What is the best car you have ever owned?

[Tanks]

Best one was 1990 Porsche Targa C2. I got it along with a beach house and a Baltic 48DP sailboat after my first divorce.

Had a lot of fun with it and sold it after 27+ years and 250K+ miles for a bit over half of what I paid for it.

At about the same time I had commissioned a Harley kept it until I had my right hip replaced a few years ago, then I sold it as did not want to take a chance.

Now, I enjoy SUVs, 4Runners specifically.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Well @Kevin Peacocke glad you started this thread as I would never have got around to firing it up.... ...not sure where to start...and hope not looking like being flash, but my father was into cars big time till his later years...nearly got killed in his jaguar XK120 on the moors in North East England when a driver coming the other way didn't realise how fast he was going and turned across the road in front of him....theXK was literally left in pieces...one of the steel spokes went though his chest ...he pulled it out and went to help the other driver...they weren't married then but my mum to be went with him to the doctor who was a friend of his...the doc said how the fk you are alive I don't know...I couldn't have pushed a scalpel through where that spoke went without cutting an artery...just bit of background to most likely where my love of fast exotic cars came from...assisted by him of course....I think on another thread I said a lot of money was spent on cars..guns..partying and girls....and I believe a lot of fun was had....some was a bit of a blur... ...my dad liked alfas...so first 2 cars were alfasuds that had great fun in...start of learning how cars handled....started writing but it got bit long...so will just list them...with bit of info after some...but had great fun with all of them...some I wish I still had as now worth a fortune...after the 2 alfasuds

2.0 litre lancia beta coupe ...first time done for speeding..police said they had to chase me at speeds of up to 90mph (speed limit 40mph)for over 2 miles...I didn't know they were chasing me till I slowed down and saw blue lights coming up behind...pulled over as thought they must be going to an emergency..not chasing me ..
Then lancia beta montecarlo..2 seat mid engine sports car...used to scare the crap out of you if you forgot the front brakes locked up at the drop of a hat
Ferrari Dino 246 as my dad always fancied one...ended up my drive as was bit cramped and uncivilised for him..... was 18 years old...great dad...brilliant and beautiful car...sounded fantastic and taught me the art of driving an Italian exotic...the starting procedure...allowing to warm up before moving and avoiding 2nd gear in it until oil was warm..

Started racing in UK so 246 wasn't really practical, so got a Ford escort RS2000 droop snoot as they were called....had serious fun on circuit with it as was an instructor for the racing school who also ran the racing cars...so we hammered around the circuit going to corners to observe the pupils...brilliant handling...and if got lost never did 3 point turn...just handbrake turn

Then things went bit staid as was given my mums merc 280ce...this was when my dad kind of cooled on cars .

Then We moved houses and he said if I get this price you can go get something exotic...must have been feeling sorry for me as mates were in ferrari..lotus and porsche amongst other things...so house sold and went over to London to test couple of cars...Lamborghini jalpa and De Tomaso pantera GT5...but even at the not so old age of 25 I decided the resonance in the pantera cabin a town speeds was not liveable with...preferred the jalpa as had targa roof...and had sports exhaust fitted...so the v8 sounded great...had some good trips in UK and Europe with it...was last thing my dad bought for me before he passed away.....so had it from 1985 to about 6 years ago when sold it to a friend ..so still get to see it ..

Then when was in London was in lamborghini show room as the salesman was a mate by now, and took the countach QV out for drive..ordered one and picked it up from the factory in Sept 1987...also sports exhaust..which had very small pancake looking silencers...didn't take long to blow the baffles out..so was more or less straight through...now that sounded awesome....I read tests on the countach now with the tester saying its no good and better to look at...bullshit...its a car you had to learn to drive..and when you did you could open the throttle 100 rpm at a time...and whole car was precise....handling was fine...took mine around castle coombe race circuit on a track day one time...only thing that was faster was an F40...my friend had a QV at same time and we had unbelievable fun in them...uk road trips...and in Europe... and we pushed them to their limits...also kept it for along time..

