What's the best car you've owned?

[Tim Falce]

The best all round car I've ever owned has to be my 1995 1.5d Corsa Merit. I bought it when it was 3 years old in 1998 and to date has been one of the cheapest and most reliable cars I've owned. In the fourteen and a half years it's been in my family it's only had normal service items, a new rad due to the fan thermostat breaking when I had to change it, a new rear section of exhaust pipe last month after 148000 miles, one clutch at 120K, the release bearing went but the plate was fine and a couple of wheel cylinders.

I used it for a few years before my wife nicked it off me, we partly taught my daughter to drive in it and she then had it for 5 years after she passed her test. She's boiled the engine dry on one occasion (due to fan thermostat) she rear ended a BMW so hard it left the shape of the engine on the back of the radiator (second rad but not included in maintenance) and then drove 5 miles off the motorway with no water in it with no adverse affect.

The only real headache I've had with it was when for two years I put two new alternators and two batteries on it due to charging issues, eventually an AA man found the problem which was the glow pugs weren't turning off, they'd been on for about two years, which was being caused by a £5 sender unit in the cylinder head.

All in all it's a terrific car and I still use it daily as it does around 55mpg and the only niggle is that the heater has always been ****.

So what's the best all round car you've had, do tell.

[Peat]

Pug 205 GLD.

Welling up with nostalgia just thinking about it. Terrific motoring.

[dtype38]

Several contenders but on a points countback the prize sadly goes to a Volvo. I had it three or four cars ago: a dark green 850T5 estate with a manual box and Bridgestone S02 Potenzas. All the practicality of a massive estate, cruise all day long in comfort (and virutally un-noticed) at high motorway speeds, yet amazingly agile and seriously quick in the bendy stuff. If you have the nerve to chuck something that big, try braking on the ABS, turn in hard and floor it... you don't so much get a 'four-wheel' drift as as 'three-wheel' drift

Looks like this: Goes like this: (actually it goes quicker cos its a 2.3 turbo in the road car)

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by dtype38

Several contenders but on a points countback the prize sadly goes to a Volvo. I had it three or four cars ago: a dark green 850T5 estate with a manual box and Bridgestone S02 Potenzas. All the practicality of a massive estate, cruise all day long in comfort

Thinking back to the time I drove your Volvo, I didn't think it was that comfortable to be honest.

On the subject of comfort, at work I'm driving one of these at the moment. It's about the most comfortable truck I've driven but it's the slowest of all slow trucks in all slowdom. It seems to go back to my days in the 1970s when I used to drive to Italy every week in trucks that had engines less powerful than today's average family car.

[dtype38]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

Thinking back to the time I drove your Volvo, I didn't think it was that comfortable to be honest.

I sort of meant having plenty space and equipment. Yes the seats and ride were quite firm compared to say a Jaguar, but depends what you like.

[JimW]

Best all round? - BMW 320 Coupe. I'm on my third, Decently nippy, goes all day at a reasonably swift cruise if the motorway is the thing, gets me safely past people out taking the car for a walk on country roads. Current one has had a rubbish mechanical record but the 2nd hand warranty dealt with the problems without fuss. You either like the "German" virtues or you don't and I (obviously) do.

Best fun? - Jensen Healey. Sadly Lotus reliability and the demise of Jensen motors made keeping it too tedious (and expensive) for continue.

Regards

Jim

[bella]

Originally Posted by JimW

Best all round? - BMW 320 Coupe. I'm on my third, Decently nippy, goes all day at a reasonably swift cruise if the motorway is the thing, gets me safely past people out taking the car for a walk on country roads. Current one has had a rubbish mechanical record but the 2nd hand warranty dealt with the problems without fuss. You either like the "German" virtues or you don't and I (obviously) do.

the comfortable motorway ride is what i'll miss on my compact when it finally gets replaced. 10 years old, nearly 200,000 miles down and it's still as comfortable as ever, still does the top speed (eventually), and it still has a fair bit of pace, you just have to ask for it in a very specific way (ever since the turbo blew itself up and tried to take the engine with it).

the diesel soot cloud of doom is second to none as well

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

On the subject of comfort, at work I'm driving one of these at the moment. It's about the most comfortable truck I've driven but it's the slowest of all slow trucks in all slowdom. It seems to go back to my days in the 1970s when I used to drive to Italy every week in trucks that had engines less powerful than today's average family car.

Are you in the Actros rather than the Axor - pretty rare as a rigid. Worth a bloody fortune at the moment even though prices hav been weakening recently.

