Every Car You've Owned &………..

[Walt34]

1. 1956 Plymouth Savoy. This was a "rescue car" i.e., my father bought it at the junkyard for $50 in 1966 and I had to put the transmission ($5 from the same junkyard) in so we could drive it. Oh, the transmission was "three-on-the-tree" and this was the car I learned to drive in.

2. 1966 Yamaha Twin Jet 100 (100 cc) motorcycle bought used, it was one year old. It had a two-cylinder two-stroke engine and would go 70 mph downhill with a tailwind and was so smoky that today the EPA would declare it a rolling air pollution alert. But it sure was fun. I rode it all through the winter and haven't been "quite right in the head" about cold weather since.

3. Having had my fill of toughing it out in winter weather the next year I bought a 1962 Mercury Montego (sp?) mostly because I could afford it, at $500. A neat feature of this car was that it had a Montgomery Ward aftermarket air conditioner that would ice up just a little before the thermostat cut the compressor and little pieces of ice would blow out that looked like snow. Friends thought that was cool. Sadly, the drive shaft was bent and eventually broke the transmission and I didn't feel like fooling with it.

4. Next car was a 1962 Ford Fairlane. It would barely get out of it's own way but it was reliable.

5. 1970 Plymouth Duster. I bought it from my mother when my father passed away in 1973 and paid what the blue book was on it at the time. It had the reliable 225 c.i. "slant six" in it. Despite the only options being an automatic transmission and an AM radio I kept that car for 15 years, replacing it only when the floor started rusting out, the rear axle was making noises, and the transmission was shifting funny so I figured it was time.

6. 1983 Buick Century. This was bought new with my soon-to-be ex (but I didn't know that at the time) and she kept the car and the payments. I think we had it for about six months before the split. I still had the Duster at the time.

7. 1985 Chevy Silverado 4WD pickup truck that I special ordered with the options that I wanted since I figured I'd be driving it for a very long time, which turned out to be 18 years. One of the guys at work asked "You're gonna go out on dates in a pickup truck?" and I said "Yeah. And if some girl doesn't want to go out with me because I drive a pickup that's fine. It'll save us both a lot of bother".

8. 2003 GMC 4WD pickup truck that I also ordered with the options I wanted. I still have that truck and at 94k miles now I expect to keep it quite a while longer.

The picture is of the '56 Plymouth. It needed some TLC from time to time, but it was paid for. Cleaned up it actually looked okay.

 

[swakyaby]

Love the comments.

1. Old used bright yellow Honda civic. The kind Honda commercials made fun of when the new style Honda civic came out. Sold it to a child actor who came of age, and his parents held his small fortune in a trust fund so he wouldn't spend it all on teenage desires.

2. used Honda Accord. A salvage title. It looked fine when I bought it, but slowly parts became loose and rattled within a few years.

3. bright red Honda Prelude with sunroof. Ooh, I liked this one.

4. brand new Corvette C5. A whole lot of fun. But had some major mechanical issues like UNINTENDED ACCELERATION problem 3 years after I bought it. So GM cars had this too, but managed to keep it under the radar, unlike Toyota. Also, had a recall for the steering wheel would lock up, and it happened to me the day I was bringing it into the service center for this recall.

5. New Lexus SC430, the sport coupe with the hardtop convertible. It's 13 years old now, and so reliable it's become boring. Runs like new.

6. 2014 Tesla Model S. Got tired of waiting for a reason to sell the reliable Lexus, so I just went ahead and bought my first electric car. Incredible car. Love it.

 

[Midpack]

I'll play (DW)...

