house under a shady tree.
The accident was surreal. Another newer Tahoe had rammed in to the back of our truck, pushed it out in to the street leaving it now blocking the road. The driver of the newer Tahoe had ran off scared while his friend was asking my neighbors for help in getting water to put out the fire that the accident causing truck erupted into.
I was livid to say the least and in boxers an undershirt got in the other car and went to look for the guy. I could not find him, I came back home still mad and in disbelief. My girlfriend handed me some pants so I could be more presentable as I talked to the officers and neighbors trying to figure out what happened.
What happened was that the driver and his passenger were doing drugs. They accelerated at high speed down my block and swerved in to the back of our truck to avoid hitting something, likely hallucinating or passing out. He actually lived one block away and ran back home. The police tracked him down and arrested him at home as he was on probation and found additional drug paraphernalia. The saddest part was that his parents had bought their truck 3 days earlier. His friend was let go, and the sister pleaded with us not to press charges, not that we really had a say in the matter.
Good work is never cheap and cheap work is never good
The truck was totaled, insurance came out, saw the bent frame and quickly wrote us a check. In the end we got to keep the truck and only owed around $1000 on the Lien.
Since we had the truck we honestly thought we could repair it. The cheapest method we thought of was taking it back down to TJ and getting body work done on the cheap.
Realistically the smashed in barn doors should of just been replaced with junkyard parts. Yet the repair location spent a lot of time welding studs and pulling. It looked like the car was shot up in a massacre. We cut our losses, brought our truck back home and headed back to the Alameda swap meet to sell the truck.
From the rear doors forward the truck was still good. The engine and drive-train were fully functional and working proper. This time we sold it for $2000 in its damaged condition. It sold within 4 hours. And we used that money to get myself another car that I wanted…
Neat story. Looking forward to the next one. My ’98 Tahoe had the same affliction yours did with the missing and backfiring. Due to the design of the cap and how it rearranges the plug wire connections externally in cylinder order as opposed to internal firing order, they break down internally and start misfiring.
A new cap would fix the issue for a while, but in this climate even a GM cap would only last 2 years or so.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/coal1998-gmc-yukon-toy-hauler/
The door closing problem sounds like bad hinge bushings. They wear after a while and the door starts to sag. Really typical on Monte Carlos.
I can still hear that sound from the 70s era Monte Carlos when you shut the door
“Ga- snap zooonnnk slam! – rattle rattle rattle” I’d visualized the internal parts bouncing back and forth like that desk toy with the beads on strings as they made that rattling sound. Usually you needed to lift the door to make it latch securely
And don’t punch yourself in the face when the door pull falls off while you’re trying to shut it.
My luck runs opposite. The only cars I have been able to convert into an insurance check have been the ones that are all sorted and trouble-free. The ones with nagging problems or that I just never bonded with were never touched.
Unable to sleep the other night, I was up watching TV in the wee hours of the morning. All of a sudden, I heard a gnarly five or six second peelout coming from right outside my window. Someone was obviously drunk or high, or who knows what. The next morning, I could see the skid marks going halfway down the street, and they were dangerously close to where I park my car on the street. I wonder how close it came to getting creamed the way the author’s truck did…
Managed to get $1800 for my recently crashed ’87 Jetta GL that I paid $700 for in 2015. Put about $500 into it at the time for total cost of about $1200 including license fees, and a few hours of work. So it owes me nothing. A wheel, tire, and wishbone (control arm) will get it safely driveable. Do have all needed mechanical and body parts sitting in backyard (89 Jetta I got for free), only expense would be paint. Biggest problem is motivation to repair a car I really don’t need.
Craigslist it with the parts for $1500. Be willing to sell it for whatever a VW aficionado got as a return -especially if they drive up in one! Then sell the parts Jetta for $100 or include it in the sale of the ’87
Was thinking along those lines. Just got done straightening the wishbone, pulled out the fender enough to cover the back of the tire, bent the hinge pillar and top of door so it closes easily and seals (somewhat) to the door opening. Ordered a wheel on Amazon ($25.00), I’ll get a tire mounted and its good to drive. Put 2 snows on and test drove, drives straight, not pulling, wheel bearing not making noise. Not often you make money on an old car😁
Looks better than it did…
Good story. I’ve always liked Tahoes, but never owned one. Many people don’t have a choice, but I think it is often under appreciated how risky parking on the street is, especially overnight. If the drunks don’t get you, the theives will. It’s just a matter of time.
