Tx_Phantom

I read an old post out there the other day and thought I'd start a similar one for this group... So the question is...

What is the most reliable car you've ever owned? What was the "funnest" car you've ever owned? And what is the worst car you ever owned?

Best Reliability:
91 Civic DX (100K and drove like new when I sold it)
01 Toyota 4Runner (130k and just replaced the brakes for the 1st time)

Best Fun factor:
83 Datsun 280ZX - 135k and took all the abuse I could give it
03 S2000 - 28k fastest sports car I've ever owned

Worst Reliability:
96 Chevy Blazer 96k - a NIGHTMARE - too much wrong with it to list
90 Pathfinder - dropped tranny at 58k, then sold it after repair.

AATees

Most Fun: Obviously the S2000, however over Christmas I met up with some old friends from high school and remembered "Mean Green".

In the late 70's, I was 16 years old and my Grandmother gave me a 1973 Pinto Runabout with Firestone 500 tires; she either loved me or wanted to get rid of me. It sucked (2.0L generating about 80 HP, 1-barrel carb, and a 3-speed automatic transmission), but as an optimistic 16 year old I saw nothing but potential. The little 4-banger wasn't much, but it had an UK overhead cam design which was rare for the time.

"We can rebuild it", I exclaimed, "stronger, faster". 12:1 pistons, race cam, machined head, Oppenhauser intake manifold and Holley 390-CFM 4-barrel carb, headers, Mustang 4-speed transmission and clutch with a Hurst shifter, and Mustand rear-end. Even lowered the car with MGB front springs, Koni shocks and sway bar. Mean Green finally generated about 180 HP and could thrill/scare with ease.

Other than the blacked out grill and wheels, it looked like any other POS Pinto, but it was a stealth racer. Nothing like leaving a Porsche behind on a hill country road west of Austin in a puke green Pinto. Some of them never returned home out of embarrassment.

Regards,

Al

QUIKAG

Best reliability:
2001 C5: believe it or not, it was damn near bulletproof in the 40k very abusive miles I put on it before it was sold.
1997 Prelude: Also a very tough car, had a few minor issues with it in 45k miles of ownership

Most fun:
2001 C5 with the S2000 running a close second

Worst car:
1986 Isuzu I-Mark. 70hp and a 3-speed automatic. Blew the timing belt at 50k miles, but luckily my mom was conned into an extended warranty when she bought it new without my dad's help. My dad was pissed, but eventually very happy she got the extended warranty when it replaced the motor.

texasjohn

Best Reliability:
Any Honda I've owned so I will pick the oldest: 91 Accord 2.0i EX (100K and never missed a beat)
81 Corolla DX Wagon (the family beater. Took all the abuse I could give it as a new licensed driver, redline everywhere, and in 3 years all it asked of us was a new radiator). We sold it in '94 with 115k on it and it lasted a good few years after that.

Best Fun factor:

01 TransAm WS6. No TCS
02 S2000. No TCS

Worst Reliability:

83 MG Metro Turbo - wrong from the day I bought it. Luckily I bought it from a dealer and they tried all they could to fix it. We ended up refusing to pay for the constant repairs, the dealer sent a letter threatening action, but nothing came of it. It was some fuel or turbo system problem. I sold it to a friend for 1/2 what I paid for it. He knew it needed fixing.

90 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 previous owner removed injection system and fitted twin carbs, bad inlet diaphragm caused all sorts of fun

Tx_Phantom

[QUOTE=QUIKAG,Jan 10 2006, 09:49 AM] 2001 C5:

Doug0716

Most reliable: 94 Ford Ranger (2.3L, same engine block as the 2.3 Pinto's...) This thing took a beating every time I drove it... put 150K miles on it and it was still running strong, only problem was that somebody changed lanes in front of me doing about 30 less than the speed limit... nowhere to go *bam*. Some mexican bought it off of me so I imagine it's still out there on the roads being used as a work truck (I hate to think of what condition the body is in). I drove it like I stole it and it enjoyed every minute of it. the last 85K of those 150 were put on by me, driving it hard and the only thing I had to replace was a ball-joint and I think an alternator (oh and a battery, but that's kinda a given)... oh and a clutch at 100K miles (keeping in mind that 3 people had learned to drive a standard in this truck at about the 70K mark). The clutch went out after I had it at the shop for brakes... that was when I started getting into doing a lot of my own repairs... including that clutch.

