I picked up a 2004 Graphite last weekend!

Pics first, story below

At Super 8 - Ukiah


Hwy 101


Hwy 101


Hwy 101, time to get back on the road

I was looking to replace my DD with something a little more fun than the 2000 Lincoln Continental I've been stuck in for the last 5 years. I was primarily focused on a Mini Cooper S, but I would've only wanted a 6-speed. Then I saw a Crossfire come up in one of my random searches and I was hooked - I had not even thought about getting one before about 3 weeks ago. Tried to find one local but most were either outside of my price or were complete garbage - seriously, why would there be a 1" gap between the gauge cluster and the dash? So I expanded my search and found just what I was looking for in Vegas. A few email and phone calls later, and being the cheapskate that I am, I booked a $42 flight to Vegas, hastily crafted a route to avoid the weather and went to pick up my new ride

Went to my folk's house Friday night to be close and get a ride to the airport. I was was like a little kid on Christmas eve and could not sleep until about 1 a.m. - awoke at 3:15 to get coffee and roust my Dad/chauffeur. Got to SeaTac at 4 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight to Las Vegas. Flight landed right on time and I was off to the dealer's place (he picked me up) by 8:45. After checking out the car and taking a test drive, there were a few things that weren't mentioned so a bit of haggling ensued.

I was ready to walk at one point, but luckily my bluff worked -( I really didn't have a backup plan for leaving without the car ) and we arrived at a fair price. Dude was a talker, so everything moved in slow motion. Didn't get everything wrapped up until after noon!

So now my early lunch was way later than I had planned. I went a bit out of my way to Red Rock Casino and met up with a friend that moved to Vegas a couple years ago. After catching up, I finally got on the road at about 2:30 and headed south. My itinerary took me down to Barstow, CA then up to hwy 99 and eventually to hwy 101. I didn't want to risk getting caught in snow, so I drove 400 miles and 8 hours longer than Google Maps wanted me to drive. My only stop other than for gas was when I arrived in Ukiah at 11:45 Saturday night. I was still wired from the drive and keeping myself awake so my much needed sleep didn't commence until after 1 a.m. (again) I managed to drag myself out of bed Sunday at 9, showered, checked out, fueled up, got coffee and hit the road again at 10:30. The pics above are from my only non-fuel stop at Stone Lagoon on the Redwood Hwy. After I was north of Grants Pass, I hung a right at Reedsport and headed back to I-5. I think the twisties on route 38 were the one of the more fun parts of the drive. Finally made it home to Sammamish at 12:30 a.m.

The car has been a blast so far. I do plan on a few upgrades as soon as I finish my initial shakedown. Got a new battery since I have no idea where the one that came in the car came from and/or how old/weak it was. Hopefully that will cure the wing of having a mind of its own.

Questions:
any idea the size of the stock amplifier, or more specifically what the space measures when the amp is gone? (Planning a stereo transplant)
Is there a color code for the silver paint on the wheels? (got a bit of curb rash, mainly just to the paint)

 

Welcome to the forum here'
I enjoyed reading your story
I'm sure a new battery was a good idea and I'm sure the old one was the reason the wing did its own thing
Common symptom of a bad or weak battery
Most everything that might go wrong has been covered here somewhere but hopefully you wont need to look for that to much anytime soon
Nice looking ride so enjoy the miles ahead !!

Gary

 

Welcome to the forum. Like Valk said , almost everything has been covered on here somewhere or another. What a great shakedown ride. Enjoy the (s)miles.