Cars, Trucks and Minivans... oh my!

Arden

Arden

Where mah "any" keys at?
Okay, what we need here is a place to talk about automobiles. If it's car related, put it in here. If you're getting a paint job, let us know. Just let us know what kind of car you drive. I'll start:

I drive my dad's '86 Toyota Camry (with a stick shift). I punched a hole in the muffler, and it sounds like it's got one of those phatty mufflers on it now. So I have to go get it fixed... fortunately, it's covered under a lifetime warranty (if my dad can find the receipt, that is!).
 
i drive a 99 windstar, (19 years old, ;) )
it sucks, i just had a flat from crap on the highway. Plus it has had a lot of work on it :/.

btw 2 apple stickers on the back and one inside. :)
 
Well...starting in Decemeber I'll own a '98 Toyota Corolla (automatic). It's green...and ugly. I really hate it. But my friends and I plan to beef it up a little. And maybe painting it silver.

Know any self-painting kits? Or should I just not bother and let a pro do it for me? (boo! hiss! no fun!) :p
 
i drive a 96 sunfire. it was fine in indiana. in boston it sucks. the roads blow here. i want a 4-runner
 
99 Ford Crown Victoria LX
My daughter calls it "Daddy's Big Heavy Car".
Everybody thought that I was crazy when I bought this grandpa car (I'm 35). But, they are all impressed with it now!! ;) Plus, its one of the very few American cars that can go over 100,000 miles without major work needing to be done.
Hey, its the only V8 car I could afford insurance on.

cf25: I agree, Boston roads suck. I just moved back to the South after 8 years in that over priced pit.

nb3004: 4 words. sell that van, now!!!
in my experinece, windstars live an average of 60,000 miles (or less). They have very weak engines and transmissions and ford will not give you any help with your issues.
 
Firt car..er truck in HS was dad's 88 Chevy 1500. 5.0 V8 and auto, 2wd. Drove for free while in school...not really free if I told you how much gas it used. Put about 50K on it.

Bought a 91 Volvo 744 SE turbo with 75K miles right after my 18th birthday. Stole it from a dealer for 9100$ . Leather, sunroof, heated seats, etc...all the goodies. 2.3 I4 turbo with 4spd manual (5th gear electronic overdrive), RWD. Had it for 3 years until I went out of town for x-mass of 99. Parents wrecked it for me while I was out of town, odd eh? Shouldn't it be the other way around? RIP @ 115K miles.

Bought a 93 Pontiac Bonneville SSE with around 110K miles in 2000 to replace my Volvo, nice but a bit big but then again price was right (5600$). 3.8V6, auto, FWD, leather, onboard air compressor (never used or understood till I got a price for new rear shocks...self leveling air system, and price...well, it hurt bad), host of other goodies...but no sunroof. Great on road trips, comfortable as hell and got 34mpg running 85mph to Hilton Head in August weather (95deg) with air on. Someone pulled out infront of me, very little damage but since the car was all fiberglass and poly it amounted to 6000$... given it's age and 140K miles, they totaled it. This was almost a year to the date from when I bought it.

Bought my 98 Chevy Blazer in March of 2001 with 35K miles on the OD, for 17,000$. 4.3l Vortec V6, auto, 4wd. Love it, knew I would...except for the money spent. As usual, leather and all the goodies...even homelink (built-in programable garage door opener). Still driving it as a daily driver, now with 116K miles.

Bought another 91 744 SE turbo in July of 2002. Had 95K miles on it. Found on the net in Chicago...called them, they wanted 7000 for it. Had them send me pics, then offered 4500 cash on it. Drove up a week later and got it. It's identical to my first, same tranny and engine (rare combo) and same colors...red ext with black int. Only differences are this one has cruise, but doesn't have leather. I'm going to replace the seats soon, as I want leather and due to a small sunroof leak I caused. Believe the seats I found are from my other Volvo, located in a salvage yard in Lexington KY. They came from a 91 744 T with 114,508K miles...with a m46 tranny. They have the tranny too, so I'm definately sure it's my old stuff. Sitting in my parents garage until the sunroof leak is fixed...been a year now almost.