• 1972 used Plymouth Barracuda - DW brought into the marriage, only a 318 though
  
• 1973 used Chevy Vega GT (aluminum block BAD, but Chevy sleeved it for free even though out of warranty)
• 1974 used Chevy Corvette - during the years the Corvette lost it’s way, sorta fast but cornered on it's door handles
• 1976 used Ford Granada - what was I thinking, cheap that's it
• 1978 new Toyota Celica - my first new car, hit-n-run while parked at 1500 miles (prob by a co-worker), my faith in humanity may never recover
  • 1980 Married
• 1981 new Honda Civic - just over $5K new, WOW, bulletproof reliable
• 1982 new Honda Prelude - last car with payments, drove it to 164K miles, bulletproof reliable
  
• 1986 used BMW 325es - great car, DW drove 9 years
  
• 1990 used Chevy Lumina APV - company car, what a POS and ugly too, only had to drive it 9 months thank goodness
• 1991 new Honda CRX - rollerskate GT, great fun, bulletproof reliable, but if ever in an accident…
• 1996 new Volvo 850GLT - liked it until AC failed under warranty, and dealer nursed it out of warranty and stuck me with a $1300 repair
• 1997 new Nissan Maxima - nice enough, very quiet, but emissions systems failed every Sept like clockwork
  
• 2001 new Audi TT - fantastic car until first brake job, $1200, replaced all pads and vented rotors by design, sold before next brake job…
  
• 2003 new Honda Element - loved it, drove it 9 years, shoulda kept it, bulletproof reliable
• 2007 new Toyota Camry Hybrid - DW goes eco on me, reliable but Nav system failed $$$
  
• 2012 new Toyota Prius - driving appliance, nice car, and I'll keep it a long time, but not sure I’d buy another

My parents have had way too many to mention but the cooler cars included an 60's Austin-Healey 3000, 63 Continental w suicide doors, 64 Mustang, 67 GTO, Mercedes 300, BMW 535, etc. They've had successive Honda's since they got too old to enjoy driving...

 

[wmackey]

As best I can recall:


72 CZ 125
63 MG Midget
65 MG Midget
72 MG Midget
63 Dodge Dart
74 F250
74 Custom 500 (Ex-Illinois State Interceptor)
74 Mustang II
74 Dodge Dart
74 HD 350
82 KZ440
74 Torino (The Starsky and Hutch one)
7? VW Rabbit
78 Mustang II
77 Full-size Ford Bronco
7? Ford Station Wagon
80 Mustang II
84 S-10 Blaze (First and LAST GM product ever purchased)
79 Sunbird (Given, not purchased)
80 VW Rabbit GTI
78 Full-size Ford Bronco
94 Ford Escort Wagon
95 Jeep Wrangler
96 Buick LeSabre (Given, not purchased)
98 CB1000
99 Plymouth Voyager
01? Dodge Dakota
05 VW Jetta TDI
09 Suzuki SX-4
13 RAM 1500
15 Toyota Rav 4


Liked most of them. It's the stinkers that stand out. I'll never again by a GM product and the Suzuki SX-4 was nothing but trouble.

 

[Cobra9777]

As best I can remember:

1. 1967 Volkswagen bug (parents car, learned to drive on it, DB and I shared it early in high school)
2. 1969 Mercury station wagon (paid $100, lasted thru high school and 1 year after, had wood panels)
3. 1969 Volkswagen bug (paid $900, got me thru college, very reliable, fun to drive)
4. 1984 Chevrolet Cavalier (used, first car loan, reliable but ugly)
5. 1989 Mitsubishi Mirage (first new car when I started at Megacorp, got 45 MPG, great commuter car)
6. 1993 Ford Ranger (everyone in Texas gets a truck eventually)
7. 1997 Ford Ranger (extended cab so hauling kids was an option, still have it but only use for hauling stuff)
8. 2001 Chevrolet Suburban (DW's soccer-Mom wheels, passed down to me when the Ranger hit 160K)

DW:
1. 1981 Toyota Celica (her prized possession after graduating college and starting at Megacorp)
2. 1989 Toyota Camry (said goodbye to the Celica, 1st child, needed 4 doors and a little more room)
3. 1993 Mercury Villager (very nice minivan, but with child #2 needed something bigger)
4. 1997 Dodge Caravan (bigger, but otherwise total cr@p)
5. 2001 Chevrolet Suburban (see #8 in my list, has served us well)
6. 2006 BMW 325i (trophy car turned money pit, hopefully gone soon, but DW likes it)

 

[Totoro]

BMW 316: first car, crashed within two weeks
Nissan primera: had that one for three years or so
BMW Z3: owned it four years, got torched by an arsonist

Haven't owned a car since. Did have lease company cars:
* BMW 320 Touring
* VW Touran
* BMW 318

Since five years again completely car free. Did I mention I like driving a BMW

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The first car I ever drove was a 1960 Ford Falcon "tudor" station wagon. I must have been 12. Dad picked it up cheap, drove it home and only then discovered it needed a ring job. He gave me a wrench and told me to crawl under the car and loosen the oil pan. We made the repairs in the crudest possible way but the little six somehow found a way to run. I’ve been tinkering under the hood ever since.