Next ..had at same time as QV..the 25th anniversary countach...but didn't like it as much as the QV so sold it after couple of years

Took it easy for a while..BMW 325 sport for every day...the jalpa and QV when first had I used daily...so still had them when had the BMW ..so wasn't deprived....

Then got a Lister Le Man's...which was basically a totally rebuild jaguar xjs..engine to 7 litres..body work totally changed..manual gearbox...its nickname was the batmobile as it was black...it was interesting but needed a bit more development...which was disappointing as was not cheap...broke the diff on it ..and the centre of one of the alloy wheels sheared when I went around a corner...luckily it was a slow one..it got sold

Then changed BMW for porsche carrera 2 with the tiptronic gearbox...was OK for daily use but that box not great for when you wanted to go for it..

Then Aston Martin Db7 volante...was the 6 cylinder version and looked great but not that fast

Then porsche 996 turbo with tiptronic box as well..but had been Improved a lot...that was fast and great daily driver..used it on couple of track days in France...but the 4 wheel drive system wasn't really suited..but it still was fun...

Next had ordered an Aston Martin DB9 volante when they were announced...the turbo 996 was such a good daily drive I was a bit dubious about the Aston...when it arrived I said to the salesman I need to have another drive just to check in my mind if its going to be OK...he said if you don't take it no problem as there were long waiting list at the time...well was a sunny day and put roof down and with the v12 howling ...I was like OK this will f---ing do ....had some great trips in it and a beautiful car...sounded fantastic...but it went when we tried the divorce scenario first time...

Then during those proceedings and good friend passed away from a stroke 6 weeks after his 40th bday...the day he was taken to hospital his new car arrived in the showroom...a mutual friend who looked after his cars was taking about it...I said let me go look..I said if its OK with his family I will buy it if I like it...they were yeah no probs...this was 2008...it was a mercedes AMG CLK Black Series...I had only gone up the Road from the showroom and knew it was a car that had been made for me...sounded unbelievable..handled amazingly...can go sideways at 5mph...50mph or 150mph...balance is perfect...I have done track days with it in France at the 2 different le mans permanent circuits a few times and always big grin....so now as far as I am concerned I have the perfect pairing...an amg clk black series ...and here my landcruiser double cab with the great 4.2 litre straight 6 diesel...both great at doing what they are designed and built to do....apologies for a long rambling one...

Wow! The Dino would be my pick of the lot, just too pretty. Now just tell me you own a Heym double and I will have to tip my pithy to you on a life well spent so far...

 

[spike.t]

Wow! The Dino would be my pick of the lot, just too pretty. Now just tell me you own a Heym double and I will have to tip my pithy to you on a life well spent so far...

Nope no heym double unfortunately Kevin...as have said on other threads sold my rigby sidelock 470 I had built for me during a brain fart moment...my Jeffery 9.3 double and lang 470 both went to pay lawyer...so sadly am doubleless for first time since 1990....but had fun

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Hearing of all your exotics I am cowering a little to tell you about my MGA, in fact I owned four different versions in all. The last one was the prize though, I rebuilt it totally, every nut and bolt and took the opportunity to take the engine to stage 2. This involved fitting an original HRG Derrington crossflow head, hot cam,

disc brake conversion, the lot. This pretty little car could hit about 110mph when I felt brave, but it was too highly stressed, so tempramental. It made way for the Landy and I have never looked back, you only look into the distance in a Landy, longing to eventually get there....

 

[Scott CWO]

Best one was 1990 Porsche Targa C2. I got it along with a beach house and a Baltic 48DP sailboat after my first divorce.

Had a lot of fun with it and sold it after 27+ years and 250K+ miles for a bit over half of what I paid for it.

At about the same time I had commissioned a Harley kept it until I had my right hip replaced a few years ago, then I sold it as did not want to take a chance.