Selling the Blazer soon, keeping the Volvo and looking at either leasing a new Volvo S60R or finding a 2000 to 2002 Chevy 2500HD ext or crew cab truck, 4wd, with the Duramax diesel. That's if I don't buy the houses I'm looking at...otherwise, just selling the SUV and buying a cheap Jeep Wrangler with what I get out of it.
 
My aunt had 3 Windstars...her mother-in-law (I think) worked for Ford, so they get that A plan or whatever pricing. All three had tranny problems from 40K to 70K, she finally got somewhat wise (she told me this) and decide on a different vehicle.

A week later she pulled up at her brothers house in a 03 Mustang GT...how is this wiser with 3 kids, one of whom just turned 16 and is a Mustang nut?
 
I've been going through my car list, so here it is:

ME:
1985: bought a 1978 Honda Accord LX for $2000
my best friend in college decided that he wanted to go for a joy ride one night. He took my keys while I was sleeping. Rolled the car 2.5 times and killed one of the passengers.

1997: drove my grandparents spare :eek: pinto :eek: for 1 month until I could afford to buy a car

1987: bought a 1980 Audi 4000 for $2000. 6 months later I blew the engine (all my fault).

1988: bought a 1988 Mazda 323 for ~$6500.

1991: traded in the 323 for a 1991 Honda CRX. What a damn fine car it was. I still miss it.

1995: sold the CRX (for $2000 less than I paid for it:D) because I figured I wouldn't need a car when I moved to Boston

1995: stupid me, I did need a car in Boston.

1995: Bought a 1990 Audi 100 for ~ $6000. God I loved this car. Hit a fiberglass cooler that flew out of a truck bed on the interstate. Totally f'd up the transmission. Traded it in very quickly;)

1996(late): traded the 1990 Audi 100 for a 1995 VW Jetta. Can you tell I love VW/Audi's

1998: went back to school full time. Sold the Jetta for what I paid for it in 96

1998 (late): Bought a 1991 Audi 100S for ~ $4500
drove it for 40k then traded it in

2000: Traded 1991 Audi 100S in for a 1997 Honda Accord LX Coupe. My wife and I learned to hate this friggin car :mad:

2001: traded the 1997 Accord for a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria LX.
This is one sweet ride. Fast, handles very well and is very comfortable.

2003: debating on a Mercury Marauder, VW Passat, Chevy 1500 or just keeping this car until it dies. Or, should I get that 1970 240z, or how about a 1970 442 or a 1971 Camaro or.........


MY WIFE:

when we met in 1997 she had

1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Was way too unreliable, so we traded it in

1998(early): traded Jeep in on a 1998 Subaru Legacy. Very nice car

1999 (late): pregnant wife enters nesting phase and states, in no uncertain terms, that we are buying a Volvo Wagon. So, I trudge out to the Volvo dealership. Nearly die from sitcker shock. We trade the Subaru :( in for a 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon.
its currently got 84k on it and still runs perfectly.
 
Bikes:

Currently Have:
2002 Bajaj Legend Scooter, think: Old Vespa with all new parts and better engine! :D

Want:
2004 Kawazaki/Bajaj Eliminator 125

Hey - what can I say? I love inexpencive yet fun rides! :)
Both are around $2k, on the Legend insurance is $250 for the year, and aprox 100 Miles per Gallon. What a way to beat the gas prices! :D


Cars:
Have : 1977 5.0L V8 Ford Mustang - paid $100 for it, got free engine rebuild ("sponsored"?), needs a little more work but is a fun ride and makes people do double-takes! :D
Was "My First Car" and I still have it! :D

Want: Jeep Wrangler (or a Van of some sort)
Want: Mazda RX8 :D

Past: 1984 Ford LTD - Aside from it's foobar'ed TBI, it was a nice ride. Got totalled when a small import jumped out in front of me at 40MPH - wrecking the engine.
 
Sorry, Sogni, this thread is for vehicles with 4 or more wheels and a padded interior. :D Just kidding...

Well, as I said, I'm driving my dad's blue Camry, which he bought new. Here's a list of all the modifications it has, whether technical or cosmetic, that I know of:
  • 2 plugs on back of trunk for ham radio antennae; these lead through the interior via coax to a box that he used to plug his radios into.
  • White sheepskin seat covers for the front seats
  • Replacement radio/cassette deck, though the light & cassette player don't work
  • Shades for the rear windshield (my dad put those in, and I never took them out)
  • Black wheel cover w/white dragons on the sides (because the wheel gets hot! :))
  • Cup holders that sit in the window groove... very handy
  • A hole in the muffler that makes it sound phat as stated above)
My mom drives a blue 2001 Sienna LE (hint hint, Nick & Sogni). It's quite a good car, and it has a lot of pickup for what it is (it's built on the Camry chassis). My dad drives a 2003 Corolla LE with a stick, and he put the obligatory seat covers and ham radio plug (this time on the roof :rolleyes:).

