Best car you have owned long -term

[valaker]

Both my volvos were/are very tough and trustworthy. In college I had a 1978 puke yellow 242 MT. It was a beauty and hauled me through some crazy Nor. Cal mountain passes (Rt. 36 between I-5 and I-101, anybody?) It got to the point where the issues outweighed the income and devotion of a 20 yr. old college student (Brake master cylinder, u-joints, heater core, electrical gremlins). I currently have an '87 740 wagon with 235,000 miles. I dubbed it the "Gold Dragon" after watching Old School. Runs like a champ and ugly as sin. Great car.
My parents have done well with mid-90's Dodge vehicles. My dad's '96 Ram has at least 170,000 miles and to the best of my knowledge has had no issues. They also have a '95 Intrepid which is literally falling apart from the paint down, but has been a reliable driver and also has over 150k. They now have a 2003 passat which has been in the shop at least 7 times for recalls and warranty repairs in under 50k miles. My "01 Passat has faired much better(currently 116K and ABS computer is in the throes of death

)

 

[valaker]

Was the 5th Av. still rear drive that year or was it the K-car front driver. My grand parents had a 5th Ave that seemed immortal (rear drive ala Dodge Diplomat)

 

[SamSnyder]

'90 5.0 Mustang 5-speed. Fast & fun.

 

[brianl703]

I have an 88 5.0 Mustang. Has 176K on it now. But it needs a new clutch. And wouldn't qualify for this because I have neither (1) owned it for 10 years nor have I (2) driven it 150K since I bought it with 116K on it 5 years ago.

 

[Sylvatica]

My 2000 Toyota 4Runner (built 1999) has been the best, most reliable vehicle I've owned, and it isn't even close to being the most expensive.

I am looking forward to another new 4Runner, but this car is still like new!

However it's not quite at 150K, so strictly speaking, it may not count in this survey.

Timing belt/water pump, etc. done around 100K. This car runs great, with no major problems nor any annoying little issues either.

It has been filled with nothing but Red Line Oil: 5W-30, MT-90, 75W-90, and CV-2.

 

[Captain Howdy]

1991 Honda Civic hatchback 1.5L. Had 112,000 on it when I traded it in. Ran like a top. 35 mpg city, 42 on the highway. I loved the hatchback. I should have kept it.

 

[Cutehumor]

This may or may not qualify. I inherited a 96 pontiac sunfire when I married my wife that I'm driving. It's been owned since new and I have kept up the maintanence since 1999. Only thing replaced is the alternator. A/c doesn't work. Piston slap galore when cold. still gets 32mpg. 2nd duralast battery is almost 7 years old that I recharge every year. original headgasket, water pump, timing chain, auto transmission. I plan to drive this one to the junkyard or when it is 17 yrs old whichever comes first.

 

[JohnnyO]

1985 Mustang, 2.3L 4 cyl/stick. First brand-new car I ever had, owned it for 11 years and about 120k. Besides being very trouble-free it was also very easy to work on if I did have to do something.

 

[Pat in Speedway]

1987 Cavalier Z24, 2.8. I bought it in 1990 with 35K miles and sold it in '98 with 193K. The 2.8 ran like a champ and never had to change the intake gasket. Only time it ever let me down was when the fuel pump went out. Other than that, just routine maintenance.

 

[blmqzjc]

1979 Corolla SR5, the last year for the 2TC engine, one of the best engines ever made IMO. Drove it 145K miles on straight SAE30 weight, sold it in 2001. Only significant (if you want to call it that) repairs were starter, alternator, waterpump, rebuilt the clutch master and slave cylinders once or twice (the rebuild kits were less than $15 IIRC). All of the above is normal IMO, considering age and mileage of car. Original clutch still strong when sold at 145K miles, but carburetor was getting a little heavy and probably could have used a rebuild. Car looked like #@$%! but ran fine!

Now here is the part you guys may laugh at. When the car was relatively new (circa 1981) with about 20K miles, my mechanic recommended a product called Slick50. This is not the same exact Slick50 that is sold today over the counter, as the application was quite different. The procedure, IIRC, was as follows: First, he flushed out the engine with some type of engine cleaner. Then he did an OC obviously, and added the Slick50. I was instructed to drive the car immediately for 20 or 30 miles at relatively high rpm (at least 3500), which basically meant staying in 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time in city traffic. The mechanic explained that during this time my engine would be "teflon coated". He also advised against multigrade oil, and recommended straight SAE30. When I questioned this, he said he had rebuilt too many small Japanese engines on multigrade oil (keep in mind the time frame). I did as instructed, and drove the car for 20 more years with no issues. Oil consumption, even near the end, was never more than 1/2 qt per OC. Believe I added conventional Slick50 to the crankcase at about 80 or 90K miles - don't remember exactly when.

