Your Car Histories?

"mazda616" (mazda616) 11/15/2015 at 10:12 • Filed to: Car Histories

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This past July was ten years since my first car was purchased for me by my grandfather. Ten years. Wow. And this coming May will be ten years since I took my test and got my driver’s license. Ugh, I am feeling old all of a sudden.

Continuing my nostalgic path this morning, I thought I’d line up my car history. I’ve been driving ten years and have owned four cars.

1992 Chevrolet Beretta Base: Purchased July 2005 for $1,250.00 with 74,000 miles. 2.2 automatic, no options. SLOW (which is good for a first car). Soldfor $1,500.00 in April 2007 with 84,000 miles.

1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT1: Purchased April 2007 for $4,500.00 with 103,000 miles. Loaded to the max. Every option the Grand Am could have. Meticulously maintained. A perfect high school car. Took it to prom two years in a row. Traded in August 2009 for $2,500 with 131,000 miles.

2008 Mazda3 S Touring Hatchback: Bought August 2009 for $15,000 with 12,000 miles. Drove it for six years. Took it to college. Proposed to my wife in it. Used it as a moving van three times. A lot of memories with this car. Traded in October 2015 for $5,500 with 76,000 miles. I'm still kinda sad it's gone. But my new car helps alleviate that sadness.

2016 Mazda6 i Touring: Bought October 10, 2015 with 6 miles for $25,000. This is my grown up car. Going to be a dad car, too, someday. Still loving it and don’t regret my decision.

Feel free to post your car history or histories!

Nymphicus Hollandicus > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:17

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I don’t have that much of a history.
April of 2012, I started by driving my sister’s Civic because it was at the house, then one month later my mom got a Hyundai and gave me and my brother the Pilot. It’s still with me today but (hopefully) next year that’ll be replaced if I have money.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:27

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November 26, 2011, 1995 4Runner w/ 161k miles for (insert too much).

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:27

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July 2014- Bright blue Fiat Panda 1.3 diesel. 2005 with 70’000 miles. Turbo died twice because of terminal engine troubles. Traded in April 2015.

April 2015-now. 2010 Twingo 1.2 with 35’000 miles. Just about to tick over 40k and love it more every day.

ranwhenparked > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:39

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1971 Volkswagen Super Beetle: 2001-2002

1991 Volvo 940 Turbo: 2002-2006

1996 Cadillac Fleetwood: 2006-2010

1983 Honda CM450A: 2008-present

2009 Mercury Grand Marquis: 2010-2012

2013 Ford Mustang: 2012-present

1984 Lincoln Town Car: 2015-present

Round headlight enthusiast > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:44

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Hand me down 2003 Subaru Outback, 99K when I got it, lots of rust. 2.5L, 0-60 in maybe 13 seconds.

2000 Integra, 78K miles, 1.8L non-VTEC motor and a slushbox. $3900.

daender > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:44

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2010: Parents handed down a base model ‘06 HHR for me to use as school transportation. It’s been in the family for about 3 years at that point after being purchased used in Hawaii with about 15k on it.

2012: Shenanigans happen once I move to South Carolina.

January 6, 2013: The automotive easy-answer happens after selling the HHR with 90k miles on it. Miata comes in with only 54.7k miles.

November 12, 2015: Still going strong despite mechanical setbacks, just clicked past 77,777 miles.

AkursedX > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 10:49

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I’m not going to put dates, but here’s mine:

-89 Ford Tempo AWD

-92 Ford Tempo

-92 Plymouth Duster

-88 Pontiace Fiero GT (had for 11-years and turned into a 10-second series-2 3800 turbo car)

-87 Pontiac Fiero GT

-88 Pontiace Fiero coupe

-2004.5 VW Jetta GLI

-07 Vw GTI Fahrenheit Edition

-86 Ford Mustang SVO

-07 Ford Crown Victoria P71

-10 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI

-05 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV

-04 Mazda RX8 (Still have)

-11 Subaru WRX

-14 Ford Escape-Titanium

-16 Subaru WRX STI

pip bip - choose Corrour > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 11:14

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been driving 24 years.

1st car UC Holden Torana

2nd car VK Holden Commodore

3rd car TR Holden Astra

4th car JR Holden Vectra

5th car CH Mitsubishi Lancer (had it 12 years now , 589k KM)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 11:22

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First car, in around 2010/2011 was a 2000 Buick LeSabre Limited my dad gave me to drive through high school. 230,000 miles.

Shortly after I got into autocross and shenanigans happened and it became the Murdersofa.

After that I decided to buy my own car for the first time, a 1998 Honda Civic LX Sedan for $500 with 270,000 body miles. I bought a parts car for $300 and put the 198,000 mile engine into my nicer body.

