List all the cars you have owned in order.....

[chopstar87]

Only a short list for me..

1- 2002 Proton Persona (3spd Auto, mags, upgraded stereo, Sports exhaust) - I had it for a total of 5 months - Traded in
2- 2004 BA Ford Falcon XR6 (4 speed Auto, Premium Sound, Blueprint - Stock) to be traded
3- 2013 Chrysler 300c luxury Ordered (awaiting delivery) - 8sp Auto, Panoramic Sunroof, 19 speaker Harmon/Kardon Stereo, Bright White

[Yellow Toy]

1-Genuine HT 350 Bathurst Monaro.
2-HQ 350 Ute
3-HQ 454 Monaro
4-LJ 308 Torana
5-EH 350
6-LH L34 Torana
7-HX 308 Panel Van
8-XB 2 Door GT
9-XD 302 Ute
10- 71 454 Chev Stepside
11- HR 350
12-HR 350 Panel Van
13-VC Brock HDT
14-VC X Peter Brock Group C Race car all fitted out for Street Reg By HDT.
15-NC Fairlane Ghia
16- Vx HSV Senator
17- VT Wagon
18-Vy Wagon
19-Ba XR8 Ute
20-Ford Xplore
21-VZ Cross 8
22-VZ SS crewman
23-Nissan D40 Navara
24-And Still have Longest of owned a car My BF Pursuit Ute.
Lost money on all of them Ha Ha.

[MrZ]

Why do you people all buy used cars?

[jamies]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Why do you people all buy used cars?

Your point ?

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by jamies

Your point ?

It was a question, not a statement.

[jamies]

Originally Posted by MrZ

It was a question, not a statement.

Oooh in that case it was a brilliant question....

[chris34]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Why do you people all buy used cars?

Ever tried buying a new car while your working part time and putting yourself through uni????? Thought not....

Perhaps people have things that are more important to them than buying a new car, say I dunno, buying/renovating a house, or putting their kids through school.

Or perhaps some people might prefer to spend $20,000 on a used Falcon rather than on a new Corolla.....

The long and the short of it, new cars cost money, and clearly not everyone has as much money as your seem to think they do.

[xapete]

1.Ford 1973 zg fairlaine(red)
2.Ford 1973 xa fairmont coupe(blue)
3.Ford 1974 Landau coupe(white)factory sunroof
4.Ford 1978 xc cobra No.354(best car I ever owned)
5.Ford 1976 F100 (cream)
6.Ford 1981 xd falcon ute(black)
7.Ford 1973 xa fairmont coupe(black)still own
8.Ford 1975 Landau coupe(blue)
9.Ford 1976 xb fairmont coupe (red)
10.Ford F100 xlt (black)still own
11.ford Landau coupe (burgundy)
12 1955 customline (blue)
13. 1957 Mainline ute (blue)
14. 1956 Customline coupe(mist green) imported for USA.Still own
15. 1950 Mercury coupe california suntan .imported from USA still own
I have spent way to much on cars in my life .But when it gets in your blood you cant get it out .
cheers Pete

[xapete]

Xp sedan

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Why do you people all buy used cars?

Honestly, there are a few reasons for me.

Firstly, depreciation, I will never buy another new car as the depreciation is not worth it, a well cared for 3yr old vehicle will do the same job, who cares if someone else drove it before.

Secondly, rattles, squeaks, those annoying traits, they are character.
I like a car with a bit of a personality, new cars are mundane.

Thirdly, many new car buyers run to the dealership with the best ANCAP ratings, having grown up driving H series Holden's, Commodores, X series Falcons and numerous other dinosaurs, I managed to navigate my way around without DSC, ABS, SRS, T/C, Cruise etc. etc. etc.
So long as it has seat belts i'm in.

Lastly, ease of repair, I can fix most things myself.
Its hard to find good mechanics these days, and having worked in dealerships im damned if i'd allow some pimply faced T/A to do my service just so I can keep my factory warranty.

Im happy for you to keep buying new though, buy as many as you can, the more trade ins, the cheaper they get.

[davistev]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Honestly, there are a few reasons for me.

Lastly, ease of repair, I can fix most things myself.
Its hard to find good mechanics these days, and having worked in dealerships im damned if i'd allow some pimply faced T/A to do my service just so I can keep my factory warranty.

Im happy for you to keep buying new though, buy as many as you can, the more trade ins, the cheaper they get.