After I got out of high school and enrolled in the local community college, the folks gave me my choice of two cars for wheels: Grandpa’s sweet little ‘64 Dodge Dart, ivory with red upholstery, 225 slant six and pushbutton automatic, or my uncle’s old car, a ‘65 Ford Custom stripper with three on the tree. Unk was hard on cars, but his Ford had a radio and the Dodge didn’t. I took the Ford. I still use that decision as a guidepost for my potential to do stupid things, but I console myself with the knowledge that I would have killed the lovely, innocent Dart in a year or two.

Next: 1964 Ford Fairlane, another three-on-the-tree stripper, and hand-me-down from Mom and Dad. It got me most of the way through college but eventually blew a head gasket. It was pretty clapped out at that point, a 12-year-old car with over 100K on the clock. Not worth fixing.

The next couple cars came from the federal government’s Interagency Motor Pool auctions, just stopgap wheels. Won’t go into a lot of detail.

Next: my first foreign car, a 1975 Volkswagen Dasher. I kept it alive for seven years despite its best efforts to rest at the side of the road. In the process I learned that VWs have great fundamental engineering but then cheap out on components, leaving you cursing things like broken door handles while the engine just goes and goes.

Bought a new 1985 Mercury Lynx (Ford Escort), manual trans. Reliable basic transportation, easy to work on, but not built to last. I traded it in on an ‘89 Ford Probe (with Mazda 626 engine and manual trans). Lovely car for the price. Liked it so much that my new wife and I got another for her.

DW got a ‘95 Mazda Millenia in ‘97. Lovely car. Great suspension. The automatic transmission was a little unresponsive, but you could disengage the lockup torque converter immediately with a button on the shifter lever.

After my Probe gave up the ghost shortly thereafter, I found myself at a philosophical crossroads. I could drop $20K on another late-model used luxury car like the Millenia or buy a new POS for maybe $12K. But I noticed that there were a lot of well-kept, 10-year-old BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes on the market for a lot less. I got an ‘87 325ic, then went bottom-feeding with an ‘82 Merc 300CD for $2K. Then an ‘82 300TD, which I finally sold last night. My current daily driver is a ‘95 BMW 540i, which I’ve driven for more than nine years and 200K miles.

My one misstep in my European adventure was an ‘87 Audi 4000cs quattro. I had to try VW’s groundbreaking AWD system, and sure enough, the AWD was the only thing that didn’t break. The car was great fun, but not worth the trouble that VW built into it.

My wife went from Mazda to Toyota and is on her second Prius -- first a used 2001 and more recently a used 2007 Touring. Reliable, thrifty cars but not a lot of fun.

 

[Nodak]

My list to the best of my recollection:

1948 Cadillac
1959 Olds - Inherited from an Uncle
1958 Jaguar Mk2 (soon realized I did not make enough money to own this)
1962 Rambler Ambassador
1963 VW bus
1968 Volvo 142
1969 Volvo 160
1982 Mercury Topaz
1974 IH Scout
1986 Mustang GT
1993 Ford Explorer
1997 Ford Explorer
2001 Mercury Mountaineer
2004 Ford Explorer
2007 Lincoln MKX

 

[brewer12345]

1987 Toyota pickup: Go it when it was used and abused, hood held down by a cotter pin and a bungie cord, headlights would go out when you hit a big bump and go back on with the next bump.
1995 Ford Escort wagon: first reliable car I owned.
1996 Chevy Cavalier: No AC and sold after 18 months.
2003 Subaru Legacy wagon: Ran it for 150k through horrible traffic and all kinds of weather.
2005 Honda Odyssey: the vehicle the most like a washing machine that I have ever owned. Still have it.
2011 F150: capable tow vehicle and mobile command post.

