Best and Worse Cars you have driven (2012, brakes, MPG)

[GregW]

Thanks for the word on the 2002 subie. One of them is likely to be my next car

[RomaniGypsy]

I don't think I've ever driven a bad car, when controlled for how much I spent on the cars. I'm a vehicular cheapskate in some people's opinions... I call it "thrifty". Here are my cars:

-1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille: Paid $5800 for it in 1999, with 49,223 original miles. Drove it until it got wrecked in an accident with 122,xxx miles. ("How can a 1972 Cadillac get wrecked in an accident?!?!" Well, funny you should ask. I T-boned a drunk driver who didn't see me coming. The fact that she failed to see an oncoming tank of a car like my Cadillac attests to how drunk she was.) It gave me its fair share of trouble, but I found out that most of the engine trouble was due to it having been fitted with the wrong carburetor before I bought it. The carb was off of a 1986 Oldsmobile... and I can't imagine that was meant to fit a 472 Cadillac engine even though it was also a Rochester Quadrajet.

-1976 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency: Paid $100 for it and had to have the transmission rebuilt. Occasionally I had to use starting fluid to get it to start... and the rear shocks were totally busted... but it served its purpose. I'd buy another one.

-1979 Buick Riviera: The cheapest car I ever bought. Cost me $50, because the guy could no longer afford to store it, and it needed some work. It ran and drove surprisingly well for a car that cost less than that Power Wheels thingy you can get at Wal-Mart.

-1987 Dodge Ram B250 conversion van: I LOVED THIS THING! 318 engine, fold-down bed in the back... good stuff. I paid $300 for it (got it for free but had to put $300 worth of work into it to get it drivable again)... and got ~80,000 miles out of it before the transmission gave up. It remains, to this day, the vehicle that reached the highest mileage out of any vehicle my family has ever owned (almost 217,000). Only trouble I ever had with it was the water pump and alternator going out... but that's to be expected at that much mileage.

-1985 Buick LeSabre: Paid $750 for it in 2003, and it had only 99,000 miles. What a sweet ride... comfortable seats, floated over the road... 307 engine was a bit underpowered (typical for vehicles of that vintage) but it got 17 mpg with the overdrive transmission. Every time I see one on the road, I wish I were driving it. Someday I will probably get a Buick Electra Estate Wagon, which to the best of my knowledge is essentially the LeSabre with a station wagon body.

-1981 Cadillac Coupe DeVille: Paid $490 for it in 2004, with a fresh inspection and transmission work, and 146,000 miles. It had that V8-6-4 engine, which still worked... 23 mpg on the highway, 17 city! I'd definitely buy another one... but I'd probably go for the Sedan DeVille or Fleetwood so I could have four doors. Only work I ever had to do to it was a muffler, rear shocks, and tires. Sold it 17,000 miles later for $700... and this was after it had been dented twice by other drivers while I owned it. (It was legally parked both times, too. I guess it had its share of bad luck.)

-1967 Buick Skylark convertible: Paid $800 for it, and drove it away. ("How in the heck did you get a '67 Skylark convertible for $800 when you could drive it away?!" Well, it had a good bit of body rot, and the top wouldn't go up under its own power.) I got the two-speed Dynaflow transmission changed out for a TH350, and that 300 V8 got up to 20 mpg depending upon how I drove. You can't put a price on that much fun. I miss my convertible... although that car did have its fair share of electrical issues. Again, it was ancient and fairly well rotted... I definitely got what I paid for, and made my money back when I sold it.

-1985 Chrysler New Yorker: I'm most proud of this one. I paid $1,000 for it in 2005 when gas got expensive, and it had only 43,000 original miles. It was in near-immaculate condition... its old-man original owner had just passed away and the family didn't want the car. I put 31,000 nearly trouble-free miles on that car (which was nice and zippy due to its turbo engine), and then turned around to sell it for $850. It needed nothing during that time except for routine maintenance and one inexpensive fuel injection rail. Averaged 25 mpg, did 28 on the highway even with its 3-speed automatic slopbox transmission.

-1982 Dodge Ram D100: Paid $1,000 for it in 2005, with 95,000 original miles. I had to get the transmission rebuilt very shortly after I bought it, when it got stuck in second gear. (Sing with me: "Hey buddy how can I get this car, out.... of.... second... geeeeeeeeeeeeear?") Beyond that, this thing was bulletproof. Sometimes I had to use starting fluid because it always seemed to have carb issues... and it could hardly get out of its own way being an almost 4,000-pound truck being moved by a tired 90-hp 225 "slant 6" engine... but I've never had a vehicle that was easier to maintain. That engine wasn't strong, but I beat the you-know-what out of it and it just kept on humming. It got as much as 18 mpg with a 4-on-the floor. I would buy another vehicle with a slant-6, any day.

-1994 Mercury Sable station wagon: Not a bad vehicle, but I wouldn't buy another Ford of this vintage. I bought it in 2006 with 96,000 miles and around 118,000 it started having issues with its computer system. It would stall out sometimes, and I couldn't always get it restarted. Nobody could ever figure out what was wrong with it... although I did discover that the best ways to keep it running were to avoid mashing down on the accelerator, and not run the air conditioning. However, it did get 28 mpg on the highway and transported all of my musical equipment to my gigs with ease.

