Cars you should have kept, or not..

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71 Pontiac GTO
73 Caddy Coupe De Ville
79 Caddy Coupe De Ville

My Mom should have kept her 51 Chevy Deluxe and her 57 Black Chevy Bel air for sure..They are still very popular in Cuba.
 
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
In 1978 I ordered a new Trans AM special edition with the big TA6.6 liter engine, 4 speed manual, air, T-roofs. I keep it 3 years and it never saw a winter then sold it for $5500. I would like to have it back...



Nice car. Was it the Black Bandit Edition or the Gold one? Both were nice special edition models that are bringing real money today. Miss my '79 WS6.


Mine was the Gold edition. I think the Black was only in 1977 and 1979, but not sure. I probally have some pictures around somwhere. After a wind storm some leaves sat on the eagle decal on the hood and left some marks, that really [censored] me off!

It had about 50,000 kilometers when I sold it to a friend. He kept it for 15+ years till his wife left and he sold it to some guy in Toronto. I imagine it's still around somewhere...
 
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1988 Dodge Caravan. My dad bought it used and it was a salvage title. It had the 2.5L 4 cylinder, had enough power even with a full load. I remember the rear bench seats can be removed and those weighed as much as a couch. I did not know much about fixing cars back then but from what my dad said coolant was leaking into the engine so I think the head gasket was blown. Another problem was the the noisy valve train particularly at startup, sounded like a diesel engine. Ended up donating the van, wish we kept it so I would keep it going.
 
Sad to say in 39 years of driving I've mostly purchased ordinary cars/trucks new and held onto to them until they were 10 or more years old, rust kills them in NJ. The only real true fun car was the new 1982 280XZ Datsun I bought. Unfortunately it was totaled by a drunken tow truck driver two years later
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In the "regrets that you sold it department" was my wife selling her 1996 Explorer Sport. It was the ugly color Iris, but it was so darn reliable. But honestly the ride was stiff and bumpy. She bought a new 2002 Explorer that was a total pos. Sold that for a 2005 Explorer with the 4.6 V-8 instead of the problematic 4.0 SOHC in the 2002.

My last car I bought I still have. It's a 1996 Contour GL with the 4 cylinder Zetec, 5 speed manual tranny and factory ordered wide Aluminum wheels and tires. I ordered it in Sept 1995 picked it up in December 1995. It's been a great car and still is. It still looks and runs great. It's my "poor man's BMW". I've maintained and it'd not rusty, it runs great and is a blast to drive. I'm going to hold on to it for as long as I can
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Whimsey
 
That is an amazing project Richard.

I lived beside a neighbour who had a 2-door Corvair for years. The Corvair is long gone, but the neighbour and I are still around.
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2000 Nissan Frontier - Horrible to drive, but rock solid. Never gave me any trouble.

2006 VW GLI - Man that was a great car. I thought I was going to need something to pull a boat. Never got the boat.....
 
My 1991 Toyota Corolla SR-5 2-door coupe. Air, large power sunroof, cruise, tilt, 5-speed, dark metallic blue.

Bought it with 121,000 km on it. Drove it for 3 years, until it had 218,000 km on it. It started having troubles, needing a fair bit of work, that in hindsight, was routine stuff.

Thought it made more sense to sell it, and get something else, so I sold it to a friend from university. He fixed it up pretty cheap w/the help of a local garage, and drove it until it had close to 400,000 km on it. Still ran perfect, just rust caught up with it and made it undriveable.

I haven't talked to him in a while, so I don't know if he still has it (he was going to fix it up). I still kick myself everytime I think about having sold it. I should have driven it to 400,000 km!
 
My '93 Sundance 3.0 is one that I would still like to have back today. I only sold it because I was cash poor but credit rich and it was going to need a timing belt, brakes, and maybe a clutch and I didn't have that kind of cash laying around.

It was a fantastic car for 4 years and 75,000 miles. Not one problem ever. 2 sets of tires and a battery was it for that car. I still miss it for how light and fun it was to drive, and how easy it was to own.
 
1982 BMW 320is-hoot to drive. Sold it b/c I wanted something actually made in the 1990s. Got a 1994 Probe. Wished 80's would return.

