Post your personal car history

[Man of Steel]

I thought it would be fun to see what everybody's personal car history is.

Put up some details like years you owned it, model year and pictures of course!

My personal car history is far from impressive, but that is not important in this thread. Luckily the odds changed finally in 2012 with a brilliant purchase :-)

1: 1991 Toyota Starlet 1.3 XLi
Owned 1999-2000

2: 1994 Opel Astra 1.6i
Owned 2000-2001

3: 1999 Ford Fiesta 1.3i
Owned 2001-2010

4: 2008 Renault Twingo 1.2 Authentique
2008-present

5: 1999 Ford Ka 1.3i
2010-2012

EDIT:

6: 2008 Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Twin Spark Business Pro
2012-present

[johnnynumfiv]

Daily Drivers:
1. 1998 Nissan Sentra
2006-2007
2. 2000 GMC Sierra 4x4 ext cab
2007-2009
3. 2006 VW GLI
2009-Present
Classics:
1972 Chevrolet Chevelle, 350 auto
1970+1974 MG Midget
1959 Chevrolet El Camino
1972 Plymouth Duster
1966 Ford Galaxie 7 Litre

Not to bad for 22 me thinks.

[whiteballz]

Car 1 - 1991 Nissan Silvia - First car!
18 months of incredible shenanigans and horrible, horrible reliability.


Car 2 - 1990 Toyota Celica SX - Car 1 not reliable enough! Enter Car 2!
2 years of faithful service without major hiccup.


Car 3 - 1985 BMW 323i - Car 2 begining to die, Shuffled it along before major damage to my wallet occured.


Car 3 8 days after purchase.

[Revo]

Looks like you need to break out of your routine, MoS!

Here is my rather short history

1: 1997 Fiat Coupe 2,0
Owned 2005-2008

2: 2006 Fiat Grande Punto 1,4
Owned 2008-present

3: 1984 Saab 900 Turbo 16 Aero (that is SPG for you colonials)
Owned 2009-present

[drakkie]

Let's give it a go too:

Late 2006 - early 2008:
1996 Suzuki Alto 1.0
It started to get problems, so I sold it and got:
2000 Ford Fiesta 1.3

Unfortunately in December of 2009 it was declared totalled after two hefty crashes. The first was because of 'enthousiastic driving' and the second was a collision on the motorway. Accident happened in front, I braked just in time, but got a nudge from behind. Damnit.

At the same time I owned this fun-machine for 8 or 9 months:
A 1983 Suzuki Alto Mk.1 0.8L Automatic.

After the first crash I decided to save up for a fast ride. Sold the classic and after crash #2 the Fiesta too. With this money I bought my next red-monster:

A Ford Puma 1.7l 16V VCT

And now I am slowly starting to save up for my next ride; a Lotus Elise Mk.1

[Man of Steel]

Originally Posted by Revo

Looks like you need to break out of your routine, MoS!

Within a year, if everything goes according to plan, I will aquire a more sporty ride.

Problem is I can never stick to one car I like. So today it may be this for sure and within a month it could be a completely different car.

I was obsessed by Alfa GT for a few months, but I read things I didn't like about the 2.0 JTS petrol engine. 3.2 V6 is not really suitable as a daily driver. Still utterly beautiful car though.

May end up with a styly 'hot hatch', don't know. Whatever it will be, it will definitely have more then 75 hp (which would set me a new personal record)!

[whiteballz]

From what I can deduce from this so far, Australia and America are the best places to buy cars.

[Man of Steel]

What the hell happened with the BMW - Were you OK?

[Revo]

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

I was obsessed by Alfa GT for a few months, but I read things I didn't like about the 2.0 JTS petrol engine

What it was that you didn't like about 2,0 JTS?

[thebrochureman]

I can’t drive yet but this is my car history, if you can call it that.

1971 mini clubman
2010 - Present

100_0935.jpg

I may need to buy another car because this car will be hard to insure. I have got my eye on an Alfa 147 I know you’re thinking they aren’t reliable and they are expensive, but for some reason I really like the Alfa 147 and their not that expensive, you can buy a good example for £1,500

[whiteballz]

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

What the hell happened with the BMW - Were you OK?

Sore ribs and bruising were the only true issues.

I got T-Boned by a girl speeding.

[acfsambo]

1. 1989 Toyota Camry Station Wagon (had for a month b4 I wrote it off)
2. 1996 Subaru Liberty GX Station Wagon (had for 1 year and a half b4 someone turning in front of me on the highway)
3. 2004 Ford Falcon Ba XT Station Wagon. (Had for a year and a half)

As you can see i like station wagons.

[Man of Steel]

Originally Posted by Revo

What it was that you didn't like about 2,0 JTS?

I read a lot about the 2.0 JTS engine on Alfa Romeo forums and site from Dutch tuner (Squadra Tuning, an independent tuner specialized in Alfa Romeo). Learned that JTS (Jet Thrust Stoichiometric) is a form of direct fuel injection. I 'borrowed' some text to explain the issue with this engine in more detail to all the tech-guys here.

The injector is no longer mounted but before the inlet valve into the cylinder. A disadvantage is, when an injection before the inlet valve is mounted gives a flushing effect of the fuel intake valve. They therefore remain pretty clean. When this cleansing effect disappears, there will be an accumulation of debris which caused the passage of the inlet channel will eventually decrease.

It is no exception that the engine will "sludge" and will lose its performance.

Plus: The 2.0 engine should produce 165 hp, which is not extremely fast for 1.295 kg but will certainly do the job. Squadra Tuning tested 10 vehicles however and they were all measured at 142 to 146 hp, 20 hp less (!) then which is promised. Also the torque was measured 25 Nm less. I am not willing to say that you would immediately feel the difference in daily traffic (I also have low standards), but this was really a let-down for me as I feel that 165 hp is really the minimum for such a car. This, combined with the possible contamination issues, make me in doubt to opt for that version.

This is a known issue with the JTS engines, which are also used since 2000 on Alfa 156, Spider and GTV models. It also means the engine consumes more oil (the exact use is mentioned in the manual), but to be honest I don't care for that.

On the other hand, the problems seem to be less with models after 2004, as some modifications have been done. There are also owners which have the car for years without any issues. But... If you had the money, would you take the risk?

Off course, the 3.2 V6 is a different type of engine and doesn't have these issues (and a healthy 240 hp - measured). It also has a wonderfull V6 exhaust note (check Youtube). To me it is the ultimate combination of power and beauty, and the purchase should be affordable. However using it as a daily driver... Don't know. Fuel consumption is 1:6 (if you're lucky) and gas prizes are approx. Eur 1,65/liter today. Me and my misses still like going on Holidays once in a while...

[Man of Steel]

Originally Posted by acfsambo

1. 1989 Toyota Camry Station Wagon (had for a month b4 I wrote it off)
2. 1996 Subaru Liberty GX Station Wagon (had for 1 year and a half b4 someone turning in front of me on the highway)
3. 2004 Ford Falcon Ba XT Station Wagon. (Had for a year and a half)

As you can see i like station wagons.

Pic's please.

[Man of Steel]

Originally Posted by whiteballz

From what I can deduce from this so far, Australia and America are the best places to buy cars.

Correct. You don't pay ridiculous prices for purchase, gas, insurance and road tax.

If you would ask my car-heart, of course I would drive a big V8 instead of an econobox.