[rwindle]

Most fun car: 1966 Shelby GT350, (yes, it was a real Shelby). Taught my ex-wife and daughter how to drive 4-speed manual transmission in that car and we didn't burn out the clutch. But, we did inflict significant wear on the rear tires.

Most practical: 1998 Chevy Tahoe, 2 door, 5.7 liter V8. Still own it at 176k miles. Lowest maintenance cost and most reliable vehicle I've ever owned and I've owned German, English, Japanese and American vehicles. Yes, fuel is US$4 per gallon here. I live in Texas so a truck is required in the garage.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Are you in the Actros rather than the Axor - pretty rare as a rigid. Worth a bloody fortune at the moment even though prices hav been weakening recently.

It was an Actros, now gone back to another depot, the slowness turned out to be a split turbo pipe and the wrong programme in the gearbox ECU.

[bella]

1997 golf vr6. entirely unaffordable to run now because of fuel costs, but the milton keynes commute i had at the time just brought out the strengths and sillies of that car. predictable opposite lock on a roundabout? yes please.

i'm looking for a new car at the moment, and the v6 alternatives to the dull diesel i'm looking at just keep sneaking up on the broadside and fluttering their eyelashes.

*sob*

[BertMk2]

My old Pug 306 DTurbo is the probably the best I've had, I finally sold it after 180K miles of trouble free motoring (apart from other people driving into it ). It was the first car I owned that wasn't a total ****ter. It's replacement is my current Fabia Vrs - which is quicker, better equipped, stops better and doesn't suffer from vicious lift off oversteer but it doesn't have the same character that made the Pug such a good car to live with. I'm not sure what it was specifically but the Pug just felt "right".

[JHamilton]

That's tough as I have had three that I loved. I was the caretaker of a '94 F150 that was the toughest thing I have driven. Everything rattled but it just kept going and going and had tons of personality.



That's it's oil spot just in front there... Still there to remind me of the ol' girl. I was avoiding an accident on the highway once and clipped a Grand Marquis. It opened up the side of that car like a tuna can but just flattened the trim a bit on the left front of the truck.

[Dave Brand]

Peugeot 405SRi. The fact that we kept it for 11 years suggests a certain amount of satisfaction!

The current Citroen DS3 is running it a pretty close second.

[bella]

feel free to start a topic here and ask for advice and peoples experiences! we've got a cross-section of ages and interests here so there's bound to be someone who's driven or owned the car you're looking for without wearing the performance motorist goggles

[Nordschleife]

Best overall: Honda S2000. Awesome handling, 9k redline, decently fast at the track, convertible, cheap consumables (brakes, tires), utterly reliable.

Most fun: Turbocharged NA Miata 1.8. Lightweight + short wheelbase + 240hp/240lb-ft = FUN!!

Best "old school" sports car: 911 Carrera 3.2. 915 transmission and all.

[garcon]

I've had a looooooooong list of cars over the years, over twenty of them at the last count.

I have a few real favourites. Oddly enough, the most impressive on paper - a 2008 Impreza STI 330S - doesn't figure in that list, although it was an incredible car to drive fast.

I think my overall favourite was a 1993 Vauxhall Senator 24V. Lovely big and surprisingly fast barge with every extra of the day. I was devastated when I killed it on a patch of black ice.

Probably my next best was my first "nice" car - a bright red 1993 Nissan 200SX. I learnt a lot about turbo lag and oversteer in that car!

The worst, by a country mile, was a beige Maestro 1.6HLS. The less said about that the better. Utterly unforgivable heap of ****.

[dtype38]

Originally Posted by garcon

The worst, by a country mile, was a beige Maestro 1.6HLS. The less said about that the better. Utterly unforgivable heap of ****.

That's exactly the car at the bottom of my list too. Bought it as an economical commuting car when I couldn't afford the petrol for my old Jag. Horrible car. Bought it with used car warranty and about 40thou on the clock. At about 44thou the gearbox disintegrated but the warranty didn't pay out.... said it was normal wear on this car!!!!!

[wheelsportaddict]

For sheer fun to drive - the Lancia Fulvia S3 Coupe


For comfort and drive-ability - the Sierra Sapphire 2000e

[Paul D]

I suppose it depends on your definition of 'best'. Is it fastest/most fun? Best all-rounder? Or most practical/reliable/unbreakable?

Having spent my life in the motor trade, I've owned lots of cars, and a few stand out in my (fading) memory.

