The life of a car enthusiast is one that confuses some people. The average person might have a car or a couple, and those cars are merely transportation appliances. If life were a cartoon, you’d witness smoke coming out of someone’s head when you explain to them that you drive a Yugo instead of the latest Camry. You might witness a blue screen event if you explain that said Yugo is only one of a dozen cars in your arsenal. How many cars have you owned throughout your life and what were the highlights?
I bring this question up because this subject has come up a number of times for me recently. The topic of fleets is also theme day over at the sweet car forum of Opposite-Lock. My parents have finally realized the scope of what’s going on. I’m storing four cars and a motorcycle at their house and they finally popped the question. My mom was shocked to hear that I‘m currently sitting on 14 cars and 8 bikes. My dad’s ears perked up and he just wanted to trade stories about cars.
I recently went to a couple of press events and the question about what’s in my “stable” is always one that draws in some eyeballs. The motorcyclists expect maybe two bikes, not eight, and they certainly don’t expect one of them to be a Suzuki RE-5. Likewise, the car people also expect maybe a few cars, but definitely not five Smart Fortwos, a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, or a Volkswagen Phaeton.
If I were to tally up everything I’ve ever purchased, I’ve had over 30 motorcycles, around 30 cars, and two buses. Most of these vehicles were purchased in the period of 2017 to today. I used to revive barn find motorcycles for fun, which is how I arrived at that number. A lot of my cars were Gambler 500 vehicles or bad Volkswagens, which pumps up that other number.
There’s a second question in here, and it’s how many more cars do you think you’ll own in your lifetime? I’m not sure I can say. One of the dreams I have is to open up a personal museum of my favorite vehicles under one roof, like Beau, but with less money. Of course, I also have a career where following my heart with cars is practically a job requirement.
I don’t see myself getting many more vehicles right now simply because I don’t have the space or the money for them, but I could see a future proposed by Matt Hardigree:
I could see that being a local news story written about me one day. Just don’t let me become Ron Dauzet. Everything has to run and I have to drive them.
Here’s where I turn things to you. How many cars have you owned? What were they? How many more do you think you’ll own?
Age 29, two vehicles–Ford Econoline conversion for 7 years, and a Prius v since 2020 and counting.
Ideally, in terms of “vehicles titled in my name” over the course of my life, it’d stay a small number–fewer than 10, perhaps.
My “dream 3-car garage” right now would be my Prius v, a really nice conversion van, and a Miata or equivalent. And even then, I don’t know if I necessarily want to own a Miata as much as try one out.
So, yeah. I plan to baby any cars I get for as long as is feasible.
This is a hard question. Between 174 through today I think it’s 44 cars and seven motorcycles.
That should read “1974 through today.” My first car that I bought was a 1970 Mustang Grande. You never forget your first.
18 total that have been “mine”. Highlights include a Mk2 Escort, an S197 Bullitt and my current project of a 1973 D100 Club Cab (first year available!).
I’m up to 23. There will be a few more, but certainly not another 23. Maybe 10?
Pretty exhaustive list, including vehicles that I’ve had a joint title with (including with my wife, daughter, and parents).
Currently:
2015 Ram 1500
1997 Del Sol VTEC
2018 Infiniti QX30
2018 Hyundai Kona 1.6T
Formerly:
2011 Mazda CX-9
2011 Acura MDX
2011 Nissan Juke
2006 Saab 9-7x
1999 Volvo V70 XC
2006 Saab 9-5t
1997 Nissan Pathfinder
1992 Nissan Sentra
2000 Isuzu Trooper
1991 Mazda Miata
1988 Audi 5000
1975 Porsche 914
1997 Suzuki Grand Vitara
1989 Nissan Sentra
1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T
1995 Pontiac Sunfire
1987 Nissan Stanza
1986 Subaru GL Wagon
1966 Volkswagen Beetle
1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle
1991 Suzuki DR 350
1981 Honda Moped
Future Plans:
2021+ F150 (Raptor?)
BMW M240i XDrive (F22) Cab OR Audi S5 (B9) Cab
These are always fun. I’ll list household cars and company leases because that’s more interesting. Reminiscence sessions are dope, so saddle up, kiddos, this is going to get long and truly test the level of anyone’s interest in cars.