Hahahaha - so true. My wife has a new car and I still do the service work myself as Nissan is a huge rip in this regard. Kinda like a pre-paid engine program. No thanks - I will just service the car and buy any parts as they arise.

[PHawk]

Prefect 100E
Anglia 105E
Zephyr M111 x 3
Chrysler VIP
Holden HX 308 Ute
Holden VH Commodore
Honda Prelude
Subaru GT Wagon x 2
BA XR8
FG GT-P
FG F6 310
HSV Maloo LS3
FG GT Miami

[ausrichie]

1. VK Commodore
2. Another VK Commodore
3. VS Commodore
4. BA XR6

[martinijosh]

1. 91 falcon ute
2. 91 triton
3. 03 ba xt
4. 91 golf gti

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk 2

[GS608]

1. 99 Fairmont - still own
2. 06 BF XR6 ute - written off
3. 11 XR6T ute - traded in
4. 12 BT-50 GT - daily

bit of a change..probably sell the BT in a year or 2 and get a SS ute or another XR6T

[Fowl Can]

In just over 30yrs of being licenced to drive, I've owned 9 cars that have been daily drivers, had an extended loan of one, had 2 spares cars, and 3 project cars that never did.

Car #1: 1972 Toyota Crown SE MS65 sedan, 4sp. floor shift. Bought for $700 when I was young & very stupid; as in no amount of well-meant advice would have me admit just how flogged this poor car was when I bought it. 5 of its 6 cylinders worked, after a fashion, and its oil diet was marginally less than its petrol diet (thought I'd solved that problem by feeding it lots of STP )
Some previous owner had tried towing something of ginormous weight and fractured its body around the C-pillars, and in spite of having the big (and powerful, I erroneously had hoped) 2.6l engine, couldn't rip a bandaid off a hairy leg.
Sold to a mate of my dad's, who recoed the engine, welded up the broken body, and then sold it to my best mate, who had the use & enjoyment of it that I never could

Car #2: 1970 Toyota Corona RT40 sedan, 4sp. floor shift. I already had some driving experience on this one, was my mum's first car, and I bought it off her. Damn near indestructible, simply but ruggedly built. With a shortish wheelbase and some deft twists of the steering wheel, I was able to get this little car along some very rough roads that were almost pure 4wd territory!
This was the last of the first generation Coronas, the so-called "shovelnose". With just a 1.5l pushrod donk, it was no speed machine (bury the right foot & wait for something to happen), but it got a bit of extra oomph when I discarded the standard air cleaner for a Ram Flo. Only then could I get the 100mph speedo "off the clock".
Nothing much went wrong with it (one engine reco from young & stupid abuse, and some creative panelbeating from Dad when I had too much champers at an office party, then tried to drive it - eventually into a parked VW Beetle). I bought the next car some months before I sold this one to a mate.
It was for this car that I had a spares carcass, about a 68 or 69 model.

Car #3 (Ford #1): 1974 Ford XB Falcon 500 hardtop, 4sp. floor shift. As one of my cousins so aptly put it, this car had teeth! Beginning life as an ordinary 4.1l 6cyl auto, someone built a crudish sort of Mad Max-mobile out of it, re-engining it with a 351 (5.8l) Windsor V8, Top Loader gearbox with dual plate clutch, 9" LS disc-brake diff, Selby suspension all round and big B. F. Goodrich bags - and used not much more tools than a hammer & cold chisel to do the job. And it showed - a true Frankenstein Ford! And to think that I actually took a bank loan ($3,200) to buy this....
When it was going, it went like the clappers (drinking lots along the way) and cornered like it was on rails. Speaking of cornering, there was a learning curve - one wet night in Homebush, I discovered that if one tries to fang a car with a limited-slip diff round a corner in the wet, the rear end tries to get there first!! The gearshift was very sloppy too; one time taking off from the lights, as I thought I was upshifting into 3rd, the revs suddenly climbed astronomically - I'd gone back into first gear! Being the bulletproof Top Loader gearbox, it didn't really matter though...
Doing high speed in it could be an unnerving experience; it was well capable of "the ton", but with so many attendant rattles, quivers & shakes, I'd wonder whether it was about to self destruct. The handbrake was a total failure, there were welded brackets on the diff housing to help make it work, but it never did really. Has anyone else had this problem with early Ford disc brake rear ends?
Eventually it all got too mechanically complicated, esp. with the twin plate clutch, and I broke it up for spares. But mostly it was a lot of fun while it lasted.....