 

[Theseus]

OK, I'll play!

1. '55 GMC 3/4 ton pickup truck. My high school wheels, this had a Pontiac V8 under the hood. Got about 2.5 mpg, and it sure could smoke the tires.
2. '65 Corvair Monza, had a blast with this one and number 2.
3. '70 Opel Kadett wagon, slid it into the ditch one night, getting a little too cocky being a wannabe rally driver.
4. '65 Corvair Monza (#2) more fun. Got good at pulling the engine to fix stuff I broke. Had it down to about 45 minutes start to finish.
5. '75 Triumph TR7 - the shape of things to come! Took a bit of ribbing about building a wedge shaped garage.
6. '78 Honda Civic - got practical, and bored to tears.
7. '80 Toyota Celica GT, with a sunroof! Yeah, let the good times roll.
8. '87 Jeep Comanche pickup, two days after I bought it Chrysler bought Jeep from American Motors. Was a nice little truck, I think it was the longest I ever kept a vehicle.
9. '89 BMW K100RS/ABS, first production motorcycle to have anti-lock brakes.
10. '99 Ford Escape '98-'00. First leased vehicle, and it was loaded with options.
11. '00 Ford F250 'light duty' '00-'02, another lease...
12. '02 Ford F250 2yr 02-04, and yet another lease; starting to sense this ain't right!
13. BMW 318 '04-'06 Bought used to get me out of the lease treadmill.
14. '94 BMW K1100LT Another motorcycle, this one was a rebuilder I put together and sold a year later.
15. '98 BMW R1100GS, dual sport motorcycle bought new in '98, still own it.
16. '06 Honda Ridgeline 3yr '06-'09, Tried another lease, when it was up there was nothing new I wanted.
17. '02 Porsche Boxster Bought used on 7/7/07, DW and I decided to do something fun. Still own it, great on gas and fun for weekend getaways.
18. '04 BMW X3 '09-'12 Bought used to replace the Honda Ridgeline.
19. '06 Porsche Cayenne S, Titanium Edition. This replaced the BMW X3, and made it seem sparse and utilitarian in comparison. Right now this is the everyday driver. Buying used and carefully examining condition is the way to go on these, let the original owners take the depreciation hit. Speaking of a hit, about a mile from our driveway 1 month after I bought it a suicidal deer ran out of nowhere and temporarily took it out of commission. Insurance paid to make it good again.
20. '05 Ford F150 XLT Bought this for my daily driver replacement while the Cayenne was getting put back together. Kind of ratty body, but not the worst. Planned on keeping it, but got T-boned by a guy in a Subaru WRX flying though a roundabout, sent me airborne for over a 100 feet. Both vehicles totaled. I didn't carry collision on it; thinking of a dented fender, big deal. Lesson learned. Still waiting for his insurance to settle on that, of course his adjuster says it was my fault although police report and witnesses beg to differ.

 

[aja8888]

I may forget a few in this list:

1951 Chev 4 door (first car)
1941 Plymouth 4 door
1948 Plymouth 4 door
1955 Chev 2 dr 190 sedan (race car) - I was 18 at the time
1959 Pontiac Bonneville 4 door
1955 Pontiac Starchief 2 door (2nd race car)
1963 Chev Impala Convertible (sexy car)
1959 Chev Stepside Pick Up (3rd race vehicle)
1968 VW Beetle
1968 Chev Malibu SS (first new car)
1964 Checv Pick Up Truck
Several 1960's VW beetles
1970 VW Bus
1964 Pontiac Bonneville
1965 Corvette Stingray roadster (should have kept this one for the long haul)
1976 Honda Civic (one of the first year's imports)
1968 Chev Malibu SS Convertible
1973 VW Super Beetle
1974 Chev Malibu (rust bucket and all around lousy car)
1978 Chev Blazer
1981 Chev diesel station wagon (what a bad deal)
1984 Olds Delta 88 2 door
1985 Mazda B2000 truck
1986 Ford Aerostar Van
1992 Ford Crown Victoria
1989 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
1995 Chev Silverado Pick Up
1992 Ford Probe
1996 Mercury Cougar
2005 Hyundai XG 350
2001, 2003 & 2006 VW Jetta diesels
2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
2014 VW Passat Diesel

There were about 8 motorcycles along the way, everything from a Bultaco Matador Motocross bike to a Harley Sportster (and in between Jap and British bikes).

