Cars? What do you drive?

[Jim Oaks]

I'm tired of putting so many miles on my F-150, and have been thinking about buying a car. When I was married my wife had a car, and it was nice to go places in it instead. My girlfriend has a Jeep Wrangler. I've only been in it twice to go with her to get parts or service for it.

I've been looking for a used car. I miss the days when you could find a decent used car for $3,500. At first I thought about buying something that I could just pay $100 - $150 a month for. Then I came across a 2005 Grand Prix GTP for $5,500 and the owner offered it to me for $3,500. I went to see it with cash in hand, but the owner let me come look at it knowing it had a misfire on cylinder #4 because he was to cheap to to buy a coil pack. He did message me two days later to tell me he replaced the coil and it's running smooth now, but I haven't been back to see it.

Meanwhile I have the $3,500 that I was thinking about spending. Started looking online to see what I could find under $4,000 and found a 2005 Jaguar XJ8 L for $3,900 with 122,000 miles on it.

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I wanted to go see it today, but the owner said he wasn't available until Monday.

I got to wondering if anyone on here has purchased a used car just as a second vehicle, and what some of you are driving.

 

[97RangerXLT]

That Jag will be a sweet looking and comfy ride, but damn the electrical gremlins and the other mechanical issues will drive you insane...


I have a 2010 Buick Lucerne, prrobably will out class the Jag in ride quality, definitely better electrically even for a GM. but the car is the epitome of mediocrity from GM. this is the flagship of the Buick Lineup for 2010, but the car is just blah on interior styling and drivetrain. the Park avenue that it replaced in 2006 gets about 8 or 9 mpg better gas mileage, and right now, I am lucky to get 250 miles per tank (18gallon). seriously, my 4wd 4.0 Automatic Ranger gets better mileage. Maybe it is the winter conditions... using remote start on it in the morning. Another annoying part, I have the full front bench, 6 passenger model with the shift on the column. when it is in drive, I can't see about half of the radio display because the shift lever is blocking my view. speaking of radios... the Radio is straight late 90s early 2000's technology. it does have Sirius/XM capability but not much else. My wife's 2009 Charger had a much much better stereo system in it and it was the base model with no upgrades. (didn't have XM, but dang the sound was awesome) Transmission is junk. it slams into gear after you coast and then get on the gas again, has done this since I got it 6 years ago with only 50k on the odometer. Power steering leaks pretty bad as well for the last 20k miles. the car only has 118k on it right now. on the third set of front and rear brake pads, in 118k. does handle like a boat, has a worse steering circle than a battleship at full speed. any kind of shallow turn will not cancel the signal, which is annoying.

The good... it gives a great ride. Car warms up in just a few minutes. remote start turns on the rear defroster in the cold days. it is very roomy, even in the back seat a 6' person has decent legroom. roomy trunk.

but over all, it is a classic study in mediocrity.

AJ

 

[Snoranger]

My ‘02 Ranger 2.3L is my second (maybe 3rd or 4th, I lost count) vehicle. The only car I own is a ‘94 Mustang Cobra.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If i had a car....itd be a crown vic/grand marquis/town car. Tough as nails, cheap to buy, reliable as the sun, comfy, decent mileage, easy to fix.....

Cant be beat IMO.

 

[fastpakr]

I'm still happy with the $500 Camry I've had for a couple of months. Any frustrations so far are the result of messy repair work by one of the previous owners. The car itself runs perfectly after all these years and gets 25-28 on the highway.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've thought about a car but ended up with something I'm familiar with, the '97 Ranger with a 2.3L...

Got the wife a '04 Camry a few months ago, has a dumb amount of power (I think 155hp on the 2.4L, it's more than enough) but at 250k it burns a fair amount of oil so it needs pistons and rings... (yes, I'll likely cheap out and just hone and re ring in the car...), it gets 25-30mpg I think...

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

2013 Challenger, 6.4l, manual trans. I absolutely love it, zero problems, and it's a friggin blast when you decide fuel economy doesn't matter.

Even the 6 banger cars aren't bad.