Car #4 (Ford #2): 1971 Ford XY Falcon 500 sedan, 3sp. column shift. Bought for $400 with 1mths rego from the nice Greek gentleman up the street from where I was then living, this was a well-worn but lovely old car. It smelled (in a homely way) just like a taxi, was as comfy as a taxi, and was OK for pottering about the suburbs. It was my first manually-choked car (that took some learning first thing in the morning....).
It had a St. Christopher medallion on the metal dashboard, which my mate spotted and said, "That guy left his wog crap behind, ya better give it back to him." I knew nothing about the Patron Saint of Travellers then, and if I hadn't followed my mate's well-meant but somewhat bigoted advice, perhaps the car might have lasted a little longer....looking back on that, St. Chris would become a permanent feature in later cars, but more of that anon.
After a blast along the F4 one night, the engine was making lots of strange noises, having burnt away most of the resident oil, so I topped it up & kept it away from freeways thereafter.
When it ran out of rego, I looked to see what was needed to re-register it. Talk about opening Pandora's box of plastic filler....the more I tried to remove the bog it already had, the more I became convinced that most of the car was made of bog, with some occasional pieces of metal in between No wonder Mr. Nice Greek Gentleman was offloading it...
I ended up breaking it up for spares and making $551; less the advertising, I actually came out slightly in front!

Car #5: 1973 Toyota Crown SE MS65 sedan, 4sp. floor shift. This car was virtually identical to Car #1 with the very important exception of not being a flogged sh!tbox. Quite the opposite in fact, vinyl roof aside (never rusted underneath, was done early in its life to cover up hail damage). It had been sold new from Hardman's in Armidale and lived most of its life in the country, except for a final stint in Thornleigh (where Dad bought it for me, with me paying him off in instalments).
I got about 8yrs service out of this one, along the way modifying the exhaust to a 2" system, the result being as good as extractors, and giving it a nice burble, also some ex-XD Fairmont Ghia alloys, Cibie Valeo 100w high-beams and Marchal foglights (also from a XD Fairmont Ghia). Did lots of exploring in it, including several trips to Wombeyan Caves, one trip to Bendigo, and another to Melbourne.
Having an alloy head, I had to eventually replace that, and also reco the engine. What eventually killed it was a combination of the back of the driver's seat breaking, an ill-advised attempt to replace the front seats with those of a VB Commodore, mechanical ineptitude (again) and general all-round can't-be-stufftitude. Ended up going to a Toyota enthusiast in Nowra - by then the body was quite rusty, having sat in my parent's yard for 15 odd yrs, but Mr. Enthusiast put the motor to work in his Corona Mk. II.

Car #6: 1970 Valiant VG Safari wagon, column shift 3sp. auto. Bought out of rego for $800 from a mate, I already knew the car from a mutual mate. He'd had the more upmarket version, the Regal Safari (equivalent to Premier/Fairmont), and had got this one as spares. (These were the entry-level Val, being equivalent to a Kingswood or Falcon 500; there was nothing as basic as a Belmont in the Valiant lineup). When the Regal died, this one was successfully brought back from the grave.
The VG was the first Valiant to have the so-called Hemi Six (this car is the 245 (4.0l) engine) - these engines were way more powerful than the Slant Six they replaced, some 30kg lighter, and could rev & accelerate like the bejeezus. Incidentally only Aussie Vals had the Hemi; all other Vals elsewhere in the world (including the US) continued on with the Slanty.
This was my first automatic car. I actually hate automatics, but what the car was, and the fact that I was already acquainted with it, meant that the type of transmission made no difference.
This was also my first car to have its own St. Christopher medallion. I'm not Catholic or any other religion, but I do feel better having St. Chris on the dashboard or thereabouts. The Val had a metal dash, to which St. Chris' magnet clings.
During the years this car was on the road, given its age and condition, the grave was always looming, and being either unemployed or underemployed, it basically went through serial just-scraping-through-rego episodes. In 2004, the lack of income combined with what needed fixing saw it off the road for the forseeable, though it now resides in my garage, awaiting the ki$$ of life - and condemning its three successors to endure the Corrimal elements!
It had been abused (as so many old wagons are) by doing time as a pseudo-ute, and by neglect. I had to reco the engine as it already had severe piston slap, and was running on 5 cylinders.
Modifications include Watson Heatseeker Stage I cam (lesson here: do not recam an engine before recoing it because you will kill the engine sooner than you thought ), Holley 350 2 barrel carb, extractors, CM Regal SE front buckets and floor shift. With the engine set up like it is, here is a 6cyl car that will pin you back in the seat like a V8, should you be brave enough to bury the right foot.
Mechanical troubles (apart from the cam episode) were few, except for the power brake booster losing air and giving a very sinky pedal; and the subframe around the steering box had to be rewelded due to rust, something all RH drive Vals are prone to. Rustwise, given its age & abuse, the car is otherwise good.
Handling was never a strong point (Valiants do not like corners), but the torsion bar front suspension, while being very thumpy over potholes etc, is virtually indestructible.
There was a spares car for this one too, a 1969 Valiant VF Safari wagon.