There were a few cars bought to re-sell (but we drove for a while) and I didn't count the cars the kids had. Here is a picture of my first car (51 Chev with a 52 Grill):

 

[MikeWillRetire]

Graduated from college in 1985 and bought a Chevy Cavalier. Ran it into the ground around 1999, after about 150,000 miles. My wife had a 1992 Camry, so I didn't buy another car. We ran that Camry into the ground in 2012 after 250,000 miles. Bought another Camry. So I'm somewhat proud and embarrassed to say that at age 53, I've only bought two cars!

 

[GrayHare]

How are you people FIRE-ing after all those cars? I've kept mine for 10 to 25 years and had only 3.

 

[aja8888]

How are you people FIRE-ing after all those cars? I've kept mine for 10 to 25 years and had only 3.

Buy them (most) used and cheap, keep them in good shape, resell for almost (or more) than you paid for them.

 

[naggz]

Me:
1992-2006 Mercury Topaz

DW:
2000 Pontiac Grand Am

Together:
2003 Ford Ranger

 

[Badger]

How are you people FIRE-ing after all those cars? I've kept mine for 10 to 25 years and had only 3.

Except for a few most of mine were bought used at a good price and were driven to 150+k before selling. Only a handful had lower mileage but various circumstances at the time required letting them go. The yellow 73 Super Beetle was taken by my first wife when she decided the grass was greener elsewhere so I don't know how that one faired. They were all running well at that time and I was able to get a fair price that still resulted in a really low annual expense for the cars. I even dropped the sale of the Town Cars that were running great with all power equipment working for $1k to two young couples just getting started with a family who could use a break. I could have easily driven them another year or two and then drive them into the ocean and still come out ahead.

I know little about how to repair cars. I have done the minor but important things like change oil, change various filters, points and plugs, brake pads, clutch cables, adjust valves, and replace bolt-ons like alternators but that's about all. I don't have the skill or knowledge to do anything complex. I did the regular maintenance and drove the cars sanely and safely and never in a way that would stress them. Luck was probably a big factor too.

Cheers!

 

[Cobra9777]

How are you people FIRE-ing after all those cars? I've kept mine for 10 to 25 years and had only 3.

It was a necessity of our lifestyle, but did not preclude LBYM in other areas. DW and I both commuted for 25 years. Each 40 miles one way, but in opposite directions. So miles racked up fast and reliability was paramount. On top of that, with 2 kids, our needs were constantly changing. Our cars got steadily bigger over time, culminating with the 2001 Chevy Suburban.

All that slowed down in our 40s and now in retirement, we spread about 10K miles per year across 3 different vehicles. In addition to the Suburban, we have a '97 Ford Ranger and '06 BMW 325i. We'll keep the Suburban and Ranger until they give up the ghost, as they have very high mileage and low blue book value, but continue to serve us well. The BMW was bought used with very low mileage, but it's been a money pit and somewhat unreliable. So we'll likely replace that one in a couple years with another low mileage used car, which we hope will last 20+ years.

 

[Nodak]

Buy them (most) used and cheap, keep them in good shape, resell for almost (or more) than you paid for them.

+1

 

[DFA]

1965 Ford Galaxy 500
1982 Camaro
1985 IROC Camaro
Jeep CJ
1992Toyota 4 Runner
2001 BMW 540i
2010 Camaro SS
2014 Camaro ZL1

DW

1982 Toyota Pickup
1998 Toyota Pickup
2008 Mini Cooper S
2014 Mini Cooper Countryman

 

[scrabbler1]

I m 52 and have owned only 3 cars in my lifetime.


