“If you find something you like, you tend to stay with it”…that old adage certainly has applicability to motor vehicles. If you’ve developed a fondness for a certain make/model, you’ll likely buy another…and another…and another. So, today’s QOTD is; have you purchased the same make and model vehicle multiple times over the years? If so, how many in total have you owned?
Couple rules of engagement; 1) it should be the same brand/make and model (i.e., a Ford Escort, not just a Ford), 2) different trim or grades within specific models are allowed, and 3) it should be personally owned – not a fleet or business vehicle.
I know this question tends to favor older drivers who have had longer driving careers, but we’d like to hear from everyone – so, if you’re in your early twenties and have had two Civics, we’d like to hear about it. More importantly, tell us why you decided to buy another one…
To help illustrate and as an example, here’s mine;
Though I’d like to tell you I’ve owned six Corvettes, or five 911s, our family is currently on our fourth Toyota Previa/Estima van. All have been used (not new) – a 1990 US model, and three JDM versions; a 1992, a 1999, and our current 2007.
Why’d we keep buying them? Reliability – each one we’ve owned has been absolutely trouble-free – the 1999 model we owned for 10 years. I also have to admit I find the design attractive – especially the 2006 and up model.
So, what have been your multiple-owned curbside classics and why’d you keep buying them?
Too neat a subject!! I was a bit of a glutton for punishment at first, with multiple gas hogs but I loved ’em all!!
2 ’66Toronado
’78 Toronado XS
’82 Toro
A ’76 and ’88 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, 2000 Cherokee, a ’79, ’89 and ’95 Suburban.
An “89 and ’99 Continental, and then we started the SAAB affair.
I’ve owned (with varying amounts of love/hate) an ’87 900 Turbo, an ’88 900T convertible, a ’98 9000 CSE, and 2 9-5 wagons, one of which still occupies garage space.
Lets see:
2 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Sedans (1985 and 1987)
2 Ford Taurus (2006 and 2008)
2 Chrysler LeBarons (1987 and 1992)
Not me (I tend to keep things for a long time), but my father has owned four Cherokee Sports, three Plymouth Voyagers, two Volkswagen Baja Bugs, and he kept trading off and buying back the same ’74 Nova to his friends over and over again.
My grandfather on the other hand bought a new F-150 every eight years, starting in 1979 and ending in 2003 when he bought his last truck.
Two Ford Mustangs
1978 Mach 1 2.3 liter with T-tops
1978 Mustang 302 with T-tops
Three Chevrolet Camaros
1970 Camaro Sport Coupe
1970 Camaro Z28
1971 Camaro Sport Coupe
Three Ford F-Series pickups
1966 F250
1991 F150 Super Cab
1987 F150 4×4
Seven Chrysler Sebring convertibles
1998 Limited gold
1999 JXi touring package green
2000 JX white
2000 JXi gray
2000 JXi gold
2001 LXI red
2005 GTC red
For us, the Mercedes SL and we’ve had three:
– R107, a lapis blue with tan leather grey-market 1981 500SL that we kept until 2002. That car was a trooper; took young me skiing on weekends, saved my mom’s life when she was broadsided and took the brunt of my first car accident
– R129, a brilliant silver with grey leather 1999 SL500 that was probably the most trouble free car we’ve ever had (even more so that the 1987 Mercedes 420SEL, 1991 Acura Integra, 1995 BMW 525i, 1995 Mercedes E320, 1999 Honda Prelude and 2006 Lexus IS250 in the family stable) until we traded it in for the following car with 120,000 miles in 2008
– R230, an iridium silver with black leather 2007 SL550 that was our favorite just in how beautiful we thought it was. The 5.5 liter V8 was just sublime and Mercedes finally allowed a bit of burble to escape the exhaust pipes for this generation. A tech tour-de-force that became expensive to maintain as it aged. A truly lovely drive that was comfortable, confident and enjoyable. This car was traded in for a GLK350 which has been great.
