Vehicle ownership. Highlights and low.

[mondeomatureguy]

Hi Guys,
Iam the kind of guy that gets a little emotional over the good cars i have owned and when it was time too let them go or they just wore out.
October the 13th 2024 is a day i wont forget in a hurry. I had been to the Bathurst races and was on the way back home to Goulburn when a Kangaroo hit my car.

I didnt hit it, it hit me. I got home went to the panel beater next day. I got a cal from the Insurance Company saying " They were going to write my car off".
My Ford Mondeo that my wife and i brought new in 2012. it had been all over the place last trip was about 4 weeks before the accident to Adelaide.

That car had done 504,000ks and was still going great. I had got a cal from the Panel Beater a few days later to come and clean out my car as it was being picked up. As i was doing that i nearly burst into tears.

I didnt cry when my late Dad died but nearly burst into tears when my Mondeo Died does that make sense to anybody?

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by mondeomatureguy

That car had done 504,000ks and was still going great. I had got a cal from the Panel Beater a few days later to come and clean out my car as it was being picked up. As i was doing that i nearly burst into tears.

I didnt cry when my late Dad died but nearly burst into tears when my Mondeo Died does that make sense to anybody?

I was actually thinking of making a thread on how many people get emotional when selling a car. I just went through this with an old 1997 rodeo dual cab of all things. Ive had it for 15 years and it had 440 000ks on the clock when i had to sell it. Pretty much had it since me and the wife got married and had so many adventures in it and it was the most reliable vehicle i know of, it never broke down. I broke my back a bit over a year ago and have been having trouble ever since and was finding that i just couldn't take the ride quality of the old 90s dual cab any more. I couldn't believe how gutted me and the wife were over selling this thing, no joke i would have been less cut selling my xw falcon that ive spent years restoring.

So my highlight is my old 97 diesel rodeo, bought it for 7 grand 15 years ago, it got 9ltr per hundred every fuel up, drove it everyday and she had 440 000ks on the clock when i had to sell it. Never had to spend any money on it bar a water pump. It sold in 2 days and i got 5 grand for it. You can't get better value motoring than that i think.

Low point would be the ba xr6 turbo i had, absolute junk compared to my au xr8 i had before it. Stranded me many times in only 40 000ks i had it.

[Sprintey]

That would be a great thread, post it up! Funny how humble inanimate objects get so much emotional attachment.

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by mondeomatureguy

Hi Guys,
As i was doing that i nearly burst into tears.

I didnt cry when my late Dad died but nearly burst into tears when my Mondeo Died does that make sense to anybody?

It makes a lot of sense. This is one of the reasons why I don't change cars very often, because letting a car go has always been a painful experience.

[Sprintey]

I find it really hard. I like to keep them and look after them as if they are a loyal family pet.

[BENT_8]

Cant split 'em so best 4 i've had..

XF Ghia manual
VP S manual
AU S2 SR
BF Egas
Never missed a beat, never left me nervous about reliability and I used them well.

I wouldnts say emotional but I genuinely hesitated to part with the 150s Prado recently, actually wrote out 3 Gumtree ads and deleted 2 before I finally made peace with the notion.
Ended up trading it which too had me second guessing, actually felt annoyed when I saw they stripped all the quality accessories off it and put it back to stock but I guess thats where the money is with Toyota's.

[Ben73]

This will make a few people angry, but Grand Cherokee is one of the best cars I’ve owned. It was new so the reliability was fine. It drove nicely, was decent on fuel, comfortable interior and the Interior felt nice. The features it had were pretty good for its price range.
Drove good around town, on the highway and did better than I expected when I did a little off-roading with it.
Not sure if I’d still feel the same way if I owned it now since it would be pushing 9 years old. Who knows what the reliability would be like now.

Worst, probably a Jeep Patriot. It was fine, but it’s definitely underwhelming in every way.

[oldgringo]

Worst vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to own was a new November 2000 Daewoo Musso. The dealership selling them at the time broadly told everyone everything in them was Mercedes Benz. Absolute crap as they were manufactured under license by Daewoo.
I have owned in excess of 300 vehicles and the Musso broke the record for warranty repairs, had 58 in a little over 14 months. 3 Water pumps which were genuine MB and each in excess of $1K, steering rack at 836 km, cylinder head at around 5,500 km, auto trans leaks, the list just went on and on.
The warranty repairs on the Musso contributed to Duncan Nissan disappearing in a flurry of red ink as Daewoo was not quick in reimbursing costs of parts and labor.
It came with 3 years warranty, after 14 months it was clear the problems would not cease when the warranty expired so traded at the local Ford dealership for a 2002 Fairmont Ghia.

I've owned 8 WJ 4.7 HO, WH 5.7 Hemi & 3.0 Diesel and WK2 3.0 Diesel JEEP Grand Cherokee Overlands and have had no problems with any. The WK2 was one of the best touring 4wd's I have owned.

One of my better cars has been my 2020 Chrysler 300 SRT with the 8 speed ZF and the 6.4 Hemi - it is not a daily driver and I am notorious for religiously over servicing every one of my vehicles.

My 2013 FG2 G6E is up there for reliability. The only dramas is the frequency all the bushes front and rear chew themselves out. Often enough to decide the genuine rubber give a superior ride to the neoprene.

[uranium_death]

I've only ever owned one car - my shitbox 2007 BFII XT
Unglamourous, unapologetically simple, but a pleasure.
I grew up in what was once an average suburb which is now filled with Beamers, Mercs and other Euro things, and I still smile as I pass by them all.
Had it since 2010, and only had to rebuild the gearbox due to an overheat.
Other than that, just maintenance. Replaced diff bushes once.

It'll be a shit day when it goes, for whatever reason. For the price I paid (~$15,000 <38,000kms), no better vehicle on balance. IMO.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by oldgringo

My 2013 FG2 G6E is up there for reliability. The only dramas is the frequency all the bushes front and rear chew themselves out. Often enough to decide the genuine rubber give a superior ride to the neoprene.

Genuine bushes are Neoprene, which is a synthetic rubber. I think that you are referring to Urethane bushes, which are near useless in a street car.

Dr Terry

[oldgringo]

Dr Terry,
You are absolutely correct. I had neoprene stuck in my mind but knew it was not what I meant.
I totally agree with you. Fitted them on the premise I never intended to drop the diff cradle again. 4 or 5 weeks later after every bush squeaking like a shoe on lino, out came the diff cradle again to rip out all the red urethane bushes and replace with genuine Ford bushes.

I eventually had the removal, change all the bushes and refit down to 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Hoping I never again have to put it to the test.

But yeah, you soon find the difference in R & D between a high volume vehicle manufacturer and the aftermarket genre.