Vehicles - What Fun They Are

The second day Stef and I were in Costa Rica, we bought a 1997 Toyota SUV. With the exception of the radiator blowing out on the top of a mountain, it was a pretty good truck. One day, Stef decided that she wanted to up-grade to a newer vehicle and I kind of thought the same thing. I also had a neighbor who really wanted to buy my Toyota bad.  I started checking things out and decided to find a Hyundai Terracan. They have a very good reputation here in Costa Rica, and most of them are diesels - something I really wanted. Since I was 15 yrs old I've had somewhere between 50-60 vehicles, and never really had any major problems with any of them. Until now...

This is our 2002 Hyundai Terracan. It's a 2.5 Turbo diesel with a 5 speed manual transmission that can really take the hills well. I bought it from the CFO of HP here in Costa Rica. He was the second owner and had had it for 3 years. We had narrowed down our choice to 3 Terracans and this one because of the low miles and price seemed to be the best deal. Because I was so excited to get a new truck, I really did not check it over that well - Boy, that was a big mistake!!!! By accident, I found out that the original owner had used it for commercial use (diving equipment) and had ran the hell out of it. - Now this truck has about 69,000 miles on it. So far, we have had to:

• June - new clutch under warranty - new syncro in the transmission, misc front-end work, AC work, 4 new shocks, and other - $1,400 - Oh yes, and I had to buy a new set of tires because what would last 80,000 miles in the US only lasts about a year here because of the roads, curves and steep hills. - $600
• May - rebuild the turbo - $1,000
• April - new injectors and other - $550
• Before that - the list goes on, and on, and on

Now this week, after all this and the truck is running great - A power steering hose blows on me - another $80 - Is there anything else that can go wrong with this truck? I am certainly not going to bet against it!!!!









This our mechanic Luis Sanchez (on the left) and his right hand man Lazarus - If it weren't for these two guys, I would have had to take the "Gringo" shaft on many occasions. Luis has an outstanding reputation for his knowledge of cars and has saved me at least 50% of what I would have had to pay in the states. - I am probably his most consistent customer.

Now, we have the GEO Tracker that Charlie owns. (This is a picture of it with the old convertible top on it). Believe it or not, I think that he has only been able to drive it twice since he bought it because it is always in the shop for something. We found it through a friend in Grecia who said they ran a check on it because they had thought about buying it. According to the check they ran - It was first a rental car in Hawaii that had the left front fender smashed, then a couple in South Carolina bought it and kept it until some guy in Costa Rica bought it and shipped it here - It is painted a very nice color of blue - based on our experience  - we call it Katrina Blue

Here we have a picture of it with the new fiberglass top I had installed. Makes the car look much nicer, more secure, much more quieter riding and the rain does not get inside anymore. We don't drive this car that much. Only when the Terracan is in the shop. However, the mechanical things done to it are:

• New transmission
• New AC unit
• Complete new front-end
• And, just a few other things...

The vehicle you see below is the most dependable transportation we have. I have had it a little over 2 years and have spent a total of $200 for regular maintenance. It has a 175cc Kawasaki engine, 4 speed plus reverse. It gets 75 mpg on a straight run but only about 40 mpg where we live because of the roads and hills - not bad! I drive it to town and around town a lot. All the pretty girls around just look and smile at it (probably wish they had one). The Chevy emblem you see on it was a gift from our friend Billy Walker. I have been asked many times if it was in fact a new kind of Chevy.

I apologize for this post being so long, but this has been on my mind for a long time. When we sell the house I can tell you  - Goodbye Terracan,  hello something new - hee hee