Thread: List and rate your cars.

No where near as long of a list but:

1990 Toyota Hilux single cab petrol (2L i think???) - Reliable ute, never a mechanical problem ever... absolute death trap in the wet.
2002 Mitsubishi Mirage - Horrible car. No power, small, gutless... almost kicked my mates out the car to get up Bulli Pass
2010 Mazda 3 Hatch 2L - Great car. Absolutely loved the thing. Would still have it now if my wife could drive manual...
2012 Nissan Xtrail 4x4 - Love the size, but its a lemon. Absolute money pit. Maybe its just my one, but only 100k on the clock and god knows what i've spent fixing it... selling it as soon as I can...

Mazda 3 is miles ahead in my short list.
Mirage is by far the worst. I'd prefer the back end of the ute fishtailing in the wet any day of the week over that piece of... well you get the idea.

On a side note, any advice on family cars under 10k that'll still have low kms and not cost $4000 to fill up? Thinking an old Mazda 3, or maybe a camry. I was going to sell the Xtrail to get a used dual cab ute, but some of my wifes minor indiscretions with driving into poles in car parks has made insurance premiums too much of a headache to warrant it... I'll wait a few years for her driving record to clear and then buy my Ute...

Morris 1100S, what a blast, comfy but low for tall people
Datsun 1800 tray back (4 on the tree) bullet proof
Holden HG 253 V8 trimatic, frugal, gutsy, trouble free
Holden HQ 3.3 trimatic, trouble free but thirsty
Mitsubishi 2.6 ##$%&@## and even worse than that on a good day
Skyline 3.0L wagon Fantastic
Datsun Bluebird 2.4 Fantastic except for rust otherwise bullet proof
Several falcons (company cars) confirms why I hate Falcons but Crowies is the exception
Nissan navara 2000 2.4 petrol crew cab (current ride) 500000 Km next month, original clutch, radiator, uni's, gearbox as good as the day out of showroom, never had the motor touched other than servicing and belts, original power steer no leaks, 3 wheel alignments since new (very minor), on 3rd set of shocks now, just replaced exhaust 2 months ago, a bit thirsty but pulling average 4 tonne 80% the time including trailer, did I say I am impressed with it and no rust anywhere.
My pick out of them all Nissan then Holden

85? VW Golf GTI - love it. Turbo'd it and it was faaaasssssttt..... (the boxy one). It was the 80's!!! Still remember the crappy stereo blasting out boppy stuff at the drive in
59 VW beetle... caught fire
58 VW beetle... a kangaroo hit me
56 VW beetle .... love those beetles. Man, they were easy to build a new engine for. This was the last before I was married. Miss those cars badly. Great fun.
91 VN Commodore. Man could that baby run... viciously stroked engine, with big cam, ported and tuned exhaust. Locker diff and hair trigger clutch. Monster stereo. It had insane power and my wife utterly refused to drive it... it was stolen (from Mosman!!!) and trashed, then....
97 VT Holden Calais.... hmmmm. It was "safe" (for the kids). A boring, lifeless, flavourless affair with no spirit, guts or ambition. It was so boring it makes me sad even today to think about it. Put the foot down.... have a think about it.... puuurrrrrr off we carefully accelerate.... ABS, 97 Airbags, electric seats, "climate control" .... boring. As. Hell. Ugh....

... and lastly... the mighty 2001 VX Holden HSV.

Now, THAT was a vast improvement! (370kw) 500hp at the wheels, redone computer, cam, big heads. Barely idles like Harley.

16 years I've had this car. Never missed a beat (other than a thermo to replace). Need to do the O2 sensors soon.....

Vroom vroom!

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1963 850cc Minivan (round nose) bought for a fiver! No heater, and in London Winter was a bit chilly. Leaked everywhere, from windscreen to sump to petrol tank. Rust seemed to double each week, so it didn't last long. I want my fiver back!

