What is your car history?

[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]

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

[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.

I'm not calling your driving in question, but you seem to have developed a knack for "wrong place wrong time".

[martelle]

I'm not calling your driving in question, but you seem to have developed a knack for "wrong place wrong time".

Indeed... and I'm paying for it, insurance-wise that is... Had to switch companies 3 times to avoid massive rate hikes even though I wasn't at fault.

[GreatKingEagle]

1998 Dodge Caravan
2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Im only 16, I cant have much of a history, heh.

[Coolghost]

here's my car history
1990 Mitsubishi Lancer hatchback (Scrapped, too much rust)
1996 Golf GTD (Sold)
1993 VW Polo (Current DD since 2010)
1977 Mercedes 450SE (Still have, Vacuum problems)
1988 Golf GTI La speciale (Project car, still have)
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Sold)
2000 Renault Kangoo (Company car, Sold)
1999 Ford Mondeo ghia (Sold)
1996 Ford Transit 250 TDI (Sold)
1999 Ford Windstar (Still have, hydrolocked)
1999 Volvo V70 (Still have, ECU cabel faults)
1996 Saab 9000CSE (Still have, rusty frame)
1991 Volvo 960 (Still have, restoration)
1968 Lincoln Continental mk3 (Still have, restoration)
2001 Saab 9-5 Aero sportwagon (Recently bought, engine rebuild)
1990 Peugeot 205XS (Sold as rolling chassis project with functioning engine)

[pyrlix]

My list is pretty small compared to the rest here

2011 - 2013:

2003 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6TS

My very first car, which I also paid by myself. It was actually a quite well thought purchase - some will shake their heads now - a small 1.6L engine should be economic, the car was completely equipped and there was only a small damage in the bumper. Easy! Ordered a bumper from poland - changed it - done!
Well... the 1.6TS was not so economic to me, thats probably due to my heavy foot. Then the gearbox broke because the previous owner did something weird to it - well gearboxes were cheap in poland... so I swapped the gearbox with my dad and uncle in one day.
Besides of that small mishap the car was pretty reliable and never let me down or gave me up.
Later on I sold it to get a bigger and newer car


2013 - now:

2006 Alfa Romeo 159 1.9JTS

The virus got me - i am now an Alfista. Bigger car, bigger engine, better equipment - that sums up my new Alfa. Some Alfisti will shake their heads because the engine is a GM-based one... but that is just a small issue - its still an Alfa Romeo.
Fantastic exterior design, great colour, nice interior.
And after doing around 10Mm in it - it feels pretty good! The leather seats are comfortable, the stereo is good, the Satnav is crap - which is typical for Satnavs these old, the ride is good.


2013 - now:

2013 Opel Vivaro 2.0CDTI

Not my decision to get it - but okay. I drive that car for a living. What can i say about it... its a van. The 114hp engine is a bit too weak, the seats are too hard, the radio too silent, the AC and heater is good.
Well i have a pretty big sponsor on it so... i am okay with driving it. The small "office" in the back is pretty good

[Crowiel]

2011-2013:

Used to have Audi S6 4.2 V8 40V '00


Next car is going to be Audi S8 4.2 V8 40V 1999-2002 which i'm planning to tune abit (Complete engine revamp with Lysholm type screw charger, Custom ECU, gearbox swap auto -> 6-speed manual, LSDs to front and rear diffs, new suspension and brakes)

[JayZee88]

