What kind of car do you have? (Part II)

[DandyDan]

2013 Hyundai Elantra. I'm less than a few hundred miles from 25,000 already. The commute from the city to the 'burbs is mostly to thank for that, and the long drives out into the country is the other reason for that.

Your story with your 2013 Hyundai Elantra sounds almost exactly like mine.  The only difference is I only recently cracked 22,000.  It would even less if I could avoid making bi-monthly trips to Lincoln, not to mention my recent trip to Clear Lake, Iowa.

[SteveG1988]

1996 Ford Thunderbird LX built Aug 18 1995 in Lorain Ohio. 4.6L V8 and most of the options.

[formulanone]

'09 Scion xD 5-speed with 54K on the clock.

[cpzilliacus]

2001 Ford F250 pickup.

7.3L TurboDiesel, 6-speed manual transmission.

365,000 miles so far.

[jakeroot]

2001 Ford F250 pickup.

7.3L TurboDiesel, 6-speed manual transmission.

365,000 miles so far.

That sounds like a lot of truck for a manual. I'm intimidated by a ranger with a stick, let alone a 7.3L turbodiesel attached to a truck the size of all outdoors.

[J N Winkler]

I swapped out the Accord for a 2015 VW Golf, so now I have an '02 Liberty and a '15 Golf.

Getting out from under the V6 transmission issues?

[corco]

I swapped out the Accord for a 2015 VW Golf, so now I have an '02 Liberty and a '15 Golf.

Getting out from under the V6 transmission issues?

It was a four cylinder automatic, but that year of Accord even had bad automatics in the four banger, and despite meticulous flushing of the transmission fluid it was starting to shift rough on occasion, so that was part of the decision. I'm really happy to have a stick again on the VW.

[cpzilliacus]

2001 Ford F250 pickup.

7.3L TurboDiesel, 6-speed manual transmission.

365,000 miles so far.

That sounds like a lot of truck for a manual. I'm intimidated by a ranger with a stick, let alone a 7.3L turbodiesel attached to a truck the size of all outdoors.

I love my truck and its manual transmission.  Even in miserable D.C.-area traffic.

Ford no longer offers them with a stick, which I am not happy about.

[leroys73]

1993 Dodge Dakota, 2009 Chrysler T & C Limited, 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T, 1973 Corvette Coupe, 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 1988 Lincoln Town Car, 2007 Honda VTX 1300R motorcycle.

[PHLBOS]

1993 Dodge Dakota, 2009 Chrysler T & C Limited, 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T, 1973 Corvette Coupe, 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 1988 Lincoln Town Car, 2007 Honda VTX 1300R motorcycle.

Do you concurrently own all these or is this a list of both past & present vehicles?

[Takumi]

I swapped out the Accord for a 2015 VW Golf, so now I have an '02 Liberty and a '15 Golf.

Getting out from under the V6 transmission issues?

It was a four cylinder automatic, but that year of Accord even had bad automatics in the four banger, and despite meticulous flushing of the transmission fluid it was starting to shift rough on occasion, so that was part of the decision. I'm really happy to have a stick again on the VW.

Yep, most Hondas and Acuras of that general era (1997-2003) had bad automatic transmissions, especially the V6s and/or those that had SportShift (the Tiptronic-style manually shiftable automatic). The 1999-2003 Acura TL and CL, the 5th gen Prelude (particularly 1997 and 1998, before a slight improvement in 1999-2001 models), and the Odyssey (not sure which years) are up there with the V6 Accords of that era. Unfortunately there was no manual available for the V6s then.

[kphoger]

2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
SXT, 3.8 l

Purchased as-is off the lot in Mount Vernon, Illinois, without the dealer having even inspected or cleaned it yet, back in 2007; it had just arrived earlier that day. Now, eight years later, we're just about to turn over 190,000 miles.

The windshield is currently covered in cardboard, a blanket, and wooden panels secured with ratchet straps. Tennis ball-sized hail and a tornado have been reported 30 to 40 miles away and heading straight for Wichita.

[leroys73]

1993 Dodge Dakota, 2009 Chrysler T & C Limited, 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T, 1973 Corvette Coupe, 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 1988 Lincoln Town Car, 2007 Honda VTX 1300R motorcycle.

Do you concurrently own all these or is this a list of both past & present vehicles?

Yep, but the Lincoln is as good as sold. It was a daily driver.  The Monte was bought as a show car but I am not one to take cars to shows so it is a pleasure car.  The Corvette I bought new fresh out of college.  It needs a paint job and has very low miles.  I'll sell the Monte to pay for a quality paint job on the Vette.  I put about 15,000 miles a year on the made in the USA Honda VTX motorcycle touring North America, the van gets about 20,000 on it per year, the Challenger 10,000.  We are road warriors.  Truck is only used local as it already has 213,000 on it but the A/c works as does everything else.  When my girls were at home we had 2 more cars plus a travel trailer.

No I am not wealthy, retired school teacher plus second jobs, and my parents were poor.  I have always liked anything with an engine.  Yes, that is my vice.   Before starting a family (at a later age) and even in college I almost always had at least two vehicles.  At one time I owned two nice cars, a pickup, travel trailer, two relatively new street legal motorcycles, and a nice boat. All were tagged and insured.  Never understood why I had to pay for liability on all the vehicles when I was the only driver.

My wife was raised by a "car guy" so there is no hope for me.     