-1996 Chevrolet C3500 Silverado diesel (crew cab, long bed, single rear wheels): I still have this one. I paid $5,750 for it from its original owner in 2008 with 147,000 original miles (75,000 on the engine, which blew out unexpectedly under warranty and was replaced with a brand new engine). Newer diesel engines have more power, but this thing has been able to do whatever I've needed it to do. Its heavy-duty tires last forever, it averages 15-16 mpg and has clocked as much as 25 mpg at 55 mph on the highway. In 55,000 miles of ownership, I've only had to replace the batteries, alternator, turbocharger sensor, and PMD. If someone gave me a gift certificate saying I could purchase any new vehicle, off of any dealer's lot anywhere, I would buy a brand-new one of these. (Not sure I really need a dually.)

-2010 Subaru Outback: This was for the ex-wife... and it didn't make her happy, which is one of the reasons why she eventually became the ex-wife (long story). Really nifty car though... it appealed to my nerdy side with its MPG dashboard gauge and its dash-top computer readout (which I guess is fairly standard for vehicles these days). Good gas mileage, too... I got it as high as 32 at one point. It averaged 25-27. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to buy a new / newer vehicle. It's 55% American made, too.

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I've driven a whole bunch of other vehicles, but if I had to state the one that stands out in my mind as the worst ever, it would have to be a 2000 Mazda Protege. Very small car, outrageously loud road noise at highway speed, and it was so lightweight that it felt like a stiff breeze would topple it over.

I have extensive experience with the 2000 Ford Taurus and 2006 Chevy Impala, also. The Taurus wasn't bad, but it had issues with the transmission and I'm not sure I'd buy another one. I might get a more recent Taurus wagon, but not one from 1994 or 2000. The Impala is a good car throughout... a heck of a lot of car for the money... 29-32 mpg highway with the 3.5 V6 engine depending upon how you drive it... and has needed very little work in over 50,000 miles. If they made this in a station wagon, that'd be the best.

[ShelbyGirl1]

Depends on what your looking for Speed, pickup, reliability, comfort, leg room, handling? So many factors for different people.
We've had too many cars to list (again) so: Probably the worst was a new Dodge Neon, given to me as a loaner car for BMW! They ran out of loaners and ran next door to rent me a car...what a piece of junk. I actually felt unsafe driving it! After 2 blocks, took it back and asked for another car...the GM traded me his Driver for the Neon...(M5).
Best overall car is probably my Audi R8....we've had 2 and either one ranks right up there meeting our standards of what we are looking for in car.

[Wilson513]

I am sure the worst was the 1977 Triumph TR7. The seat, steering wheel, and pedals were not aligned so one could not drive for more than a couple of minutes without feeling the discomfort. One's heels sat in a well, horizontally, so that any amount of wetness immediately entered the shoes and socks from the top of the heel. And, of course the pantsleg was wet and dirty from merely sitting in the car. Of course it handled terribly like all British "sport" cars (bucking, punishing in corners), and had a motor that would not start in the slightest moist conditions or one of every three times it was attempted in favorable conditions. The motor spooled up like it had a 300 pound flywheel and spooled down the same way. Blindspots were more like "blind zones." This was a new car purchased by my not so savvy bride-to-be as a surprise a few weeks before the wedding. It set the tone for our marriage.

[rbohm]

probably the three best cars i have ever driven are;

1966 mustang
1964 falcon
1998 taurus wagon

the three worst cars are;

1964 malibu ss
1968 rambler rebel
1971 pontiac catalina

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by rbohm

probably the three best cars i have ever driven are;

1966 mustang
1964 falcon
1998 taurus wagon

the three worst cars are;

1964 malibu ss
1968 rambler rebel
1971 pontiac catalina

I can't imagine how the Poniac made your worst list. A 71 Catalina was a great car. The last of the best. It has that pre gas guzzler 355 GM motor and was a pretty good contender on the street. And, you could do it with even a tall girl on the back seat without even bending your knees. I was told.

[Sealtite]

Best vehicles I've ever owned:
1. 2001 Ford F-250 XLT, 2wd, extended cab w/7.3 Powerstroke. Awesome truck. Destroyed in head-on collision.
2. 1997 Ford F-350 XL dump. 460 gas, 2wd. Beautiful truck, amazing power, reliable, and it was flashy enough to drive to church on Sunday.
3. 1997 Ford F-150 XLT. Short box, 2wd, 5.4L V8. Burgundy. Fast as hell.

Worst:
1999 Dodge Ram 1500 2wd Sport Truck. Red. 318 V8. FOUR transmissions before 100k. Slow as a pig. Absolute garbage.

2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10. Regular Cab (6-speed manual). Absolute garbage.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

I can't imagine how the Poniac made your worst list. A 71 Catalina was a great car. The last of the best. It has that pre gas guzzler 355 GM motor and was a pretty good contender on the street. And, you could do it with even a tall girl on the back seat without even bending your knees. I was told.

I think they had a 350 and 400 (and 455) engine; I haven't heard of a 355-cu-in engine.

And I agree... a '71 Pontiac Catalina should be a good car in general.

[rbohm]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

I can't imagine how the Poniac made your worst list. A 71 Catalina was a great car. The last of the best. It has that pre gas guzzler 355 GM motor and was a pretty good contender on the street. And, you could do it with even a tall girl on the back seat without even bending your knees. I was told.

by the time i got the car it was in really rough shape, and needed a lot of things done. i will say it was reliable for daily driving for the most part. had the car been in better shape, it could have been one of my favorite cars.

[Coldjensens]

Best and worst: 1973 Jensen Healey