Cars you had that were supposed to be junk but turned out great for you

1977 Vega wagon. Picked up a super clean low mile example in the early 2000s. After some initial work to put it back to stock for CA emissions it was a decent driver. The smog guys didn't know what to think when I rolled in with it every other year. Sold it when the Opel I always wanted popped up for sale. Tha car before was a Peugeot 505 turbodiesel. That one was taken out by some dirtbag who believes that red lights don't apply to him. Another diesel pug would be great.
 
Hyundai was the butt of the joke in the 90s and for good reason, but the 3 Hyundai Excels I owned never let me down and is one of the reason I love the brand today.

I had 2 1988s and my father owned the 89 which ended up being my car later in its life and they never had any major issues, well, except I lost 5th gear in one of the 88’s, but I beat the crap out of them.

I don’t know how many miles any of them had because the speedometer cable broke in all of them around 100k miles and they lived for years after that so they probably all had around 150k miles or more.

They were fun cars, like driving a go-cart.
 
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Hyundai was the butt of the joke in the 90s and for good reason, but the 3 Hyundai Excels I owned never let me down and is one of the reason I love the brand today.
I had a few back then and they were better than much of the junk the big three were putting out.

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Two cars I wish I had back, that weren't supposed to be all that great.

Nissan Xterra that I modded for off road - had the locking rear diff...that thing was unstoppable, and even the family loved it

The second was a 1st gen Honda CRV...I hated it, but it was an amazing first car for my second daughter. With AWD, it went through everything, was perfectly reliable, and held her and her friends and junk. Great car until she rear-ended someone ;-)
Xterra shouldn't be on that list! I had a 2010...the thing was a tank. I wish I still had it as well.

My dad had a 1999 Chrysler Sebring with the 2.5L V6. It was a former rental car, short tripped *to death*, and if I didn't change the oil or take it to get changed, it didn't get changed. It was known to go 10-15k miles without an oil change (I couldn't do it often bc at the time I was flight-distance away). It was still going in 2018 with ~90k miles but had a pesky electrical issue. I gave it away when my Pops passed.
 
You mean like Cash for Clunkers? Wasn't that for V8 cars? No wonder taxes are so high there.
No not cash for clunkers. BAAQMD Will give you $7500 now toward an EV or certain hybrids if you are in certain zip codes and meet the income requirements to get an old polluter off the road. Money well spent to improve air pollution.
 
You mean like Cash for Clunkers? Wasn't that for V8 cars? No wonder taxes are so high there.
That's a local one, not the federal one, and it was for every car as long as it was 1995 and prior. You were not paying for it, the carbon credit were sold to local polluters (refinery, power plant, etc).
 
97 Intrepid, 02 Intrepid ES, and 99 LHS. All required pretty normal maintenance, as long as you know what you are doing and follow the once of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they are fine.
 
My mother's '75 Vega was the most reliable car by far that she ever owned. The only rescue mission I had to make was when the alternator went out. Even with that, after a couple of hammer blows and she was able to drive it home.

Edit: The 3 speed auto trans was absolutely seamless when shifting. I've never experienced a conventional transmission shift as well since that car.
 
A long time ago I bought a Rabbit diesel from a friend for $200. Nobody wanted it because the left rear door was smashed to the point it wouldn't open, the odometer had broken at around 150,000 miles and nobody knew how many miles were on it. Back in those days I could get an inspection by going to the right guy with an extra $20. I proceeded to commute 120 miles round-trip for two years in that Rabbit, getting over 50mpg the entire time, doing at least 25,000 miles a year. The only maintenance I did was an occasional oil change at the cheapest possible quicky lube joints and I had to wrap up a hole in the exhaust once. Those cars had a reputation for not starting in the winter, but mine would start every time after using the glow plugs for a bit. After two years I sold it back to the guy I bought it from for the same $200 and it continued to serve him for another couple of years. I suspect it may still be running somewhere!
 
That's a local one, not the federal one, and it was for every car as long as it was 1995 and prior. You were not paying for it, the carbon credit were sold to local polluters (refinery, power plant, etc).
And the local refinery, power plant, etc. passes on the cost of doing business, such as buying carbon credits, to their customers...........us.
 
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