Car #7: 1981 Holden VC Commodore L, floor shift 3sp. auto. Another purchase of desperation, the Val having died her most recent death, this car was also a resurrection (Lazarus with a quintuple bypass), and bought from a mate for $360 (big spender, ain't I? ). Again a case of my not really caring that this was yet another automatic. This one needed a blue slip ("over the pits") to be legit again, which involved new shocks (the mechanic had a chuckle when he was doing this, told me that not only were the old ones the originals, but so old they were now unavailable... ), getting rid of a crook tint job, and some artistic bogwork.
It gave me 4yrs service, the only mechanical problems being the battery exploding (due to a bodgy regulator), and consequently burning out most of the electrics while saturating the engine bay with acid & battery casing shrapnel, and a bodgy radiator which killed the original 3.3l motor (and its replacement). 3rd & final engine being the gutless 2.8l.
This was my first (and to date only) Holden, and I have to say I was surprised and impressed. Never mind that it was only the entry-level model, also my first car to have a/c It handled tremendously well, light years away from the agricultural handling of the Kingswoods the first Commodores replaced - and the Valiant for that matter, partly due to the rack & pinion steering. In many cases, I could throw this car at a corner and it would just lap it up, and relatively well engined with a 3.3l Blue Motor.
This was the second car to have St. Chris on board, but I needed a new medallion so the Val could keep its one. Another problem, the Commodore being of a different era, the dash area had acres of no metal for the magnet. However some Blu Tak helped, and St. Chris took up residence in the middle of the steering wheel, where the lion badge was.
When I was looking at another rego (and some more artisic bogwork that was going to cost $1,500), I was like, WTF am I doing, I could buy a decent used car for that much - so I did. Enter Car #8.
I was hoping that I could find someone to love this car, and perhaps do it up or use it for spares; apart from the rusty body the drivetrain was OK. After some years of procrastination (and not a little nagging from SWMBO, "When-are-you-gunna-get-rid-of-that-bloody-Commodore"), I finally caved in a few mths back & sold it to the metalmuncherman for $80 - which was $80 more than I expected to get. Good drivetrain, spare gearbox & two extra wheels or not, nobody wants 30yo rusty old cars....

Car #8 (Ford #3): 1996 Ford EF Falcon GLi, floor shift 4sp. auto. Again, type of transmission unimportant; in so many ways, this was the right car at the right price at the right time. LPG conversion (my first gas car), 11mths rego, spare engine & gearbox, $2,000. And the missus found it, not me! I was like, my asre is going to be so sore from kicking myself if I don't hustle & grab this one before someone beats me to it. I never even quibbled, dickered or haggled, just grabbed it. Admittedly it did need 4 new tyres, the windscreen was chipped and scratched where old wiper blades had been scraped across it, the room light was missing, the driver's side mirror was busted, and someone had f*cked with the computer so it would only run on gas, but I figured I could have paid twice the asking price & still wound up with as many faults. Also my first car with a (driver only) airbag.
I initally thought it was an EL, as it had had a front end prang sometime back and somehow got fitted with an EL front clip, but the compliance plate (and the taillights & coilpack ignition) proved otherwise.
St. Chris migrated from the Dunnydoor to where the trip computer would have been, had this car been a Fairmont.
The only mods I did to this one was a sport exhaust (to help it breathe better and for that nice sporty burble) and a Fairmont bootlid, as the Falcon bootlid had nowhere to lift apart from the rego plate; the Fairmonts have a handy chrome applique you can grip onto - handy tip for all you EF/EL Falcon owners if you don't wanna open the boot with the rego plate or stress the key. Of course if you have a boot spoiler...
It had 295,000km on it but the engine & drivetrain were replacements, so no problem there. The gearbox did die (got stuck in 2nd gear), so I got the spare gearbox refurbished & fitted. Often had to have disc rotors replaced, and the power steering pump pulley (plastic FFS ) shattered, necessitating a new pump with metal pulley.
Before I traded it in on the current car, I put a further 85,000km on it, which included a trip to Maitland then a trip to Cooma, then 3 trips to Melbourne, and finally a big trip around much of country NSW last year.
In spite of having rack & pinion steering and four coil suspension like the Commodore, its handling was rather ordinary; the gas made it economical to run, this being even more beneficial when in the country. Round town, about 300km per gas tank, out there, better than 400km. This was my first unleaded car, and I figured I could justify running UPULP (Super Premium Unleaded, 98 octane, Shell V-Power for example) in it for the savings I was getting using LPG. And in the country, it was a good car, comfortable enough and quite content to cruise the highway all day and just chew the kays away.
Time was starting to catch up with it though, there was a worsening rust hole in one corner of the boot (which meant the boot was no longer waterproof), plus the rust I couldn't see (but suspected) in the firewall, evinced by funny little mists on the windscreen. Crunch time was here: either I had to start spending some serious money on it and effectively commence restoration, or cut my losses & look for a replacement....Enter Car #9...