View attachment 432679
Now, I enjoy SUVs, 4Runners specifically.

@Tanks you are living proof of my father’s advice about choosing a proper wife. He said, “You can fight with the rich ones just like the poor ones!” Lol

 

[sestoppelman]

Best is probably my current vehicle. 2017 Chev Colorado diesel. Most civilized car I have ever owned, best mileage too. On the highway I get over 30 mpg and average around 26.
Coolest car I ever had? 1967 109 Land Rover safari wagon. Shop car but I loved it.

 

[Rick Cox]

Can my "best car" be a bike? 2010 BMW GSA with minor modifications. The tractor of the motorcycle world, but mine is almost completely street ridden. Can pack for nearly any trip (including hunting/fishing) and still get you there in style. Never tried a tuxedo, but was a daily driver to work (yes in the snow and rain) for a few years without a wardrobe malfunction.
View attachment 432650

Any issues with oil consumption? I had a R1200R the same vintage, and it consumed a quart in 700 miles, from new. Finally traded it on a Ducati Multistrada.

 

[machinistbutler]

I have a 2006 Honda civic I barely can squeeze into, but I have lots of guns.

 

[Happy Myles]

I was never a car buff. Friends and family teased me about my old vehicles, so one day several decades ago i bought a top of the line Mercedes sedan. One day after purchase it was stolen at my office and used in a bank robbery. The police called, telling me that they had my vehicle but no details other than there was some damage. I arrived at the compound yard and was startled to discover my spanking new car was riddled from one end to the other with bullet holes and two inches of blood in the drivers seat. My insurance agent laughed and said, “ I suppose you are going to be picky and want a new car “.

 

[Tanks]

@Tanks you are living proof of my father’s advice about choosing a proper wife. He said, “You can fight with the rich ones just like the poor ones!” Lol

Unfortunately, my ex-wife got rich after the divorce, though she and her new husband went through a 7 figure settlement pretty fast.

 

[Rubberhead]

2003 Ford Explorer V8...250k miles when I sold it...

 

[Opposite Pole]

it was a mercedes AMG CLK Black Series...

I’ve had the pleasure of driving one for a fortnight and a couple of thousand fun, quick and sometimes scary kilometres. I had a chance to buy it at a very reasonable price. The car was pristine with about 30 thousand kms on it. Stupidly I turned it down. Another guy bought it and is now willing to sell it for no less than double what he paid for it. What a car! I could not believe Mercedes made a car like this. It is so very different from the “regular” CLK 63.

As for the cars I did buy, the most fun was probably Renault Clio Cup (a factory-built single-seat, non-road legal, racing car). It was only a 2litre atmospheric 200bhp engine, and its straight-line performance was boring, but that thing could sure go around a corner. I drove it around a track back to back with a V10 Audi R8 with nearly triple the power and still did quicker laps in Clio. Also, being light and punny, it was very cheap to run. Tires and brakes lasted a couple of full-day track days. One drawback was it had to be towed to the track as it was not road legal, and anyway, the cooling system was too efficient for road conditions.

I wanted a reasonably fast GT style car for daily use, and having had very poor experience with BMW and Merc dealerships and service, I have settled on a Lexus RC F. So far, I’ve put 100000kms on it, and it has not skipped a bit. I’m not sure I will ever sell it. The car has done grocery runs, gorgeous alpine roads (I’m particularly fond of a trip to north Italy through the spectacular Grossglockner pass), skiing trips, track days, holidays - it just works. Not much of a hunting vehicle though so I had a heavy-duty offroad tuned Y61 Patrol that worked the hunting duties, but it was too much of a purpose-built offroader (it was barely road legal). It was too high and didn’t fit in the garage and was just too tiring to drive on the road, plus the wife hated it and refused to travel in it, so I sold it. I decided to replace it with something that could be used for hunting but also for everyday use, holidays etc. and started looking for a 2-3 year old 200 series Land Cruiser. Couldn’t find anything to my likening but stumbled upon a 2 year old Lexus LX570 that the owner hated and barely ever drove. He looked at the engine size in a catalogue and thought it was a fast SUV and went ahead and ordered it. And a fast SUV it is not. But it is comfortable, quiet and capable. I bought it. When my friends and family saw the car, felt the soft leather seats etc. they thought I’ve gone mad, and there was no way the car was ever going to leave the road and be used for hunting. Within days I proved them wrong.

