Post your personal car history

[Revo]

But... If you had the money, would you take the risk?

Yes I would. The fact is that every brand and model has its fair share of problems.

I assume that you are looking second hand car here, so the REAL risk lies the previous owner. There are plenty of cars for sale which have full service history and bone dry oil dipstick.

[Cobrafan427]

1990 Ford Crown Victoria LTD
2006 - Present


I don't have any pics of my car but this is basically it except it has dark red pinstriping under the windows and the vinyl on the roof is dark red too

[DesmoRob]

Hmm, I changed vehicles too much....

2006 - 2007 - '01 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0: spun it, rolled it, smashed it
2007 - 2009 - '02 Acura RSX 5 speed : sold privately
2008 - 2009 - '04 Ducati 749 : sold privately
2009 - 2009 - '92 Honda Civic CX w/ H22 swap : flogged it, off-roaded it, sold it privately for more than what I bought it
2009 - 2009 - '01 Mercedes-Benz C240 "elegance" : traded it
2009 - Today - '00 Audi TT Quattro Coupe

[NSXType-R]

0. When my dad was in Hong Kong, he used to drive a Mazda RX-3 and a Mini Clubman. The Clubman was a family car, they often fit 6 or more people in that car.
1. VW Golf- a car from before I was born, it broke down on a bridge. And that was that.
2. 1982 Honda Accord Hatchback- a grey hatchback that was stolen from us. I "drove" on my dad's lap when I was about 3 in that car.
3. 1979 Honda Civic 4 door wagon- A blue wagon meant to be for my mother, but she never drove it and it sat in the driveway until it was far too rusted to be fixed up again.
4. 1983 Accord- we still have and drive that car.
5. 1987 Acura Integra hatchback- some guy water logged the engine, my dad fixed it up as a beater car. Had over 200,000 miles and way too much rust on it when we threw it out. I did however, learn how to shift with my left hand while my dad operated the clutch in this car. Still one of my favorite cars of the fleet.
6. 1995 Acura TL- still have it, my dad bought it as a project car. Someone stole the car, stripped it for parts and left the hunk at my dad's shop.
7. 1993 Civic Si hatchback- the car that was meant to be for me to learn how to drive stick shift. We had the car for a year, it was stolen on Friday, August 13, 2004. The guy didn't even steal it, he freaking towed it. Still fuming about it.
8. 1995 (?) Ford Escort Wagon- was my uncle's car, we got it when he got rid of it for a minivan. My dad pushed it so hard it threw a rod and that was that.
9. 2003 Subaru Forester- replaced the Ford with this car. Excellent interior space, lovely wagon.

Right now we only have the TL, the Forester and the Accord.

Some context- my dad is primarily a Honda mechanic. Hence my large bias for Honda cars.

[cmcpokey]

alright, i'm in. i will leave out stuff prior to my license, with exception to say that i came home from the hospital in a Datsun B210 (not the honeybee though), the first car i have a memory of is a Renault Fuego. and the first car i drove was a 1989? 300ZX. My parents had odd taste, what can i say.

my cars:
1987 E30 325, wrecked badly twice, totalled when i was hit in my door by a bronco who was speeding around a blind corner.
1993 Isuzu Pickup, white, grill missing, an unkillable beast which my mom still has, and i drove it in January
1993 honda accord, given to me by my mom after she got a new car so that i didnt have to drive my 17 mpg truck back and forth to college any more. drove it until it basically died. had to jump start it to drive it to the dealer to trade on...
2004 Mini Cooper S, first car that was all mine. loved it. did my first autox in it, and miss it every day, but i traded it in on...
2006 Infiniti G35 Coupe, still have it and need to sell it.

misc other cars:
1981 Mazda RX-7, which i still own. my grandmother bought it new about the time i was born.
2008 Mazda CX-7, my wife's car which I drive more than she, and probably more than my G35.

there are tons of cars i grew up in, and have driven over the years, but the above are what i consider to be my cars.

[pimento]

2001-2002 - Rover SD1 series 2 3500 (EFi). Fantastic car, when it was working. Sold it when it left me stranded again.
2002-2010(kinda) - BMW 323i - Brilliant, after it ceased being my daily in 2003 it became the perennial spare car for anyone who needed it. Died last year when it blew the head gasket, went to the great scrapyard in the sky.
2003-2007 - 1965 Mini Van. (1098cc engine, original gearbox). Sold after I'd driven it to bits and didn't have the resources to rebuild it. No first gear, rust, perennial overheating issues.. the usual for an old Mini.
2007-2009 - Volvo 850R. Gave it to my Dad cos I never drove it, he still has it.
2009-present - Postie Bike. so cheap to run there's no point in getting rid of it.. it's too useful.
2010-2010 - Suzuki GS500. Written off (his fault).
2011-present - Triumph Bonneville 790.

[csl177]

Interesting lists from you guys, reflecting current preferences and market. You want performance reasonably priced the same way my age group did 30+ years ago. Just having been on the planet awhile longer makes it impossible to list everything, and some of my cars were strictly beaters so I've left them out. Many purchases were often $200 to $1000... in the early 1970's what are classics now were just cheap cars. Though I had Ferrari/Bugatti/Mercedes 300SL tastes, they cost $4-6,000 which was a big sum then. Dirt cheap in retrospect, check an inflation calculator for a shock. Excluding cars bought to fix & flip or owned just a few months, this is kinda complete and roughly in chronological order from age 16. Cars marked bold on this list I currently own, four of the Porkers purchased in the past 5 years.