Back in their day, I once bought a 2.8i Capri from the auction. Didn't look like a bad thing, a little bit scruffy round the edges maybe, but on closer inspection on getting it home, it turned out to be a 'cut & shut'. To cut a long story short (pun intended!), the front half was a '79 two litre 'S', the back was a genuine '82 2.8i. Whoever had done it had done a pretty good job of hiding the join, so I decided I'd smoke it round for a bit while I decided what to do with it - I obviously couldn't sell it to a punter.

Well, what a car that proved to be! Fast (for its time), not too bad on fuel, and it handled superbly on the Yokohama A008 tyres it was fitted with - the tyre to have back then. I ended up using it for a year or more, went all over in it, and it had a few good thrashings too. Predictable tail-out fun whenever you wanted it, reasonably practical (hatchback, remember), and one of the most reliable things I've ever had. I literally never even lifted the bonnet - it never used a drop of oil or water, never missed a beat and I never laid a spanner on it - just drove it hard. Even had it airborne a few times over bridges and suchlike, and no cracks appeared near the join. What a car - great fun!

Does that make it the best car I've ever owned? Probably not, but it seemed like it at the time! Sold it to a mate eventually (yes - he knew it was a cut & shut) and it ended up getting nicked a while later...

[b1ackcr0w]

Originally Posted by wheelsportaddict

For sheer fun to drive - the Lancia Fulvia S3 Coupe


For comfort and drive-ability - the Sierra Sapphire 2000e

I once owned the estate version of that Sierra, and a previous owner had done some subtle mods that made it fly (Chipped, balanced and a high flow air filter IIRC), but left everything else as stock. Have struggled to find a better balance of quick, comfortable and practical until my Current Saab 9-5 2.3t Vector Estate.

The Mk1 MX-5 I had deserves an honorable mention, if only because I you have easy access to miles of country back roads, the combination of a sweetly angry little 4pot coming on cam, razor sharp steering and stupidly wonderful gearbox, is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. It does ruin your back on the motorway, and gives you a nervous twitch when you hear the word hairdresser. But still, great to drive.

[nicanary]

I've posted earlier about my most reliable car, but I can't say that in 40+ years of motoring I've ever had a favourite. They all have drawbacks of some sort, or else we'd all buy the same car.

But two cars bring a smile to my face :-

My first MG Midget VCL260K, 1275 RWA, Flame Red.There's just something about them that makes the whole driving experience plain fun. No guts,of course, but a lovely snappy gearchange, and handling like a kart.I tried Bs, and a Spitfire, but they were almost "grown-up" cars and the Midget had that real basic simplicity. The choke was operated by two clothes pegs - two for the first half-mile, and then down to one until the temp. gauge moved a tad.

And then there was a Moggie 1000 traveller - the wife wanted a cheap runabout that had character. It cost all of £500 with full MOT from two really dubious characters on a farm on the N.York moors, but the wood was mostly rot-free and it was very tidy.I had to top up the brake fluid on a daily basis, but "What Larks". I was working from Darlington covering a territory which included Thirsk,Northallerton, Richmond and Barnard Castle- lovely drives in the summer (I let the wife drive my Sierra company car).I kept a half-housebrick in the car to knock the fuel pump when if stopped - always on restart after a hot run.There was a specialist in a village called Stokesley who rebuilt the brakes for me, using second-hand parts.He tested the car and said "it pulls well, in fact very well, in fact it's probably the best engine I've come across" . God I was proud.I loved tanking it on the A1M, putting one over the grockles in their modern boxes, you just knew those old A-series would take any amount of stick.Sadly, the wife said it had to go.

Happy memories. I bought an MGB GT a couple of years ago, well restored.Couldn't believe how cars had changed since then - no feel in the brakes, heavy steering. Talk about rose-tinted specs.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by nicanary

Happy memories. I bought an MGB GT a couple of years ago, well restored.Couldn't believe how cars had changed since then - no feel in the brakes, heavy steering. Talk about rose-tinted specs.

I have a fair few "oldies" on my books including an Austin 7, to drive that in today's traffic is a whole new experience as you have to anticipate when people in front of you are likely to brake because when their brake lights come on it's almost too late

[MagnetON]

A lot depends on the meaning of "best"

Car	Best Because...
Morris Minor 1000	Car I learned to drive in when I was like 12
Fiat 132	First car I bought when I passed my test... freedom!
Volvo 740 Estate	Company car, first turbo and the car that took me to Ireland
Audi allroad	It's my newest toy and is a nuttermobile!

[Alfaholic]

Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 12 valve pre-facelift version with auto box. Big, heavy, drank fuel and all the usual Italian car niggles but it was possible the best long distance cruiser I've owned with surprising agility on the twisty back roads, looked fantastic and the sound on planting the throttle to activate kickdown.....