1997 SAAB 900 SE Turbo. I actually bought this car while looking for another 320i on eBay. I was involved in a wreck that ruined the front end but I should have tried to repair that car. It was fun to drive. But with 192k miles, I figured its best days were probably behind it.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
1982 BMW 320is-hoot to drive. Sold it b/c I wanted something actually made in the 1990s. Got a 1994 Probe. Wished 80's would return.

1997 SAAB 900 SE Turbo. I actually bought this car while looking for another 320i on eBay. I was involved in a wreck that ruined the front end but I should have tried to repair that car. It was fun to drive. But with 192k miles, I figured its best days were probably behind it.


I had an 82 320i. I think I've already talked about her(she was a fine lady to me) quite a bit. That was the best car I have ever owned. Man I'm stupid! That car drove like I had expected cars to drive when I was a little boy. When I finally got a driver's license and discovered that most cars were pushy front-wheelers I cannot let you know the letdown I faced. This car redeemed two summers for me. I was living in Florida and I had a BMW with a sunroof and I was only 19 years old. The most enjoyable car I have ever driven fast. Well briskly... Years later I found out she only had 100hp. Now I don't know what it put down at the rear wheels I can only speculate. Never seen a dino chart but certainly all the dinosaurs that died to make those horses live, were honored. If I could go back to 1982 and buy the car brand new off the showroom floor...wait I'm daydreaming again!

I HATE YOU HINDSIGHT!

Cheers to the mighty RIS RWD German Beast that spectacularly boosted my ego and love for driving those(many)years ago.

An older gal bought her from me and was just as in love as I was. She painted her bright candie apple red and put a decal across the windshield that said Bad Mean Woman! Lulz...
 
Regarding the 320i: Brian and Camu, your regret is the reason I'm NEVER selling my 318ti that I special ordered back in 1995; it's too hard to try to go home again.

I wish that my Dad had never sold his 1970 Torino GT- 351C, shaker hood, Bright Yellow with laser stripes...
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Yeah, I still watch eBay for them. There's also a local Euro mechanic that has one one his lot every now and then that I keep meaning to ask about.

Mine was black. It still even had the stock stereo even though It didn't come into my hands until 1994. It's also the only car I've ever done a 540 spinout in...
 
My 1987 IROC Camaro. I wish I could have "kept" it, But it was stolen in 1998. Sad times.

I took the insurance money and replaced it with my current Grand National, But the Camaro was special to me. I bought it smashed up in 1992 when I was a sophomore in high school and literally spent about 3hrs a day for 8 months fixing it my uncles body shop. That car and I spent a lot of quality time together. That car was also scary fast for the era. The company next door was a engine builder and we got lots of nice upgrades from them in exchange for body work. It was also the first car where I actually personally rebuilt a transmission for. I'd try anything in those days, And it turned out pretty good.
 
Originally Posted By: Travis1963
Any cars you guys got rid of that looking back, you wish you would have kept, now that you know so much about oil?


Well, I don't go through many cars. Since 1978, I've only sold 3:

1) my wife's 84 Cavalier- no regrets seeing that thing go
2) A 1965 Chrysler 300L that I bought as part of a package deal with a '69 Coronet R/T. I really wish I'd had the resources to keep both, the 300L was a *fine* piece of machinery. Maroon, black leather interior, more chrome than 5 Harleys, powerful, and SMOOTH.
3) A 93 Eagle Vision TSi we bought new- no regrets YET, although it was one of the best cars we've owned. But like virtually all post-70s cars, it was just a transportation appliance, not anything worth preserving except for sentimental reasons. But there are those- the first car my wife and I bought brand new, the car our daughter came home from the hospital in- the car she pretty much grew up in. Someday I may wish I had it, but you can't save 'em all :-(
 
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Wish I had back? My 1965 Ford Mustang, 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet w/shaker hood scoop, 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am w/455 Super Duty 4 speed (rare). 1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega
 
Selling my 2002 Z28 6-speed still pains me to this day. I picked it up from a private seller in 2008 and it had less than 30k on it. It was a really enjoyable car.
 
I wish I'd've kept my 1957 Chevy and 1966 Corvette. I wised up when I bought my 1971 Cutlass, and I knew from day one this would be a keeper.
 
My great grandma's 72 Gran Torino... what a big beautiful brown beast it was. Perfect condition back in 97 with only 7xk miles on it.
 
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