 

[Curious Hound]

Still just driving the Fun50 and the Ranger. Have been thinking I want a F350 for towing and trade the Fun50 for something else. Even considering looking into a hybrid Maverick if the payments would be low enough.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

2013 Challenger, 6.4l, manual trans. I absolutely love it, zero problems, and it's a friggin blast when you decide fuel economy doesn't matter.

Even the 6 banger cars aren't bad.

I test drove a 5.7l one a few years ago. I didnt think it was that fast, mentioned it to the sales guy hes like "yeah cause youre shifting at like 3700" lol.

Once i started shifting by the tach and not by sound i was impressed.

 

[racsan]

My commuter car is a ‘06 hhr we bought used about 6 years ago for 6K, at the time it had about 112K miles on it. It was “hers” but when we got the escape 2 years ago it became my work car (mostly during winter months because its got a much better heater) They are still plentiful and cheap. 2.2 dohc front drive. 3000#, gets about 26 mpg summer 23 winter. not great but better than the 16 winter/21 summer my 2.3/4.10 ranger gets. Hasnt been without its problems, at 114K 6 months after we bought it the transmission went out. was on the road for about 25 miles, came to a stop & wouldnt go forward anymore. I had a fuel line rust through, didnt leave me stranded but was spraying fuel on the ground & exhaust. heater blower motor was making a horrid screeching noise , its a pain to replace. a few weeks ago water pump was on its way out, thats a good 6-8 hour job. Now my alternator is on the blink, when driving to work I notice the lights get dim then bright & I hear a change in rpm on the heater blower motor. Tested it yesterday and no lights on its at 13.5 volts. Might just use l.e.d. driving lights as headlights lol. New alternator for it is $130 at the lowest. The car is somewhere around 155K now, Ive considered getting rid of but its paid for and the engine itself runs well. If we didnt just buy a house Id either get her a new escape or bronco & keep 2011 escape for myself or get a new maverick for me. I initially dissed the maverick idea but after really looking at the specs & capabilities it would do most of what my ranger does and be better on gas. I just dont need a crew cab & would rather have a reg cab longbed. Of course if $ was no object Id most likely put a new bronco & ranger in the garage & keep the escape as a backup vehicle. The 94 ranger I’ll probably hold on to as long as it can still be safe to be on the road, keeping it out of the salt bath of ohios winters has added a year or few to its lifespan. I remember when $500 could get you a used car that would last 4 years or more, now that wont even buy a parts roller chassis. 3-4 grand seems to be the going rate for anything worthwhile now.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I have kicked around the idea of getting a car for a commuter for awhile. Ideally I’d like to go with a Mazda 3 hatchback. Fairish bit of room, good on gas and reliable. About the only ones we see at work are lease returns and ones that have been beat to hell and back.

My gf has a 05 Malibu with the 2.2, has about 230k and is actually pretty decent. Gets over 30mpg highway. Heater core just went and that was a nightmare though, dash has to be pulled and the shop went through three heater cores to find one that actually fit. Otherwise it’s been a pretty great car

 

[Eddo Rogue]

My car is a 2011 Ford Fusion. Its sort of a sleeper with the v6...Its the perfect size for carrying people or spirited solo driving. My daily driver is also an F150. The Ranger is my weekend/leisure vehicle, sometimes I drive it to work if its local.

 

[pjtoledo]

2019 Edge with 2.0 Ecoboost. great family ride with attitude if needed.

 

[Roert42]

Once I get my mustang back together I plan to daily that again.

I had a 2001 Monte Carlo SS, interior was awesome, very comfortable, awesome gas mileage, good power too. Something broke about every week on that pos, it was a love hate relationship.

I miss driving a car, but will not give up having a truck. My wife has a Subaru forestor that we use when we need more space or are driving more then an hour or so. Gets great gas milage for how big it is.

I looked at getting a little eco box beater for a computer, I drive about 70 miles a day, and 93 I'd about $4.30 at best around here. It would still take years for the savings in gas to pay off the car, so I'll keep the truck as a daily for now.

 

[Jim Oaks]

My car is a 2011 Ford Fusion. Its sort of a sleeper with the v6...Its the perfect size for carrying people or spirited solo driving. My daily driver is also an F150. The Ranger is my weekend/leisure vehicle, sometimes I drive it to work if its local.

I actually like the look of the fusion. I just want a sporty sedan.