A great purchase

I made a great purchase on October 13, 1995. I was in college and my car had just been totalled. I needed a new car immediately since I commuted to school. I chose a 1989 Mazda 323 hatchback. It had 51,800 miles on it and was in great shape. I paid 2000 dollars cash for it. A few months later we had an emergency and had to have money fast. The bank gave us 7 grand with it as collateral. We were fortunate. A year later we had the title back. Shortly after that I was making a late night grocery store run when it happened. This woman wrecked into me. She was busy looking in her purse for her lighter and did not even know I was in the parking lot. The only obvious damage was the turn signal on the front right side. It was busted. The not so obvious damage was the bent frame. The repair estimate was 2400 dollars. I have a turn signal in the bumper as well as the one that was broken. I didnt think the bent frame was that big of a deal so I pocketed the money. So at this point the car has cost me nothing but normal maintenance. Not very long after this the heater core needed to be replaced. It cost $150. In 1999, the transmission went. That was actually a tough one. I debated not replacing it and getting something else. I figured a used transmission was worth the risk. That cost $700 including labor. So, the car actually costs something more than maintenance now ($450). In 2000, I moved into the regular work force. In 2002, the odometer cable broke. Cost $50 big ones. Oddly enough, the heater core went bad again. $250 bigger ones. Thats a total of $750. Then, the train accident in 2005. This car was old and there was a layer of oxidation on the metal surfaces. The engine has a small oil leak and most of the engine compartment was coated in oil. The car was spared significant damage from the Chlorine. They gave me $500 to fix it. The only damage was the brakes. New pads were $50 bucks. To date, the car has cost me $300. I have 181,000 miles on it now and drive it to work almost every day. It has been dependable. It has been a great purchase.