What's a vehicle you love but it's just a terrible vehicle to own?

Absolutely a Rush reference.
That was our one snowy day in the Santa Cruz mountains this year.
Except for the terrible gas mileage and lack of proper horsepower, they are great vehicles. And hold their value really well. I miss my 2 door, but we have 3 Akitas (big dogs) so the 4 doors are kind of necessary.
 
ottog1979 said:
I owned a Cherokee with that in-line 6 motor. Indeed, indestructible! Loved that car. Drove it to 205,000 and sold it still running great.
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I have 2 of the XJs. One w/ 220k, the other 135k miles. It's my daily driver and my gig vehicle. They're great vehicles. Easy to work on and will go forever as long as you do the regular maintenance.
 
Once Chrysler took over Jeep in 1997(ish), things went down hill. Now that Fiat and Renault have their hands in Chrysler/Jeep, I'd just stay away.
 
Vintage Old School said:
I restored my 1979 FJ40 20 years ago (pictured below in its glory days). Engine had been rebuilt 4,000 miles before I got it. I sent the stock carburetor to Jim Chenoweth to rebuild it for street economy (went from 9 mpg to 11.5 mpg). New suspension, set it up with Yokohama AT Geolander tires with a reasonable wheel size for street driving, repainted and black powdercoated trim and accessories. It was actually more dependable and required virtually no maintenance unlike any of our other vehicles we owned. Definitely not a highway cruiser but it could get you anywhere from Point A to Point B.

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oh....my....God!!!!! That thing is sweet!!!

I would . say Jeep Renegades/Wranglers etc...

I want one so bad have never heard anyone say anything positive about their maintenance track record...which is why I lust after old FJ Cruisers!!
 
Peedy said:
I used to build and race Oldsmobile’s that were more reliable.
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dude...I LOVE Oldsmobiles!! my uncles used to race for them back in the 50's and 60's, and my grandfather on that side worked in a Olds plant

My first car was a 1969 Delta 88...rocket 455 baby!!! Bought it from my uncles. mom had a 1970 98; sister had a 67 Cutlass...man, the day they shut down was the death of my moms side of the family...
 
PorkPieGuy said:
Once Chrysler took over Jeep in 1997(ish), things went down hill. Now that Fiat and Renault have their hands in Chrysler/Jeep, I'd just stay away.
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It’s now owned by PSA : Peugeot, not Renault.
most terrible car I owned : a Mini, the original Austin from 1989 or so. A charming car, really, but It just couldn’t work properly. The automatic gearbox was awful, and I had my load of engine failure on it, the car couldn’t stand hot weather, nor strong rain !
 
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX said:
dude...I LOVE Oldsmobiles!! my uncles used to race for them back in the 50's and 60's, and my grandfather on that side worked in a Olds plant

My first car was a 1969 Delta 88...rocket 455 baby!!! Bought it from my uncles. mom had a 1970 98; sister had a 67 Cutlass...man, the day they shut down was the death of my moms side of the family...
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I feel your pain. Mine were a 1964 Jetstar 88 w/330 (steel crank) and a 1971 Olds Cutlass S w/350 (nodular crank). My lead sled and my A body GM.
 
In 1970 my father brought home an Audi 100LS. Front wheel drive (new back then) with rack & pinion steering, aluminum head block (it's achilles heel), inboard disc brakes (which made it float on the road, especially at 90mph), sun roof. It was a cool car to cruise the interstate highways with, but when the head cracked at 70,000 miles, repair at the German shop was gonna be ~$1500. This was for a car that sold for ~$4000 at the time.

HI990061_large-970x613.jpg
 
I have an 2002 BMW M3. It's a love hate relationship. Not necessarily a terrible vehicle to own but

A. My drums don't fit in it
B. Maintenance results in new curse words being invented
C. What's fuel mileage?
 
Aboulger116 said:
I have an 2002 BMW M3. It's a love hate relationship.
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As a kid, I used to love the idea of German cars. These days, I've watched too much Scotty Kilmer on YouTube to get within 20 feet of one. The maintenance will kill you!

