What is your car history?

[Knyte]

Okay, so how many of you can remember and list every car you have ever owned? It might be interesting to see what everyone’s car history is, especially since many of us live on the opposite sides of the globe!

I’ll start: (And, I’ll try to put them in the right order, from first to now. My old memory is fading a bit.)

1976 Toyota SR5 Long Bed.
1983 Chevy Cavalier Station Wagon
1979 Chevy Chevette
1986 Buick Park Avenue
1990 Toyota Tercel
1989 Subaru XT6
1999 Dodge Neon R/T
1992 Buick Roadmaster
1968 Olds Toronado (with the 455ci HO!)
2007 Dodge Caliber
1998 Dodge Caravan
2001 Dodge Neon SE
1994 Honda Del Sol VTEC
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Current =
1999 Ford Escort
2003 Chevy Trailblazer EXT

[Daffyflyer]

Reasonably short list because I’m a young-un and keep cars for a while.

1990 Mitsubishi Magna (Hand-me-down, used for one motorsport event aged 14)

1984 Mitsubishi Sigma (Bought for motorsport, only got used for 1 track day in the end, then sold half a decade later)

1995 Ford Falcon (Bought as a tow car, swapped with parents when plans changed. Lived until nearly 500,000km with parents)

1995 Mitsubishi Lancer (First owned by my parents. I swapped it’s SOHC 1.8 for a 103kw DOHC 1.8 + low ratio box + nice suspension and interior. Did a whole bunch of work to it for my parents and gave it back to them when I went to NZ. I had it for about 8 years)

1994 Mazda MX5 (Bought in 08, blew an engine at a trackday, did a ported, cammed, forged bottom end N/A engine build for it. Pulled apart at the beginning of this year and it’s internal organs brought to NZ for use in a kit car build - www.exocet.co.nz)

1996 Ford Falcon (Bought as a practical car for NZ. Cursed. Blew a distributor a few days after purchase, then an engine a bit later. Rebuilding for tow duty)

1993 Mazda Lantis V6 R-Spec (Bought to replace Falcon for $1600. Surprise LSD, Angry little V6. Will get some motorsport duty and probably a 2.5L swap later on)

[Route99]

Why not. My history isn’t long - Russians usually use car until it falls apart.
First came 1977 AZLK-412 (Moskvitch-412), used it since 14 years old, then returned to parents. In 1999 he suddenly burnt
Then bought 2007 VAZ-21074 (Lada Riva, Lada 1700, lots of names) - successfully crashed this year, March.
Tried Lada Granta, UAZ Patriot, Lada Kalina New - sold them all to hell after 2-week usage.
Now sharing 2002 Pontiac Sunfire with a friend.

[Slim_Jim]

1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe = was a gift from my Uncle. Installed aftermarket stereo when the radio went bust and a manual boost controller when the right foot got bored. Although it was perhaps the least reliable car I’ve ever owned, it was also the most fun.

1988 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon = If you’ve ever watched Top Gear Season 13, Episode 2, you’ll know exactly why I bought this car. After the fun I had with the Turbo Coupe, I wanted another turbocharged car. After several failed attempts at financing the newer, more powerful Volvo 850 Turbo, I ended up paying cash for this car. It wasn’t the end of the world though. I added a high lift/high duration factory cam, a manual boost controller, and deleted the mufflers. It wasn’t as fun to drive as the Turbo Coupe, but it was considerably more comfortable (first and only car I’ve ever owned with heated seats!).

1994 Ford Taurus SHO = An old college friend of mine drove both a Ford Focus and subsequently an Audi A4 2.8… both with manual gearboxes. So that’s around the time I decided I’d like to learn to drive one and set out in search of a fast, reasonably-priced, stick-shift car. The SHO was attractive to me because it was a sleeper car (like the Volvo) and more powerful than either the Turbo Coupe or the 740 Turbo. It was the highest-mileage car I’ve ever owned… bought with 211k miles, sold with 234k miles. I even found a youtube video of the car a few months after I sold it being driven like it was meant to be driven! Nice to know it was still running.

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII (silver frost) = After my Turbo Coupe blew up, I wanted another large 2-door luxury sport coupe. That’s around the time I found out about the Lincoln Mark VIII and had been dreaming about owning one since that time. However, even the least expensive examples were over budget. Until I found this car! It was extremely clean despite its age and was the first car I entered into a car show and actually won trophies for. The only modification I did to the car was replace the mufflers with glasspacks to give it a bit more bark. I also replaced the factory alloy wheels, with the optional factory chrome wheels. I loved the Mark VIII so much, I ended up buying another one (see below), but owning two cars - given recent events - became impossible so I had to let it go.