Good question. Let’s see…
2 ea. 1971 Pontiac Grandville 4-door hardtop. 455-4bbl w. THM400
2 ea. Camaro. 1967 (250-6 PG); 1968 327-2bbl w. 3 Spd on floor
3 ea. Honda Civic sedan (2009 Hybrid, 2012 EX, 2014 LX
Repeat makes, but individual models:
1962 Bonneville 4-door hardtop (389 4 bl w. Dual Coupling Hydramatic), 1964 Chevy Biscayne (230 w. PG), 1972 Monte Carlo (350 2 bbl w. THM350), 1989 Chevy Beretta (2.8 w. THM125), 2000 Chevy Malibu (3.1 w. Auto)
If you include my wife’s cars…
3 ea Honda CR-V AWD. 2003, 2010, 2014
1 ea. 1986 Chevy Celebrity Wagon (Iron Duke w. THM125)
1 ea. 1985 Pontiac 6000 (Iron Duke w. THM125)
I’ve had a few multiples in my time:
There were 4 of these…
1984 Mercury Topaz L
1988 Ford Tempo L
1992 Ford Tempo GLS
1988 Mercury Topaz L
…and 4 of these too…
1988 Ford Escort GL
1981 Ford Escort GLX
1984 Ford Escort L
1986 Mercury Lynx XR3
…and there were also 4 of these…
1983 Ford Mustang GLX
1980 Ford Mustang
1982 Mercury Capri RS
1990 Ford Mustang
Never more than four of anything though! 🙂
I too had a 1992 Tempo GLS… 5-speed or auto? 2 or 4 door?
Some of my cars:
1963 Chrysler 300
1964 Chrysler 300-K
1961 Chrysler 300-G
1962 Chrysler 300-H
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
1973 Dodge Charger Rallye 340/auto, red, cloth and vinyl interior, factory sunroof
1973 Dodge Charger Rallye 400/4-speed, red, vinyl interior
1973 Dodge Charger Rallye 340/auto, brown
1973 Dodge Charger Rallye 340/auto, blue
1972 Dodge Charger SE Brougham, gold
1976 Dodge Charger Sport (more like a Coronet 2-dr than Cordoba body Charger SE)
1986 Chrysler Laser, base model, 5-speed
1986 Chrysler Laser XT, turbo, 5-speed, T-tops, Mark Cross leather
1991 Dodge Spirit R/T, white
1992 Dodge Spirit R/T, red
1992 Dodge Spirit, base, bench seat, 4 cylinder/auto on column
1999 Dodge Stratus, base, 2.0L, 5-speed ( bought at 7K miles, drove to 227K miles in 14 years of ownership; my best ever car to date; average of 38 mpg for all miles on car; trouble-free)
1998 Dodge Stratus, 2.4l/auto (recent purchase with only 110 k miles; recent fill-up at 32.9 mpg with mostly highway miles)
My Mom was a very loyal Pontiac person until their demise:
1969 Ventura
1979 Phoenix
1987 Grand Am Se
1994 Sunbird Se
2007 Wave Se
She is talking about buying a new vehicle now as we speak – Buick Encore or I am in shock Honda Fit
Volvo. 940 wagons. The car you can always fit whatever you need into it.
’92 Turbo Wagon, ’91 Turbo Wagon (ok, it was a 740, but, really,
what’s the diff?), ’94 non-Turbo.
It was nice because I could transfer the electric memory seats from the
’92 into each of the succeeding cars, Transferred the crusie-control
to from the ’92 to the ’91 (it was a real stripper), ‘then bought a third seat
setup which I first installed into the ’91 then transferred into the ’94.
If only Volvo a/c compressors were as durable as the cars…..
Studebakers, I’ve had 1960 Lark V-8s, a ’66 Commander (a Lark by another
name, with a Chevrolet engine), a V-8 ’64 Lark (was that a Commander also?).
I’ve had a ’51& a 53 Studebaker Champion, which having the same engines and
suspensions as the later cars, and the ’53 body was the basis for the larks, do they
count? My Avanti is also a Lark, but it’s the only one that has such a different driving
characteristic that its NOT the same.
Oh, MOPARS! A ’64 Dart sedan 170, a ’63 Dart Convertible 225, a ’65 Valiant sedan 225
(I put in a used ’68 225) , and owned still, a ’63 Valiant convertible 225. (My parents
owned a new ’65 Sedan, with which my mother had an accident in (with six-year-old-me
sitting unbuckled in the front seat) while trying to console me for having to go to
Sunday school while my brother got to stay home ’cause he’d just had appendicitis.
Darts are nicer due to the longer wheelbase, but otherwise, there ain’t no diff here, either.
