What makes this your car?
2020 Hyundai Elantra SEL 50k miles. After the Impala’s electrics started going out at 200k I wanted a vehicle that I knew the maintenance history of. I got a good deal on a demonstrator model with 3k miles on it, right before the market went to hell – I figured it would and I needed transportation because I went back to work.
I just needed a go box, but wanted car play. I knew the Elantra was one of the best selling cars, so in the long run parts would be available. I took a gamble on the CVT transmission because it’s Hyundai’s first go at it with this model, but all my other options were CVT.
It’s still a young vehicle, but it’s standard change oil and make sure it has fuel. That’s what I wanted.
My other half is more progressive. A belt-driven long range e-bike charged by solar.
My 2005 highlander has cost me nothing but tires, fuel and batteries. Oh, and a serpentine belt. Very reliable and gas efficient and doubles as a bit of a truck as needed. I doubt I’ll do this well on my next vehicle.
When I was stationed in Germany with the US military in 2010, I wrecked my car in a blizzard. It was totaled; I couldn’t drive it anymore and I needed to get to work every day, so I dropped cash on a used 2006 Mazda 3. It was a 5-speed manual and was in immaculate condition. The former owner had detailed journal entries and receipts for every bit of maintenance they’d ever done. They were only selling it because they had more cars than they needed at the time and they needed some quick cash.
Fast forward to 2020… I was stationed in Nebraska and my Mazda 3 was finally showing its age. I had driven it across most of Europe and half of the US, and its mileage was approaching 200K. I was in the market for a new car.
I found myself “deployed” to South Carolina for 4 months during the pandemic, and while I was there, my wife called me up and asked if I wanted her to buy a new car for me. Apparently, some married friends of hers bought a brand-new 6-speed 2017 Mazda 3 Touring Edition as their daily driver to college classes. But their entry to college was delayed a few years, then the pandemic hit and all classes moved online. So it was just cluttering up their garage. They had 5 cars and hardly drove any of them, so they decided to sell 4 of them during the pandemic.
The 2017 Mazda 3 had only 7,000 miles on it. And they sold it to me for $17K cash. It was a helluva deal! I sold my 2006 Mazda 3 to a coworker and my wife bought the 2017 version for me. And I’ve been driving it since. It’s way nicer than my older version, and the previous owners had even paid for some upgrades to the base car.
I’m retired now, since 2022, and I don’t need to drive as much as I used to, but I always take my 2017 Mazda 3 when I leave the house. I enjoy cruising around in that car. It’s not a super fancy luxury car, but it’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned. I’m hoping I can get a solid decade or more out of this car before I need another one.
motorbikle.
2014 KTM 1290 Superduke and 2024 Triumph Tiger 900
You?
23 Tracer 9 GT!
Hot. you got good twisties near you or are you the traveling sort?
Suches, ga is a couple hours away so not too bad. I’ve definitely put longer miles on the bike and exercised its capacity to carry cargo by going on a couple camping trips with it. What of you?
I’ve got the Sandias to my east and miles and miles of desert in either direction. But lately I’ve just been riding with out a destination probably need to get back into some moto camping since our winter has been so mild.
I have three vehicles right now.
My daily driver is a 2020 Chevy Malibu. It is spacious, fast, and comfortable, and it gets pretty good gas mileage. About 30 miles per gallon on the highway and about 22 in the city.
I have a pickup truck, which is a 2004 f150. It’s a good vehicle for hauling furniture or helping friends move or for the occasional camping trip. It’s four-wheel drive. It has rear seats, and honestly other than the fact that it’s a relatively slow vehicle and that it gets horrible fuel mileage at like 17 mpg combined, I enjoy having it.
Finally, I have a project / fun car, which is a yellow 1986 Jeep CJ7. Has the inline slant 6 4.2 258 motor, hardtop, and is constantly in need of repair, lol.
My hope is to have it finished up by summer and take it on a camping trip and go do a little off-roading, but for the most part it just sits in my driveway and looks beautiful.
My annual insurance runs about $2,800 for all three vehicles. If I got rid of two of them I could probably cut that down to 1200 or so.
Daily: 2011 Subaru STi wagon. It’s fun, speedy, has excellent traction for the mountains and snow where I live, and can transport 4 people with snowboarding gear.
Fun: 1955 Caddie. My great uncle bought it new so this is nostalgic.
Moto: 1982 Yamaha XS650. I use this for joy rides in the mountains and to save on gas
Simple, stupid, and reliable
2016 SE for me, and yes, cheap enough to drive daily, good and reliable enough to keep.
Mine is the same year.
dodge grand caravan. main reason is my wife has a large amount of medical issues and the captains chairs have the longest time till pain for her along with it being at this sorta perfect but height such that you don’t have to lift into it but you also don’t drop onto it. Its also super versatile and for a non car vehicle gets decent gas mileage. unfortunately they killed it to push their pacifica whos seats are not as good. we need to check out some of the others like honda or toyota now. on the upside if they work out. way better reliability.
Toyota Hilux. A nice blend of not too uncomfortable but will carry me anywhere I choose to go. Seen a lot of places that thing.
Wish they were still sold in the US. I spent so much time trying to figure out how to import one from Mexico and get it on the road. Quite possibly the toughest consumer vehicle of all time
I was so dissapointed when my dad bought a frontier instead of a Hilux. The Toyota dealer didn’t want to negotiate with him, but the nissan dealer did.
At least it’s the non US model diesel Frontier. It’s a pretty nice car. But it’s still not a Hilux.
2008 F350 Diesel. I’m a farmer so there’s a good chance there will be something covered in oil/shit/blood/ice/mud or combination thereof in the box at any given time. I can put a pallet of seed or a 1000L tote of fertilizer in the back. And I can pull a 35’ flat deck loaded with bales with it. And honestly it gets fairly good mileage on the highway when its empty. It has about 1100km of range on a tank if I keep my foot out of it.
I’d love an electric that does what it does, but that’s a pipedream for a few years yet. Maybe when I’ve driven this into the ground it’ll be a thing.
2005 Peugeot 206 Gti.
I blew up my car on saturday and it was a very cheap shitbox that I could buy with cash on hand on a sunday to get to work Monday.
Im working my way through everything wrong with it upgrading as I go. If I make it through the problems list, then Ill have an amazing base to start adding horsepower and removing practicality once I get a new daily driver.
Currently no car and relieved I don’t need one any more. Before that - Suzuki Vitara. As far as new cars went in 2019, it was the best choice for a small AWD SUV.
I recently switched from a Suzuki Spacia to a Nissan Sakura.
In Japan, the roads are narrow, so a Kei car is very convenient.
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Toyata Matrix. It gets me around. Keeps me out of trouble.
I sold my matrix recently, nice car, good gas Mileage, plenty of space to haul stuff when the seats fold down (I somehow hauled a 53” tool box in it once). Little weird the trunk is plastic, but has tie down rails. I miss the car a lot, but I moved out of state and could only drive one car.