Russia (until 1996):
1980 beige VAZ 21011: the classic Lada and the only car we actually truly owned there; rest were Dad’s work cars or ones he’d bought to resell) – trusty old battle ax whose life finally came to an end in the rear quarter panel of a Volga taxi cab and was followed by all these short-termers:
Early 90s white VAZ 2105 “Riva”: a massive upgrade over the -011 and the vehicle of one of my most terrifying rides, at a whopping 130 km/h
1980-something beige VAZ 2121 “Niva”: these things are legendary for a reason, plus it had an absolutely revolutionary feature – folding rear seats! Perfect for ferrying around various sundries Dad sold out of his office basement
1989 (I think) cream ZAZ 1102 “Tavria”: an absolutely irredeemable piece of shit that stalled at the very sight of a puddle
Early 90s gray-blue Moskvich 2141: a co-development with Renault that inherited all of the French automotive industry’s negative sides and exactly zero positives
U.S. (1996-current):
1983 white Camry: bought essentially from a junkyard for $500, invested 10x that to eventually get it running (new immigrants rarely make awesome money decisions right off the bat), it was the car both my mom and I learned to drive on. Soldiered on for a good seven years or so before being stolen and abandoned halfway to Mexico with a busted transmission. Sold to a salvager for, you guessed it, $500.
1985 dark blue Merc 380 SE: Dad had always wanted an early 90s Town Car, but ended up with Big Blue Whale instead. I both loved and loathed it. Loved being a passenger and the attention I got when I borrowed it to ferry friends around in college, but absolutely despised driving it. Too big, too heavy, too floaty and wahahahahahaaaaaay too thirsty (for premium, no less). When the transmission went around the 195K mile mark (we bought it at 150K-ish), so, too, did it, to a neighborhood small-time dealer.
1994 gold (ugh) Mazda 626 V6: an eventual replacement for the Camry; bought it from a very posh, very white, very Orange County household and hooo, boy, did we ever learn the meaning of the phrase “broken head gasket” in our two years of ownership. Drove like a pocket rocket when it worked, but closer to the end of our ownership it was a game of “will it-won’t it” stall on the freeway at 80 mph. Traded for the next car on this list to our good mechanic friend.
1995 red Civic sedan: basic as basic gets, the highlight of its existence was that it kept my mom alive when she had a brain fart, ran a red light and got t-boned (in the passenger side, thank the gods) by a Navigator. Good enough for me, honestly.
1992 champagne (ugh) BMW 525i: after the mangled mess of the Civic was towed away and sold to a dealer in Compton for $1,000 (which was about 10x what it was worth, but his own damned fault for buying a car based on one shitty early aughts’ digital camera photo, we got Mom something a little more expensive (this was the first car to break the $4K barrier in our household) and a little safer. This was her last used car and it lasted a good five or so years without major issues, but maintenance got expensive and it ended up getting into a wreck that didn’t kill it outright, but certainly made it less presentable towards the end of its life, so it, too, went to live somewhere in South Central L.A.
1991 black BMW 325i: the first of a pair of E30s I personally owned and the first car I could legit call mine. Black on black, automatic – I loved it. Eventually it went to my dad and then, when maintenance on it also got to be too much, was sold cheaply to someone in the neighborhood.
1994 champagne (ugh) Accord EX Coupe: the first stick shift in the household. Dad originally bought it for himself and to teach me to drive a manual, got started and a few weeks later we went to Europe when that task fell to three separate Sixt cars. Upon return, I handed him the keys to the Beemer and that was all she wrote.
1996 red Civic hatchback: Dad’s eventual replacement for the BMW. It was a piece of shit (bought from and taken care of all its prior life by a clueless college kid), but you couldn’t kill it with a nuclear strike. Served as a replacement vehicle for basically the entire household when any of the other cars were indisposed.
2008 dark blue Civic sedan: Mom’s first new car which Dad promptly wrecked about a year on. We had gotten such a good deal on it originally that we ended up making money on the eventual insurance payout.
