The car you most regret selling
#16
Lexus Fanatic
Though a number of other vehicles are (rightly-so) represented here, It's interesting to see how many old Buicks and Cadillacs, from various posters, are mentioned here in this thread. Those cars, of course (among a few others), helped define the Golden Age of Comfort.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-15-17 at 03:35 PM.
#18
Lexus Champion
Originally Posted by mmarshall
Though a number of other vehicles are (rightly-so) represented here, It's interesting to see how many old Buicks and Cadillacs, from various posters, are mentioned here in this thread. Those cars, of course (among a few others), helped define the Golden Age of Comfort.
But we often find ourselves selling cars because maybe that car became "difficult" and we didn't want to deal with its issues. Then, years later we found out that it was a great car.
My personal guilt list, which will also age me to a certain extent. No original pics so these are web pics.
Triumph GT6+. A ridiculously unreliable car but still such an amazing car to drive. Just so much personality. Good handling and ride. Real wood dash. Mine was silver.
1970's era big block Pontiac Gran Prix. Yikes, what a beast! Yep, also a problematic car but a fun car too. 400 big block smogged up motor, but a heck of a lot of get up and go. Nice personality, brutish. I had the beautiful olive green.
My brother had a few Camaros/Trans Ams. I never got a hold of them but he sold them, sooo yeah. Regrets. This was one of the nicest, 1976 400 auto, which is a collectible today.
#19
Dysfunctional Veteran
My 1992 Ford Escort LX. 3 door hatch, 5 speed manual, SOHC EFI. Crank windows and manual locks, no abs, no tracrion control, and ludicrously fuel efficient. It was all of 85hp, but was fun to kick around on country roads as it was feather light.
it was between that, and my 06 Civic EX. i loved that car too.
it was between that, and my 06 Civic EX. i loved that car too.
Last edited by ArmyofOne; 10-15-17 at 07:27 PM.
#20
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
I've been lusting after a 1st gen MR2 for a while now. Still thinking of going Miata, as they are way easier to work on and a lot newer/more trouble free. I don't want a car that is nearing that phase of needing paint/body work or an engine out service like those 80's MR2's are getting to now.
#21
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
That's one of my favorite GM products of the 80's, such a cool looking car. You could also get your Riveria with a 3.8 V6, turbocharged with sequential fuel injection. 200hp/300lb-ft torque, it would move that car along nicely. Still I think you were better off with the less complex 307 Olds V8 option, even with that stupid computer controlled carb. If you didn't have to pass emissions, swapping on a normal carburator isn't a big deal, or if you want replace the whole engine with a higher compression Olds 350 with good flowing heads, that would make 300hp and run/idle/drive like stock.
#22
Lexus Fanatic
Would that have been a slant 6? I remember a friend's dad belonged to the Slant 6 Club of America, and you'd see all kinds of Chryslers in his driveway (before the days when nosy neighbors reported people to the police for working on cars at their house, and suddenly cops are checking the reggies for cars in one's own driveway). I think he once got a used Diplomat with a 318 2-barrel, and was suspended from the club for 6 mos....
#23
Lexus Fanatic
I've been lusting after a 1st gen MR2 for a while now. Still thinking of going Miata, as they are way easier to work on and a lot newer/more trouble free. I don't want a car that is nearing that phase of needing paint/body work or an engine out service like those 80's MR2's are getting to now.
He got on the phone with the dealer, and said you can go in and pick up your refund check 3 days from today. The historical crookedness of this business is astounding, but I guess milennials have spelled the end for them...
#24
Lexus Fanatic
#25
Last edited by Coleroad; 10-16-17 at 07:40 AM.
#26
We got one of the last 2000 Model Year Honda S2000's in the signature Silverstone Metallic.... I remember picking it up and the drive home from the dealership. I miss that one the most.
#27
Lexus Fanatic
I don't think I've ever owned a car I *regret* selling. Perhaps my 2014 Jeep, just because I really liked it and although at that time in our family's lives it was (and still is) the right decision for us to trade it on a minivan, I still miss having it or that sort of vehicle in the garage.
I think all the cars I've had have been great at the time, but nothing lasts forever and if I still owned them today they'd be well worn out. Take a favorite like my 98 LS400, if I owned that car today it would have 400k miles?
I don't agree. Having had all 3, the LS430 was the best riding LS I ever had, but it was also my least favorite and the least enjoyable to drive. While my 460 may be a little stiffer, its more than made up for in the fact that you can enter an offramp or a country road with some level of confidence, which was also the case with my LS400.
I think all the cars I've had have been great at the time, but nothing lasts forever and if I still owned them today they'd be well worn out. Take a favorite like my 98 LS400, if I owned that car today it would have 400k miles?
Well, two things. Number one, most LS owners are comfort-oriented, and don't buy them to carve corners like a Miata.....so .73G on the skidpad is probably a lot more than the typical LS will ever actually see on the road. Two, on a nationwide basis, it begs the question of why Lexus even bothered to offer an F-Sport package for the LS....though there may admittedly be some interest or demand for that package among enthusiasts and in car-forums like this one.
#28
Lexus Fanatic
I don't agree. Having had all 3, the LS430 was the best riding LS I ever had, but it was also my least favorite and the least enjoyable to drive. While my 460 may be a little stiffer, its more than made up for in the fact that you can enter an offramp or a country road with some level of confidence, which was also the case with my LS400.
#29
Lexus Fanatic
I don't see how that differs from what I said. It's a matter of driver-priorities. You might place slightly more priority on handling than the average LS driver. I might be wrong, but I doubt that you ave ever actually cornered an LS at .73 G....most drivers haven't. As far as the difference in ride comfort between the 430 and 460, it's true that the 430 has slightly softer underpinnings and tires...but the regular 460 is so quiet (I haven't sampled an F-Sport version), with such effective noise-isolation, that it gives at least the impression of riding as smooth as the 430, even if in fact, it doesn't.
While no, I have not taken any LS to a skidpad, the cause of that low skidpad number was apparent every time you took an offramp on a highway, or drove down anything but a flat road. The 430 was enjoyable to drive on a straight highway or road. Anything other than that and it really could be a handful. The 400 and 460 were/are 95% as comfortable to drive on a straight highway, while not being a burden to drive on a winding road or when hitting an offramp too fast.
So no, I would not say the "typical LS buyer" doesn't care about skidpad numbers, as for only 5 years of its 27 year history was the LS a barge with that low a skidpad number. For 22 years its been what you find in the LS400 and LS460, a somewhat tauter more european car. The "LS smoothness" comes not from a soft floaty suspension like a Lincoln or Cadillac, but from incredible refinement and smoothness from everything it does.
#30
Lexus Fanatic
You talked about the LS430. I almost wish I had bought a new one (its road-manners would have suited me perfectly), though I didn't have the cash back then I have now....and I was still saving for retirement. Like Jill, I'm leery of used cars....even some CPOs.