Car #9 (Ford #4): 2003 Ford BA Futura, floor shift 4sp. auto with sportshift option. This is the current car, and we found it at McAlister Motors, the local Ford (and other makes) dealer in Young, while we were on our big NSW holiday last year. All the while we had been looking at cars as we holidayed, with the provisos that it must be a country car, a large one (Falcon through to LTD, Commodore through to Statesman, perhaps even an Avalon), and dual fuel. This one met all the criteria, with the added bonuses of having injected LPG, being well-priced at $8,000 (what a 2003 BA books at) but in very good condition, an ex-govt. car from Dubbo that then went to live (quietly) at Grenfell, only 190,000km on the clock.
More economical on both gas & petrol than the EF was. I was rather dubious at first about the electric windows (what if they fail ), and I can well do without the cruise control (which I'll never use). The stereo controls on the steering wheel are handy, I love the traction control and ABS, airbag for her too (does that make three airbags? ).
St. Chris' current home is above the centre vents (where there'd be an analog clock if it was a Fairmont).
Have had a couple of minor boggles with it, to do with little engine sensors inhibiting smooth running - no more than one would expect from a 9yr old 21st century used car. Needed new shocks too (had them done the other day), it's a bit of an understeerer but otherwise as good a highway car as its predecessor.
The dealer gave us $1,000 trade in on the EF, and although I knew it had to go, it was hard to part with that car - like trading it in was a poor way of saying thanks for the great distance it had just faithfully (again) carried us. To fresh highways anew, in a newer Ford....

The loaner was my Dad's 1969 Toyota Crown MS57V Utility wagon, which meant the plain jane version of the Crown Custom wagon (equivalent to the Crown Deluxe sedan). It had a smaller version (2.3l) of the same engine that my two Crowns had, with a 3sp column shift, bench seats, AM only radio, and a very primitive (non-locking fast forward only) cassette player. The tailgate window was electric, as opposed to the Val's wind up affair.
Dad generously let me use this during my car-less hiatus between Cars #5 & #6.
It eventually wound up at a good home, with a Toyota enthusiast out Penrith way.

The project cars (which started off as one, with two more donors acquired later) are all 1976 Chrysler KB Centuras. Worth doing up, I thought, as the inital car (and its two sisters) was the quite rare 2.0L 4cyl; most of you wouldn't remember these, rather the ones they stuffed the 3.5l & 4.0l Valiant Hemis into - creating something like a 6cyl Torana, Cortina or Marina - which is to say stuff all handling and nearly terminal understeer, but due to power to weight ratio, brute acceleration.
I was given my first Centura by a workmate, as it was surplus to his needs and he couldn't be stuffed trying to sell it. This one was the upmarket one (GL), with a 4sp floor shift.
First problem was having an alloy cylinder head which was rotting (as they do), some days all the cylinders would work, and on others, a couple would take a sickie Then one morning while it was idling in the backyard, it thought that that was an opportune time to have an engine bay fire, due to some poorly placed wiring (this was an inherent Centura problem). Restoration starting to be a challenge.....
A year later I acquired another one for $250, this being the entry-level XL model (no tacho or false stick-on woodgrain inserts) and a floor shift 3sp auto, apparently in much better condition. Apparently. Until we tried to start it up, to discover the engine was seized, rock solid. Pattern emerging, huh?
Several years later, for about the same price, I got another manual GL, running well but half restored, no apparent (there's that word again) rust, out of rego & stuck in 4th gear. Partly to not having the time I used to have, then living 80km away from where the cars were located, rust (which was already bad in the first two was setting in), and enthusiasm for the project vanished.