1991 white BMW 325i: when the Accord started getting sneezy (needed a new starter which I couldn’t be arsed to deal with), I found this absolute gem in the Hollywood Hills. Still can’t believe I sold it for $2,500 in 2008 and replaced it with…
2008 blue Impreza 2.5i: I shouldn’t be too hard on the Subie, honestly. It was my first new car, it was bought really well ($18.2K out the door), it got me and half my shit across the country when I went back to school and it was a perfectly pleasant car to drive. It just wasn’t an E30. Nor was it a WRX which, of course, I originally wanted, though I’m counting ALL of my blessings I didn’t actually buy a 2008 WRX given the power bump that came the following year. In fact, we liked it so much that my mom replaced the Civic with:
2008 gold (ugh) Impreza 2.5i: only hers was an automatic. Loved everything about it except the geriatric 4-speed AT and the accompanying MPGs in the high teens.
2006 gunmetal gray VW GLI: when I got a summer internship with Ford, I worked on the launch plans for the then-new-to-U.S. Focus ST. When I went back for my 2nd MBA year, I sold the Subie to a couple from a couple states down and bought the first turbocharged compact I could get my hands on. I liked it enough, but when I went to Ford full-time, I bought that very same ST (more on that in a minute) and the GLI went to live in Indiana.
1995 black (we think) Merc E320: this is what happens when you are halfway across the country and your parents go to buy a used car, unsupervised. When his Civic finally did give up the ghost, Dad got taken in by the “nice Jewish boy” selling this thing that used to belong to the heiress of the Max Factor make-up fortune. It had a salvaged title due to a previous rear-ender, but somehow that ended up getting lost in the shuffle. We resolved the title issues and Dad drove it OK until his death a few years later, whereupon it was donated to the American Stroke Foundation.
2017 (I think?) white Civic coupe: why in G-d’s arse my 60-something mother wanted a coupe (“It’s smaller!”) is beyond my comprehension, but, again, I wasn’t there to hold her hand when the Subaru got wrecked by a dumbass truck driver and she needed a replacement. It was fine, but it didn’t really suit her. Bought for $20K OTD originally, sold to Vroom for $18K during Covid. Vroom promptly went out of business a few months later. Nothing about that surprised me, especially given a car that will show up here in a bit.
2021 white Kia Niro: Mom’s current car and one that suits her far more than the Civic. Bought at the height of COVID at a discount thanks to the Costco car buying program and my finally getting on a plane and not letting her get ripped off by herself. Kia dealers suck. L.A.-area Kia dealers suck 10x harder.
2013 blue Focus ST2: I originally had a yellow ST3 on order. Then came the debacle with the LED lights and a local dealership had a delivery refusal on the ST2. Pissed off my original dealer to no end, but I didn’t have to wait ages for a car, becoming only the sixth person in the country to get his hands on a FoST. Drove it for about 20 months and sold to a local kid after I became eligible for company leases. These followed, in fairly rapid succession:
2014 green Fiesta Titanium sedan: it was green, it had a stick and that’s where its redeeming qualities ended.
2014 silver Flex Ecoboost: it was (probably) larger than my apartment and it gulped down gas as any good V6 turbo would, when driven like an idiot. Loved the shit out of this thing. Oh, and Alan Mullaly was supposed to borrow it for a weekend when passing through Pittsburgh (I got a white C-Max to drive as replacement), but it never came to pass.
2015 dark green Fusion Energi: highly underrated, but I hated driving long distances in it thanks to the drone of the CVT.
2015 dark green Expedition: I was chummy with some folks in the HQ garage, so they let me trade the Fusion in for this thing for the move back to Michigan. I hated it, but I didn’t have it for long.
2015 silver Fusion 1.5T: it was a car. It was fine.
2015 black Fusion: my wife’s first car. It was a car. It was fine.
2015 yellow FoST3: ah, the halcyon days when you could have $460 taken out of your paycheck and drive a fun car without worrying about insurance. I miss those dearly.
2016 dark blue FoST2: saved $25/month and didn’t have to deal with the goofy ST3/Titanium handbrake.
2017 smurf blue Mustang 2.3T: we couldn’t get the FoRS on company lease, but I could certainly get the color (close enough) and the engine. It was fun, but it further reinforced my belief in pony cars not being my thing.
(accidentally posted and can’t edit anymore)
2017 maroon Lincoln MKZ 2.0T: my wife’s replacement for the Fusion. Meh.
2017 champagne (ugh) C-Max Energi: I maintain that this is the powertrain that should have saved Focus, but, alas, Ford was never really interested in selling it.
