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Who here absolutely love their car?

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I have a 1999 Steda Mustang, Chipped V6 with cold air intake, dual exhaust, street legal sporty tires, tightened suspension.

Absolutely love my car. Wish it had a V8, but even with a V6, the noise is produces is tremendous and it goes nice and fast too. ~240-260hp depending on the weather. 😛
 
1989 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. 5.0L V8 4 speed automatic. Wonderful roomy car that I was driven in all through my childhood. Fond memories. Made it to about 250k miles before we gave it away to a neighbor. He currently has 560k miles on it and its still operating. Only work its had is a new starter and water pump.

1995 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer. 5.8L V8 4 speed automatic with every option available. Flow Master 50 exhaust with two 3 1/4" oval 18" stainless tips out the back. Was what I was driven in until I got my license and then me and bro took over the vehicle. Probably my favorite vehicle. Feels incredible with its short wheelbase and just to slam down the gas and feel the whole vehicle lurch. Got the front a few inches off the ground during one launch. That was awesome. Favorite vehicle to take off-road.

2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer. 5.4L V8 4 speed automatic 2WD with every option available. Flow Master 50 exhaust with single 3 1/4" oval 18" stainless tip out the right side behind the wheel. First vehicle purchased for myself (shared with my brother). I wanted a car, but the parents and bro wanted an SUV. Very comfortable with good road manners, but I preferred the power of the Bronco. In the end I like the vehicle, but there's other vehicles I would prefer to have.
 
Originally posted by: Kroze
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
blah blah blah.
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Good to hear about the G35 and rattling, I guess Nissan have the same problem as Honda (using cheapass plastic for interior).

I hear with the 370z, they've upgraded their interior plastic so that it won't rattle anymore.
Click to expand...

actually, i'm very happy with the build quality of the interior. the materials and layout are nice, and the assembly is sound. specifically, the passenger's seat belt buckle, when not in use, rattles against the door or b-pillar. that's an easy fix - fasten the seat belt on the empty seat. the annoying one is in the back seat, which may also be a seat belt. could be the speaker grille, i dunno.
 
86 VW GTI 8V - POS and didn't like to start in the winter but it was a very fun car to drive. I would never buy one again though.

91 Subaru GL - Great in the snow but otherwise nothing noteworthy about it. Would not buy again.

95 BMW 325i - Very fun car to drive esp since it was manual. Very troublesome to maintain though. There was almost never a point where something wasn't wrong with it whether it was a brake light, broken AC or bad radiator. See below on buying one.

97 Honda Prelude SH - Fun to drive but kind of slow and bad mileage (gas was $1/gallon back then). Two things about that car bothered me though. I would get major static shock in the winter in the car to the point where I was scared to touch anything metallic and the other was a very flaky digital key which would decide to crap out and not work at the most inopportune times. Doubt I would buy another.

99 Lexus GS300 - Very nice car but nothing exceptional about it driving wise. If I needed to drive across the US, I would want to do it in this car. I don't like the new GSes so probably would not buy again.

2002 Acura MDX - Meh. I needed a vehicle that could seat 6 and didn't want a minivan so this was the best compromise. The MDX had some issues but I was impressed with the 5AT transmission. The MDX transmission was very intuitive and always shifted at the right times. The GS300 transmission on the other hand was not very good in comparison. Since my kids are older, I have no need for a car this large.

2005 G35 6MT sedan - I loved this car. I had very few issues with it. No rattles or anything. Had one issue with the cruise control where my engine stopped completely going about 65MPH on the highway. Never happened again though. I would have gotten another G35/37 but it is impossible to find a 6MT anywhere. The G37 sedan does not come in 6MT until March. Despite my bad experience with BMW, I ended up ordering one. It should arrive late Feb/early March.

In response to The Boston Dangler's Jetta, my sister had a 92 Jetta and it had an engine fire as well. She hated that car. I wonder if that is a standard feature on Jettas?
 
1996 Honda Accord LX Coupe 5spd Manual.
I LOVE this car, it has great value in it, very good for commuting around, hell it's value has went up after I purchased it hehe. Great mileage (30+ MPG), very fun to drive with respect to it's mileage and has a decent 4cyl 145 HP 2.2L. Handling is very decent, mechanical failures are nothing above normal just usual maintenance and part replacement, despite the fact that I rally my way to school and work everyday 😛 it has not let me down..... yet hehe.

