The Trade Off, Part 1

 

Almost seven months have passed since I brought a dormant 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier back to life and proceeded to rack up 12,000 kilometers (or just about 7,500 miles for you other folks). Just a short while ago (at the time of this posting, it has been a week), I decided it was time to let it go, not that there was anything wrong with it, but I believe I found something that will better cure my "nostalgia ailment." 

The more I was driving the Cavalier, the more I wanted my 1982 Toyota Supra back. Despite the two cars have very little in common (other than four wheels, two doors and both had manual transmissions), one was inexplicably reminding me of the other.

I highly doubt my old Supra is even still around after all these years and if it was, it wouldn't be the same car the last time I drove it. So, what are my options? Well, getting another Supra (like my old '82 Mk II through '98 Mk IV) is out of the question since all of them are unrealistically priced, in "not worth saving" condition or automatics (and paying to convert one to a manual would be pricey, since those transmissions are becoming more and more rare with each passing year). I can thank the social hype towards these cars for driving up the prices.

The next car on my list "that would do" were Datsun/Nissan Z/ZX cars. Just like the Supra, 240Z's through to the current 370Z (with all the models in between) suffer from the same pricing/condition/transmission symptoms. Same goes for it's cousin, the Infiniti G35/G37 (which are Nissan Skylines for the North America market, speaking of Skylines, those are "above and beyond" what I was willing to spend).

There were other cars I considered as "extreme compromises" such as the Honda Prelude and Accord/Civic coupes, Hyundai Tiburon, Mitsubishi 3000GT/Dodge Stealth and Toyota Celica to name a few. Between Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and a few other online classifieds, I wasn't liking what I was finding. Perhaps I was being too narrow in scope, so I decided to broaden my search beyond coupes.

A Subaru? To be honest, they are on my list, at the bottom....fading to black.... This ad on Facebook Marketplace caught my attention and I can't put a finger on exactly why. The pictures were decent and the description was....read for yourself....

"Scoobie the subie up for grabs. 1300 OBO Will trade for dirtbike was my daily for the last year and a half. Electric everything works (windows & sunroof) has dule 12” subs. Also has classic subie issues (burns oil) & thermostat needs to be replaced ($100)."

 

Perhaps I was having a flashback to last year when I took a Subaru Outback for a test drive and walked away due to high sticker-shock (with a lot of negative equity rolled in for good measure). However, I was cautiously intrigued and reached out to the seller of the Impreza to arrange a look, listen and sit in.