Some de-ricing happened and I lowered it a bit. The lower mileage engine, some original wheel covers re-finished white, blacked out chrome trim, new transmission, short shifter, full Pioneer speaker system, OEM headlights that were polished to clear, fixed some screwed up tint on the rear window, rear lower sway bar replacement, and new struts all around. This was the result.

Looked pretty good until it was totaled by an overzealous Corvette driver.

Insurance gave me a check for around $2000 and I got to keep the car. I immediately traded it plus $1000 for a 1991 Mazda MX-5. Salvage title, 154,000 miles, in pretty good condition with fluidic LSD and A/C as the only options.

This is my current daily driver. $700 of work was done to get it in tip-top shape for the winter. She’s been in some front-end collisions, but drives straight and handles great for such an older car. So far I’ve done plugs, wires, fuel filter, o2 sensor, header, resonator, new stock catback because the old one was rattly, new head unit, new rear window, and new tires. I’m loving every minute of it.

DarkCreamyBeer > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 11:34

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91 Nissan Sentra SE-R 5MT (93 -99)

96 Honda Accord SE auto (96 - 03) wife’s car when we got married

98 Acura Integra LS hatchback 5 MT (99 - 08)

03 Mazda 6 6S 5MT (03 - 10)

10 Honda Odyssey (10 -) current wife/kid mobile

11 Ford Focus 5 door dsg* (11 - 15)

15 Audi A4 Quattro auto** (15 -)

* worst transmission I’ve ever owned. Killed the whole car for me.

** I wanted a manual A4, but my wife who is petite couldn’t get the clutch pedal all the way down, so I got the auto with sport package, and I love it. Best auto trains I’ve ever driven. I do miss a clutch pedal though.

My 8 year old is lobbying to replace the van with a Mustang GT.

Leon711 > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 11:37

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First car in bought in September 2008- 1988 VW Polo Ranger bought for £300 with 161k miles

Second car was a 2000 VW Polo 16v bought in late 2010 for £1100 with 128k miles.

Third was a 1998 Mazda MX5 bought in September 2012 for £1600 on 61k miles

And my current car is an 05 GTI bought June 2015 with 84k miles at £6500

Frenchlicker > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 11:45

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2011: 1996 GMC Sonoma, like this but with way more rust and paint peeling. My mom let me use it to go to my internship daily, until I totaled it a 8 or 9 days later

March 2011: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport

Same case here, borrowed for my internship. The last day I borrowed it was for graduation practice, fell asleep and went through a utility pole. Here’s the last picture of it.

From there on out I was allowed to drive much.

June 2011-February 2014: I occasionally drove a 2007 Jeep Liberty(my parents fell in love with them since one saved my life). This is from the day they bought it.

February 2014: I got the first car I paid for with my own money and could drive whenever, a white 1998 Ford Taurus SE. I said goodbye to it last month after it blew a head gasket and messed up some other stuff

October 2015: I tossed my brother a tiny sum of cash for a hoppy 2001 Ford Taurus SEL, it's definitely a fixer upper. It runs and drives but I'm not sure for how long. No pictures yet.

Frenchlicker > ranwhenparked 11/15/2015 at 11:46

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Well well well, look at who wins the comments section without any pictures. Nice list regardless

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 11/15/2015 at 11:55

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You do know that an mx5 is imminent right? You might not know it yet but it will happen,look up and down the list, more mx5’s than I expected.

ranwhenparked > Frenchlicker 11/15/2015 at 12:00

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To be fair, at least some of those pictures have been on here before.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Leon711 11/15/2015 at 12:17

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It'd have to be a second car if I did. Way too impractical for me.

Ssfancyfresh > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 12:24

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1998 Chevy S-10: 1998-2001

1999 GMC Sonoma: 2001-2002

2002 Chevy Cavalier: 2002 - 2006

2005 Chevy Colorado: 2005 - 2010

2001 Audi TT: 2009 - 2015

2014 Audi A4: 2015

I worked for GM for a while, and the Kool Aid was delicious. Around 2006, a bunch of friends and family who also worked for GM were laid off or forced into retirement. So I decided, fuck it, time to try something different.

I’ve seen people shit on the Cavalier here before, but that was one of the best cars I’ve owned. Fun, cheap, and easy to work on. Great car. death trap. Sold it after I saw 3 separate accidents involving Cavaliers where the motor compartment was separated from the passenger cabin.

The TT was purely an impulse buy. I had wanted one ever since I had seen the concept at the Detroit auto show.

The A4 is a TT for grown ups who have kids.

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 11/15/2015 at 12:52

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False, it was the only car in my whole family for nearly three years. When you buy one I have a boot rack you can have.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 12:55

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jetta GLI august 2014-now

yep.