God willing, I will be comfortable enough to buy a new car next year, my heart is leaning towards a new BMW sedan (not decided on 3 or 5 series but maybe a 5 series), I really don't want to part away from this fun car so I am keeping it as a project/backup car, there is so much I would love to upgrade in it myself so that I can learn how to do things in cars better. I want to install (Navigation, heated leather seats, security and starter system, sun roof, cold air intake) just to make it fun even more 😀
 
My current car is a 2007 Lexus IS350 and I love it. Nevermind the fact that I practically stole it from the dealership (15% discount off MSRP and the dealership offered me $3000 over Kelly Blue Book private party for my trade in). There is very little I don't like about this car. The ML stereo sounds pretty damned good for a factory radio, excellent power from the V6, fit and finish, and I fit in this smallish car like it was designed for me and I'm a robust 6 footer. I'm also glad it has a fully defeatable traction and stability control.

This is the first automatic tranny vehicle I've owned in quite a while and I was rather concerned about whether or not I was going to hate it. Not to worry, I've been pleasantly suprised by its performance overall. The gearing is dead perfect and extracts maximum performance from the engine through the 1st 5 gears. It also has a "power" mode that really does transform the vehicle's personality from delivering its usual smooth power and shifts to razor thin throttle response and extremely agressive tranny mapping: It'll downshift to keep the engine in the power band during braking and hold gears like I've never experienced in an auto tranny before. It doesn't make the car accelerate faster, but it's nearly flawless in its execution at the track making this car way too easy to set blistering lap speeds.

The tranny isn't perfect though, in "normal mode" it is definitely balanced in favor of fuel economy: First gear makes itself known only from a dead stop, even at only 10 miles an hour it won't kick back down to first even when agressively trying to coax it. I'm also not smitten with curious nature of the "manual" function of the slushbox as it only forces downshifts (obviously within reason, it won't let you over rev), and not upshifts -- leaving me to wonder what the hell is the point of this "feature".

Other things that could use improvement? Steering feel is severly lacking--good thing it does go where its pointed. 3600 lbs is pretty heavy for a subcompact car. It eats tires (staggered tires means no tire rotations) and I find it shocking that a high performance car such as this has no camber adjustment at all. The stock front tires were obviously chosen by the lawyers to induce safe understeer. Changing from 225/40/18 to 235/40/18 has made this car much better balanced handler.

In all, I'm keeping this car for the long haul provided it holds up to the punishment I've given it. So far so good. At 30k miles its broken in quite nicely and is even a tick faster than when new.

My previous car was a 2004 Acura TL 6MT. I hated that car, biggest POS i've ever owned.

Prior to that I had a 2000 Audi S4 with all kinds of go fast goodies installed (APR chip, UUC short shifter, APR/Borla exaust) that I still miss to this day. I miss it less because of the Lexi, but that car was a beast!
 
Originally posted by: BUTCH1
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I really like my '08 Altima Coupe. It's the first new car I've had and I'm pleased. It's over a year old now with about 16,000 miles on it. Had a minor exhaust heat shield recall to fix the rattling... there was also an airbag recall, but my car was not effected. Other than that it's been oil changes and tire rotations.

There's one thing that concerns me about it though... there is A LOT of valve train noise when it's cold. Makes me wonder if its ~200 mile highway cruise from Chicago to the Detroit area at the beginning of its life may have done some valve train damage.
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Why would a 200 mile trip damage a new motor?, did you run it at extreme speed??.
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I didn't drive it, so I don't know. Either way, constant low load RPM is a bad way to break in an engine.
 
1998 Camaro, V6 A4. Bought it at 104K. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Previous Owner (PO) abused it, led to me getting it cheap but it has now cost me more in repairs than I bought it for. Some of the repairs were your typical stuff for a 10 year old car, but due to abuse from the PO it needed extra work just to replace those things (never aligned in its whole life!), needed a windshield (horribly scratched), battery (stock battery from the factory 10 years ago), brakes (original factory rotors and rear pads), tires (old ones were almost bald), fender (PO hit a deer), ended up needing lifters in the motor at 109K (abnormal for that series motor) then the motor spun a rod bearing at around 112K (absolutely abnormal, those motors almost never blow up). Then the guy who put the motor in banged up the oil pan then wouldn't do anything about it, so I bought a replacement just to find the @#*&%^ ripped me off and sent me a piece of junk and wouldn't refund, so I bought another pan from the dealer....

And the story continues. Someone did a hit-n-run on my quarter so I have a wonderful crease and scratches in it, and I'm replacing a brake line.

