Vehicles I've owned

In my 16+ years of driving, with an additional 3-4 pre-driving age, I have amassed a large amount of vehicles over the years. Maybe not large, but larger than I would have thought. Also, I think amassed means you own currently, so maybe that's the wrong word.

My mom first taught me how to drive when I was 9 years old. From there she would allow me to drive the car home down our 200 yard long dirt road driveway to our house. By the time I was 13-14 and had a job, I would drive my car to work, which was in town and I could escape the cops knowing by taking back streets.

Soon enough I started getting risky and driving home on main roads. One day I was pulling out of work at Dusk without my headlights on. As I passed a sheriff I noticed they were off, so I turned them on. He immediately did a 180 and pulled me over. I was SCARED to death. I thought I would go to jail or something like that. Keep in mind that this was just after my getting arrested for something my friends and I got in trouble for a few months earlier (had to do with stolen property).

So, the sheriff was actually really cool. He first asked for my license and registration (I looked old enough to be 16). I told him I didn't have a license and that I was 14 (maybe 15?). He kind of got that "oh no" look. I explained that I was only driving from work to home and my parents were aware of it. He arranged to call my dad and had my dad come pick me up. He kind of gave my dad the "you know you shouldn't do that" routine and my dad said said he understood.

But the next day at work I drove to work again. On the back streets of course.

That's enough about my driving though. I started this post to list all the vehicles I've owned over the years.

My vehicle ownership all started with my interest in cars in general. My parents owned a used car dealership while I was younger and my dad & mom have always had a fondness for classic cars. I worked from around age 9-12 and earned enough money to "buy in" partially on a "classic" car. My dad found a used 1956 Chevy Station wagon. Now, when you hear the word "station wagon" you think some large family vehicle. However, I was really into classic cars and loved the idea of lowering my cars. My dad said we could take this wagon and have it lowered and it would look pretty cool. I was on board, but over time we realized that it was going to be really expensive to try to fix this car up, so we sold it and bought a truck.

Here is a picture of what my wagon looked like. We had had it painted like this, but the interior still needed to be completely re-done.


My next vehicle (this was when I was around 13) was a 1984 Chevy s10 pickup. It was a stick-shift and this is the truck I drove a lot to and from work (and the one I was pulled over in). This is not an original picture of my truck, but mine looked like this


Just before I turned 16 and got my license, my parents helped me get a more economical car in this 1983 Toyota Celica. Mine looked just like this, but it was red. I got 3 tickets in this car in the first year of having my license. I drove it until it started having over-heating problems and sold it for next to nothing because it wasn't running (probably cracked the head from driving it so hot).


My parents and I then bought a 1977 Chevy Camero for really cheap (like $600). It was an impounded vehicle and nobody claimed it after 30 days, so we bought it from the towing yard. I loved this car because it was a V-8 (pretty good power) and it was built the year I was born. I took it on a road trip before my Sr year to San Diego with my friend Brian. We were gone a whole week and it was a blast (even though it ate up gas so much, but gas was cheap then). I can't remember why we got rid of the car. I think someone offered my dad a good amount of money for it, so he took it. (this is an original picture of my Camero)


We then bought a nice 1986 Chevy El Camino. I know everyone laughs at these cars, but I actually really like them. I don't know if they're classified as trucks or not, but they are basically like a small truck. Mine was gold with silver-spoked rims. The cool thing about these was that there was a ton of storage behind the back seat. My friends and I would go to the drive-in and hide people behind the seats, only paying for the two of us.

I remember when we were going the first time and Roman didn't want to look gay, with two men driving up to a drive-in movie, so he asked the cashier if we had seen a couple of girls in a green toyota and that one of them had nappy hair. The cashier said no, then Roman made it a point to say, "well, we're supposed to meet them here" just so he could clear up the fact with the cashier that we weren't gay. I was laughing so hard inside and the people behind the seat were doing everything they could to contain their own laughter.

Russ took this car over when I bought my next car. (this is not an original picture)


When I was 18, just after graduating HS my dad and I stopped by a used car lot of a friend of his. My dad was out of the used car business, but had lots of friends still in it. We found this perfect 1986 Honda Accord for around $3500. I was stoked. I had a full time job then (doing landscaping for my dad) so I could afford the payment. I had a 3 year loan at $150 a month.

This car was really nice and ran so well, despite me buying it with close to 200k miles on it. I drove it for 3+ years until I moved to Utah in 1998. I decided I wanted a 4x4, so I sold this car. It had over 300k miles on it and still ran great. I think I got around $1500 for it. (this is not an actual photo of mine, but mine looked just like this one, same color, same rims, etc.)


