Australia & New Zealand S2000 Owners Members from the land downunder.

Its the end of an era ptII

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Old 11-06-2003, 04:09 AM
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Default Its the end of an era ptII

Well guys the ride has finally come to an end. My car was driven away from me today marking the end of what has been an unforgetable experience.

Every day over the last 14months I have been equally stoked to be driving, looking at, and cleaning my car. Ok so maybe I was a little happier on the drive days but other than that my love for my car never altered.

I know that it isn't healthy to have such an affection for material objects but it wasnt the monetary value of the car that I was infatuated with, it was the endless smile that the car gave me whenever I took her out of the garage or even when I peeked in the garage before retiring to bed.

The good times that we shared whether it be alone on a weekend drive up the coast road or sitting in traffic heading home from work. It actually got to the stage where I didnt look forward to finishing work because I could go home..... I looked to finishing so that I could drive home. I even hid all of my road maps so that I could get lost at every opportunity possible and explore new roads soaking up the bliss

The thumbs up from ankle biters or evil glares from jealous onlookers always made me smile and realise how lucky I was to have such a pleasurable machine that is realised by so few.

Selling the car was a sacrifice that was always intended from the day that I seen the car in the paper. My intention was to own the car for a brief period and sell it when I thought that I was ready to take a bigger step in purchasing an investment property. It didnt take me long to identify the one weak point of the car for me..... I knew that one day I would have to sell it and that its replacement could not stand a chance in comparison.

Since making the decision I moved into my girlfriends place and put my car in my parents garage 45mins away advertising it in the trading post for $44900. At this stage I was prepared to be a little disappointed as I was aiming high and knew that it was worth a lot more to me than what most would pay. I had very little response from this ad with 50% of the callers not interested in the car but interested in selling me something

This minor setback only increased my feelings to keep the car however I had already moved into a unit with no garage so I had made the committment

I then bit the bullet and rang an aquaintance to enquire about putting the car on consignment in Sydney and decided that while waiting for his confirmation it could be parked out the front of my Uncle's factory on Elizabeth Drive, Kemps creek. This was the beginning of last week

Thursday 30th my Dad called me and told me that over the last couple of days he had been talking with a client about the car and that it was now sold. As I said the guy picked it up today.

I think that he is about my age and is selling his mirage to buy it. I spoke to him today(car is in sydney Im in w'gong) and I think that I may have overwhelmed him a little and upset myself a lot. He is already telling me that he wants to put 19" wheels on it and that have to be chrome Also wants to lower it and put on a loud but "powerful" exhaust. I cringed and told him the usual about the minimal gains from mods and detrimental performance of big chrome wheels but I have a feeling that it was falling on deaf ears.

Any way the good news in all of this.... I got $44000 for my stock '99 model MC blue with 80000kms, 11months rego etc
Search for my FS ad on this forum if you want the details.For now Ill be driving my girlfriends pos 84 pulsar until it dies and then Ill probably buy something like a mirage i.e cheap on fuel, insurance and nothing to worry about. Hell I might even let my g/f drive it

One thing that I really regret not doing was the adv. driving course. It would have been a great car for me to do it in and I never got to see any track time at all. One day I imagine that I will own another S maybe its not even that far away. In the mean time though thanks to Stan and MYH I have these beautiful images to remind me of her beauty.

Thanks to Stanley for this pic


And thanks to MYH for these two from the last drive


Old 11-06-2003, 05:03 AM
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I know exactly how you felt when you heard the new owner wanted to drop it to the floor and put chrome wheels on.

When I sold my civic (one that I had lived with for 10yrs, been through 3 different girlfriends with me ), I had a choice for her new owner. A young chap from melbourne who really knew about cars and racing really wanted it but couldnt afford that extra 2K I was asking for, and then there was a young highschool graduate who could afford it but told me he wanted to drop another 2 inches and put chrome mags on.

Call me silly but I ended up selling her to the melbourne chap. I still keep in touch with him and he is treating the car even better than I did and bringing so much more out of it on the track. I still havent regreted missing out on extra 2k
Old 11-06-2003, 12:13 PM
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Austblue dude, you're making me feel heart broken!!!

While reading through that I could hear a sad song with swooning lyrics in my head, with flashes of good times, and memories.

Even saw you holding the front tires of your S spinning around in a field of flowers!

Seriously though, investment I guess is the way to go. This way you'll be able to afford something alot better further down the track.

wil..

ps. I really did see you and your S spinning around in a field of flowers in my head!! ak... too many drugs!
Old 11-06-2003, 01:21 PM
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Austblue, I hope you'll stay on in this forum. You've been a very good contributor and your departure would be a loss for us all.
Old 11-06-2003, 03:21 PM
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Hey Aust, congrats on the sale and sorry to hear of your loss all at the same time. If it makes you feel any better I admire you for the path you have chosen and I'm sure it's the right one.

That's no excuse for not sticking around though!
Old 11-06-2003, 07:14 PM
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Thanks guys

Unfortunately my addiction to this site appears to have only gotten worse with the reduction in time that I have spent with my car over the last few weeks so I doubt that I will disappear that easily.

As you can probably tell from my misery drunk post last night Im very enthusiastic about these cars and I will continue that interest even though I dont have one to enjoy. I have really enjoyed some of the threads that have been going on in our corner lately and I seem to be learning more every day that I read here. Id say that only 60% or so of threads are specific to the S2000 anyways and I always enjoy hearing other people's opinions on issues that interest me, I guess that its a good way to maintain an open mind and objective view on things.

I especially appreciate the advise that everyone has been willing to offer on a couple of threads that I have initiated for my own benefit. Its a good feeling when people offer to give up their own personal time to assist and advise at no gain of their own except to be part of a community of sorts especially when you have never met before or even only once or twice.

Again thanks for the comments guys
Old 11-06-2003, 07:52 PM
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Sorry to hear about your loss but we knew it was on the cards for quite a while.
Actually I thought you must have given up on the sale since we hadnt heard anything for a month or so.

If you want to stay involved I would be happy to take you on the occasional HSCC monthly drive.
My wife and son are not interested in those so I generally have an empty passenger seat.
Old 11-07-2003, 10:33 AM
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Austblue,

Sorry about your ride.

If and when I get another S2000 after we move to Sydney I'll be in a position to offer you a ride like DaveFromSydney as I am in the same situation as him (regarding my wife).

Heck, if the HSCC club drives are long I'll even let you drive it. No point in hogging the wheel if the drive is long!
Old 11-07-2003, 12:57 PM
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by cashout
Austblue,

Sorry about your ride.
Old 11-08-2003, 04:39 AM
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We are planning to move between Feb and April. The exact date is not decided but it would not be earlier than Feb 10 or later than April 15. It has to do mostly with selling all the stuff (house, cars, etc., lodging taxes one last time (fiscal year is calendar year) and generally making sure that there are no loose ends. That, and I picked up a 6 month contract that would finish at the end of Feb.


Those drives sound short. But since everything here is further apart it may just be a relative thing (hopefuly a good thing). Most of the drives I go around here require a ~300km trip to GET to the drive. It is usually a 6 am to 8pm thing for me (by the time you drive there, have lunch, drive around, tell tall tales and drive back). I don't mind it. Since the wife and I are in the 'There is no tomorrow (in America)' mood we just drive, drive , drive... :-)

Track? yes, yes, YES!! (I am the official track whore in the carolinas forum ;-) )


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