As much as I am tired fixing up all these problems - and kicking myself for buying an abused car - I still like that car. If I had to do it over though, I'd buy a different Camaro, one in better shape, would have cost more initially but been cheaper in the long run. I could have had a Camaro Z28 for how much I've put into this one, plus it would look nicer too. All the money I've put into this one and it hardly shows, it looks rather beat up still even with the new fender 🙁

 
Sparkle Red Dodge Magnum, total overhaul on stereo with JL Audio throughout.

I am in love with her 😉

Dave
 
First car: Dad's old 1991 Mercury Sable
I loved it. Paint was fading (it was going grey with age), tach moved around randomly, the lightbar in the grill had one of four bulbs lit, so it was ridiculously gaptoothed, trunk wouldn't stay latched when it got warm (if I parked in direct sunlight, when I came back the trunk would be open). Wasn't my car, so it stayed when I went off to school, transmission died a year after that.

Current vehicle: 1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier, paid 6k for it with 78k on the clock, now it's ~110k.
I've replaced the alternator, upper, lower ball joints and sway bar links in front. Currently, it needs new air springs (very slow leak, absurdly common on these cars, not too expensive or hard to fix), and I'll give it new plugs and wires because it's about due.

Absolutely love the car. It's beautiful, super comfortable, easy to work on, very reliable (only times it has no-started on me was when the alternator quit charging the battery), I like driving it around, and it's fairly unique in my hands (I bought it when I was 19 or 20, only town car in the student lot at my university), and it can carry everyone in the world inside and all of their stuff in the trunk. Great for roadtrips, I've put tons of interstate miles on it.
 
Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
First car: Dad's old 1991 Mercury Sable
I loved it. Paint was fading (it was going grey with age), tach moved around randomly, the lightbar in the grill had one of four bulbs lit, so it was ridiculously gaptoothed, trunk wouldn't stay latched when it got warm (if I parked in direct sunlight, when I came back the trunk would be open). Wasn't my car, so it stayed when I went off to school, transmission died a year after that.

Current vehicle: 1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier, paid 6k for it with 78k on the clock, now it's ~110k.
I've replaced the alternator, upper, lower ball joints and sway bar links in front. Currently, it needs new air springs (very slow leak, absurdly common on these cars, not too expensive or hard to fix), and I'll give it new plugs and wires because it's about due.

Absolutely love the car. It's beautiful, super comfortable, easy to work on, very reliable (only times it has no-started on me was when the alternator quit charging the battery), I like driving it around, and it's fairly unique in my hands (I bought it when I was 19 or 20, only town car in the student lot at my university), and it can carry everyone in the world inside and all of their stuff in the trunk. Great for roadtrips, I've put tons of interstate miles on it.
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Haha.. I'm like twice your age but still too young for my towncar. But I wouldnt have any other car and that includes an LS460 which I can't fit in comfortably. All these new so called luxury sedans forgot about the luxury part with cockpit seats and center console knee obstruction.

Before I got my 2007 I had an 2001.. I think that's the same body style as yours and for the spring issue I recommend getting coil spring conversion kit. Air springs are insane cost and to install....looking @ about $1200 air vs. $400 coil. Does not change ride..much.
 
Originally posted by: Naustica
1997 Toyota 4runner; new: First car out of college and loved it. Never had any problem with it. You could sleep in it if you folded back seat down. Best feature of the car? You could roll down the back window. I gave it to my sister in early 2000 cause she needed a car. She gave it to her brother-in-law in 2003 and he's still driving it to this day problem free. I think it has about 250k miles on it now. I told him to give it back to me whenever he decides to get rid of it. I want to get it back for sentimental reasons.

2000 Porsche Boxster; new: I wasn't planning on getting this car. My cousin wanted to buy a Boxster so I tagged along to the dealership. There I saw Speed Yellow Boxster in the showroom with black interior and yellow stitching on the leather and yellow seatbelt and carbon fiber pieces throughout. I was like wow. I knew I had to buy it. Unfortunately, that car was already sold so I ended up ordering the exact same car except in tip. My cousin ordered the exact same car in manual. It was my first sports car and first convertible. Loved the car but I never really drove it much. Had around 6k miles in two years so I sold it. I wouldn't mind getting another one but only want the manual S version.