1966 998cc Bedford HA van, the van version of the Vauxhall Viva - all boxy (spelled with a 'p'). Travelled many a mile in this rust bucket - best thing about it was its North South engine that could take a starting handle - and needed it on a regular basis. Anyone with a van knows just how popular you can become - "I've just bought a new fridge/sofa/dog/motorbike and I need....." Despite its small engine and appalling brakes it was light and heaps of fun to drive.

1977 1600cc Ford Escort 2 door. Drove like it had a boot full of lead from the Bondi Baptist Church roof. Crikey, what a mistake. Used to get left at the lights by little old ladies driving Morris Minors on Sundays.

1977 Mazda 323, back before they used the 323 designation for the smaller car. I inherited this baby-poo brown nicotine encrusted thing as my first company car. The boss said if I could kill it I could have it replaced, but the thing just kept on going. It was a car you couldn't love (well, not that colour) but you just had to admire.

1980 Mitsubishi Scorpion 2.6 2 door. I expected this to be a quick car being, to my mind, a 'big' engine. Wrong! Woof woof woof woof.

1986 or thereabouts Holden Calais, the one with the Nissan straight six engine. My first automatic. Quickish and comfortable, the auto was a novelty but I did miss a real gearbox. Good memories of this one.

1989 2.4 petrol Short Wheelbase Land Cruiser - what the hell was I thinking. Had to be followed everywhere by an Esso tanker and an Armaguard van. Living in inner city Melbourne I really needed a 4WD like a second bottom. Best pull the shutter down on that one.

1991 Nissan Pulsar SSS hatch. After the 4WD fiasco I wasn't going to make that mistake again so I opted for a hot hatch. Not hot by today's turbo standards but pretty quick and with a slick little gearbox. I loooooved that car, and as it was bright red it went even faster..... it won Car of the year in 1991 - equal with the Honda NSX (sure, and you could compare them how? Probably only by counting the number of wheels). As it turned out it also had something in common with Alfa Romeos - more plastic bits falling off than you could shake a stick at. Sometimes it seemed like it was raining plastic trim. After the the 4WD it felt like you could drive for 1,000 kms just by opening the fuel cap and shouting "PETROL" down the filler.

2000 Holden Astra TS CD hatch. In 2000 I went self-employed, so wanted something inexpensive and reliable. Fabulous car, still have it, although SWMBO now drives it and it is on it's fifth wing mirror, third front bumber, second rear bumper and innumerable tail and headlight clusters. God Bless the wreckers yards. I still enjoy driving this car, even if I now have to do so with a paper bag over my head.

2008 Golf GTI turbo. Superbly built car, fast as b*ggery but I didn't enjoy driving it. Ooooh, heresy!
I never got on with the auto DSG gearbox or the steering wheel paddles, and I didn't like the turbo much either. I'm sure they are wonderful - it's just me. The French are said to believe its more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow. I think I'm with them on that (as a former Brit this is the first thing I've ever agreed with them on. Perhaps they stole the expression from one of Her Majesty's subjects - yes, of course, that will be it).


Which brings me to my current best mate, Percy. Percy is a 1980 Moke Californian I bought 10 years ago and restored from the ground up. 1275cc and a G-Force shattering 65kw of power. No aircon, no power steering, no power brakes, no radio, no airbag. Together he, SWMBO and I have travelled to every State in Australia and the ACT as well. Only have the NT to go. We've been over the Nullarbor twice (once in a convoy of 13 Mokes), driven through Shepparton with 150+ Mokes and been on the front page of a newspaper in Tasmania. Percy has carried immense amounts of timber poking out from every orifice. He's fun to drive and creates smiles wherever he goes. Long may we be together.