2017 white Mustang GT: because I didn’t learn my lesson with the Ecoboost and also because we were about to go on an overseas assignment. A perfect car with which to kill yourself.
UK (2018-2019):
2019 blue Fiesta ST: dear gods, old and new, this thing was the fucking tits. Uncomfortable as hell on pockmarked Essex roads, but what a riot to drive. Took it to the Donington circuit to relive my best Senna memories. I miss it so much.
2019 Focus ST-Line 150PS diesel hatch: the engine was a bit rattly and I probably should have gotten the 180PS petrol version instead, but I am gutted to this day we never sold the last-gen Focus in the States. I’d probably still own one.
U.S. (2019-current):
2019 black Fusion Hybrid: probably the least memorable of all our cars. When we came back to the States, the small cars were gone from Ford’s portfolio and I didn’t want an SUV. So, we got this thing to tide us over. It wasn’t bad, but look at the two fucking cars that preceded it.
2008 blue-green Volvo C30 6MT (a.k.a. “Li’l Moose”): it was $5K, it was an ex-Ford A-plan car and I loved that fucking thing to bits. My second-biggest mistake to the E30 was selling it for $7.5K in 2021, thinking we wouldn’t need a second car for a while.
2020 blue-green Escape: ohmagerd, what an absolute piece of dogshit. This was supposed to be my wife’s car, but it wasn’t in the stable for long. Jittery steering so it never went straight on the freeway without constant correction, wheezy 1.5L engine, bloaty exterior, shitty plastics inside. The day it went back to the HQ garage to be replaced by the next entry on this list ranks pretty high up there in my life’s automotive highlights. I’m not even remotely joking.
2020 maroon Fusion 2.0T AWD: thank fuck for A-plan in May 2020, that’s all I’m going to say. Wifey insists she’s going to drive it until one of them kicks. She’s a creature of habit, what can I say. I want to get her a Maverick or a Prius. Bahahahahaha.
2009 blue Outback XT 5MT: a few months after Li’l Moose galloped off to Michigan, so did we (moved to Illinois during the pandemic and that didn’t work out). Listed for $14K by a BMW dealership, bought for just under $9K after a litany of problems appeared upon inspection, driven to MI and sold to a couple in Ohio for even money three weeks later. They still haven’t come back to wring my neck, so whatever problems there were couldn’t have been that bad, after all.
2017 yellow FoST2: this car probably drove the final nail into Vroom’s coffin. It was painfully evident they didn’t inspect it AT ALL. It was modded – not heavily, but enough so for the entire car to try to shake itself to shit every time I stood on the fun pedal. After they cut me a check for about 10% of the original purchase price (I got in touch with the original seller and worked out Vroom lost about four grand on this thing), I replaced the engine mount and some brake bits and sold it to a kid in Ohio flush with life insurance money for his recently departed relative when it became painfully obvious that I was way too old for this shit. Ended up making something like $5K on the four-month experience.
2023 dark blue GTI 6MT: my current daily, bought about 18 months ago. It’s for sale.
So, because I’m in the analytics business, that makes:
16 cars that belong(ed) to my parents
2 with joint ownership
7 fully “mine”
1 wife’s
16 company leases
How many more will I own? Who knows. I tend to get bored easily and I’ve (hopefully) got about another 40 driving years left, so probably a fair few.
63 VW Beetle Yay first car!
65 VW Beetle 2 replacement for first car
65 Chevy II Nova Beetle died, this was almost free
72 Chevy Nova This was a great car
70 Chevy Camaro RS Red, natch. Lucky I didn’t get in more trouble in this one
79 Pontiac Ventura (Nova) the beginning of my respectable era
78 Pinto friend moving out of state practically gave it to me. Surprisingly quick
90 Ford Probe First new car, so much regret
84 Ford Thunderbird Another one that I loved. Should have kept it
Toyota Celica (mid 80’s) temporary car after T-Bird went bad. OMG SO SLOW
MBZ 450 SEL (late 70’s) Another love affair. Pulled over going 120 with MIL asleep in the back seat (“I couldn’t have caught you if you hadn’t slowed down”)
VW Quantum (mid 80’s?) Total sleeper. Way faster than anyone expected, handled like it was on rails
Chrysler Town & Country (1 2nd Gen, 2 3rd Gen) Practical luxury, a great road trip car
Chrysler 300M Not only was fast, it looked fast and elegant. One of my favorites
2013 Honda Civic Most disappointing car I’ve ever owned
2013 Honda Odyssey current transportation appliance. The Chryslers were superior in every way relating to comfort and convenience, the Honda in every way relating to reliability and durability
I’ll probably own one to two cars more in my life, because I’m getting old and there aren’t that many driving years ahead of me.