2000 Dodge B2500 cargo van; new: Needed a work van and this was the cheapest out the Big 3 so I bought it. It's my daily driver and a workhorse. I beat on it and abuse it and sometimes leaving it running for hours at a job site and never had any major problem. It drinks gas but it can haul tons of cargo and equipment and has never failed me yet. This vehicle has paid for itself many times over. Would buy again except Dodge is now using Mercedes van. I don't want anything to do with Mercedes. Next work van will be Ford or Chevy.

2002 Toyota Tundra; new: Bought it because I wanted a pickup truck and it was cheaper than Ford or Chevy and I never had any problem with Toyota products. No problem with the truck. I use it as a backup work vehicle and around the house projects. It sits mostly unused. Would buy again if the price was right but prefer Ford or Chevy truck for the same price. But with the cargo and minivan, truck is sort of redundant.

2003 Toyota Sienna; new: Bought it because we had our first child. Great minivan. This is our family and vacation car. Boring to drive like a Camry but never had any problem with it. Would definitely buy again.

2001 Honda S2000; used: I wanted another fun convertible so I picked this up. It was my first manual car so it took little getting used to but I saw the appeal of a stick. Fun grown up go-kart. It's a car that makes you smile everytime you get in it and drive. The fun only lasted about 2 months. My visiting brother-in-law totaled the car. Will likely buy another in the future.

2007 Chevy Corvette; new: I was not a Corvette fan. Never cared for the car. But one of my friend got the C6 Z06 and I was hooked. I thought about getting C5 Z06 to save some money and tested it but I really liked the look of the C6. I was going to wait for the 2008 LS3 but GM did the 0% for the 3 years so I had to take advantage. I'm now a Corvette fan. I see the appeal of the car and why it has so loyal following. Car is a beast and great GT car. Very comfortable with huge space for luggage and anything else you want to carry. The car does have small negative like the huge turning radius while parking and ugly cobalt steering wheel but that's minor stuff. I love the targa top, the raw power, and handling of this car. I also think it's one of the most beautiful production car out right now. I had this car 2 years now and sadly only put 3k miles on it. 🙁 It's hard to find time to enjoy the car with work, wife and daughter, and multiple cars and motorcycle. I think I calculated the cost to something like $7.50 a mile. I thought about upgrading to the Z06 or M5 but that car will probably rot in my garage as well. I only have a year left on the payment and trade-in values are shot given the crummy economy so I decided to keep it. Economy will probably get lot worse next year, and I need to save my cash for investments and steal deals.
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Nice collection. The only lt truck worth getting is the F150 none better IMO even though chevy gets marginally better mileage.

I have a question about the Mercedes (sprinter) van since I've been mulling it about since my F350 feels like a riding skateboard..feel every bump. So what's the deal..Gets ~ 25MPG comes in 1 ton and can actually stand up in it and I'm 6'3". I have never bought a van because crawling around on my knees to get something out of the back seems like it would get old real quick. But this thing seems perfect. Great mileage, can secure loads, can tow etc. So what's the problem?


I tow a 24' pontoon (7000lbs) and a 4 horse trailer (9000 lbs)
 
1994 Honda Civic DX Sedan - Reliable car until year 10 of ownership and then things started breaking down (AC, Master Brake Cylinder)
2005 Saab 9-2x - Great leather. Hated driving a stick
2006 Honda Civic EX Coupe - Loved the car. Should've kept it. MP3 player kinda sucked when I burned MP3 CDs (skips) but everything else about it rocked.
2008 Subaru Impreza 2.5 w/ Premium Wagon - Exterior and ass look great. AC works quickly. Acceleration and handling the worse I've ever owned. I highly regret getting this car.
 
My current car is a certified pre-owned 2006 BMW 330i with 6MT, sport, premium and cold weather packages and Comfort Access. It has around 19K miles. My only tweaks have been to add a ZHP shift knob and M3 steering wheel. I definitely love the car, much more than anything I have owned previously. It's just an amazingly entertaining daily driver and handles incredibly well for such a practical car. Very full-featured from a tech standpoint as well, with BT, HiD, iPod integration, and heated/powered everything. It's a treat to drive even in the MN winter thanks to Blizzaks and excellent traction/stability control systems.

Previous cars in reverse chronological order:

- 2001 Nissan Maxima SE with 5MT - got rid of it with about 74K miles. Overall I enjoyed the car, though as a "sports sedan" the BMW easily blasts it into the weeds. It was comfortable and decent to drive. It developed a major gas mileage issue with less than 50K miles that none of about 5 mechanics was ever able to diagnose, so it was only getting 16-17 MPG, which was a nuisance.