So go to woe, that's all my cars. I might get inspired one day & supplement this epistle with some photos of the above beasties.

[Fowl Can]

Originally Posted by Fowl Can

....Car #3 (Ford #1): 1974 Ford XB Falcon 500 hardtop, 4sp. floor shift. As one of my cousins so aptly put it, this car had teeth! Beginning life as an ordinary 4.1l 6cyl auto, someone built a crudish sort of Mad Max-mobile out of it, re-engining it with a 351 (5.8l) Windsor V8, Top Loader gearbox with dual plate clutch, 9" LS disc-brake diff, Selby suspension all round and big B. F. Goodrich bags - and used not much more tools than a hammer & cold chisel to do the job. And it showed - a true Frankenstein Ford! And to think that I actually took a bank loan ($3,200) to buy this....
When it was going, it went like the clappers (drinking lots along the way) and cornered like it was on rails. Speaking of cornering, there was a learning curve - one wet night in Homebush, I discovered that if one tries to fang a car with a limited-slip diff round a corner in the wet, the rear end tries to get there first!! image The gearshift was very sloppy too; one time taking off from the lights, as I thought I was upshifting into 3rd, the revs suddenly climbed astronomically - I'd gone back into first gear! Being the bulletproof Top Loader gearbox, it didn't really matter though...
Doing high speed in it could be an unnerving experience; it was well capable of "the ton", but with so many attendant rattles, quivers & shakes, I'd wonder whether it was about to self destruct. The handbrake was a total failure, there were welded brackets on the diff housing to help make it work, but it never did really. Has anyone else had this problem with early Ford disc brake rear ends?
Eventually it all got too mechanically complicated, esp. with the twin plate clutch, and I broke it up for spares. But mostly it was a lot of fun while it lasted.....

[Fowl Can]

Originally Posted by Fowl Can

....Car #5: 1973 Toyota Crown SE MS65 sedan, 4sp. floor shift. This car was virtually identical to Car #1 with the very important exception of not being a flogged sh!tbox. Quite the opposite in fact, vinyl roof aside (never rusted underneath, was done early in its life to cover up hail damage). It had been sold new from Hardman's in Armidale and lived most of its life in the country, except for a final stint in Thornleigh (where Dad bought it for me, with me paying him off in instalments).
I got about 8yrs service out of this one, along the way modifying the exhaust to a 2" system, the result being as good as extractors, and giving it a nice burble, also some ex-XD Fairmont Ghia alloys, Cibie Valeo 100w high-beams and Marchal foglights (also from a XD Fairmont Ghia). Did lots of exploring in it, including several trips to Wombeyan Caves, one trip to Bendigo, and another to Melbourne.
Having an alloy head, I had to eventually replace that, and also reco the engine. What eventually killed it was a combination of the back of the driver's seat breaking, an ill-advised attempt to replace the front seats with those of a VB Commodore, mechanical ineptitude (again) and general all-round can't-be-stufftitude. Ended up going to a Toyota enthusiast in Nowra - by then the body was quite rusty, having sat in my parent's yard for 15 odd yrs, but Mr. Enthusiast put the motor to work in his Corona Mk. II....

[Fowl Can]