Lately I have been a Honda Accord person but I used to be a Ford man:
2000 Honda Accord
1999 Honda Accord
1998 Honda Accord
**
1970 Ford LTD Sedan
1970 Ford LTD Coupe
1971 Mercury Marquis
1971 Ford Thunderbird
1975 Lincoln Town Car
1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria
1986 Ford Tempo
1993 Mercury Grand Marquis
1989 Mercury Grand Marquis
1990 Mercury Grand Marquis
1991 Mercury Grand Marquis
Ford Tempo / Mercury Topaz
1. 1993 Mercury Topaz GS 2-door
2. 1992 Ford Tempo GLS 4-door
3. 1989 Ford Tempo GL 4-door (5-speed donor for 93 Topaz, given to brother after swap)
4. 1990 Ford Tempo GLS 2-door
5. 1992 Mercury Topaz LTS (roommates car)
Ford Mustangs
1. 2001 Ford Mustang GT convertible
2. 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt GT
3. 2006 Ford Mustang GT convertible
2 Austin Metros (an 82 and an 87), 2 Renault 19s (a 90 and a 93) and 2 Focus (Foci?) (2001 mk1, European 2006 mk2
Well, lessee… 3 Fairmonts, 3 Pintos, 4 Crown Vics, 2 Grand Marquises (Grand Marqui?), 2 Tempos, 3 Fox Mustangs, 4 Edsels, 2 Corvairs…
Volvo wagons. They just seem to fit our lifestyle and price point when used.
87 240
92 940
2004 xc70 (blue)
2004 xc70 (black)
2014 xc70
Well, here goes, not in order of ownership:
’67 Cougar (red/black/black)
’67 Cougar (yellow/parchment/black)
’68 Cougar (Dark Green Metallic/black), still have it
’68 Cougar (Lime Frost Metallic/black)
’73 Cougar XR-7 convertible
’73 Marquis Brougham 4-door pillared hardtop (all black), still have it
’77 Bobcat wagon w/Sports Appearance wagon and V-6
’82 Lynx LS wagon
’86 Marquis wagon (Fox-body)
’99 Grand Marquis (black/white leather, special ordered, my first new car)
’69 Mark III
’78 Town Car
’02 LS, still have it
’14 MKX, still have it
’68 Falcon Futura Sports Coupe
’70 XL convertible
’76 LTD Landau 4-door pillared hardtop
’80 Pinto Pony 2-door sedan
’86 Thunderbird elan
I’m a little late to the game:
1995 Accord: White Coupe with Taupe Interior, 5 spd LX. Paid $600 and drove it from 135k to 302k for 5 years. Sold in 2012 for $500. Still see it driving around.
1997 Accord: White Sedan with Taupe Interior, 5 Spd LX. Paid $1300 and it blew the HG twice. Pulled the 95 Accord out of storage to drive while the 97 was being worked on. Sold in 2012 for a down payment on a Corolla.
Gambled on the 97 because of all the luck with the 95. The 97 sucked because of neglect on the previous owners part AND the mechanic who did the HG twice.
Going by the original intent of the question–I’ve owned 2 Malibus and 2 Crown Vics.
’79 and ’82 Malibus, same generation but the ’82 was facelifted. The ’79 was my first car, drove from ’96 to ’01, and I still own it though it’s been off the road since ’01. Bought the ’82 for $800 in 2002 when I needed cheap wheels, drove it for two years and sold for $350 in 2004. The V8 ’79 was nicer to drive than the V6 ’82.
’91 and ’97 Crown Vics, each the last year of their respective generations. Owned the ’91 for about six months in 2001, very nice car until an electrical fire totaled it. The ’97 belonged to my parents, who gave it to me in late 2012 when my wife’s car was on the way out. Still driving it, reliable and rugged (if boring).
If you expand to platform mates, I’ve had three Panthers, the two Crown Vics plus an ’03 Marauder.
In my 25 years of driving, I have owned 11 different cars. Five of them were Honda Accords- 1980,1985,1989,1992 and 1996. The 1985 (LX sedan) was replaced by the 1989 (LXi sedan), but there were various other Honda/Acura vehicles between the others. I got bored with Honda in the mid 2000s and bought a 2006 Mazda3 (which I still own) and a 2012 Mazda CX-9. I’m planning to replace the 2006 Mazda3 with a new Mazda3 by the end of this year.
Jason, how do you like your 2006 Mazda3? IMO, the Mazda MAZDA3 s Grand Touring Hatchback are very good looking cars. Though most new cars these days all look alike, these are the only ones I see that really catch my eye, having owned 25 classic BMW’s my entire life.
How is the maintenance? Any issues or recalls? Reliability?
Thanks,
jon
(Oo==[00]==oO)
P.S. I own a ’99 Mazda B3000 2wd pickup (Ford Ranger brother) with 87k mi. & have only had 2 minor issues, a bad speed sensor & a cracked spark plug (ceramic part).