We used to have a '94 Volvo 940 station wagon. It was quite stable, even after surviving the airbags blowing out (at 5 mph—faulty shocks), but we eventually got rid of it because stuff kept breaking on it. For example, the shifter popped off, one of the seat belts locked up, screws came out, etc. So we traded it for the van.

I had quite a bit of trouble today with my car. I was running low on gas, and I forgot to ask my mom for the Costco card last night, so I went to my first 2 classes and went home. I found my mom's old Costco card (which, unknown to me, had been demagnetized) and ventured out, intending to get gas before going to class. Well, when I got to Costco, the card wouldn't work, as you might imagine. I tried my bank card, but (not being an ATM card) that was unhelpful. I tried it at another gas station around the corner, as well, but that was a no-go too. So I just came home, and I skipped my remaining 2 classes. (I had forgotten to put my ATM card in my wallet, but I don't think the money is good until tomorrow (it's not good for 9 days, as it's a new account).) So I finally got gas this evening after 7. :whew:

I was thinking this could also be the place to come to with car questions, since there's no forum (on this site) specifically for that.
 
Originally posted by podmate
1999 (late): pregnant wife enters nesting phase and states, in no uncertain terms, that we are buying a Volvo Wagon. So, I trudge out to the Volvo dealership. Nearly die from sitcker shock. We trade the Subaru :( in for a 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon.
its currently got 84k on it and still runs perfectly.
Click to expand...

84K on a Volvo is like 21K on the others...just follow Volvo's maintenance schedule and it should last forever. Especially the timing belts...every 40K miles or your engine could be toast if it breaks.
 
Yeah, unless stuff starts falling off it, making it cosmetically a pain in the ass. That's why we got rid of ours.

My Camry needs a timing belt every 60K or so... and it'll be time to change the oil soon.
 
LOL...

Here's some advice for you guys: avoid Nissan trucks. The neighbors across the street were having some trouble with the panic system on their Frontier, though it thankfully stopped a bit ago.
 
Noooo! Don't tell me that!
*Plugs ears with fingers*

I like two Nissans (Frontier and Xtera).

Not that I'm in any position to buy anything anyway. :p
 
Well, my family has trois voitures, or three cars. The best to drive (because I drive it fairly often is a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser, it's got a stick. The second best is my Dad's 1999 Audi A4 Quattro, again a stick, with 1.8 Liter V6 and a turbocharger. Then there's the minivan, a whale of a car, driving automatic. But the minivan easily has the best sound system, and chrome rims.... I get to drive all the car's sometimes, although my dad just bought the audi used and he's a little bit protective of it.
Oh, and the PT has about 35,000 miles on it while the van has 97,000 and the audi about 80,000.
 
Growing up in Chicago with plenty of public transportation, I never felt the need for a car and didn't even bother to take lessons, much less get a license. I always liked the Beetle and pledged to get one if I ever decided to take up driving. Before that happened, the Beetle was banned from this country for emission compliance reasons and there went my plan. Flash forward 30 years and I'm no longer in a large metropolitan area and the Beetle has returned and to top it off, there's an AutoBarn less than a mile from my house! So I walked over and put my money down, then went home and contracted for lessons. The instructor had me drive immediately to the DMV for a permit, so that evening I was able to pick up the Beetle because I brought someone with me. I aced the lessons and the tests and had my license in 10 days.

My 2000 Beetle is a wonderful car and I will continue to drive a Beetle as long as they're available. If I could figure out a way to run my iMac in the Beetle, I might never be home, or you could say I'd already be home!
 
djkowall - there are DC to AC adaptors that can power your Mac. Get an Airpot Card and drive to your nearest StarBucks (or other stuch hotspot) and you're home 'n online! :D

I'd want a 'Book instead - but I'm on a motor-bike so it wouldn't be as easy! :p :)
 
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