Originally Posted by Fowl Can

....Car #8 (Ford #3): 1996 Ford EF Falcon GLi, floor shift 4sp. auto. Again, type of transmission unimportant; in so many ways, this was the right car at the right price at the right time. LPG conversion (my first gas car), 11mths rego, spare engine & gearbox, $2,000. And the missus found it, not me! I was like, my asre is going to be so sore from kicking myself if I don't hustle & grab this one before someone beats me to it. I never even quibbled, dickered or haggled, just grabbed it. Admittedly it did need 4 new tyres, the windscreen was chipped and scratched where old wiper blades had been scraped across it, the room light was missing, the driver's side mirror was busted, and someone had f*cked with the computer so it would only run on gas, but I figured I could have paid twice the asking price & still wound up with as many faults. Also my first car with a (driver only) airbag.
I initally thought it was an EL, as it had had a front end prang sometime back and somehow got fitted with an EL front clip, but the compliance plate (and the taillights & coilpack ignition) proved otherwise.
St. Chris migrated from the Dunnydoor to where the trip computer would have been, had this car been a Fairmont.
The only mods I did to this one was a sport exhaust (to help it breathe better and for that nice sporty burble) and a Fairmont bootlid, as the Falcon bootlid had nowhere to lift apart from the rego plate; the Fairmonts have a handy chrome applique you can grip onto - handy tip for all you EF/EL Falcon owners if you don't wanna open the boot with the rego plate or stress the key. Of course if you have a boot spoiler...
It had 295,000km on it but the engine & drivetrain were replacements, so no problem there. The gearbox did die (got stuck in 2nd gear), so I got the spare gearbox refurbished & fitted. Often had to have disc rotors replaced, and the power steering pump pulley (plastic FFS image ) shattered, necessitating a new pump with metal pulley.
Before I traded it in on the current car, I put a further 85,000km on it, which included a trip to Maitland then a trip to Cooma, then 3 trips to Melbourne, and finally a big trip around much of country NSW last year.
In spite of having rack & pinion steering and four coil suspension like the Commodore, its handling was rather ordinary; the gas made it economical to run, this being even more beneficial when in the country. Round town, about 300km per gas tank, out there, better than 400km. This was my first unleaded car, and I figured I could justify running UPULP (Super Premium Unleaded, 98 octane, Shell V-Power for example) in it for the savings I was getting using LPG. And in the country, it was a good car, comfortable enough and quite content to cruise the highway all day and just chew the kays away.
Time was starting to catch up with it though, there was a worsening rust hole in one corner of the boot (which meant the boot was no longer waterproof), plus the rust I couldn't see (but suspected) in the firewall, evinced by funny little mists on the windscreen. Crunch time was here: either I had to start spending some serious money on it and effectively commence restoration, or cut my losses & look for a replacement...

What Skippy did....

[Repsorp2012]

The cars I've had the pleasure of
1980 Datsun 200B Sedan
1984 Ford Telstar Sedan
1996 Mazda Astina Hatch
1996 Honda Civic GLi sedan
1995 Honda Civic Vti L
2000 Ford Falcon Ute

[XR6T0Y]

Daihatsu Applause
(part own Daewoo Matiz)
EL Falcon GLi
BA XR6

[Raysie]

1. Kia Carnival LS 2001:

No, it wasn't my parents' car! LOL

It wasn't the easiest of cars to drive when fresh on your P plates, however I learned so much driving it. From being able to park properly, to appreciating just the ability to even be driving on the road (A lot of kids these days get cars worth 10k+ as a first car and just don't appreciate what they've really got).

2. Ford Falcon BA XT 2003:

Loved this car; especially coming from a Kia Carnival.

The car never gave me any issues, and to this day I still own it. The car has 270k+ KMs on the ODO, however that hasn't stopped its reliability one bit.

I just don't see the need to sell it dirt cheap, when I can use it reliably as a daily driver.

3. Ford Falcon FG XR6:

Soon as the FG was released in 2008, I knew right away that I wanted one. Sadly in 2008 I was still in high school and on my L's.

After getting my first fulltime job, my goal was to save up in the hope of buying an FG Falcon. In 2010 though, even used FG Falcons at the time were still over 20k (Well the decent condition FGs anyway).

Come November 2012; I've saved up a bit of coin after nearly a year of crazy saving. I starting looking around in CarSales to see if there were any decent Falcons at a decent price.

I then came across an all round great condition Nitro Blue FG Falcon XR6 for $17k. It ticked all the boxes, now it was a matter of getting the right price. With a bit of haggling, I was able to get the price down to $15,500. Bought it minutes later with cash and have been enjoying my dream car ever since.