In 1986, just after I moved back to Long Island from Manhattan after graduating from college in 1985, I bought a 1986 Dodge Colt (a.k.a. Mitsubishi Mirage) new. It was a pretty basic car; it lacked power steering, A/C, and it had a manual transmission. Bu because of that, I as able to pay cash for it, abut $6,300. It didn't have a radio in it, either, until I had the dealer put one in a few years later.


In 1992, I traded it in and bought a 1991 Geo Prism (a.k.a. a Corolla), used. It was one of those former rental cars GM put back into the market as high-quality used cars. It came with the balance of the factory warranty (about 2.5 of the 3 years) and had only 10k rental miles because it had originally been put into service late in the 1991 model year. It also cost about $4,000 less than a 1992 Prism. I was already familiar with the 1991 Prism because I had rented one in 1991 while in California on vacation and had done some subsequent research on it. It had A/C, A/T, and P/S and I would later replace the radio with a radio-tape player. I paid cash for the Prism and traded in the Dodge.


The Prism lasted for 15 years until I replaced it in 2007 with a new 2007 Corolla (paid cash). It has the same features as the Prism except for the tape-player. It has a CD player instead but I have no CDs to play in it and have never been interested in buying any. I have had the car for 8 years and I have about 26,500 miles on it. The car is facing its second recall (minor stuff) which is two more than the Prism had. Still, a fine car. I expect at least 8 more years on it (might hit 50,000 miles on it by then!).

 

[HFWR]

How are you people FIRE-ing after all those cars? I've kept mine for 10 to 25 years and had only 3.

Most of my vehicles, until I was nearly 40yo, were cheap clunkers, which was all I could afford. Now, I buy new, and drive for ten years or so. I want reliability, hate working on cars, and have not had good luck finding decent mechanics...

 

[kcowan]

^ I loved my 69 Riv - was yours a gran sport?

Yes my first fully-loaded car (after a Volvo 122S).

 

[kcowan]

Here is a picture of my first car (51 Chev with a 52 Grill):
View attachment 22225

My Dad had a 51 Chev 4-door standard that I learned to drive with. He kept until he replaced it with a 60 Ford Falcon.

 

[travelover]

First Vehicle - 1967 Suzuki 250c X6 Hustler motorcycle. Fast for a 250 of the day thanks to the six speed transmission.

First Car - 1967 SAAB 96. Truly a weird car. Two cycle engine, so you had to add oil to the gas when you filled the tank. Four speed on the column. Front wheel drive (this was 1970 - a big deal), an overrunning, one way clutch that allowed engine to idle whenever you let up on the gas. Trans leaked oil and being a teenager, I neglected to fill it and toasted the trans.

Kawasaki 500 HR1 motorcycle - Very fast for a 500 and crazy unstable at high speed.

1965 Bug. Bought for $50 with a rusted out brake line, multicolored fenders and no bumpers and, of course, no heat. Battery fell through the rear floor on a big bump.

1966 Econoline Wagon - converted to a camper and did one lap of USA

1972 Duster. In line 6 with a three speed floor shift. Most macho car I ever owned. I know, pathetic.

1972 Econoline Wagon - converted to a camper and drove it to Alaska via Yellowknife, then 1/2 lap of USA (western side)

1972 Karmann Ghia convertible. Loved that car but it rusted out before my very eyes

1975 VW Rabbit - Had a cowl water leak and a different electrical device would fail weekly. Finally would start itself, so I had to disconnect the battery when I parked it. Soured me on VWs for life.

1984 and 89 Ranger pickups. Nice little pickups but with terrible handling.

1995 Explorer, gas hog but comfortable.

A bunch of company lease cars, mostly Taurus or whatever was on special. Most fun was a Taurus SHO with the Yamaha 3.0L and 5 speed manual.

2007 Escape Hybrid. A well executed hybrid in a lousy chassis. Still driving it, as I drive less than 8000 miles a year and can't justify replacing it until something major fails.

 

[hnzw_rui]

Buy them (most) used and cheap, keep them in good shape, resell for almost (or more) than you paid for them.

Unfortunately, I know nothing about cars (and not really interested in learning) so buy new and use for the next 10+ years (or pretty much as long as they keep working without excessive maintenance) is how it goes for me.