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII (evergreen) = Almost everything I wanted to do in terms of performance modifications to the silver car was already done to this car by the previous owner. 4.10 gears, Circle D 3600 stall converter, Dynotech aluminum driveshaft, “fully built” 4R70W transmission, 255LPH fuel pump, SCT Xcal2 tune. The modifications chopped 1 second off my best 1/4 mile time in the silver car. Where the silver car had glasspacks in place of the factory mufflers, this car has straight pipes, but the rest of the exhaust system - cats, resonators, exhaust manifold - is as it came from the factory. Although this particular car has been the most reliable car I’ve ever owned mechanically, it also has the worst paint quality (rampant clearcoat failure). Planned modifications: some form of power adder (most likely nitrous oxide), drag radials, and a respray.

[07CobaltGirl]

I’ll try this, but I’m sure I’ll forget a few…I started driving in the 80’s.

First to last is the order:

(1983-1986) 1969 Chevrolet Camaro (427/4speed)
(1985-1987) 1967 Ford F100 Stepside 4x4
(1987-1991) 1969 Chevrolet Biscayne (2speed PowerGlide)
(1988) 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442
(1989-1990) 1988 Chevrolet Camaro RS
(1991-1992) 1990 Nissan Skyline GT (RHD)
(1992-1993) 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (Pace Car Edition 350/4speed)
(1993-1994) 1972 Chevrolet Camaro (350/4speed)
(1994-1996) 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
(1996-1999) 1983 Chevrolet Caprice (Interceptor 350)
(1999-2001) 1985 Pontiac Sunbird
(2006-Present) 1994 Toyota Previa S/C LE
(2007-Present) 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

[adamd]

I’m only 22, so my list isn’t exactly fantastic.

1999 Toyota Corolla 1.3 GS: It was purple, and every panel was dented. I was blinded by wanting my first car, so bought a bad one. 98k miles, although looking at and driving it you’d think it had done 5 times that. Whiny gears, dodgy brakes, worn interior, leaky bulkhead. After I discovered the leak (about 3 days after I got it) I spent the next month and a half finding it and sealing it. After I finally managed to get the carpets mostly dried out and the leak fixed, I thought I would treat the car to an oil change. Bear in mind I had done about 20 miles in it by this point. I took it for a drive round after doing the oil change and it rewarded me pampering it by blowing the rear crank oil seal, spewing oil out everywhere.

2005 Daihatsu Charade EL: After the Corolla’s incident, I had to get rid of it. I had a tightish budget, and couldn’t find a good Yaris within it, which is what I wanted. I found this Charade at a dealer nearby with 13k miles on it. Had a test drive and decided it was great fun, so traded the Corolla in against it. I have only done about 4.5k miles in the 3.5 years I used it, and it made an excellent city car. Tiny, good fun to drive, the little 3 cylinder making an excellent noise and getting me anywhere between 60-72mpg. Unfortunately, it wasn’t great to do a lot of miles, so after getting a new job that meant I actually had to do a lot of miles…

2007 Toyota Prius T-Spirit: Yes, I bought a Prius. The Charade has now been relegated to my garage for the past 4 months or so. It’s nowhere near as fun as the Charade, but does the miles in a lot more comfort, is a high spec and has a great stereo. I really enjoy driving it, and it’s currently returning 63mpg with a mixture of motorway and city driving. It can also park itself, which is a cool party piece.

I do hope to add something else to my list soon, as I would quite like something for the weekends and for use in shows, something like an MR2 or MGF, or a 2CV.

Family wise, as long as I have been alive my parents have always mainly had Toyotas, which probably explains my love for them.

1985 Corolla 1.3 GL (My earliest memory is being sat in the back of this after it was sold to my grandmother).
1989 Toyota Carina II
1991 Toyota Carina II XL Matchplay (The first I knew)
1998 Toyota Avensis 1.8 SE
2001 Toyota Avensis 1.8 GS
2008 Toyota Auris 1.6 T-Spirit

[Maurice82]

'96 Peugeot 106 XSi 1.6
'95 Peugeot 106 Rallye 1.3
'98 Seat Arosa 1.4
'01 Peugeot 106 GTi 1.6 16v
'01 Seat Arosa 1.4 (still own this one)
'03 Peugeot 206 SW GTi 2.0 16v

Now:
'05 Ford Focus C-Max 1.8 16v

[nialloftara]

First car, I was 16 and bought it from my parents.
1997 vw jetta gl 2.0 8v auto. owned for 5 years
When bought 102, 000 miles/ sold ~181, 000 miles( odometer stopped at 160 a year before selling.)
Many problems and no money meant this car kinda fell apart on me

Next 1998 vw jetta gl 2.0 8v 5speed owned for 9 months
When bought 115, 000 miles/ sold for parts 122, 000 miles hit a tree in a maine blizzard.

