On Thursday, 22 August 2013 14:09:39 UTC-3, Mr. Luddite wrote:

--------------------------------



Shortly before receiving orders to Puerto Rico I had purchased (and

financed) my first "new" car. 1972 Ford Pinto. :-)

The Navy paid to ship it to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico restricted cars

brought to the island and to qualify it had to be less than a few

years old to be allowed, so I had to have a relatively new car.



After we settled down I found out that *all* cars .... new and old ...

had a severe import tax placed on them for Puerto Rican customers.

The purpose of the tax was to limit the number of cars coming in

because they had a serious problem with what to do with all the old,

discarded ones.



Within a few weeks I received a cash offer from another Puerto Rican

for the Pinto for a couple of hundred more than I had paid for it back

in IL.

I figured if I sold it, I could pay off the loan, saving all the

interest as well.



There was a wealth of used cars for sale on the Navy base, left by

people who had been transferred out. One of the warrant officers had

set up a little "side" business, buying the cars from the people

getting transferred .... or just acquiring them after they left. He

really did everyone a great service because we could get some wheels

cheap. The problem was getting them registered, but he had that

covered also. He had a friend in the Alabama Motor Vehicle Registry

who, for a $25 fee, would send you plates and a registration made out

in your name but to some fictitious address.

It was kinda funny because half the base came from Alabama, according

to their car registrations.



So, I accepted the offer for the Pinto and bought a beat up old VW

Beatle and a really cool, early 60s Bentley. Bought both for a

couple of hundred and used them for the next 2 years while stationed

there.

Back in early 1972 I decided to celebrate getting a job at 'the Corp' by buying a spanking new car.. my first new one.
Looked at the Pintos but their reputation was on the drop by then.
Bought a 1972 VW Super Beatle for $2600.
Could have bought a 1971 convertible VW demonstrator that the dealer owner's wife had supposedly driven but I wanted that first year for the Super Beatle.

In article ,
says...

On Thursday, 22 August 2013 14:09:39 UTC-3, Mr. Luddite wrote:

--------------------------------



Shortly before receiving orders to Puerto Rico I had purchased (and

financed) my first "new" car. 1972 Ford Pinto. :-)

The Navy paid to ship it to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico restricted cars

brought to the island and to qualify it had to be less than a few

years old to be allowed, so I had to have a relatively new car.



After we settled down I found out that *all* cars .... new and old ...

had a severe import tax placed on them for Puerto Rican customers.

The purpose of the tax was to limit the number of cars coming in

because they had a serious problem with what to do with all the old,

discarded ones.



Within a few weeks I received a cash offer from another Puerto Rican

for the Pinto for a couple of hundred more than I had paid for it back

in IL.

I figured if I sold it, I could pay off the loan, saving all the

interest as well.



There was a wealth of used cars for sale on the Navy base, left by

people who had been transferred out. One of the warrant officers had

set up a little "side" business, buying the cars from the people

getting transferred .... or just acquiring them after they left. He

really did everyone a great service because we could get some wheels

cheap. The problem was getting them registered, but he had that

covered also. He had a friend in the Alabama Motor Vehicle Registry

who, for a $25 fee, would send you plates and a registration made out

in your name but to some fictitious address.

It was kinda funny because half the base came from Alabama, according

to their car registrations.



So, I accepted the offer for the Pinto and bought a beat up old VW

Beatle and a really cool, early 60s Bentley. Bought both for a

couple of hundred and used them for the next 2 years while stationed

there.

Back in early 1972 I decided to celebrate getting a job at 'the Corp' by buying a spanking new car.. my first new one.
Looked at the Pintos but their reputation was on the drop by then.
Bought a 1972 VW Super Beatle for $2600.
Could have bought a 1971 convertible VW demonstrator that the dealer owner's wife had supposedly driven but I wanted that first year for the Super Beatle.

I know a person who had a used Pinto in the San Francisco area. It had
that stupid looking kit that made the front look like a Rolls Royce!!!
It got stolen in the city, she called the cops, they got there and she
was crying, cop asks her for a description, after she gives the
description he asks "why are you crying?"!!!!

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...


I know a person who had a used Pinto in the San Francisco area. It had
that stupid looking kit that made the front look like a Rolls Royce!!!
It got stolen in the city, she called the cops, they got there and she
was crying, cop asks her for a description, after she gives the
description he asks "why are you crying?"!!!!

------------------------------

I didn't have it long but as I recall, it wasn't really a bad car.
It was new, cheap and all I could really afford at the time. Got me,
my wife, infant daughter and two other Navy guys who needed a ride
home from IL to MA. Then onto Bayonne, NJ for transport to Puerto
Rico.

That was before they realized that they tended to blow up when hit
from behind.

In article ,
says...

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...


I know a person who had a used Pinto in the San Francisco area. It had
that stupid looking kit that made the front look like a Rolls Royce!!!
It got stolen in the city, she called the cops, they got there and she
was crying, cop asks her for a description, after she gives the
description he asks "why are you crying?"!!!!

------------------------------

I didn't have it long but as I recall, it wasn't really a bad car.
It was new, cheap and all I could really afford at the time. Got me,
my wife, infant daughter and two other Navy guys who needed a ride
home from IL to MA. Then onto Bayonne, NJ for transport to Puerto
Rico.

That was before they realized that they tended to blow up when hit
from behind.

Oh, she put a BUNCH of miles on that thing! It really was reliable.

In article ,
says...

On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:15:51 -0400, iBoaterer
wrote:

In article ,
says...

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...


I know a person who had a used Pinto in the San Francisco area. It had
that stupid looking kit that made the front look like a Rolls Royce!!!
It got stolen in the city, she called the cops, they got there and she
was crying, cop asks her for a description, after she gives the
description he asks "why are you crying?"!!!!

------------------------------

I didn't have it long but as I recall, it wasn't really a bad car.
It was new, cheap and all I could really afford at the time. Got me,
my wife, infant daughter and two other Navy guys who needed a ride
home from IL to MA. Then onto Bayonne, NJ for transport to Puerto
Rico.

That was before they realized that they tended to blow up when hit
from behind.

Oh, she put a BUNCH of miles on that thing! It really was reliable.

My most unlikely car was a 71 Gremlin. I didn't buy it, I got it for
free but I ended up putting 50,000 miles on it and selling it for
$500.

Yeah, had an aquaintence in the town I lived in that bought a Gremlin
brand new. He traded it in for one of those AMC cars that looked like a
bubble.

It really wasn't that horrible for a free car.
All of those AMC 6's had a bad habit of fouling the #5 plug. I got to
the point that I would just swap it out and clean it. I had several in
the glove box and I could do it at a long light. I really only did
that once on a bet but I had the money in my wallet when the light
changed. (Rt 5 and Camp Springs Road, a really oppressive light)