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"I guess I didn’t respect cars enough as a teenager."

 

The younger generation (30 or less) do not seem to have automobile lust like other generations grew up with.

 

They seem to realize it's just an appliance and renting a ride is a better option than buying the cow.

 

I never wanted to drive.  Didn't get my first vehicle until I was 19.  Got my lic. at 18.  I drive because I need to.  When I can efficiently rent-a-ride, I will. 

 

My sympathies for those who ever owned a european vehicle.  When I was growing up these car were highly sought after, but they are terrible.  Over priced, not reliable, expensive parts, complicated to repair, difficult to find someone to repair them.  

What a scam.   

Saabs aren't even made anymore.  Starting this year Volvo will only make electric vehicles so that's good.

The rest are dying with Tesla and electric car makers eating their lunch.

 

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Well the best car I've ever owned is the one I bought new and still own and drive with almost 277K miles on it...my 2001 VW New Beetle TDI.  Even in single digit temps it still fires right up.  Other than routine timing belts/water pump changes it has been super reliable.  I just replaced the brake pads and rotors on it FOR THE FIRST TIME since my commute is mostly all interstate driving.  Original clutch.  Ten or fifteen years ago I replaced the AC compressor with a Chinese one from ebay that STILL WORKS!  I've always wanted an old bug, but my grandparents who paid for half my first car said NO.  So when I had my turning 30 crisis I bought a new one.  Not the same but still....I love that little white bug.

 

I also have always liked the late 80's GM big sedans.  My dad had an 87 Delta 88 Royale Brougham with leather seats.  It was a fine car.  My ex bought it from him when my mother bought her new 97 Lumina and my dad took her 90 Buick Century.  Tony and I have had a 92 and 93 Cadillac Sedan DeVille and we loved both of those cars...way back when...

[this post was last edited: 1/23/2020-06:17]
 
My first Mercedes was a 1989 190E 2.6 with 239K miles on the clock.  We flew up to Chicago, picked the car up, did some touristy things and drove back to Tennessee.  That thing was bullet-proof with the inline six engine.  Our last one was an S-500.  I loved that car but Tony didn't.  We traded it for a Cadillac (our last one with a Northstar engine).
 
My wife's 2014 Mercedes C300 has been problem free

It was a demo/dealer car with less than 4k on it when she bought it. It now has 115k and, aside for the finger switch for the front passenger window, it's only been tires, brakes, fluids, filters and windshield wiper blades. That's all.
 
I have to admit, I did like the looks of  80s mercedes convertibles........ and the 500SEL

 

However, these days, old mercedes don't age well, especially if they are diesel.  Today I saw a 70s modle in the Walmart parking lot, various parts covered with moss (as you can frequently find in FLA.), and filthy dirty from being parked outside, with the rear of the vehicle black from tail pipe soot.

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superocd

"My wife's 2014 Mercedes"

 

Have you thought of what you're going to do when you need to replace a $4000 muffler, or rebuild a $6000 engine, maybe replace a $5500 computer?.... perhaps all at the same time?

 

Refinance the house or take from kids college fund?  Or maybe you can afford to pay out of pocket?

 

If you've actually got this far without serious repairs, I'd count my blessings, be thankful for the good times,.... and unload that puppy as fast I can.  Get out while the getting's good.

 

20,000 miles a year?  That's steep. 

 

Scotty Kilmer talks from experience.

 

 



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I own an e63

Brakes and rotors at the dealer are $5k. Buy your stuff direct from brembo and now I’m less than $2k. Before you go saying I proved your point, I can go from 163mph to a dead stop so quick you will have a bruise across your chest from the seatbelt.

Yes, they are more expensive, but they are built better, and will last longer. It will absolutely be more expensive than a ford, but there is a day and night difference in quality.
 
As a teen there were a handful of cars I listed for, all being full size

My biggest lust was the 91-96 Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon
Other things I loved were the same generation Fleetwood Brougham and Roadmaster sedans
The then-current model 00-05 Pontiac Bonneville SSEI with the supercharged 3800
Also loved the 00-05 LeSabre Limited and the 97-05 Park Avenue and Park Avenue Ultra
The 91-96 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency Elite
The then current 98-02 and 03+ Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis
Also was quite fond of the 88-93 FWD Sedan deVille and Fleetwood

I’m school I drove a 1990 LeSabre Custom then right before graduation I got a 2 year old 02 Impala

I did end up owning some of the cars I wanted.
In 09 I bought an 06 Town Car with 6k miles
Over the years I’ve had 3 Park Avenues and a LeSabre which I really loved
About 5 years ago I had a 95 Roadmaster Estate I kept for a year then sold because the leaking vista roof had me so pissed. That wagon was by far my favorite car to drive, loved how huge and floaty it was, with plenty of power to do 100 mph on the highway.
My Roadmaster Limited Estate wagon was fondly named “The Street Beast”
Really hope to find a nice one again to put collector plates on
 
Tony has always wanted one of the last Cadillac Broughams with the Corvette engine in it...1996 but personally I would like to have the Buick Roadmaster sedan with the same engine. 

