rentaspace's progression :), How My Celica Came to Be :) Options

[rentaspace]

So gonna start my progression thread, and update it occasionally.
I'll start with how I got my Celica:
So it all started last year in around March, when I got my Red P's and was searching for that first car...
I tested a lancer, a prelude and a Hyundai Coupe... They all had their pluses and minuses, but none felt 'right'...
On the way home from the Prelude, we passed a Ford dealership and sitting in the middle was a little white PreFacelift Celica, as soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one I wanted. When I got home I jumped online and and contacted the dealer; she was an auto (I am not legally allowed to drive manual yet, thanks to my dads non-functioning speedometer).
The next day, my dad drove me and my beautiful girlfriend out to the dealer and we test drove the car. At the end of the test drive the dealer wanted 8k for her. I knew this was steep for it, but she was in almost perfect condition.

The only damage I could pick was a scrape on the passenger side rear wheel fender, a few small dents over her and quite a large dent in the roof (it looked like the previous owner had hit her with his fists)...
With the $8k as a base, we negotiated with the dealer and came out with a total:
- $7700 for the car
- All dents removed from the car
- Brand New 5 treads
- and finally what really made me go for it, A 12 month warranty... on an 18 year old car

Here she was on that exact day, right after out test drive:




A few weeks later, we got a call saying that she was ready for pickup, All the dents had been removed ($1500 worth of dent removal and paint) and she was good to go. A few days later her first photo shoot:



Her Interior and Engine were immaculate for her age:




After a few weeks our small troubles began, she started leaking oil all over the ground... After a call to the dealership, she was booked in for her first warranty inspection... They re-did all engine gaskets and replaced all seals in the engine... When we got her back, she was still leaking... We took her back again and were told that the transmission seals were shot, they were replaced and the engine was flushed out; the leaking stopped... for now...
Over all, the work would of cost ($1800 by the dealer, if not for the warranty).

Ill post the first of many mods in the next few hours or so, Once I get together the photos and know exactly what I want to say

This post has been edited by rentaspace: Oct 21, 2013 - 1:34 AM

[JoshuaM]

I'll just beat him to it...

what does it mean to be a P-plater?
and they check skirt height!! thats absurd!!

In Australia, as soon as you pass your driving test (At age 17 + having had your learners license for at least 12 months and recording over 100/120 hours of 'log book' driving wih a qualified driver - number varies on state), you go on to a provisional license, which is designed to try to limit some of the distractions that cause accidents for new drivers, and to allow other road users to identify said young driver as somebody with little experience on the road (that doesn't always end well).

Restrictions for p platers (as they are called since all provisional license holders need to display p plates whilst driving) vary state to state, but in general;

Red P plates;
- Keep for 12 months
- Max 1 non-family passenger after 11pm
- no mobile phones (including hands free)
- 0.000 BAC limit (legal drinking age is 18 here, so it matters )
- Low number of demerit points - so it's easy to lose your license for 1 or 2 minor offenses
And the kickers,
- no 'high powered vehicles', which is everything over 210kW, turbo petrol, V8 and up, anything supercharged etc.
- no modification (classed as things that require inspection; so no engine swaps or turbo builds.... Coil overs are a grey area )

Green P plates;
- Keep for a further 24 months
- same as above, but ditches the one person and no hands free mobile rules.

In New South Whales, where rentaspace lives, there are even speed restrictions that stop them going full speed on the interstates!

And since it is so easy to identify p plate drivers, they are unfairly targeted by police more than anything! So I would be careful about going too low.

is it an Australia thing? why cant you drive a stick? whay does your dads speedometer have to do with that?

When you go for your practical driving test to advance from learners to provisional license, you can only be awarded the type of license eligible for the car you took the test in. Since rentaspace took the test in an auto, he has only been given a license to drive an auto!

The reason he couldn't use his dads car is that it is currently 'unroadworthy' because of that fault, and arriving at the test centre with that would have been an instant failure and loss of the driving test fee before they left the lot.