The 21 Vehicles that shared my life ...

[Viking Guy]

1959 Studebaker Lark, 3 on the tree, actually on loan from Grandma
1964 GTO Coupe (post)
1950 Chevy 3 window pickup
1974 Vega worst ever
1957 Willys L6-226 4X4 Station Wagon
1980 VW Scirocco
1992 Camry
1996 Toyota T100
2004 Tundra
2004 Camry
2006 Jeep Wrangler

Every one was or still is a manual transmission. Never have owned an automatic

[Mark in Ottawa]

I have always wanted a Mercedes 450SL sports car and although they can be found for under $20,000 and I can now afford one, I am so old and decrepit that I could never climb out of it.

[Allen]

I have always wanted a Mercedes 450SL sports car and although they can be found for under $20,000 and I can now afford one, I am so old and decrepit that I could never climb out of it.

I bought a used MB from a realtor. He had a 230 and a 450 SEL (4 door). He advised me against both but I wouldn't listen. MB's are the greatest thing ever, right? I bought the 230. It had 50K miles on it. Kept it 5 years and traded it in on a Buick Century. The MB had 57K on it after 5 years. It spent most of it's life on the back of a wrecker.

Like so many european cars everything made of rubber like the door and trunk gaskets readily decompose but my biggest issue was the engine. I was told by the local MB dealer that they used 5 different engines that year and ordering and actually getting the right parts was just a hit and miss.

The day I bought it and drove it home it would not run over 60mph and got 15mpg (4 cyl gas). When I got home I looked under the hood and everything electrical was labeled Bosch so it all went in the trash (plugs, dist cap, even resisters) and replaced with Motorcraft and AC parts. The car would then run at 80mph.

I tried to get rid of it countless times including trading it in at the MB dealer. They would not take it stating "there is no market for a used MB". I believe them now. I even considered trading it for a riding lawn mower. I found the local Buick dealer also sold BMW's and they were "impressed" with it so I unloaded it on them toward that Buick I mentioned.

I've know others who had MB's that had similar and numerous problems with them. A neighbor and friend of mine had a 450SL like you mentioned. He had it for years but never got to drive it much, nor find anyone that could or would work on it. He got rid of it.

Not being able to climb out of it is a very good excuse to not buy one. If you're just looking to get your daily suffering done there are better ways of going about it.

[PWC]

I had 2 Volvos (not the Ford Volvo, but the real thing). They are good for Europesn cold weather, but not for AZ heat.

When things started getting intermittant, I went under the hood and found the wiring harness used braided wire (ok) but the insulation was rubber (not ok) and was breaking off. If insulation was vynal like US cars it would have been ok. Had to replace both wiring harnesses.

[pcox]

1957 Ford Skyliner
1953 Studebaker Commander

The two that wish I had back.

[Allen]

My sister bought a "real" as in POS Volvo. It had a thick guard rail looking front bumper (I forgot what was on the back). The bumper was made of aluminum and probably had more scrap value than the car. My State Farm Ins agent had one that was identical. He claimed not only was the bumper cast aluminum but the brackets attaching it to the body were cast aluminum also. He said you could gently bump into a concrete curb and crack/break off the bumper.

The engine (on my sisters car) came apart around 86K miles.

She actually bought another real Volvo. She lived in Atlanta and the whole interior cooked and cracked up to nothing. No one ever sat in the rear seat and possibly the passengers seat but they decomposed as well. The a/c went out after the warranty expired and would cost more to repair than what the car was worth.

After this one she bought a different brand.

She was so proud of her first one that she took it to the mechanic that did her auto repairs and asked him to drive it and see what HE thought of it. He drove around a few minutes and returned. My sister asked him "well, what do you think about it?????" His reply was "it drives like a hospital bed".

We all have different auto experiences and like music and opinions they're all going to be different.

Don't forget: Jaguars, expensive but still not a great car, made their best improvements when owned by Ford.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Thank you for the comments. I guess I'll just have to set my sights on my other dream car - an E type Jag. Alas I understand that although beautiful, they were unreliable. For the moment though, I'll just have to continue using my Honda CRV, a vehicle that is surprisingly easy to get out of

[Allen]

Thank you for the comments. I guess I'll just have to set my sights on my other dream car - an E type Jag. Alas I understand that although beautiful, they were unreliable. For the moment though, I'll just have to continue using my Honda CRV, a vehicle that is surprisingly easy to get out of

Those made back in the 60's had those big straight 6 cylinder engines (held 9 qts of oil) that overheated in traffic. The V-12's were better I hear. If settling on the newer versions (XR8) beware of the 4.0 liter V8 engines. The 4.2 replaced them and was much better. Perhaps the best ever made by Jag.

I had an interest in them back when I was in high school. Nice used ones could be had for less than $2000 and were plentiful.

[Former Cav]

1st car. 61 Bubble Top Impala, 283-2v with a glide
69 road runner (when I came home from Nam). I called it the "road limper" A beetle would kick my ass.
69 Coronet R/T great car, I traded the runner in on it
70 Charger R/T S/E, bought it in 76 when my 69 R/T got totalled
79 Impala, 305-2v, first car with factory air
77 Olds Delta 88 350 -2v chevy motor from the factory. bought it used from mother in law it had only 30K on it.
88 K-5 Chevy Blazer. 350 TBI. The body got rust holes in it 6 months I bought it new in the summer of 88
95 Ford Bronco...good vehicle
99 Expedition...good vehicle
04 Expedition...good vehicle
13 4RUNNER... probably the best vehicle I ever had in terms of reliability
20 Explorer now. The seats fell apart in the FIRST week.
I also built and restored a 69 Charger S/E did it stock 383-4v Factory Air. drove it from 94 to 11, then I had a pro built 440-492 Cube stroker put in it. (I had to REDO that). when I got done it would do 11.73 at 113 with the A/C on, just put it in drive and stand on it. 3.23 gears. It would pass everything except a gas station.
Edelbrock heads, Lunati voodoo cam that had 513 lift. It would idle at 16 in of vacuum so the vacuum operated head light doors, vacuumbooster brakes, and vacuum trap doors for the A/C worked. ! Eagle Rods, Eagle 4.15 crank, Mahle pistons, Edelbrock intake, 800 holley double pumper that would ALWAYS leak, I put a edelbrock on and solved that problem, it was an 800 also.
I sold it like a moron to some guy in Holland

[Allen]

1st car. 61 Bubble Top Impala

My favorite Chev.