Next 1987 Oldsmobile delta 88 royal brougham 3.8 16v auto owned for 3 years
Bought with 125, 000 miles/ sold for scrap at 170, 000 miles

Current 1992 Toyota corolla dx 1.6 5 speed owned 8 years and counting
Bought 108, 000 miles /current 274, 000 miles

Update sold Corolla for parts after 9 1/4 years at 281,000 miles

Bought a 2001 Hyundai Tiburon 2.0 5 speed with 145,000 miles sold after 1 year with 153,000 miles

Bought a 2006 Scion xB 1.5 5 speed with 139,000 miles currently owned for a little over 2 years at 181,000 miles

[GoatFarmer]

1971 Chevy Nova

(not my car, but it looked just like it)

1984 Chevy Monte Carlo

(again, not mine, but looks same)

1989 Chevy Lumina

(again, not mine, but looks same)

1970 Pontiac Lemans

(again, not mine, but looks same)

1991 Eagle Talon TSI

(again, not mine, but looks same)

2001 BMW 540i Sport

(this one was mine)

2004 Mercedes SLK 32

(this one was mine)

1989 RX7 Turbo

(this one was mine)

Current
2008 Honda Fit (daily)

2001 Toyota Sequoia (toy hauler)

1996 BMW M3 (race car project)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/384436_2005908206906_2053318513_n.jpg?oh=5ff1575a25e20d531885d6e46c8df53c&oe=5467FCFE&gda=1417426743_c80a961df79a5ef65fa45b90181cc4ba

2007 Porsche GT3

[NormanVauxhall]

When I was 18 a colleage of my father gave me for free a black Citroen ZX 1.4 Aura MY 1991 (pre restyle model).
It had 270.000km on it and it worked more or less for 6 months. It was in terrible condition: in some point of the front wheels there you were able to see the steel belt and the tread was gone… slick; after several weeks the tachometer stopped to work and the clutch start to slip due oil leakage in the clutch.
We brought the car to a friend’s car workshop and the cost of the car repair was higher than a car he had in the shop to sale.
That was my second car (paid by my father): a blue-green Lancia Dedra 1.8 i.e. full optional MY1994. It had 64.000km ad costs us 500€. It was a great deal.
The car run fine for years and in 2005 I’ve bougth with my own money my third and actual car a 2002 Mazda MX-5 1.6 naked, that later on I’ve upgraded with the challenge edition suspensions, gearbox and LSD. This is a car that I want to keep with me until the end.
I’ve bought after that also a 1975 Opel Manta 1.2l B1 and a 1970 Fiat 500L.

I have photo of all my cars, as soon I’m back at home I’ll update with them.

[thesecret89]

when i took my license 2003 i got an old bmw 320-1988, then i got a pretty good job and saved money for 2 years and bought a new bmw m3-2005 a saved that car until january 2014 when i bought a used Audi RS4-2012(witch i still have, i recommend it alot it’s an awesome car ) and now i am planning to sell it next year because i have been saving around a year for an Audi R8-2014 and i can’t afford both sadly.

[mer_at]

~ 1999 i drove an old Jetta Supercat (hp? did it have hp???)

(not my car in the picture)

~2002 i bought an old Jeep Cherokee XJ (116hp?)

(my car in picture)
later the Diesel Engine died

and i bought a Volvo V40 (116something hp?)

and 2007 i decided to switch for a driver’s car, a 2006 MX5 NC (126hp)

and 2009 i got an old and rusty Subaru as a winter-car (125hp)

and in early 2015 i want to switch to an Alfa Mito QV (costs alot of yearly taxes, since it got 170hp … )

[VicVictory]

@Knyte

1989 Subaru XT6

You, sir, are my friend.

So, my list as best as I can remember it, goes:

1976 Subaru DL Sedan (EA62/4MT)
1982 Subaru GL FWD Wagon (EA81/5MT)
1991 Geo Storm (4XE1/5MT)
1987 Subaru GL 4WD Sedan (EA82 NA/5MT D/R)
1987.5 Subaru XT GL FWD coupe (EA82 NA/5MT) <— two of these, actually
1990 Subaru Legacy FWD sedan (EJ22/5MT) ← the car where I learned that 80k mile tires suck.
1997 Saturn SC1 (L24/5MT)
2002 Kia Spectra LS (G4GM/5MT)
1988 Subaru XT6 AWD (ER27/5MT)
2004 Kia Optima LX V6 (Delta/4AT)
2005 Hyundai Tucson LX V6 FWD (Delta/4AT)
2007 Nissan Versa SL Hatchback (MR18DE/6MT) ← Two of these, too. I don’t know why I bought the second one after the first was totaled.
1992 Subaru Legacy AWD wagon (EJ22/4AT)
2008 Kia Spectra5 (Beta II/4AT) ← two of these, too. Loved em… but I tend to get bored of cars if you haven’t figured this out yet.
2006 Kia Sedona LX (Lambda 3.8L/5AT)
2007 Kia Sorento EX 4WD (Lambda 3.8L/5AT)
2007 Hyundai Entourage (Lambda 3.8L/5AT)
2013 Chevy Sonic LT Turbo (LUV/6AT)