I’ve had 5 considered mine, 3 actually registered to me. My first two cars were registered to my parents. A 1985 Pontiac Sunbird hatchback and a 1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe. Then the first car that was legally mine is my 1996 Honda Civic CX Hatchback with a B16A2 engine swap. I’ve had it almost 18 years, and it was my daily for over 10. I had a 2007 Honda Fit Sport for a little over 3 years and now I have a 2016 Honda HR-V EX-L that I’ve had for about as long.
As for how many I’ll have, I don’t know. I tend to hold on to them for a while and I don’t have anywhere to keep more than two, so I doubt it’ll be a lot. But, if wind up with decent money and a lot of parking space, I might go a bit nuts.
36 cars, the vast majority being older BMW’s. I intend to own many more, but unfortunately I can’t buy decent running BMW’s for $1500 anymore like I used to. So it’ll be at a slower pace.
I am bookmarking this post to come back to look for future members’ rides!
27 total vehicles including 3 motorcycles. I swap almost yearly, keeping 2-3 at any given time. I do expect to slow down somewhat, but the goal is to own more than 50 in my lifetime. Some of the highlights:
05 Lotus Elise
95 Miata
95 Celica GT-Four
96 Toyota Crown Majesta
97 Peugeot 306 GTi-6
Next up will be another Miata, not sure after that. I’m hoping to talk the wife into an ID Buzz but it’s not likely to happen. Volvo V90 is high on the list too.
85 accord (daily)
92 svx (daily)
04 rx8 (daily / track)
82 rx7 (project)
84 rx7 (project)
91 miata (project)
— moved to Chicago and went from driving 25K / yr to 1-2K / yr —
02 a4 (project)
94 civic (lemons)
same 91 miata (project)
86 xt (lemons)
90 miata (project)
89 xt6 (lemons parts car)
95 integra (lemons parts car)
different 91 miata (project)
03 wrx (lemons parts car)
03 wrx (lemons parts car)
04 wrx (lemons parts car)
03 wrx (lemons parts car)
02 yukon (tow / winter car)
05 rx8 (lemons)
09 rx8 (lemons parts car)
05 rx8 (replacement lemons race car after the 05 got t-boned twice in the drivers door by 2 miatas)
02 is300 (project / daily)
06 g37 (6MT + LSD + driveshaft for is300)
There’s also 4 jetta TDI’s we bought for lemons but one person wanted to keep them himself.
Still have the RX8, IS300, and civic + rx8 race cars. As far as new cars, don’t plan to get one until both the RX8 and IS300 die or a life change happens where cars become needed / useful again… Honestly I’d be better off with 0 cars where I live and with my job.
Previously owned (in order):
1995 Ford Escort
1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse
1992 Lincoln Town Car
1987 BMW 318i
1988 Ford Crown Victoria
1997 Isuzu Rodeo
2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
1997 Buick Skylark
2015 Ford Focus
2012 VW Tiguan
1999 Ford Explorer
2022 VW Tiguan
Right now, the ’22 Tiguan is our only car, but with a recent move out of a major city and into a house in the suburbs with ample parking and my wife and I about to be working in different cities…it is time for me to get a car again.
Cars I still want to own:
1987 Saab 900S Turbo, preferably in Rose Quartz Metallic with burgundy interior (it was my Dad’s favorite car he ever owned and since I can never fulfill my dream of buying him another one…I want to drive one in his memory)
1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
1964 Dodge Dart w/ Slant 6
1972 Ford LTD Convertible
1993 or 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee
and finally
1978-83 911 SC (nothing showroom, just good mechanicals). I know this will be a big one, but good golly do I want one.
Realistically…I can see myself owning another five or six primary vehicles that will be nicer and likely German for my wife to drive to work (she gets her preference considering she is the bread winner and is steadily advancing in her career). I do have a preference for a solid-ish SUV or pickup to carry furniture, yard stuff, go to the beach, camp, you know, stuff that is far below its abilities, but I can’t escape the love of some height and extra space. Call it another…five of those. Probably one, maybe two project cars depending on my son’s interest in cars.