Being 26 I bought my first car at 16. I can't remember how long I owned some of them. Some for several years, others for a few months.
1957 Chevy Bel Air 4 dr Sedan
1957 Chevy 210 4 dr Sedan (parts car)
1957 Chevy 210 4 dr Sedan (76,000 miles, and a 2 owner car) (repainted it, new seals, brakes, ignition, fuel systems, swapped seat from my Bel Air, etc)
1967 Ford F100 (Modified 351 Cleveland)
1972 Impala Convertible (got it for $2000, had a rebuilt 350/350 auto, put a new top, and exhaust on it)
1958 Chevy Biscayne 4 dr sedan (rust bucket, sat for 20 years in a yard, got it running and driving on the highway in 1 day)
1955 Packard Patrician (planned project, but my first Buick convinced me to sell it)
1958 Buick Special (project, but never got very far with it. Ended up being to far gone)
1958 Buick Special (parts car, had factory AC)
1956 Pontiac Star Chief Catalina 2 dr Hardtop (older show restoration, all original paperwork with it, Bill of sale, order paper, tax paper, etc)
1959 Buick LeSabre 2 Dr Sedan (rarest car I owned, factory 3 speed manual uber rare as less then %1 of 59s had a manual transmission)(new bearings, brakes, paint, gauges, radio repaired, new exhaust)
1954 Chevy Bel Air 4 Dr Sedan (bought while at McPherson, rebuilt babbit 6 cyl, body work mostly finished and painted, rewired rear half of car, fixed a few tree branch dents, instrument panel repairs)
1959 Buick LeSabre 4 dr Sedan (was almost a running car, used it as a project until I bought my 2 Dr hardtop thats my current project, many good parts came from this 4 dr. motor, floor mats, etc)
1997 Buick Riviera VIN1 (factory supercharged, bought with 191,000 miles on it, lasted until 238,000 when my racing style shelled the 2nd transmission. Sent to scrap yard 2 years ago. Motor still ran like new to!)
1959 Ford F100 (mistake buying, nothing but problems. Sold it 6 months later)
1959 Buick LeSabre 2 dr sedan (rust free parts car for sheet metal for my hardtop)
1956 Chevy 210 Sedan (265 V8, powerglide, rust bucket, but current daily driver. I call it Trusty Rusty) lol
1959 Buick LeSabre 2 dr Hardtop (project car. Driveline done, frame mods done, rust repair %25 done, most nuts, bolts, wiring is done.) ( Will have factory 6 way power seats, P/steering, under dash AC, dual antennas, dual factory mirrors, with the better then new 364 nailhead turning a switch pitch TH400)

I don't think I missed any, but some of them aren't in order. Im bound to get a few mixed up :haha:

[adamd]

Next car is going to be Audi S8 4.2 V8 40V 1999-2002 which i'm planning to tune abit (Complete engine revamp with Lysholm type screw charger, Custom ECU, gearbox swap auto -> 6-speed manual, LSDs to front and rear diffs, new suspension and brakes)

You can go around pretending you are in Ronin.

[T16]

Peugeot 309
I bought this at age 15 for the great sum of 500 DKK (~67EUR, ~52GBP, ~84USD). I think this was with 1.1 L engine so not much power but it didn't really mater since the car was for trashing round on a empty field until the fan belt jumped off and then fix it and repeat. Also despite being made of the thinnest metal known to man it was remarkably rust free. I the end I used it for a school project when the engine had long seized up from standing around.

Nissan Sunny (Pulsar, N13) 1.4 LX 12 valve
This is what I consider my "real" (read roadcar) first car, my grandfather gave it to me when he stopped driving at age 80, I was 16 at the time so the car stood for 2 years patiently waited for me to turn 18 (minimum driving age in Denmark). When I turn 18 we pulled it out of the shed it been sleeping in and after a normal service, a rear brake cylinder ,some new fuel lines and a pair of front wings it was ready to drive it even went through the MOT with out any problems. Although the rust from standing around plus now driving it about 100 km each day meant the exhaust didn't last long. So I installed a new rear muffler and that was about the last I did too it, just drove it for the next 2 years. It never missed a beat, it did however make increasingly weird bumps/rattles/other strange sounds.