Brian

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Most of my cars had two wheels [emoji3]
Kawasaki ZZR250, great little bike that took me on many interstate trips.
1971 Hillman Hunter, my father was a Hillman guru who rebuilt every car he had from the ground up. It was a great first car!
Suzuki RF600, great next step, could now keep with the big boys down the GoRoad.
Suzuki RF900, the big boys were now playing catchup [emoji3]
Holden 5Ltr VN, fun but thirsty and less fun on the track than the bikes.
Suzuki GSXR750T, now spending more time on the track than the road, much more fun but tyres got expensive when they only lasted 2 days [emoji848]
Mazda E2000 LWB, turned it into a camper with a poptop roof, traveled heaps, reliable and almost as fast down the GoRoad as the bikes (no joke)
BMWR80GS Pari Dakar, just plane wrong for me (ducks disease)
Suzuki GSF750, was just ok.
Suzuki GSXR600R, not as fun as the 750.
1969 Renault 10 with Alpine head and serious suspension geometry, faster than the bikes down the GoRoad (stupid cornering speed).
Saab 900, kept stopping for no reason left me stranded more times than I cared for (don't buy cars from mates)
Suzuki RF900, yes another one! Great bike!
Holden VT v6 wagon (see Saab)
Holden VT v6 sedan (divorce fixed it[emoji3])
Suzuki RF900, did I tell you there a great bike?
Dodge Journey 7 seater, great family truckster. Still have it.
Suzuki GSF1250S (Bandit), great touring bike!
Ford Laser, good little car but under powered.
Kia Rio 2013, hasn't skipped a beat.
Have I forgotten anything??? [emoji848]




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A rather different list to those above -
1960 ish Simca Aronde wagon, probably 1300cc, terrible fuel economy, 4 on the tree which I converted to 4 on the floor, bought for $350 in 1969 or 1970 with 12 months rego, wrote it off (minor front & rear damage) almost 12 months later, got $250 from insurance company, sold the car for $100. Cheap motoring.

1963 Humber Vogue 1600cc - Only had it for a month, it was an absolute rust bucket.

1967 Hillman Gazelle 1725cc - Luxury car with walnut dash & trim, went well, terrible handling, understeered like nothing I have come across.

1973 Mitsubishi GB Galant 1600cc - First brand new car, paid $2850, great handling car, raced, rallied, hill climb, motorkhana's etc. Sold it for $900 about 10 years later with 230,000 miles on it. Very easy to remove and replace motors, pull the 1600 out on Sunday night, put in a spare 1400 motor in and drive around during the week while the original motor was repaired, swapped back to the original motor on Friday night and then go racing or rallying on the weekend. Young single bloke then, couldn't do this when married with a couple of kids.

1967 Datsun 1000 2 door sedan - Bit of a wreck upholstery wise, paid $350 for use as a bush basher whilst setting Clubman and State rally events around the Oberon area. Put an extra leaf in all 3 leaf springs, fabulous car on the dirt, super economical, great fun to drive. Sold it to a mate who put a 1400cc motor in it, twin 45DCOE Weber carburettors and Renault front disc brakes. Boy, didn't it fly with all that under the bonnet. It finished up being used as a push car at Parramatta Speedway for starting the Speedway cars.

1978 Mitsubishi GD Galant 2000cc, 5 speed - Bought second hand from a bloke who brought it with him from South Africa. Had a Sigma silent shaft motor, huge brakes and no pollution control gear, went incredibly well, handled very well indeed.

1985 VK Commodore Berlina wagon auto. First automatic car, bought 2nd hand, pathetic performance, quite comfortable and well appointed, dreadful fuel economy.

1993 EB II Falcon wagon, 5 speed manual, bought brand new. Great touring car, pathetic brakes, fairly economical around town, very economical on the open road, plenty of room, plenty of get up and go.

1990 Nissan Pulsar auto - Was my fathers car which he bought new. Reliable car, didn't do anything particularly well or badly. Good commuter car.

2000 approx Holden Astra CD 1800cc, 5 speed manual. Great handling car, well appointed, great brakes, gearbox had a big gap between 2nd and 3rd, went through a couple of water pumps, nice car.

Hyundai i3o wagon, 5 speed manual, bought new, best car I have had. Great brakes, handling, economy, well appointed. Absolutely pathetic radio, it has it's 5th radio installed now, still pathetic. Great touring car, would buy another one if a decent radio could be guaranteed.

A mixed bag of cars over the years, a huge number of kilometres travelled, still enjoy driving.

Alan...

Good to see a couple more from the Roots group there! Hillman' needed lots of fettling to get them to handle well.


