Warning: don’t buy a used car from me

People who knew me when I was young still remember some of the cars I once owned. Actually, some of them were real clinkers masquerading as automobiles. Three of them were Studebakers. Need I say more? By the way, I'd love to have that '47 Stude convertible (upper picture) back again!

I must be going through my second childhood. As Yogi Berra would say, it’s déjà vu all over again. Except this time it’s what’s happening to the cars after I sell them .

Example 1:

In a weak moment we bought a Ford Granada (lower picture) in 1978. It turned out to be a mistake. We chose the six-cylinder version, which made it a double mistake.

At 18,000 miles (6 thousand miles past the warranty) the Granada threw a rod. The connecting rod gave out at very low speed or the engine would have completely “shelled out.” It was caused by a casting flaw in one of the rod caps.

Bad luck continued to dog that car. One time the hood latch failed and the hood flew back against the windshield at 55 miles-per-hour.

We sold it in 1988 to our ex-son-in-law. He soon re-sold it to a man that had an unpaid traffic citation. The sale wasn’t completed properly and the unpaid ticket bounced back to our ex-son-in-law. I tell ya, that car was a jinx to the end!

Example 2:

This involves a 1988 Chevy. One of our granddaughters ended up with the car when it had about 145,000 miles.

The car developed serious engine problems for her because she never checked or changed the oil. Her father (the same man who bought our Ford Granada) took the car to the Colorado mountains where he lived at that time.

Somehow the car was found disabled and abandoned by a roadside. The car was still in our name. Lori and Laura straightend it out with the Highway Patrol and the DMV, which was not an easy task.

Example 3:

The third car that came back to haunt us was a 1990 Buick. It was sold through a friend who has a dealers license.

The car was purchased by a young man who drove it to his parents home in a distant state. Only he didn’t quite make it. He hit a guardrail and left the disabled car abandoned by the roadside. The title had been signed over to the new owner but was still in our names.

I swear this is all true -- you just can’t make this stuff up!