Ford Capri 1.6 L
At age 19 I felt that I wanted a project car to work on and while through various cars I started to really want and old Ford, either a MK1/2 Escort or a Capri but I ended with wanting a Capri slightly more. One problem though, there where no cheap Capri in semi-decent shape for sale in Denmark at the time. So I expanded my search and found one down in Germany. It wasn't really in great shape but as I wanted something to work on rather than a driver, I thought it was okay. On the way home the carb also showed that it had some issues, mainly that sometimes (most of the way home in fact) it would not keep a steady speed, it could slow down every slowly or accelerate, no middle ground at all. Another issue was that even in summer it didn't always want to start when it was cold without some starter fluid. After driving around on the temp. plates I got when I bought the car in Germany, I parked it in the workshop, bolted off the rear axle and started to work on the bodywork, until that I was told that I needed to make space for some rebuilding. So we moved the car out of the workshop with a makeshift rear axle and I haven't got back to it..

Peugeot 405 T16
About half a year after I bought the Capri, one day while looking at my normal places on the internet, I wondered what I 205 T16 goes for, turns out they are expensive (as expected), I first looked at the German sites because it unlikely there was one in Denmark, but just for fun I searched anyway, and there was a 405 T16 which at that point I was only aware of the Pikes peak and Dakar version which are basically stretched versions of the 205 T16. And since I had been watch all the group B documentaries I could get my hands on, I was intrigued by this unknown car with a T16 badge. Of course I started reading up on it and the stats read very similar to the great rally homologation cars of the time. 2.0 L I4 with a variable turbo developing 200 hp or with the overboost 220 hp, full time AWD with a viscous lock in the center and a Torsen diff at the rear and Citroën based self-adjusting hydraulic rear suspension. Obviously I ended up buying it, It's a great car especially in the winter because it will oversteer when you want it, but when you don't you just change into a higher gear and it becomes a comfortable and stable cruiser. The bad sides: being a rare car, parts can be a bit of a pain and well it's not exactly economical.

BMW 320i (e30)
After dealing with Peugeot T16 parts, I only had two requirements for my next car 1: good parts availability and since I had a FWD and AWD daily drive clear it was time for something with rear wheel drive. Also my budget was small... very small. So the list quickly narrowed down to, Sierras, e30, e34 and 70s Opels, another possiblity would have been Volvo 240 but I tried one and it's a bit of a boat, could just have been a bad example though. The Opels where too old for a daily drive on the cheap (rust), I was never a fan of e34s even though it's most comfortable and the newest car in the list and funnily the price doesn't reflect that. I the end I just wanted an e30 more than a Sierra, so I searched for a bit and fund one that looked to be mostly rust free for cheap-ish. In the years I had it, the fuel tank rusted threw, a cambelt snapped (I never got round to changing it) and I did end up making fair bit of various rust repairs.

Toyota MR2 (AW11)
This time round my requirements where extremely vague, either I wanted something both dirt cheap to run and buy or I wanted something interesting where I wouldn't mind spending a bit more money. While talking with the other IRC regulars, our resident Toyota fanboy (adam_d) mentioned that he wasn't going to suggest any Toyota since I had expressed my dislike with any newer Toyota except the Toybaru. So I looked up the few Toyota I do like and found a good example of my favourite gen MR2 that was close to where I work. This car definitely have mid-engined handling characteristics, it's also eager and quite economical for 25 year old car. I have driven 20 Mm (that's Megametres) in it and the only problem I had was when a marten had bitten in the HT-leads

TL:DR
Daily drives: Nissan Sunny -> Peugeot 405 T16 -> BMW 320i (e30) -> Toyota MR2 (AW11)
Others: Peugeot 309, Ford Capri

[lestrat]

These are the cars I have bought myself:

1977 Citroën CX 2.4 Pallas
1989 Ford Sierra 2.0iS Coupe
1993 Renault Laguna 2.0RXE
1994 Opel Calibra 2.5 V6
1996 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro
2002 Renault Laguna 2.0 16v GT
2008 Opel GT Roadster
2013 Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Of those, I still own the Opel Calibra, Audi A4, Opel GT and Alfa Romeo.