I'm still partial to Mercedes but I am not happy with their current interior stylings.  The only way I'd own a BMW, MB, or Volvo now is to lease it and be done with it before the warranty goes out.  I do most of my own work on my bug except things that may need a specialty tool or would just take too much time and break my back leaning over it.  I did my brakes with genuine Made in Germany parts for a fraction of the cost even of Autozone's Made in China crap.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/ 

They guarantee their parts.  When it wears out, return it to them and they will send a new replacement!  I have it in writing.
 
Australian perspective

Well I always loved ridiculous little cars, still do.

we had an NSU Prinz briefly when i was a kid, they were assembled here but quite unusual. I adored it and was sad to see it go.

Other tiny cars that took my fancy included Hillman Imp, Mini (real ones, not the bloated BMW Minis); Renault 4. I always liked the look and technology of the Daf cars, though they weren't sold here.

I was also into the BMC Austin/Morris front wheel drive, Hydrolastic suspended cars. My first car was an Austin 1800, it cost me $50 to buy and about $300 to get it roadworthy.

Although they were a big car, I loved the Leyland P76 too. It was such a step forward for Aussie family size cars. Parts of the styling were clumsy and fussy but the overall wedge shape is great. I had one and really liked it. My mum got a new car and she gave me her old one, a Renault 12, as I was a uni student at the time, so I passed the P76 to my Dad and his ancient Ford Falcon was traded in on the new car. The P76 proved bulletproof under Dad's ownership - he was always hard on cars. The Renault 12 was great but didn't last long - I stopped at an intersection and a bus behind me kept going into the back of the poor little Renault.

 

the Mazda above is in Australia by the way. The car behind it is a Holden Torana, a GM smaller car based on the UK Vauxhall Viva of about 1970, with a longer bonnet to accommodate a 2.2 or 2.6 litre, 6 cylinder engine. Very nose-heavy handling. It may be slightly related to the Opel Kadett that was briefly sold in USA in late 60s or early 70s?

https://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/nsu-prinz-germanys-gutsy-miniature-masterpiece/
 
I always liked the unstoppable purpose built durability of military vehicles and I wanted a WW2 Jeep or a Power Wagon. So, my first car was a 42 Ford GPW Jeep, my second was a 41 1/2 ton weapons carrier closed cab pickup with a winch. I also really liked early Mopars so when I realized that I needed a practical car to drive I found a 69 Dart Western Sport Special with 63k on it with a bad water pump and vynil top for 550 cash. 318 and drove like new, this was in 79. I got my license in the Dart and still have it. There are many cars I've owned over the years since but those are the ones I wanted. There are other cars I'd like to have but safe storage and insurance and all that kinda preclude picking up more cars, plus money. Though if you really want something within reason you can find a way, I did.
 
Interesting you should mention WWII Jeeps! My dad received permission from the Army to keep the Jeep he drove during the war (and a Baretta pistol, as well). They had planned to remain in Italy after the war--he met and married my mom there--but came to the States in 1947 when his mom suffered a major stroke. He had the Jeep shipped to America and they continued using it as the family car for a couple of years until he could afford to replace it.

Here's a picture of him in the Jeep in Italy. Too bad it has coffee stains on it. There exists somewhere in the multi-box chaos of photos from that time period a photo of him, my mom and sister (who was about 2 years old) standing next to it. Will have to locate it.

I also have the Army paperwork that gave him permission to keep the Jeep and the Baretta.

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Scotty Kilmer drives me up a wall.  If we all listened to Scotty, we'd all drive old Toyotas.  Not bad cars, but not really interesting of exciting. 

 

Our 1988 Mercedes 560SL has a little over 200k on it, and it still takes off like a rocket ship.  It may not be cheap to repair, but in the 25+ years since my partner bought it used not much has gone wrong.  The trick is to always have it serviced by a Mercedes Benz mechanic and always use genuine Mercedes parts.  Do not have your Mercedes serviced and/or repaired at the corner garage.  Perhaps that's why Scotty doesn't like them.

[this post was last edited: 1/25/2020-12:53]
 
Nice 300s. I remember on Keeping Up Appearances Hyacinth always bragging about Violet having a huge Mercedes and in the early episodes she did have a 300. But then in the later ones, she had "downgraded" to a C class with plastic hubcaps!

Also liked those big sedans like the Town Car, Grand Marquis, Buick Roadmasters, etc. I always liked the aero style Crown Victorias. Remember in Matlock there was always a silver ones with gray leather, first the box body with the vinyl roof, then the aero style with Taurus style oval grille opening and then aero with chrome grille.

Later in a Diagnosis Murder crossover episode Matlock was seen driving not a Ford vehicle, but a 1997 Buick Park Avenue Ultra!
 
I really wanted a BMW 3 series before they went from the rock solid 3.0 Inline 6 to a 2.0T, and made it look like an angry chipmunk. At one time I was really into the Mustang. The only thing that’s stayed constant is wanting a full size truck, one of these days I’m getting one. It’s a pain to have an appliance hobby and only have a sedan to put things in.

These days I’m more interested in land yacht type vehicles that can float down the highway in pure isolation. I would love to have a Mercedes S Class, or somewhere deep in the back of my mind - a Rolls Royce.
 

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