 

[BeeMaa]

Any issues with oil consumption? I had a R1200R the same vintage, and it consumed a quart in 700 miles, from new. Finally traded it on a Ducati Multistrada.

Nope. I've owned a 2008 R1200RT, 2006 R1200GSA w/ sidecar and this 2010 R1200GSA...none of them had any issues like that. All they did was purr like a Bavarian sewing machine. Had a friend with a 2007 R1200GSA that burned a little oil, but nothing near what you experienced.

 

[Newboomer]

My favorite car is my 2020 Subaru Ascent. Just the right size, rides well, good mileage. With a roof rack I can haul quite a bit of lumber, pipe, etc. I still haven't figured out all the buttons, switches and dials, but enough to use what I want. For bigger stuff I have my truck. Read below.

My alltime favorite rig is my old 2005 Dodge 3500 4x4 6 speed stick Cummins diesel. I just finished building a flatbed and switched out the fuel tank. It had a 35 gal. main and I had put a 60 gal bed tank in the original pickup bed. It gave me 95 gal. capacity but took up a lot of space. The new tank is an underbed replacement for the original and holds 60 gal. Enough for what I need.

I hung a couple toolboxes under the bed and built slide out extensions under the bed. My daughter and son in law have a side by side buggy. When we want haul it we pull out the extensions, hang the ramps and load up. They give me about 5 extra feet of bed length. The bed is 8 feet long and when I load two tier of 4 foot firewood I pull the extensions out 2 or 3 feet, put a couple planks on and it gives me a good working place. One of my better brain farts.

 

[Randy F]

I’ve had the pleasure of driving one for a fortnight and a couple of thousand fun, quick and sometimes scary kilometres. I had a chance to buy it at a very reasonable price. The car was pristine with about 30 thousand kms on it. Stupidly I turned it down. Another guy bought it and is now willing to sell it for no less than double what he paid for it. What a car! I could not believe Mercedes made a car like this. It is so very different from the “regular” CLK 63.

As for the cars I did buy, the most fun was probably Renault Clio Cup (a factory-built single-seat, non-road legal, racing car). It was only a 2litre atmospheric 200bhp engine, and its straight-line performance was boring, but that thing could sure go around a corner. I drove it around a track back to back with a V10 Audi R8 with nearly triple the power and still did quicker laps in Clio. Also, being light and punny, it was very cheap to run. Tires and brakes lasted a couple of full-day track days. One drawback was it had to be towed to the track as it was not road legal, and anyway, the cooling system was too efficient for road conditions.

I wanted a reasonably fast GT style car for daily use, and having had very poor experience with BMW and Merc dealerships and service, I have settled on a Lexus RC F. So far, I’ve put 100000kms on it, and it has not skipped a bit. I’m not sure I will ever sell it. The car has done grocery runs, gorgeous alpine roads (I’m particularly fond of a trip to north Italy through the spectacular Grossglockner pass), skiing trips, track days, holidays - it just works. Not much of a hunting vehicle though so I had a heavy-duty offroad tuned Y61 Patrol that worked the hunting duties, but it was too much of a purpose-built offroader (it was barely road legal). It was too high and didn’t fit in the garage and was just too tiring to drive on the road, plus the wife hated it and refused to travel in it, so I sold it. I decided to replace it with something that could be used for hunting but also for everyday use, holidays etc. and started looking for a 2-3 year old 200 series Land Cruiser. Couldn’t find anything to my likening but stumbled upon a 2 year old Lexus LX570 that the owner hated and barely ever drove. He looked at the engine size in a catalogue and thought it was a fast SUV and went ahead and ordered it. And a fast SUV it is not. But it is comfortable, quiet and capable. I bought it. When my friends and family saw the car, felt the soft leather seats etc. they thought I’ve gone mad, and there was no way the car was ever going to leave the road and be used for hunting. Within days I proved them wrong.
View attachment 432683

Love the hog hide interior.