In reality: twelve more cars over the next…forty years or so if I am lucky. I’d call that pretty okay. I’d certainly take more of the weird and wacky if I could find them and continue to have room, but I know I get sentimental and attached to cars.
I have an 89 900 Turbo 3-door in Rose Quartz Metallic with a burgundy leather interior. It’s close to your ideal spec. My ideal spec is Beryl Green with a tan interior. I bought the 89 because it was a California car and inexpensive, because it needed (and still needs) a lot of work to bring it back to its former glory.
It makes me happy knowing they’re out there. Before he died, that was the car he would wistfully talk about: sunroof open, turbo wound up, passing cars going up this big hill in Warm Springs, GA with U2’s The Joshua Tree in the cassette deck. Thanks for sharing!
2001 Chevrolet S-10
2004 V6 Mustang
1958 Bel Air
1999 Miata – still own
2001 Miata (wrecked, for parts)
2001 Miata
2004 Mach 1 – still own
2004 Mazdaspeed Miata – still own
1967 Mustang
2000 S10 – still own
2004 Mazdaspeed Miata (wrecked, for parts)
Attempting to buy another wrecked Mazdaspeed now, have also co-owned an additional 1999 Miata. I expect I will buy quite a few cars in the future, and eventually would like to get a newer truck that can pull a car trailer. I also fully plan on buying an Efini FD3S RX-7 eventually.
I’ve owned 33 cars in 37 years since I got my drivers license. Sadly I wasn’t forced to get rid of any of them. And now I want them all back (except for the 1980 Buick Skylark — you can keep that one).
Some notable stars — a 1990 Volkswagen Corrado, a 1994 Cadillac Deville, a 2001 Porsche Boxster, a 2004 Cadillac Escalade EXT, a 1988 Nissan Pulsar, and a 2008 BMW 750iL. Current fleet is a 2014 Cadillac XTS, a 2018 Ford Transit EXT HR, a 2023 Lincoln Navigator L, and a 2018 Ram 1500.
I’m 53 now, with hopefully another 20 years of good buying left to go. I’m thinking my final number will be 50. A nice round number to end with.
Never owned a Corrado (although I did have an opportunity to buy a VR6 once), but have always wanted one. That dream seems to be as unattainable as a Delta HF these days.
In order of purchase:
1972 VW Squareback (sold while in HS)
1976 Toyota Corolla (drove to both coasts when in college, sold)
1977 Chevy Luv (sold)
1988 Chevy Berretta (first new car purchase; paid off in 3 yrs sold shortly after)
1992 Chevy K1500 (2nd new purchase, still my daily)
1965 Pontiac Tempest convertible (was a sad day when sold)
1996 Honda Odyssey (sold)
1993 Volvo 240 wagon (sold)
2003 Honda Pilot (sold)
2004 Subaru Forester (still in fleet)
2006 Mini Cooper S convertible (wife’s daily)
1971 Ford F100 4×4 (still in fleet)
1967 Ford F250 (sold)
1969 Ford F250 4×4 (sold)
1969 Ford F100 (parts rig for above, sold)
1972 GMC C20 (sold)
2003 Subaru Forester (sold)
1968 Ford F250 (slated for sale in about 2 months)
Voof.
CarsVehicles I’ve owned or been granted regular access to:1973 AMC Hornet Sportabout Hatchback (Dad’s car, learned to drive manual on it – 3-on-the-tree.)1968 Dodge A100 Van (Dad’s, he gave it to me to take to college)1970 AMC Hornet 2-Door Sedan (Dad’s, replaced the ’73 Hornet)1971 Fiat Spider Sport (My first, bought it senior year of HS)1987 Isuzu P’up (First new vehicle)1995 Subaru Imprezza Outback Wagon (2nd new vehicle, Outback was cosmetic only)1993 Pontiac Grand Am GT Sedan1988 BMW 325iS (owned for a year, timing belt broke at freeway speeds)1984 Datsun Maxima Wagon (owned for 3 months before the motor blew)2000 Mercury Cougar (3rd new vehicle)1998 Nissan Sentra (wife’s car when we met)1993 Dodge Intrepid (FIL’s car, he gave it to me when my Cougar got totalled. It lasted a year before the transmission crapped out.)2001 VW New Beetle 1.8T (replaced the Sentra when it got totalled)2012 Hyundai Veloster* (replaced the VW when it got totalled)2013 Piaggio BV350 (bought in 2016 to commute on)2017 Piaggio BV350 ABS* (bought in 2018 to replace the 2013 that had too many issues)2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL Premium* (current daily driver)(* currently owned vehicle)
I’ve owned 23 cars, I’m not typing them all out. I expect to own at least another half a dozen, maybe more before I hang up my driving gloves.