Most fun: '03 Honda S2000 - Do I really need to explain this? The Ranger was all sorts of fun in the rain and on dry... but not nearly as much fun as the S... besides the S is a lot faster

Least reliable: 91(?) Chevy Beretta GT... thing was falling apart since we purchased it (96?)... I hated that thing, but until the S was probably my fastest car... well when all 6 cyl were firing.

nivek2002

Best reliability:
1987 Honda Civic Sedan. over 200k miles and I was autocrossing it. To bad the timing belt broke in my driveway, lol.

Most fun:
1987 Honda Civic with Koni suspension. Lightweight and stiff rear srings meant I could toss it however I want to.

Worst car:
1991 Mercedes Benz 190E. I have owned it less than 6 months and it already cost me more than my Civic is even worth in repairs. But gotta say RWD and a big I6 is alot of fun!
1991 Toyota Camry V6 Wagon. Good power but was a boat, turn to hard and the front bumper would scrape the road because of the cushy suspension.

Ranger

Most Reliable - Well, certainly any of our Honda products. About six months ago I sold a '96 Acura GS-R with 178K's on it. It never gave me a lick of trouble. I sold it to a co-worker for her daughter with complete confidence.

Most Fun - As much as I'd like to put the S2k here ... I have fond memories of a 1967 Alfa Romeo 1600 Duetto Spyder. I sold a Triumph 4A for the Alfa because some guy named Dan Gurney said I wouldn't be disappointed. I guess that's because Dan knew he wouldn't be the one standing in the rain trying to dry out the distributer cap. Stupid Lucas electrics. But I was driving the car in Europe between tours to RVN, and that made up for a lot of short comings

Worst - Well, there are so many! I was raised on a ranch in west Kansas and so was exposed to only ranch and farm vehicles at an early age. But the first car I really owned was a 1949 Ford Club Sedan ... with circa 1949 tires, '49 suspension, '49 brakes ... well, you get the picture. It was pretty bad. I forget how long it took me to wreck it ... but it wasn't long.

Also while in Germany I had a DKW for a work car ... which was a Dutch auto with a CV transmission coupled to a two cylinder two cycle engine. The oil reservoir for the engine was almost as large as the gas tank ... or so it seemed. This car was old when I bought it. Think post WW2 (barely) technology when Europe was still in the throes of recovery. It probably was my worst car, but it was so quirky in its friendly nature that I remember it kindly.

And, it never left me standing in the rain along the roadside like that darn Alfa.

niugnip

Most Reliable - My '69 Beetle that I had during college. It was a great car except for the fact it had no AC, and summers in East Texas were painful.

Most Fun - It would be tough here, either the S or my '67 Ghia Coupe. I love the feel of the flat 4 and the lines those Germans used. For speed and comfort hte S would win, but for pure fun it would be the Ghia. If it were mine instead of my Dad's I would choose the '58 (I think that is the year) Triumph roadster

Worst - '82 Buick Regal. My first car, and boy did it let me down. I was stranded at a gf house when I wasn't supposed to be there several times. Along with a whole lot of emissions work due to living in the NW this car taught me to be patient.

Tx_Phantom

My dad had a 1979 Jaguar XJ12. Sweet car. Looked good, fast as shit... He drove it about 3 months out of the 9 months he owned it. The rest of the time it was in the shop. I was a little kid, but I remember him popping the hood and seeing the amount of duck tape he had to use to mend hoses from his road trips to south Texas.

He also got "stuck" holding the bag with a 1980's F150. The damned bed of the truck looked like it was going east-west while the front looked like it was going north-south! It was white, so whenever i saw him driving it, I'd call him "Uncle Jessy." When *I* got to drive it, I DOGGED on it bad!! There was a little street near their house with a severe dip. Me and my future ex-wife would get in the truck and take ot down that road just to jump the truck into the air - it was fun! Once this kid said "Wow - you got three wheels in the air!..."

The last POS he had was the 1979 MB 450 SEL. Owned it for 2 years and then traded down to an MB 280 E.

Funny thing is, everyone in my family who's owned MBs (some since 1979) are now saying "never again...."