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Awesome car to drive.

100% character.

Dont need no aircon man!!

My mother had a Hillman Voque around 1970. As I recall, it used a motor from Peugot.

I've probably had fewe cars than most as I tend to keep them forever. A beetle for 10 years, a couple of SAAB 900s (one was a turbo - very quick) for about 6 or 7 years each. I've never had a new car (although my wife has had a few).

My first car was a fifth hand 1965 Lancia Fulvia Coupe. Clapped out, no brakes, but I loved that car. Such fun. The car I regret selling most was a '57 Porsche 356A. 12 years of rebuilding it and I could not find anyone in Perth to do up the gearbox. I let it go to a better home. The current drive is still going strong (touch wood), 2001 Porsche Boxster S, which I purchased about 10 years ago. No plans to get another car at this time.







Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by homey

Which brings me to my current best mate, Percy.

IMG_3437.JPG
He's fun to drive and creates smiles wherever he goes. Long may we be together.

love your choice - a tent on wheels

Originally Posted by Dibbers

No where near as long of a list but:

1990 Toyota Hilux single cab petrol (2L i think???) - Reliable ute, never a mechanical problem ever... absolute death trap in the wet.
2002 Mitsubishi Mirage - Horrible car. No power, small, gutless... almost kicked my mates out the car to get up Bulli Pass
2010 Mazda 3 Hatch 2L - Great car. Absolutely loved the thing. Would still have it now if my wife could drive manual...
2012 Nissan Xtrail 4x4 - Love the size, but its a lemon. Absolute money pit. Maybe its just my one, but only 100k on the clock and god knows what i've spent fixing it... selling it as soon as I can...

Mazda 3 is miles ahead in my short list.
Mirage is by far the worst. I'd prefer the back end of the ute fishtailing in the wet any day of the week over that piece of... well you get the idea.

On a side note, any advice on family cars under 10k that'll still have low kms and not cost $4000 to fill up? Thinking an old Mazda 3, or maybe a camry. I was going to sell the Xtrail to get a used dual cab ute, but some of my wifes minor indiscretions with driving into poles in car parks has made insurance premiums too much of a headache to warrant it... I'll wait a few years for her driving record to clear and then buy my Ute...

Try a Mirage, I've heard they're pretty good up Bulli Pass!

Originally Posted by ian

love your choice - a tent on wheels

I was working on the service reception counter one morning when a customer bought his Moke in for service. I asked him if it had any oarticular issues he wanted fixed and he looked at me with a straight face and asked if we could fix the water leaks from the hood and he was serious. I told him we would have a look and see what we could do and when he left we all just about fell on the floor laughing.

The other Moke experience is we had to move 150 of the damned things in the holding paddock and it rained the night before. They were stored with no hood up so every seat became a puddle to sit in.

Looking back on the lists of cars here I can only wonder at the junk that was foisted upon us to drive.

Originally Posted by sacc51

Try a Mirage, I've heard they're pretty good up Bulli Pass!

Only reason i had that car was because it was free. Dad wasn't allowed to drive anymore after getting crook so he gave it to me... absolute rubbish. I lost it at him when he traded in his Landcruiser for it (clean trade, didn't get an extra cent for it). The landcruiser was in great knick, 150,000kms on it, got the mirage with 210,000kms on it... I don't think he was a very good negotiator my dear old dad... the thing was an absolute bucket and i had visions of the used car "salesman" pissing himself laughing when the old man drove off in it...

1980's xt 200 Reliable
GR 650 Reliable
XT225 Reliable
ST1100 Reliable, good for touring

1980 VB Commodore, 173/manual reliable and great fuel economy.
1969GTR Torana, aftermarket alloy head, programmable fuel injection and 5000rpm stall converter. Fast, don't travel far from a fuel station.
1983 Camry Hatchback, slow but reliable
N14 Pulsar reliable
2002 and a 2003 Avalon reliable, good air conditioning.
Nissan Tiida, 2007.Like a Tardis , reliable.
2007Camry Grande, slow, fuel economy hmm, underpowered but comfortable and reliable.