I then bought my first 4x4 in a 1993 Jeep Cherokee. I really liked this vehicle, but over time it started to have a few problems here and there. I never did any major suspension work on it, but it was fun to have when you could use the 4 wheel drive. I ended up selling it to my brother Jeff when he got off his mission. (this is an actual picture of it)


While I owned the Jeep, I also owned a 1995 Plymouth Neon. I needed a good car that was good on gas. This car did pretty good. Over time it began to wear down though. I remember one time me and 5 dudes drove it to the BYU vs. Cal Berkley game in CA. On our way there we stopped and met up with my best friend Roman in Sacramento. From there I rode with Roman in his truck while my friends drove the car. About 30 minutes outside Sacramento we noticed they started exiting and we were not able to exit. We took the next exit, looped around and drove back to their exit. We found the car had blown a head gasket and did something to where one of the cylinders wouldn't work. I remember how horrible it was because it was the only mode of transportation in getting back to Utah. However we were extremely lucky with the time of day and the fact that Roman had a truck.

It was 4pm on a Friday afternoon. All garages, for the most part, close for the weekend. We towed the car with Roman's truck into town and found a garage. The guys were just getting ready to close up shop. We begged them to get it fixed for us on Saturday. I offered to pay them cash and bought them a case of Budweiser as an additional incentive. They agreed. We then piled all our stuff and my 4 friends in the back of Roman's truck and drove to Oakland for our hotel.

The next day Roman and I drove back to Davis (about 1.5 hrs) to pay the guy and get the keys. The only issue was that they only fixed the head gasket problem; the car could only run on 3 cylinders (it would have taken longer and an extra $1500 to fix that cylinder problem). They said I could make it back to Utah, as long as I was really careful. So, Roman and I drove the truck back to the game, watched BYU destroy Cal, then went back to the car to attempt to drive it home. We drove ALL THE WAY home with 5 guys and 3 cylinders. We ate up a TON of gas doing it too. I still can't believe I didn't have a nervous break-down over this.

I ended up having the clutch go out on it, so I sold it to my mail carriers husband for $500. (this is an original picture)


I then bought my friend Tim's 1997 Nissan Pickup. This was a good truck and I loved driving it, but there wasn't much room in it when Alene, Caiden, and I wanted to go camping. I had it about a year before I sold it and bought my 2002 Dodge Dakota. (this is an original picture)


When I married Alene, I guess I "inherited" her Ford Focus, or from then on the cars were "ours". This was good car too, despite the side mirrors constantly falling off due to either Alene, or me hitting them on something. We took it on a road trip to Zion and to Montana and glacier NP. We sold it when we bought our Subaru. (this is an original picture)


We bought this 2002 Dodge Dakota and still own it. We've been trying to sell it, but I honestly have not been very good about marketing it. With the gas prices acting the way they are, and lending being hard to find, it's really hurt our chances of selling this for what we would like to get for it. It's a very good truck. I like how roomy it is, but it still has room for a truck bed. The back seats have the same amount of space you would find in any SUV. (this is an original photo)


We bought the Outback about a year after buying the truck. This is a 2002 Subaru Outback. It's nice because it has all-wheel drive, so it is pretty good in snowy and wet weather. Alene drove it a lot back and forth to Park City when she was working up there. We also took it on a drive down to the Robbers Roost area to go to Horseshoe Canyon. It's still a very good car for us, but the only down side is with having a baby, getting the car seat in and out of it. The head room is so short and makes it really hard. (this is an original photo)


Last May I wanted a bigger truck, something with more room in the bed and something a bit more powerful than the dodge. While the dodge is a V-8, it just doesn't quite have the power that a Chevy V-8 has. This is a 1997 Chevy 1500. I love this truck. The only thing I don't like is the rear seats are more cramped and it's only a 3-door, as opposed to the 4-door that the Dodge is. I'm pretty sure I'll have this truck for a long time. (this is an original photo)


I also bought this 1978 Honda 400 street bike a couple of years ago for $800. It's fun to ride around, but it's not quite powerful as I'd like to feel safe on the freeway (although I do take it on the freeway from time to time). It's still fun to have on a summer night and going for a ride with Alene. (this is an original photo)


I really like cars. I have to watch myself when I start thinking about them, because then I begin to covet. I think if I were a millionaire, I'd own a nice truck, a Jeep Wrangler, a Harley Davidson Sportster, probably a BMW (I've test driven many and I LOVE them), a 1969 Chevy Camero SS, and probably some sort of family SUV.

Anyway, since I won't be a millionaire, the cars I have will suffice and I will stop coveting.