Most cars have only lasted me a year or two, partly because I had severe vehicle ADD when I was younger and more cash fluid. My current Daily is quickly becoming my longest term vehicle ever, not having a car payment has been amazing, not sure I want to go back.
Went through them fast when I was younger, not so much anymore. It’s too expensive to be an auto enthusiast.
Starting in 1994:
1973 Chevy K10 shortbed 4×4 350V8
1981 Trans Am 301 V8 (circa 1996, a project that never ended up roadworthy)
1988 Trans Am GTA L98 (350V8)
1994 Mercury Cougar XR7 4.6V8
1998 Firebird Formula (LS1/M6. hardtop))
1997 Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6. (my first non-V8, I regretted that choice)
1998 Olds 88 3.8L V6 (given to me)
2000 Firebird Formula (LS1/A4, T-TOPS) bought in 2007
2007 Volvo XC70 (2.5 5CYL) bought in 2012
2013 4Runner (4.0 V6, my least favorite other than the 301) bought in 2019
I traded the 98 Formula for the Grand Cherokee in 2001, after that I slowed way down with cars. Shortly after that I sold the squarebody and the Cougar.
From when I was 16:
Currently have:
I currently own 7, have owned a total of 14.
Currently in the fleet:
2017 Chevrolet Volt
2011 Ford Escape
2001 Chevrolet Tracker
1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
1995 Chevrolet K2500
1993 Suzuki Sidekick
1977 Jeep Cherokee “S”
Only car I regret selling is my 91 Toyota Pickup. Extended cab, 4×4, 5 speed. Stupid 3.slow blew a head gasket right before I was going to college, sold it for an absurdly cheap sum. It was damn near perfect in every other regard. Had an 80 series landcruiser a few years back, and apart from the engineering and build quality (which is obscenely good) I don’t regret getting rid of that.
13 since 1992. Currently own only 1.
Suspiciously similar screen name to the one used by someone I know in North Carolina who is British. Not born in 92 and currently owns more than 1 car though
Cool! I wasn’t born in 92. That is when I purchased my first car.
That takes it even further in the opposite direction then. His license plate is even “BRIT”
*1964 Ford coach-built crewcab, dad purchased in 1965, given to me in 1991, still have it
1971 Fiat 128
*1967 VW Squareback purchased in 1978, still have it
1964 VW sunroof deluxe bus
1971 Honda CB350
1971 Honda CB350 (a second one for my brother)
1967 VW sunroof deluxe bus
1964 VW Baha Bug
1976 VW ASI Camper bus
1980 VW Vanagon
1980 VW Vanagon for parts
1985 Nissan 300 ZX
1987 Subaru wagon
1999 Nissan Quest
1981 Toyota Pickup
1983 Toyota Camry
1991 Toyota Previa
1966 VW bus
1967 VW bus
1999 Toyota 4Runner
2006 Toyota Prius
*1992 Ford F350 longbed dually crewcab plus 1995 Lance camper
*2020 Toyota Prius AWD
*2024 Toyota Rav4 Plug-in Hybrid
*vehicles currently in the stable
This list does not include the vehicles my wife leased every 3 years, as I don’t keep mental track of them.
I don’t expect to own very many new-to-me vehicles due to my age, but if the right vehicle pops up, who knows!
my favorite from your list: 1964 Crew Cab. is it 4×4?
Nope. The original owner specified what he wanted for the build, and for some reason, not 4×4.
I have more of a buy-n-hold personality so I’ve only had 7 total vehicles in my 26 years of car-owning life and still have 5 of them, for the time being.
Holy crap some of you. I’m at 7, had my licence since 1996.
Some of us have a real problem 🙂