I am almost certain that this is a bad idea. Considering that I am so inexperienced with anything to do with cars, but I guess people have to start somewhere. I feel like this would be a good place to get advice and hopefully expand my knowledge. So, if you didnt know from the name of the thread but I work at McDonalds and this is currently my only source of any income. I am also just finishing my final year of high school education. At this point I have three more exams left and here I am writing this. Nice one.
So I recently purchased a 96 BRG NA and to be honest I got ripped off, but thats beside the point. I am new to this whole car thing, this my first year on a license and this was the first car I have ever bought. From what I have read this car, is a fantastic first car (I was thinking of getting an e30 or an e28 at some point I still love these BMWs and hope to own one someday, ended up getting MX5) and despite the whole money thing, I love this car. Best of all my mother approved of my choice and thats a good thing when you still live at home.
The car I bought was mechanically sound however it had some major cosmetic issues, mainly oxidised paint and some paint scraping. Most of the interior is pretty good but there are some tears in the leather. Also the soft top has a big tear down the left side that wasnt there when I bought the car but appeared within a few days. I have no idea how this occurred but my friends think that someone at school made the tear whilst the car was parked in our school carpark. I dont think this happened but thats what they think. The previous owner was a nice chap, but he had obviously neglected the car and it really did need someone who really cared about the car. He recently told me that he had purchased a new ND MX5 and told me how well the old NAs compared to the newer car. The car is completely stock apart from some Yellow Speed Racing Dynamic Pro Sport coilovers and a cold air intake.
So here are some pictures of the car maybe on the third day of ownership:
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After a about two weeks of ownership, we took the car to a detailer in Sydney who had a look if he could bring back the oxidised paintwork and sure enough he could. Now I know all those chaps out there who would recommend doing this themselves to save some pennies but I kinda wanted a professional to sort it out as I needed to focus on schooling. The guys at Australia Detail Services were so genuine and were really helpful. Turns out the owners went to the high school I am currently at, small world.
I was really happy with the outcome of their work:
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In order to fix the tear in the soft top I purchased some silicone glue, some sailing thread and some tape. With the help of my dad (who taught me how to sew), we stitched up the tear using a curved sewing needle and used the silicone glue to reinforce it and make it water proof. Then just added some of the tape on top to coverup the mess of the stitching. I am happy with the result, I reckon this will hold up until I can afford to purchase a new soft top.
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So where I am now. Well after a little incident in the wet the car is now un-driveable. Being a stupid teenager with a stupid teenager brain I made a mistake and now I pay the price. Lesson Learnt.
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From what I can see I have caused some serious damage to the control arm and one of the OEM alloys has cracked, along with the front two wheels getting completely unaligned. Pretty sure its going to be an expensive fix. So after my exams I plan to head back to work and contact a mechanic to get the car back on the road. I also need to contact some paint touch up guys to come patch up further paint damage on the bumper and I may as well get the doors fixed up as well. So its going to be a slow fix with my small wage from McDonalds but it will get done.
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