I’ve included a few cars that were technically my wife’s but I drove extensively.

EDIT

Aaand I’m an idiot. Forgot two rather important ones.

1988 Mazda RX-7 (13B NA/5MT) <— The car where I learned that RWD is scary if you’ve grown up driving FWD cars
1973 AMC Hornet (304/3AT) <— The car where I learned that cooling systems on old cars suck.

[ConeDodger]

Mine’s a little…repetitive. Here’s a list of cars i’ve owned and driven, i’ve owned many more shells/projects.

1989 Nissan 240sx Hatch (first car, 300k miles beater)
1991 Nissan 240sx Hatch (build project, eventually finished but then totaled)
1990 Nissan 240sx Hatch (barn find, temp car)
1991 Nissan 240sx Hatch (daily driver, pretty car, tons of miles)
1991 Nissan 240sx Hatch (build project) still have
1992 Toyota Mr2 SW21 (n/a, loved the car, dreadfully slow)
1995 Nissan 240sx SE (project car, devil car, built and sold)
1985 Toyota MR2 Aw11 (n/a, love the car, dreadfully slow ) still have

album of 240’s imgur.com/a/otyLz

[Junny]

Conedodger is my hero.

I’ll play.
Mine
2004-2011 1988 Nissan Pulsar Vector
2009-now 1996 Nissan 180sx

Missus
2008-2010 1990 Toyota Celica
2009-now 1997 Toyota Starlet
2014-now 1995 Nissan 200sx

Still miss and regret getting rid of the 2 cars I dont have anymore… I get very attached :, (

[martelle]

I’ll bite, kinda lurk more than I post. Only been driving 10 years (27 years old now) and I seem to attract idiotic drivers… no photos as my PC drive ate them for lunch.

First Car (2008) - '06 Ford Fusion SE, Automatic, Used - 22000 KM on the clock (Totalled in 2011, I was side-swiped by a 5 ton truck on Hwy 40 in Montreal).
2nd Car (2011) - '08 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, Automatic, Used - 68000 KM on the clock (Totalled in 2012, City snow removal [large snow blower] decided to come up onto the parking of my apartment, which was in front of the building at street level, and took off my entire rear-end bumper, hatch, passenger rear quarter-panel).
3rd Car (2012) - '11 Dodge Grand Caravan SE, Automatic, Used - 31000 KM on the clock (Totalled Nov. 2013, Texting teenager rear-ended me at a red light with her daddy’s Cadillac Escalade, tried to lie to the cop who was on the other side of the intersection).
4th Car (2013) - 2014 Toyota Corolla S Premium, Automatic CVT, New (Totalled May 2014… Mother-in-law tried to avoid being T-Boned by someone barreling out of a parking lot, nailed a Suburban in the the oncoming lane).
5th Car (2014) - 2014 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Touring, Manual, New (Traded in July 2014, after 2 long road trips totalling 1600km, headroom and legroom weren’t enough for me).
6th Car (2014, Current daily driver) - 2014 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Premium, Automatic CVT, New (Loving this thing, though I wish I’d held off for another month when they introduced the new 2015 model… Love the new front end and interior. That being said, I love the no-nonsense and clean dash. Well… one gripe, no manual available on the 3.6R, the CVT isn’t half-bad though).

So yeah… there’s my history.

[nialloftara]

I’m never getting in your car sir…

[VicVictory]

Sounds like a good plan. Might want to avoid mine, too. Been a bit of a target lately. I’m currently driving a 2014 Chrysler T&C (BLEH) because my Entourage is in the body shop from being rear-ended so hard while towing that the trailer was actually pushed into it.

[martelle]

@nialloftara

I’m never getting in your car sir…

As a driver, I’m fairly competent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be certified to drive larger vehicles (military grade). At least I use my turn signals wll in advance and don’t cut people off.

However, that being said… I don’t blame you.

[07CobaltGirl]

Only buy Subaru from here forward. It seems like the only thing you don’t end up with a total loss in. haha