My mom owned three different model years of the same car while I was growing up- the Olds Cutlass Supreme. I was born in 1975 and she had a black ’74 2-door. It was replaced in 1980 by a 1977 Brougham 2-door (Buckskin Brown was the color, if I recall correctly) bought from my cousin (who ‘upgraded’ to a 1980 Buick Riviera- an odd choice for a 21-year-old woman). In late 1985, she traded the ’77 for a 1986 Cutlass Supreme 2-door. The ’86 was the best looking (Medium Gray, chrome accented rallye wheels, raised white letter tires) but the quality and reliability was horrible. The 140hp 307 V8 4-barrel was also a joke, although it sounded great. But my ’85 Honda Accord 5-speed could blow it off the road. She kept it for nine years, when she finally replaced with a new Jeep Grand Cherokee (which was the most reliable and durable car anyone in my family has ever owned, even my Hondas).
After the JGC, she bought a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT AWD. She sold it to my sister in 2008, when she moved up to a 2007 Explorer Eddie Bauer RWD. It was a bad move! She dumped the ’07 in 2012 with 138k miles on it (and after more than $10k in repairs over four years). My sister kept the ’03 until last June when she hit a deer and totaled it. It had 268k miles on it and the most expensive repair it ever needed was replacement of the timing chain tensioner.
I’ve had two sets of multiples:My first two cars (both 4-cylinder 1980 Pontiac Sunbirds, think “Chevy Monza” clones), and the most recent two. A ’10 Chrysler T&C and a ’16 T&C.
My first Sunbird was a red/black interior 4-speed one, and it’s replacement was a white/tan, automatic one. My red one was pretty rusty, it leaned noticeably on the driver’s side (I bought it from a guy who had to be over 300# the drivers seat back was actually bent towards the back seat area) The interior was mint, other than the seatback and the exterior looked very nice, I spent a LOT of time clay-barring and waxing it. Oh, it wouldn’t go over 65mph no matter how hard I tried. The catalytic converter was plugged, and the clutch slipped, a LOT. I couldn’t afford to fix either thing, though. I sold it to a neighbor, who totalled it in an accident almost immediately. It had a little over 120K on it when I sold it. That got replaced by the car my girlfriend had been given to her by her grandparents-it had literally been sitting in their (disused) chicken barn for years, it had less than 50K on it. The interior was pretty trashed-the plastic was all scratched up, the door pulls were both broken (apparently a common occurrence, I was able to get replacement pulls at an auto parts store) and the carpet was ruined. No rust thru, though, and it easily buried the 85-mph speedo. I ended up replacing almost all of the wires, hoses, cooling system and transmission, though because of how long it had been sitting (and how my GF had driven it for more than a year without even looking at any of the fluids). I ended up selling it for tuition money, to a different neighbor-who almost immediately got hit by a city bus in it, and got tens of thousands of $ from the bus company… it still had less than 50K on it.
My current rides are a pair of Chrysler T&C vans. Mine (the ’10) is as basic as they were available at the time. It has the 3.3 V6, so it’s slow and has the “hard plastic interior” people complain about-which was exactly what I was looking for. It’s got over 100K on it now, and has been dead-nuts reliable for me-the only problem it’s had to go in for, was me hitting a deer with it. My wife wanted one like it with all the bells and whistles, which is why hers cost nearly 3X what mine did. Hers also has the 3.6 engine, which also makes more than double the HP/torque as the 3.3 in mine, pulls our camper like it’s not even behind us, and gets better MPG than my van. I get in it though, and think “Too fancy… all this stuff is just gonna break.” When did I turn into my Dad?
My other Sunbird. (apparently I can’t post 2 pics…oops)
A freind had a Monza with the 305-V8, it felt like a total rocket ship compared to mine. He put big slot mags and Radial TA’s on his, and it cornered a lot better than mine, with the teeny 165-13 tires it came with. (These cars are ridiculously nose-heavy, and stuffing a big V8 didn’t do it any favors, either. I’m suprised either of us lived.) My car always had 4 mismatched used tires on it, because they were $5 a piece at the gas station in town (and popped regularly because they were old, used tires, necessitating a replacement. Self fulfilling prophecy or something)
I wanted to get another Sunbird (or a Monza, Starfire or Skyhawk) once I had disposable $ and a garage, but all the ones I find are either highly modified drag race cars, or twice as rusty as my first one was. Perhaps I’ll run across one when the time is right.
Everybody remembers their first car, I LOVED that thing despite all its flaws. I’m sure if I had this exact car today, I’d be suprised at how crude it is and wonder why I put up with it… but I’d love it all the same. Here’s me in ’88, freshly graduated and ready to take on the world, one tank at a time!