1965 Ford Mustang K GT (SCCA Holman & Moody)
1967 Austin Healey BJ8 3000 MkIII
1960 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite (SCCA H Prod)
1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Promiscua Wagon (4 on the tree!)
1953 Packard Caribbean
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce
1961 Austin Healy 100-6 (Sebring works car)
1956 Jaguar XK-140MC Coupe
1966 Mercury Cyclone
1967 Oldsmobile Toronado
1955 Triumph TR2
1964 Jaguar XKE Coupe 3.8
1969 Mercury Marauder
1966 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S
1962 VW Bus (15 window Standard)
1966 Toyota FJ40
1980 VW Rabbit
1966 Ford Mustang Coupe (D code)
1976 VW Scirroco 1600GTi (Euro - Track/Street)
1969 BMW 2800CS (Track/Street)
1984 Dodge Omni GLH
1967 BMW 2000CS Alpina (Track/Street)
1966 BMW 2000CS
1975 BMW 530i (E12 - Track/Street)
1967 Mercedes 280SE Coupe
1994 Mercedes 500SEC
1972 BMW 3.0CSL (Track/Street)
1964 VW Microbus Deluxe
1996 Range Rover
1973 Volvo 1800ES
1968 Mercedes 280SL*
1962 Porsche 356S Notchback
1998 Audi S8
1999 Ford E350 Club Wagon
2002 Audi Allroad
1962 BMW 700 Cabriolet
1963 BMW 700 Sport
2004 Audi L8
1968 Porsche 911T Targa Sportomatic*
1972 BMW 3.0CSA (Euro)*
1967 Porsche 911S
1968 Porsche 911S Targa Sportomatic
1970 Porsche 914/6 (GT Project)
1968 Porsche 911R (Vintage Racecar)
1970 Porsche 914/6 GT (Historic Racecar, ex-Gregg/Haywood)

EDIT: I should note that three (*) are my wife's.

[Man of Steel]

Thanks all, but with such interesting lists, what this thread need is pictures!

[clutch-monkey]

1991 VN holden commodore
1991 DA9 honda Integra LS
1978 mini clubman (now a shell)
1971 mini clubman (sold)
1975 mini clubman (for sale)
1993 mini cooper (briefly.. passed on to sister when she got her license)
2003 nissan patrol
2005 honda jazz (DIE)
1978 911 SC
1964 mk1 triumph spitfire (R.I.P.)
??? GT6 to come?

[Man of Steel]

Yes I would. The fact is that every brand and model has its fair share of problems.

I assume that you are looking second hand car here, so the REAL risk lies the previous owner. There are plenty of cars for sale which have full service history and bone dry oil dipstick.

I understand your point. It will most probably be a second hand car and of course, proper documented servicing history and reasonable mileage (max. 100.000 km) are major factors. I am well aware of that.

I also agree that every make and model has its own flaws and problems. If I would buy an Italian automobile, most of these I would consider as 'character'.

Higher oil consumption is something what can be read about most of Alfa 147/GT models. Don't see that as an issue, as long as the driving experience is there and the car remains properly serviced.

That being said, the JTS engine seems to suffer from more then just a 'character' flaw. Engine is not performing as it should be due to the 'revolutionary' fuel injection system (environmental regulations, you know). And when I read the below I get a bit nervous.

As explained JTS does not know the effect of the cleaning action of the intake valves like a normal injection gasoline engine knows that. Normally the injector is mounted before the inlet valve so that the injected fuel goes directly to the inlet valve and keeps it beautifully clean. Below show pictures of a JTS engine, which is a different story.

The photos show pretty slibbed inlet channels and equally as many severely contaminated valve steal. One can well imagine that the maximum amount of sucking air in the intake is drastically reduced. This engine produced only about 130 hp. Unfortunately, the capacity after cleaning is still unknown.

Source : http://www.squadra-tuning.com

Again, the problems seem to be less after 2004 models, as modifications were done (but they did not change the JTS principle). There are also numerous owners without issues.

But still not sure if I would risk it though, as I am planning to buy a car for numerous years of driving pleasure (not buying a different car every 2 years or so). Of course, you can never be sure with any make or model, but the above does not sound comforting to me to start with. A big shame as I still think it is a beautiful car.

I also have different preference for different cars from time to time. But I have enough time, no rush. So time will tell what I will buy eventually.

[Revo]

Well, AFAIK carbon deposit build up on intake valve is the weak point of any petrol DI engine.

Audi/BMW/Porsche owners are especially upset since they, unlike Alfa owners, tend to assume that cars should work.

[Ferrer]

Fully owned:

1994 Audi 80 2.8E
2010 - present.

Pics are somewhere on UCP.

[csl177]

Fully owned:

1994 Audi 80 2.8E
2010 - present.

Pics are somewhere on UCP.

Previous non-Audi conveyances were borrowed or leased?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Pretty Sure I wrote this down somewhere else in the forum, but whatever Trevor.

1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport
- The Almighty Heep. Dad's Car.
1986 BMW 318i Sedan (E30)
- Claudia. My aging German Supermodel. Currently being Tuned out in QLD by some P Plater.
1994 Volvo 850 GLE
- Ingrid. Comfortable Highway beast. Monster to repair.
2002 Volkswagen Golf GTi
- Rommel. Acquired 2 weeks ago. Currently runs like clockwork, could use a wash.

[Kitdy]

Previous non-Audi conveyances were borrowed or leased?

Split with mom and/or uncle and aunt I think.