- 1998 Honda Accord EX-V6 sedan - got rid of it with 36K. HATED the car. My first and only dalliance with automatic transmissions - I felt like a soccer mom driving it. Also disappointing from a quality standpoint. Meh.

- 1999 Acura Integra GS-R sedan with 5MT - Fun but incredibly buzzy and uncomfortable as a daily driver, plus not very fast unless you really hammered it. I wasn't especially sad when it was stolen and stripped to an empty shell after one year and 13K miles.

- 1984 Honda Accord sedan with 5MT - Got rid of this one with 206K miles. Actually a great, fun car to drive and highly reliable.

- 1984 Toyota Tercel SR5 wagon with 5MT - Got rid of it with about 75K miles - Great little car I owned in college. Highly practical winter car thanks to a primitive AWD system and wagon body also made it a great little road trip car. Started rusting pretty badly, pretty fast, but otherwise a great car to drive and own.
 
OP, on my 03 Accord (same generation as yours), the DOOR SEALS are the main cause of any "rattle" sounds. They simply need to be cleaned and lubricated with silicone spray or even just Armor All. You'd be amazed how much sound they make when they get a little sticky. It sounds a lot like a thick heavy rattle. I never had that issue with another car, but on the Accord, I learned to clean and lubricate the seals every time I wash the car to keep things quiet. With 102K on the odometer, the only true rattle I have is a relatively unobtrusive one from the glove compartment when the interior temp is below 40 degrees. After a minute of driving, it goes away.

I don't love my car, because it doesn't have enough personality. But I highly respect it. It's like a really well-made hand tool.

I loved my old 91 Accord Wagon. I named it, talked to it, nursed it along for years.
 
Originally posted by: Zebo
Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
First car: Dad's old 1991 Mercury Sable
I loved it. Paint was fading (it was going grey with age), tach moved around randomly, the lightbar in the grill had one of four bulbs lit, so it was ridiculously gaptoothed, trunk wouldn't stay latched when it got warm (if I parked in direct sunlight, when I came back the trunk would be open). Wasn't my car, so it stayed when I went off to school, transmission died a year after that.

Current vehicle: 1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier, paid 6k for it with 78k on the clock, now it's ~110k.
I've replaced the alternator, upper, lower ball joints and sway bar links in front. Currently, it needs new air springs (very slow leak, absurdly common on these cars, not too expensive or hard to fix), and I'll give it new plugs and wires because it's about due.

Absolutely love the car. It's beautiful, super comfortable, easy to work on, very reliable (only times it has no-started on me was when the alternator quit charging the battery), I like driving it around, and it's fairly unique in my hands (I bought it when I was 19 or 20, only town car in the student lot at my university), and it can carry everyone in the world inside and all of their stuff in the trunk. Great for roadtrips, I've put tons of interstate miles on it.
Click to expand...

Haha.. I'm like twice your age but still too young for my towncar. But I wouldnt have any other car and that includes an LS460 which I can't fit in comfortably. All these new so called luxury sedans forgot about the luxury part with cockpit seats and center console knee obstruction.

Before I got my 2007 I had an 2001.. I think that's the same body style as yours and for the spring issue I recommend getting coil spring conversion kit. Air springs are insane cost and to install....looking @ about $1200 air vs. $400 coil. Does not change ride..much.
Click to expand...

I can get all the parts I need for less than 400 - I just need the air springs, the compressor and all the rest of the kit is still in good shape. I've also talked to people that say that you lose something when you switch to coils.

The body style changed to the more aerodynamic shape in 1998, so my '97 is the last of the boxy lincolns. I like the 2004+ town cars a lot, not a huge fan of the '98-'03 cars, though. If you go pre 1990, though, you start finding some real straightedge / right angle bodies on the town cars.
 
1995 240sx- I loved it, but sold it because I want to get an offroad vehicle 🙁 Text

1999 Grand Cherokee- Too big and felt like a luxurious vehicle that a soccer mom or old guy would drive. My dad drives it now. In Yellowstone snow

1999 Cherokee- One of the vehicles I've always admired and finally bought. It now has a 2" lift and 31" tires. Pic

1996 Miata- Bought it a couple weeks ago for a daily driver. More fun than a barrel of clowns. Can't wait to get a new rear window or new top, some new tires, and the dents and nicks fixed. Pic
 