I've already spent easily $3k plus on some exterior mods, which I don't think will be slowing down anytime soon. LOL

[AJ09]

1977 XC Falcon sedan - 6cyl 4 spd
1981 XD Fairmont Ghia - 6cyl auto, LPG - Bought from my parents
1988 Telstar TX5 Ghia - 4cyl 5spd
1975 LTD - V8 auto - "the titanic on wheels"
1977 HX Premier - 308, T400 auto LPG
1982 Pontiac Trans-Am - 305 V8 auto, Great until we had a baby seat!!
???? Nissan Pintara GXE wagon - 4cyl 5spd - Couldn't kill it!!
1990 EA Falcon sedan 6cyl 4sp auto LPG (anniversary model) My wife learned to drive in this one
2001 AUII Forte sedan 6cyl auto - Company car so I didn't really own it
1987 XF S pack sedan - 6cyl auto
1999 AU Classic sedan - 6cyl auto- Became my Wife's car
VY Commodore sedan - 6cyl auto - Company Car Thank God!!!
VZ Commodore sedan - 6cyl auto - Company Car Thank God!!!
VE2 Commodore sedan - 6cyl auto - Company Car Thank God!!!
1999 AU sedan 6cyl auto LPG - Now my Wife's car
2012 Hilux - 4cyl auto ( don't laugh, it's my work vehicle!!)

[MrZ]

I see so many old cars on this list. I've never owned a car that was more than 7 years old - the oldest car I kept for about 6 years and 9 months (since new).

[Fowl Can]

Originally Posted by MrZ

I see so many old cars on this list. I've never owned a car that was more than 7 years old - the oldest car I kept for about 6 years and 9 months (since new).

I'm with you there, my newest is the current ride, at 9yo.

FWIW I never intend to own a newie either; I'm always like, think of the huge variety of beaut 2nd hand/pre-loved/classics/vintages I could get with that money

[ebv8]

my 37 cars in 15 years

1976 datsun 180b
1978 datsun 200b
1978 hz kingswood sedan
1978 hz statesman
1973 hq kingswood sedan
1978 hz 1 tonner
1970 ht kingswood sedan
1982 mq nissan patrol
1986 xf ford falcon sedan
1991 EB ford fairmont sedan
1976 g60 nissan patrol
1976 hx holden ute
1976 toyota celica fastback
1977 toyota corolla
1979 mazda 626
1988 camira
1972 toyota landcruiser fj40
1989 Vitara softtop
1986 Mitsubishi Express
1989 EA Ford Fairmont Ghia
1986 Mitsubishi Express
1982 Ford Falcon
1992 DC LTD
1994 TS Daihatsu Charade
1992 EB Fairmont Ghia
1995 VR Commodore
1997 MAZDA 323
2000 AU2 XR6
1994 TS Daihatsu Charade
1993 charade suntop
1999 xr8 falcon
2001 vx wagon
2000 AU2 Wagon
1983 VH Commodore Wagon
2002 AU XR8
1983 VH Commodore Wagon
2012 WT Fiesta

[DDXR6T]

1. 1986 KC TX3 Laser
2. 1991 KF TX3 Laser
3. 2003 Mazda 323
4. 2003 BA Fairmont Ghia
5. 1991 KF TX3 4WD Turbo
6. 2006 WRX Club Spec 9
7. 1995 EF XR6 Falcon
8. 2009 FG XR6 Turbo

Plus, lots of 'second cars' not worth mentioning (Liberty wagon, a few lasers, a V6 Magna).

[kate648]

Originally Posted by MrZ

I see so many old cars on this list. I've never owned a car that was more than 7 years old - the oldest car I kept for about 6 years and 9 months (since new).

How can you not love the classics!? ;)
As for new cars, bought one, love it dearly, but often wonder what else I'd have by now if I had settled for the 2Yr old one I had my eye on (as it would have been paid off by now and I'd have an extra 900 a month on my car budget!) So I doubt I'll buy brand new again, otherwise I'll be forever in debt to Ford ;)

[martinijosh]

Lot of old blokes around. Falcon's are grandpa mobiles after all.

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk 2

[Rob 351]

1. VL exec 5.0. Good fun & great memories
2. LX hatchback 4.2. Should have kept
3. VN SS. P.o.s
4. VR Clubsport P.o.s
5. 98 Navara good thing
6. 99 Patrol good thing
7. 02 Patrol good thing
8. BA XR8 ute, First Ford
9. BF GT, pity it was auto
10. XD Fairmont Ghia 5.8 auto. Still own
11. XD Fairmont Ghia ESP 5.8 man. Still own
12. XE Fairmont Ghia ESP 5.8 man. Still own
13. G6e turbo, loved this thing, should'nt have went cashmere
14. Territory titanium, good thing & brilliant on fuel
15. FG GTP 335 man. Still own & will never part.
16. LW Focus sport. Still own but not a fan. It won't be here for long

I think I have done my part for the local car industry.