I am in no way recommending Slick50 for today's engines, but it apparently didn't hurt that little 1979 Toyota, and may have even helped it. Either that, or the SAE30, or maybe that 2TC engine is just #@$%! indestructable, or some combination of the above, but that was one good little car.

 

[GMGuy]

1973 Nova, parents bought it back in '72. Became my DD in the late 80's, still have it. Racked up the most miles during the 90's when I was working in an ajoining city and pushing the envelope of legailities while ahem... testing the cars acceleration capabilities. ;-) It left me stranded once. Technically twice, but that was the fault of an incompetant tranny shop.
Next up meeting the criteria is my current DD, a 1983 Fullsize Chevy pick-em-up truck. Bought it used in 1990. Getting close to 225k miles on it. Drop a trailer on it, I'll got for a few hundred mile journey with it.
I havn't put 150k on it, but my '89 Grand Marquis has just turned over 158K miles, I've had it since 1999.
I'll take any of my cars anywhere, with the exception of the '73. No more gravel or salted roads for it. =-)

Alex.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

Mercedes Benz 300D. Purchased with 50,000 and sold 10 years later with 250,000 for approx 1/2 its original price. Did require replacement of the auto trans around 180,000 with a used trans for less than 1000 dollars. Great comfort,luxury and milage. Wish they still made these cars

 

[97f150]

My submission is my 1997 F150 4.6 liter. I have only been driving 8 years so I have not owned a car for ten, I havent put 150,000 miles on this truck either, but I did drive this one the most miles, 116,000 over the past couple years to be exact. I bought it with 93,000 miles and it currently has 209,000 and some change. The biggest repair would be the clutch, which dosent seem that bad when you consider this truck spent most of its life towing a 5500 pound boat. Calculating mileage will be a bit more difficult now that the odometer died last week and was replaced with a used on with 64000 miles on it. I would also drive this truck anywhere on a wild hair notion. Has never left me stranded.

 

[Mokanic]

1981Toyota pickup- owned since it had 156K. It now has 640K on it. It has had one head gasket and a valve job. Bottom end has never been touched. Original trans, diffs.,It uses no oil every 5K using Schaeffer 5W40. Also,have a 1983 Corolla with 324K. Other than maintenance and rust it has not been touched.

 

[MKR]

1990 mustang GT, got it almost new, drove it for 11 years without any breakdowns. Had 175k on it when I sold it.

 

[Johnny]

Best I've ever owned; my 1974 Volvo 142, actually might have been a 1973, traded it in with 288K on a new 1986 SAAB 900. Yep, best car I've ever owned.

 

[Tornado Red]

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so here are the rules:

You have owned the car at least ten years

OR

You have driven the car at least 150K

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Well heck, with those guidelines then I guess my 2003 Golf TDI is a great long-term car. 203k miles and runs like a champ. But it's a diesel, so I guess it's unfair to compare it to regular gas-engine cars.

In which case I'll have to nominate the 1984 Saab 900 Turbo that I bought in 1987 with 52k miles and put another 240k miles on it. On the day in 2004 that I donated it to a charity because it wouldn't pass the smog test, I could easily have driven it across the country and back again, with no concerns about reliability.

 

[Winston]

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This wouldn't be the typical, subconscious, anti-American automaker bias would it? It seems of all the engines in Chrysler mini-vans, the Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 is by far the the least reliable and most troublesome

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The mitsu engines tend to smoke and use oil when they get old. That is a lot different than being unreliable and troublesome. There is no other inherant problem with the engine.

 

[brianl703]

Not passing emissions and therefore being unable to register the vehicle due to visible smoke would seem to be a big problem (unless of course you live where they don't yet care about such things).

 

[crw]

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Not passing emissions and therefore being unable to register the vehicle due to visible smoke would seem to be a big problem (unless of course you live where they don't yet care about such things).

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I do! Next time you want to donate a car like that, donate it to me. I've got 5 kids, the oldest of which is starting to drive now.