Regarding Tijuana bodywork…in the 1970s, a neighbor’s Datsun station wagon got rear ended. He took the insurance check for a USA repair and took it to Tijuana for the cheap fix. The bodyman failed to duplicate a crease in the right rear. From that day on, his Datsun was asymmetrical.
It could have been worse, having been in a car accident I can assure you that the accident where you are NOT in the car is preferable. Possibly you should have consulted the cat on whether the vehicle was worth fixing or not 🙂
The most common affliction I’ve seen on the big Tahoe is that they get stolen from mall parking lots and get found the next day without their wheels and tires. However that may be a local phenomenon.
The thing with the cats was that she loved cats and rescued them. We would keep them for a while and care for them until we found a permanent home for them. I never had cats growing up but I grew to love them. I hope to one day be a cat owner, because they got personality.
“We went to look at the new (2007) Tahoe…At $50k plus and us being first time buyers…we kind of felt it was not for us.” I think y’all made the right choice. It would’ve been pretty bad to have a brand-new SUV totaled by that runaway drunk driver. As I mentioned before when commenting on a previous C/K-focused article (possibly Marc’s), the final C/K generation was & still is the best of the Chevrolet/GMC trucks. There are many of this vintage & a few of the the older C/Ks still in daily use where I live, all in varying conditions but nonetheless running. Now that it’s gotten warmer & less rainy every week (we’ve gotten lots of rain lately) I’ve finally been able to take more pictures of my ’05 Astro. It’s hard to see unless you look from the right angle, but there’s a noticeable dent in the body on the driver side between the fuel tank door & the rear wheel, but otherwise there’s absolutely NO body damage anywhere on the van besides little chips & scratches in the paintwork as expected with a typical used car. Yep, already added a hitch & have towed the Wells Cargo Trailer with it (EFFORTLESSLY!) to the Pull-a-Part to transport more spare parts including an adjustable 3rd-row seat from an ’02 (the one it came with has the lever for it but it won’t move–I tried) as well as extra fuses & bulbs, some of which I’ve already used to replace additional blown bulbs in the tail lights (the middle ones above the reverse lights). Interesting how there are 4 park bulbs in the front AND rear when really just 2 are needed–must be a GM thing. Check Engine light still comes on every so often so this may need to be checked whenever I’m able to take it to Herlong Chevrolet. Still hasn’t broken down on me as of yet!
There were several scratches on the tail lights as well so when I replaced the bulbs I also upgraded the lenses to what some people might call a more “high-brow” look. And surprisingly these were actually CHEAPER than the factory replacements! Definitely make the van stand out a bit more!
The headlights & park lights say HI! (none of the bulbs are blown anymore)
Where it stays during the week when I’m at work, along with the Nissan Trailer (the shed near my grandmother’s house)
Good lesson to never, ever skimp on brakes.
All in all it doesn’t sound that bad for a 10 year old vehicle with an unknown history. How many miles were on it?
About 90k if I remember correctly
Another entertaining chapter of life with cars in it. I enjoyed this one, too.
The crash emphasizes something I’ve been adamant about having for just about my entire auto life: off street parking. I’ve survived the parking wars of Philadelphia (my car was towed within a week there–emphasizing the importance of actually reading all the street signs in the city), Boston and San Francisco (the latter I managed to live there an entire year without getting a parking ticket ever despite not having a residential sticker and sporting an out of state plate). That was a cat-and-mouse game with police, ticket writers, and street sweepers, in addition to the risk of getting side swiped. (Off street parking was a separate event of finding ways to park for free, something that is increasingly harder and harder, especially around hospitals that outsource their parking management.) In Wisconsin I had a roommate who lost her driver’s side mirror on her ’79 Ford Granada to a (likely drunk) driver (this was late 1988) who then plowed into the front steps of the house next door to us … and then fled (his front license plate was found in the debris, so he got busted). I saw an ambulance on the side of the highway (part of a returning convoy) get plowed into by a distracted driver (a colleague, an older, overweight and smoking physician who was an ER doctor, did the fastest 40 yard dash to the crash site I’ve ever seen). And in 2004 a stolen Nissan lost control and knocked over a telephone pole next to my driveway (with two very loud and bright Wilmington, NC police cars in close pursuit) where I always parked in the back on the grass. At our first house my wife preferred to park on the street in front of our house because she didn’t want to deal with the narrow driveway through the gate to the outbuilding carport out back (front door was only 15 ft from the curb), but present house the front is 50ft up hill.
A year previously my neighbor who moved down from Canada had an old 70s Dodge Aspen wagon, his car was totalled as well. It was parked in front of where the Xterra was.