 

[Philip Glass]

My F350 is awesome. I have 3 of them currently and they are the best trucks for what we do.

 

[Red Leg]

Well @Kevin Peacocke glad you started this thread as I would never have got around to firing it up.... ...not sure where to start...and hope not looking like being flash, but my father was into cars big time till his later years...nearly got killed in his jaguar XK120 on the moors in North East England when a driver coming the other way didn't realise how fast he was going and turned across the road in front of him....theXK was literally left in pieces...one of the steel spokes went though his chest ...he pulled it out and went to help the other driver...they weren't married then but my mum to be went with him to the doctor who was a friend of his...the doc said how the fk you are alive I don't know...I couldn't have pushed a scalpel through where that spoke went without cutting an artery...just bit of background to most likely where my love of fast exotic cars came from...assisted by him of course....I think on another thread I said a lot of money was spent on cars..guns..partying and girls....and I believe a lot of fun was had....some was a bit of a blur... ...my dad liked alfas...so first 2 cars were alfasuds that had great fun in...start of learning how cars handled....started writing but it got bit long...so will just list them...with bit of info after some...but had great fun with all of them...some I wish I still had as now worth a fortune...after the 2 alfasuds

2.0 litre lancia beta coupe ...first time done for speeding..police said they had to chase me at speeds of up to 90mph (speed limit 40mph)for over 2 miles...I didn't know they were chasing me till I slowed down and saw blue lights coming up behind...pulled over as thought they must be going to an emergency..not chasing me ..
Then lancia beta montecarlo..2 seat mid engine sports car...used to scare the crap out of you if you forgot the front brakes locked up at the drop of a hat
Ferrari Dino 246 as my dad always fancied one...ended up my drive as was bit cramped and uncivilised for him..... was 18 years old...great dad...brilliant and beautiful car...sounded fantastic and taught me the art of driving an Italian exotic...the starting procedure...allowing to warm up before moving and avoiding 2nd gear in it until oil was warm..

Started racing in UK so 246 wasn't really practical, so got a Ford escort RS2000 droop snoot as they were called....had serious fun on circuit with it as was an instructor for the racing school who also ran the racing cars...so we hammered around the circuit going to corners to observe the pupils...brilliant handling...and if got lost never did 3 point turn...just handbrake turn

Then things went bit staid as was given my mums merc 280ce...this was when my dad kind of cooled on cars .

Then We moved houses and he said if I get this price you can go get something exotic...must have been feeling sorry for me as mates were in ferrari..lotus and porsche amongst other things...so house sold and went over to London to test couple of cars...Lamborghini jalpa and De Tomaso pantera GT5...but even at the not so old age of 25 I decided the resonance in the pantera cabin a town speeds was not liveable with...preferred the jalpa as had targa roof...and had sports exhaust fitted...so the v8 sounded great...had some good trips in UK and Europe with it...was last thing my dad bought for me before he passed away.....so had it from 1985 to about 6 years ago when sold it to a friend ..so still get to see it ..

Then when was in London was in lamborghini show room as the salesman was a mate by now, and took the countach QV out for drive..ordered one and picked it up from the factory in Sept 1987...also sports exhaust..which had very small pancake looking silencers...didn't take long to blow the baffles out..so was more or less straight through...now that sounded awesome....I read tests on the countach now with the tester saying its no good and better to look at...bullshit...its a car you had to learn to drive..and when you did you could open the throttle 100 rpm at a time...and whole car was precise....handling was fine...took mine around castle coombe race circuit on a track day one time...only thing that was faster was an F40...my friend had a QV at same time and we had unbelievable fun in them...uk road trips...and in Europe... and we pushed them to their limits...also kept it for along time..