I'm and "old fart" of 52 yrs. old. I've owned three of the best cars ever ( imho) in my life. When I was sixteen I bought my first one. It was a '69 383ci Barracuda ( with the huge back window you could barely see out of ). Borgwarner aluminum T -10 4spd, Dana rear, Crane cam, Headman headers, Sox & Martin hood scoop, Black Laquer and a set of Crager S/S Spokes. I bought this car the next day after I missed buying ( by fifteen mins. @ 7:00am) a mint '67 Shelby GT500KR, 428, dual quad, 4spd, w/48,000 miles. Asking price: $750.00!! The lady was selling her son's car who was killed in that F'd up war called Vietnam. She didn't know what she had.
My second was my Dad's '68 Mustang which he bought brand new off the showroom floor. He passed that Ford dealership twice a day on his way to and from work. One Sat. morning he woke me up and asked me if I wanted to take a ride with him. I was 12 and said sure. We drove down to Deel Ford on US1 in Miami and bought that sucker. Nice looking 289 coupe, Ice Frost metallic green w/black vynel roof, auto, AM/8 track radio, lol, tilt away steering wheel, a/c, yada, yada. $3245.00 out the door.
I bought that car from him in 1976 for $500.00. Now the fun begins 😉 . One nite it blew a lower rad hose on a highway that was under construction and since it was on a blind curve at nite with no where to pull off, I had to keep going. The engine died just as I pulled off on the nearest exit. Fortunately it wasn't far from a friend of mine (also my boss) so the next day we went to pick it up with a car hauler (I worked part time after school for a Ma & Pa car rental company). The car turned over like it had NO compression. Opened the hood and the motor had gotten so hot, it mushroomed the plug wire boots. Needless to say, a compression check revealed the motor was fried. No shocker there. I called a buddy of mine that owed me a couple of favors and he came up with an "R" code Hi-Po 289 out of a '67 Shelby GT350. I didn't ask where it came from. Going from 180hp to 306 didn't bother me 😉 . I went thru it. New rings, bearings, cc'd the heads. Inside of a month it toasted that c-4 auto (I saw that coming) so I converted it to a 4spd, close ratio, Top loader trans with a Hurst competition plus shifter. Now the car hauled ass but wouldn't stop (manual 4 wheel drum brakes)! .I go to the junk yard and get the whole front wheel disk assy, including spindles, steel lines, and combination valve off a '69 Super Cobra Jet Mach I for $60.00. Now the car can stop but it's NOT real quick off the line. That 8" rear, geared for an automatic wasn't makin' it. Back to the junk yard and my favorite Mach I for a 9", 31 spline Traction Lock W/ the infamous 4:30 Drag Pack gear. Now the car was FUN to drive. I later added the California only dealer addon GTCS kit which consisted of the rear fiberglass trunk lid with spoiler, Shelby tailights, and side scoops. Then I got married, had a daughter and you can guess the rest... .
In 1985 I bought a brand new BMW 535i which I still drive today. It's the most fun car I've ever owned. It'll cruise all day @ 140mph and at 80mph get's 23mpg. It's a 5spd. with ice cold air and the 535is kit (front air dam and rear spoiler I added on). It's ez to work on, when needed and just plain haul's ASS! 🙂
 
2000 Taurus (3.0L OHV) has been great to me. I bought it 6 years ago when I was 16 for $4,700 (former company car, not a rental) when it had 60k miles. I drove like a maniac when I first got my license and got it into numerous wrecks / fender benders; a couple examples:

I was driving way too fast for conditions and ended up dumping it into a corn field (and doing a 360 or two) going about 50 mph. Only damage was some dirt got in between the tire bead and the rim and I had to take a couple tires off the rims to clean the crap out.

A couple years ago I lost control in a blizzard on a long road trip and hit the cement freeway divider going 35-40 mph. Smashed the front end in, deployed a side airbag, and bent the motor compartment frame rails. No damage at all to the powertrain (amazingly the radiator wasn't punctured) and I was able to drive it 800 miles home all banged up without issue. I ended up paying only ~$2,500 to get the damage fixed and amazingly it still drives straight without any rattles; the body shop did an excellent job for cheap.

Fast forward to today, it has about 119k and runs great; still gets 30+ mpg on the freeway. Perfect for hauling stuff to/from college and hauling buddies around. Only non-standard maintenance I can remember is a DPFE sensor ($50) and an ABS wheel speed sensor (~$15). Although the pushrod v6 is underpowered, it's been bulletproof. I'll probably drive it into the ground, since it wouldn't sell for much given it's extensive accident history...

 
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