911e46z06 > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 13:07

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1995 2500 Suburban

1997 e39 528 (which I totalled rather quickly)

1997 e39 528

1997 2500 Silverado

2007 C6 Z06

2001 e39 528

2003 e39 525

1993 Exploder

1987 Porche 911 Turbo Look Cabriolet

2009 Silverado 2500

1987 K5 Blazer

1991 2500 Suburban

1970 VW Bus

1995 Bronco

2004 e46 M3

1997 Tahoe

2015 CTS V-Sport

That’s close to the right order. I’m averaging a new car every year, and I still have 11 of them. So that’s neat.

911e46z06 > 911e46z06 11/15/2015 at 13:20

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Some pics

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 13:44

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I’m 28. I got my learner’s permit when I was 15 and my driving license when I was 16. I bought my first car (!) two months ago, a 2013 Smart Fortwo with one previous owner (a lessee) and 25,000 miles. Every other car I’d driven before belonged to a friend, relative, or car-sharing company.

duurtlang > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 13:53

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‘91 VW Golf: 2010- current (retired. Waiting for a restomod)
‘97 Subaru Legacy: 2012-2013 (€500 bought, POS so a lot fixed, €850 sold)
‘00 Peugeot 406 coupe: 2012- current (DD)
‘89 BMW 325i Touring: 2014-2014 (€ break even)
‘88 Peugeot 205 GTI: 2014- current (hibernating)
‘89 BMW 320i Touring: 2014-2015 (€500 profit)
‘13 Ford Focus wagon diesel: 2015- current . Company car, in use for work only.
‘90 Citroën BX diesel: 2015-2015 (€500 bought, €750 sold)
‘88 Peugeot 205 CTI: 2015-2015 (€1750 bought, lots invested, €4200 sold)
‘97 Peugeot 306 convertible: 2015- current (hibernating)
‘87 Peugeot 205 CTI: 2015- current (current project)

I am seeing a pattern here. It involves the late 80s, France and Pininfarina.

Got my license in ‘01, at age 18 (the minimum age here, then)

B6FTW > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 15:43

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I’ve been driving for 14 years, and most of my friends don’t understand why I average almost one per year. Here goes:

1994 Toyota Tercel (first car)

1990 Honda Civic DX

1992 Honda CRX (no windows)

1985 Mazda RX7

1997 Saturn SL2 (crashed the RX, needed a car quickly and cheaply)

1996 Mazda Miata M Edition

2004 Nissan XTerra (got tired of speed bumps in the Miata)

2013 Mazdaspeed3 (current daily)

1994 Mazda Miata (current track)

1984.5 VW Vanagon (current project)

1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.Sl0 (brand new toy)

All have been manual save for the XTerra, and I’ve loved them all in their own way. Sadly, I’m selling the Speed3. I’ll miss it...

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 16:02

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I have never owned a car * dun dun dun *

First car will probably be my mom’s ‘09 Odyssey though. Super excited.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 19:39

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My car history (including the family rides that I drove before my own car:

1993 Dodge Caravan SE - The family ride...I only drove it back our subdivision road a few times when I was younger than 16 and didn’t have my license, but I have a lot of memories of family road trips and the like in that van. People harp on 90’s Chrysler quality, but it NEVER let us down once other than when the fuel pump was dying one night on the way home from piano lessons, and it even let us get it all the way to within 100m of the dealership before the pump died completely...we coasted the rest of the way. Scrapped when mom replaced it by a ‘93 Chevrolet Cavalier RS sedan as the van got bogged every winter at our new house in the snow and she wanted something that could more easily get back our shoddily-plowed road without getting stuck (van was heavy, so would sink in). I actually really miss it, even now 10 years later...

‘93 Chevrolet Cavalier RS V6- The second family ride. The sedan mom replaced the van with. Bought for $1500 from our neighbours who sold it when one of their elderly parents passed away. It had been babied when we got it, so was in great shape. It was always just “a car” to me, never anything special...I don’t even have a picture of it. I didn’t mind it, but nothing special. It did give us a lot of grief though, and finally was sold for cheap when the #4 cylinder spark plug hole decided it wanted to be stripped enough to not hold a spark plug and spat it out on mom’s way home from work one day.

2000 Honda Civic EX- The third family ride. As with all Civics, a very reliable little runabout with Honda quality. Still ran quite well when we sold it (other than the 4-spd auto box shifting a little hard in the lower gears). Rust was what caused it to leave our family and we sold it cheap to a really sketchy gentleman from Dartmouth (aka the “bad” part of Halifax). As with most Jalops, we latch onto the odd little details of our rides...oddly, I still remember just how SOLID the turn signals/headlight switch felt when being used. This pic was taken the morning before we sold her.