Also, if you want to talk about maintenance, you should watch Doug Demuro's video(s) about CarMax's "bumper to bumper" warranty on his Range Rover. It's insane:
 
PorkPieGuy said:
Also, if you want to talk about maintenance, you should watch Doug Demuro's video(s) about CarMax's "bumper to bumper" warranty on his Range Rover. It's insane:
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Wow! Note to self: Don't buy a Range Rover! Parts are too expensive.

The first repair, a radiator and some suspension bushings or something, over a grand?! That's insane. I replaced the ENTIRE suspension in my Hyundai, as well as the radiator, hoses, thermostat, applicable gaskets, and new fluid for under a grand. Two entirely new systems in the car now, for less than some British parts. Crazy.

Range Rover, that's too much!


KamaK said:
In my formative years, I was a Saab enthusiast and drove a 78' Saab 99 turbo.
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Do Saab owners not realize how ugly their vehicles are? Or are y'all immune to ugly?
 
PorkPieGuy said:
Chevy Suburban. My wife had one, and I simply got tired of wrenching on it. It had electrical problems in various systems, we spend $1200 replacing all of the A/C components, and there was a coolant leak that we never could get fixed after multiple trips to the mechanic. The gauges started to get a life of their own, and tons of little stuff started breaking all at once. Although we were religious about changing the oil every 3k miles, the lifter noise and sludge in the motor and oil pan at 200k miles was enough for us to sell it. I hated to see it go, but it was too expensive to keep on the road.
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Yep you nailed it. Going through the same issues right now with my wife’s 2004. It either needs a head gasket or one of the cylinder heads is cracked, which is a known issue with these trucks. Going to pop the valve covers off this weekend and have a look.
 
I have a love/hate relationship with our two GM Trailblazers. Love the trucks, but they are both jinxed with electronics from hell. I've driven GM trucks since 1975 with zero issues until these two. My faith in GM is badly shaken

GeeDeeEmm
 
Chevy Suburban. My wife had one, and I simply got tired of wrenching on it. It had electrical problems in various systems, we spend $1200 replacing all of the A/C components, and there was a coolant leak that we never could get fixed after multiple trips to the mechanic. The gauges started to get a life of their own, and tons of little stuff started breaking all at once. Although we were religious about changing the oil every 3k miles, the lifter noise and sludge in the motor and oil pan at 200k miles was enough for us to sell it. I hated to see it go, but it was too expensive to keep on the road.
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Yep you nailed it. Going through the same issues right now with my wife’s 2004. It either needs a head gasket or one of the cylinder heads is cracked, which is a known issue with these trucks. Going to pop the valve covers off this weekend and have a look.
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Funny, I have a 2004 Yukon Denali and it's been bullet proof. 170,000 mile so far and only a water pump, shocks all around and regular maintenance. Knock on wood.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
Do Saab owners not realize how ugly their vehicles are? Or are y'all immune to ugly?
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Every man's wife is beautiful, as are his children smart. :)

Related, I once read a description of sarcasm as being "the coward's lie", but felt its invocation necessary to truly convey my sentiment.
 
KamaK said:
Every man's wife is beautiful, as are his children smart. :)

Related, I once read a description of sarcasm as being "the coward's lie", but felt its invocation necessary to truly convey my sentiment.
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It sounds like the guy who called sarcasm a "coward's lie" got all butt hurt once by sarcasm and was firing back.

Mr. IP y'all slay me.
 
KamaK said:
Every man's wife is beautiful, as are his children smart. :)

Related, I once read a description of sarcasm as being "the coward's lie", but felt its invocation necessary to truly convey my sentiment.
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I stopped sarcasm for a decade. I lost all my friends by being honest. Sarcasm is the idealist’s way of being able to keep friends. :)
 
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