[PHLBOS]

I'm assuming you have space on your property to park those vehicles.  Not everybody has such.

[kkt]

Mazda Protege, 2002.  Manual.  Bought new, now at about 120,000 miles.

[intelati49]

White 2001 F150. Leaky as shit, but gets me from point A to point B without trouble. I see some of my brothers almost everyday. Definitely one of the most popular vehicles.

[J N Winkler]

I'm assuming you have space on your property to park those vehicles.  Not everybody has such.

I am a member of a Saturn enthusiasts' forum and there are a few hoarders who have been told off by their HOAs for having too many Saturns parked in their driveways.  While I can easily see myself becoming a two- or even three-car guy, my personal rule is not to buy any cars other than my daily driver unless I have the ability to garage them.  This is why I have only toyed with the ideas of getting a 1994 Saturn Homecoming Edition, a Lexus LS 400, etc.

The only car collector in my neighborhood whom I know actually has a 1920's/1930's-vintage Ford (I think a Model A) has a barn in the country for his cars, which he reportedly picked up for cheap when he handled probate for the former owner's estate.

[leroys73]

I'm assuming you have space on your property to park those vehicles.  Not everybody has such.

I forgot we have a small utility trailer also. 

Our yard is small on two sides, zero lot line on one side, but in the front is a three car drive with room for 5 or 6 cars plus the garage with a large gravel area to the side of the drive.  Our house is back in a corner of a strange arrangement of drives off of a short street.  Ours is the only single family dwelling in three blocks.  The others are either duplexes or triplexes (aka, "garden homes").

It pisses off the neighbors because their places have almost no yard and at best a two car garage with short drives.  The parking is why we bought it plus there is a small farm with horses behind us and green belt with a creek beside us.  This in the middle of a town with about 70,000 and part of the DFW metroplex.

The Lincoln sold.  I have a collector interested in the Monte.  I have been looking at a second motorcycle.   I may have to come out of retirement.

[PHLBOS]

I am a member of a Saturn enthusiasts' forum and there are a few hoarders who have been told off by their HOAs for having too many Saturns parked in their driveways.

Let me get this straight, the jist of the complaint(s) is that there are too many Saturns (as opposed to just vehicles) parked in their driveways?

If that's the case, that's the first time I've heard of an agreement that specifically singles out one particular brand.
Maybe they should just piss off the neighbors more by parking a bunch of Yugos in their driveways instead. 

Our yard is small on two sides, zero lot line on one side, but in the front is a three car drive with room for 5 or 6 cars plus the garage with a large gravel area to the side of the drive.  Our house is back in a corner of a strange arrangement of drives off of a short street.  Ours is the only single family dwelling in three blocks.  The others are either duplexes or triplexes (aka, "garden homes").

It pisses off the neighbors because their places have almost no yard and at best a two car garage with short drives.  The parking is why we bought it plus there is a small farm with horses behind us and green belt with a creek beside us.  This in the middle of a town with about 70,000 and part of the DFW metroplex.

Sounds a bit like my neighborhood.  Very few homes in the area have either extra space and/or garage(s).

[Brandon]

I am a member of a Saturn enthusiasts' forum and there are a few hoarders who have been told off by their HOAs for having too many Saturns parked in their driveways.

Let me get this straight, the jist of the complaint(s) is that there are too many Saturns (as opposed to just vehicles) parked in their driveways?

If that's the case, that's the first time I've heard of an agreement that specifically singles out one particular brand.
Maybe they should just piss off the neighbors more by parking a bunch of Yugos in their driveways instead. 

Welcome to Verplanck, New York.

[Duke87]

Current: 2011 Nissan Sentra, purchased used in 2014
Previous: 2009 Ford Focus, purchased new in 2009, sold in 2014

Those are the only two cars that have ever been "mine". In my first three years of having a drivers' license from 2006-2009, I did not own a car.


My parents meanwhile are stuck in an infinite loop of each leasing a new Nissan every three years. My father is on his sixth Sentra (his fiifth is now mine), my mother is on her third Murano and had three Quests before that. Adding to the absurdity, my sister also has a Sentra. When I go visit, the driveway looks a little amusing with four Nissans all lined up in it.

[leroys73]

PHLBOS, I like the Yugo idea.  I always liked the old country of Yugoslavia anyway. 

I traveled by VW Beetle through there in 1968 while attending college in Munich (military brat).  Great time and the people were great.  As a matter of fact my buddy and I were in Belgrade the day the Russians rolled the tanks into Prague.  We were trying to sell a bottle of US whiskey on the black market.  Upon hearing of the "invasion" we hit the road south.   

Many years I later bought a dinning set I discovered was made in Yugoslavia.

So three or four Yugos in my drive would be proper.  I bet I could get them cheap.

[davewiecking]

2005 Chevy Suburban (half ton); 4WD; lots of options, but I generally use it as a truck, so it's a shame that to get nice sound system and moonroof, I had to get an upgraded interior, which I pretty much trashed taking stuff to the dump in its first few months of my ownership. Found it unsold in the upper reaches of a dealer's garage in mid 2006, and got a fine deal. Also a 2007 Chevy HHR, which was designed after original Suburbans, and can also hold several pieces of 8' lumber with the hatch closed. Zero options, so it has a stick shift (and gets "slightly" better mileage than the Sub). For reasons I don't understand, some friends refer to the HHR as "the little truck", and the Sub as "the station wagon".