2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5TS, “Beastie” - MY first car, which I still miss dearly! Bought in 2008 and owned until 2013. Also my first manual-transmission car. Drove it home in city traffic by myself after having had like....4 very short manual-driving “lessons” from friends....that was an experience I won’t forget, haha! Never left me stranded once, EVER.....except for the very first night I bought it due to a shoddy battery. Luckily I was out cruising with a friend and he lent me one of those emergency jump boxes until I bought a new one. Unstoppable in the winter and brought my brother and I home from university, including all our stuff for 3 years...sold to a member of the same auto club I am part of who rallycrossed it for a year or two. Not sure if she is still on the road or not, but hoping she is! Sold because she had 180,000kms (which is low for Subie mechanicals, but the body had already succumbed to rust once, which I had repaired, and the rust was coming back again. More importantly, the rear subframe had cracked near the rear-left wheel and would’ve cost a pretty penny to replace. I really wish to get one in in decent shape someday for nostalgia. Pic was take the morning I brought her home for the first time.

2009 Hyundai Accent SE 3-door Hatchback, “Humdrum” - My current DD and second personal car. Also a manual and it has served me faithfully since April, 2013 aside from sporadic suspension rattles/clunking that seem to like coming back every so often. Booked for it’s 96,000km Timing Belt change next week, plus an oil change, winter tire/rim swap and the yearly undercoating! Current mission is to install some LED driving lights I bought into the front grill to make myself more visible in the crappy winter storms I often have to drive in here. I have all I need, just need to get around to actually installing them and running the wires!

Spoon II > mazda616 11/15/2015 at 20:29

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Nice! Mine’s:

1991 4wd Corolla Wagon

2004 Chevy Blazer

1974 VW Beetle

2001 Jeep Cherokee

2012 Toyota Corolla

1972 VW Beetle (Baja Style)

2006 Honda Shadow 750 Aero

2014 Dodge Ram

1997 Ford Probe

Frenchlicker > ranwhenparked 11/15/2015 at 20:41

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I'm not going to lie, there are very few people on here that I can recall things they've posted. It makes me feel terrible at times.

MichaelD > mazda616 11/16/2015 at 16:58

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1977 Chevrolet Beauville van. It ran like a top, was quick for such a huge beast, and got 13-15mpg on a good day. The van, which we called “Big Bertha”, had been the family vehicle before my dad bought our 1985 Chevy G20 van, “Murphy”. Bertha was seriously loud on the freeway and her headlamps had two settings: dim, and not-so-dim. I eventually gave Bertha to my brother, who used her as a utility vehicle. He then gave the van to a friend of ours who used it for the same purpose until he got tired of fixing it (she was 26 years old by then). He was going to sell it for scrap and had it parked away from home, filled full of scrap metal, but it got stolen before he could get it to the metal recycler.

1987 Chevrolet Nova LT 4-door (aka Bob). Seriously gutless, but I loved the thing. When I bought it from my aunt, it barely ran thanks to three burned pistons and a blown head gasket, yet it still made its way from Layton, UT to East Millcreek, UT under its own power. Said pistons and head gasket were replaced, but the piston which wasn’t replaced failed horribly a year later. All four pistons were replaced with slightly overbore units and the car ran better than it ever had. The radio could not be turned off as the power button had failed, and my cousin had decided it made more sense for the radio to always be on than never be on – which made it interesting to try to change the time on the Delco clock, believe me. I sold it to purchase my next car. In retrospect, I probably should have kept it, as my financial life would likely be far better today.

1997 Acura Integra LS 4-door (aka Natalie). I bought an Integra mainly because it was the last vehicle I test-drove with my dad before he died, and I paid too much for it as it was very much an emotional purchase. I loved it, and might still have it today if it hadn’t been totaled in a wreck on the way to work the morning of Sept 14, 2002 (a guy in a Pathfinder ran a red light and broadsided me on the passenger side). I found it for sale a few months later at a dealer who had fixed it up (poorly, I might add). It was a very sad ending for such a great car.

2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT1 4-door (aka Spike). The GAGT ended up being a blessing in disguise as it saved me $70 a month versus the Integra’s payment, got almost as good gas mileage while being more powerful, more roomy, and more solid-feeling while handling better. Didn’t take as good care of it as I should have and drove it hard, but it still kept coming back for more. I wrecked when I was lookie-looing at another wreck while driving to Phoenix, but it was in good enough shape after the wreck that it got my wife and me the rest of the way to Phoenix, down to Tucson, and back home to Salt Lake City. I’m an idiot for having not been paying attention, and wish I still had the GAGT for financial reasons, but I really didn’t see the point in fixing it back up to my standards as it had over 170K on the odometer when the wreck happened.

2012 Ford Focus SEL 4-door (aka Eddie). It has the much-maligned DCT (which has been awesome so far), averages 30-32mpg in mixed driving, handles very well (it’s a blast to drive in our canyons around the Salt Lake valley), and is basically a luxury car compared to everything else I’ve owned thus far.