Next ..had at same time as QV..the 25th anniversary countach...but didn't like it as much as the QV so sold it after couple of years

Took it easy for a while..BMW 325 sport for every day...the jalpa and QV when first had I used daily...so still had them when had the BMW ..so wasn't deprived....

Then got a Lister Le Man's...which was basically a totally rebuild jaguar xjs..engine to 7 litres..body work totally changed..manual gearbox...its nickname was the batmobile as it was black...it was interesting but needed a bit more development...which was disappointing as was not cheap...broke the diff on it ..and the centre of one of the alloy wheels sheared when I went around a corner...luckily it was a slow one..it got sold

Then changed BMW for porsche carrera 2 with the tiptronic gearbox...was OK for daily use but that box not great for when you wanted to go for it..

Then Aston Martin Db7 volante...was the 6 cylinder version and looked great but not that fast

Then porsche 996 turbo with tiptronic box as well..but had been Improved a lot...that was fast and great daily driver..used it on couple of track days in France...but the 4 wheel drive system wasn't really suited..but it still was fun...

Next had ordered an Aston Martin DB9 volante when they were announced...the turbo 996 was such a good daily drive I was a bit dubious about the Aston...when it arrived I said to the salesman I need to have another drive just to check in my mind if its going to be OK...he said if you don't take it no problem as there were long waiting list at the time...well was a sunny day and put roof down and with the v12 howling ...I was like OK this will f---ing do ....had some great trips in it and a beautiful car...sounded fantastic...but it went when we tried the divorce scenario first time...

Then during those proceedings and good friend passed away from a stroke 6 weeks after his 40th bday...the day he was taken to hospital his new car arrived in the showroom...a mutual friend who looked after his cars was taking about it...I said let me go look..I said if its OK with his family I will buy it if I like it...they were yeah no probs...this was 2008...it was a mercedes AMG CLK Black Series...I had only gone up the Road from the showroom and knew it was a car that had been made for me...sounded unbelievable..handled amazingly...can go sideways at 5mph...50mph or 150mph...balance is perfect...I have done track days with it in France at the 2 different le mans permanent circuits a few times and always big grin....so now as far as I am concerned I have the perfect pairing...an amg clk black series ...and here my landcruiser double cab with the great 4.2 litre straight 6 diesel...both great at doing what they are designed and built to do....apologies for a long rambli

I was hoping to see this!!

 

[Buffalo1]

Red '63 Chevy Impala SS, 327- 300 hp- 3 speed, black leather interior. A machine !! Could easily bury the speedometer.
Wish I had it back- a collector item today.

 

[NE 7x57]

Gen 3 4Runners. Bought a new 98, wreaked at 120k , replaced with a 97 with 110k on the odometer and took it to 276k, sold it and replaced it with a 2000 which currently has 260k on it. I’ll have too find another soon but or will probably be a later generation. But the gen 3s have taken me through 23 years

 

[fourfive8]

Outgrew all the speedy, racy, bling stuff when I was about 20 yo. Lived through the biggest surge of true muscle car craze- late 60s early 70s. Insurance too costly for me and was able to experience them vicariously through friends who owned them. Had quite a few used cars and pickups along the way. Some good, some not so much. Best vehicle I ever had was a plain Jane 2000 Chevy Silverado 2 wheel drive pickup, standard 4+1 with a Vortec V6. Bought it used with about 15000 miles on it. Drove it well past 200,000 with no repair costs save a $400 brake job at about 150,000. Currently have a 2015 F150 4x4 ecoboost that has plenty of go and gets 23 mpg all around. It's OK but not the reliable low cost vehicle the Chevy was. A story dull as unbuttered toast, but there it is.