How did my automotive escapades begin? Fiero...

April 6, 2023

A common misconception about me is that I did not grow up loving cars or the automotive world in general. I never so much as turned a wrench until I turned 16 and was fortunate enough to have my parents help buy me with the purchase of a used 2004 Mazda 6 with 110,000 miles.

You're probably expecting me to say that was the turning point, but you'd be wrong. While I learned to drive stick in this car and perform basic maintenance (oil changes, brake pads, spark plugs, etc.), I never had the bug to modify or do any type maintenance that wasn't a requirement (preventing the car from running) at that time.

As I went through college, I started progressively liking cars more. I didn't necessarily understand how cars mechanically worked as I had never done research and was never willing to take the plunge to try and go deeper. As my (second) senior year rolled around, many of my friends (including my girlfriend at the time; now wife) moved away. As you'll probably figure out, I'm really bad at sitting around and doing nothing; like really bad. This extra time I now had is what contributed to what would happen next...

Early second semester of my senior year, my roommate (also an automotive enthusiast) and I went and walked around a used car lot. What intrigued me at that moment was that neither of us were interested in the $20,000-40,0000 cars that we could not afford, but the cars that were ~$1,000 with more cosmetic issues than hopefully mechanical ones did. We did not buy anything at that dealer as neither of us had $500 at the time, but it sparked interest in getting something.

Later that same day as going to the dealer, my roommate and I decided to go on Craigslist (Facebook Marketplace did not exist yet) and found something that sparked our interest; a 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE for $600.

Immediately we agreed to reach out to the seller and were as giddy as a schoolboy at Christmas at the idea of seeing it. It took a couple of hours, but we heard back from the seller and settled on meeting the next morning.

We drove about 30 miles the next day and I think we both fell in love with the Fiero the second we saw it in person. This was one of those special occasions where the car was probably more mechanically flawed than cosmetically (which it was far from perfect on). The drivers' seat looked as if Mike Tyson's tiger from the hangover had an evening with it, the interior had an odor that could only be described as mold festering for thirty years through a leaky sunroof with a single attempt with bleach to fix it, and as we drove it the engine felt like it would stall at any RPM in the rev range (definitely was running on 3-4 cylinders).

We looked at each other and did not have a clue where to start in trying to fix it or even make it better. So what did we do? I made the man an offer of $300. We negotiated for a minute and agreed to a price of $350. This was how I learned to negotiate.

We went to go pickup a flatbed trailer from Uhaul; we did not think that we would originally need it and figured we would drive home. Hindsight, this was probably the best decision we made on this entire purchase as the tires were dated in the 90's and the brakes (or lack there of) felt like God could take the wheel at any moment. 

As we pulled in our driveway (we lived in a house, not an apartment), we started realizing the amount of work this car might entail. Surprisingly neither of us were scared, just a bit intimidated. I think the sunset helped justify our decision though.

Over the next couple of weeks, I started to tinker (much like I do now but with no tools or equipment). I changed the battery, spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and of course the oil (and yes, you can hold up the hood/bonnet of a Fiero with a well-designed 2x4).

While I did this, my roommate focused on the interior. His goal was to make the smell of pungent mold bearable for a 10-minute ride in the car. He removed the seats, steam cleaned the floor, bleached just about everything, and it came out better than what you might expect (except for seat, there was no rescuing that).

I would venture to say that while neither of us had done perfect jobs, the car was now in a (somewhat) drivable state. I insured and registered it allowing us to start using it. Over the next 3 months, I drove it to class (a total of 3 miles each way) and received more compliments (I mix up compliments and laughs) on this than I ever did in my previous Mazda 6. I also continued tinkering with it including throttle body, brakes (didn't actually do these as I couldn't break the lugs loose with my 3/8 drive without a breaker), fuel additives, and various other things. Here were some pictures and images from the time:

After graduating college a couple of months later, we decided to sell it. While some people have regrets about selling certain cars, this was definitely not one of those moments. We originally listed it for $1,500 (which was WAY too much) and ended up selling for about $700. 

The Fiero was the car that taught me how to work on cars. The Fiero was the car that I learned what was necessary to insure and register a car. The Fiero is how I learned to buy and sell cars, as well as negotiate. The Fiero was what really got me into cars in general. It wasn't fast, it wasn't clean, it wasn't reliable, but without it I wouldn't be where I am today. Cheap cars serve a great purpose allowing new people readily available entry into the automotive space that might otherwise be thought of as being unattainable or unaffordable. Best guidance I can provide if you're at all interested in cars, buy something inexpensive (research it first as some cars aren't worth working on) and try it yourself; it's not as hard as you might think.