If you are what you drive, then I'm...

[tinapbeana]

my mom swears by her escor: great mileage, goes forever.

our family has also had good luck with subarus: they go forever. my dad's last one got t-boned in an accident and even then the engine kept going: they couldn't get it to shut off!!

[Cassandra]

1999 Dodge Intrepid. Handed down from my mom. Great car and gets pretty good gas mileage (especially on the freeway). I'll keep it until it falls apart.

Cassandra

[jodi]

1994 - bought my grandmother's Chrysler LeBaron (maybe 1987-88?) for $800. What a piece of junk. It got my through high school and half of college, but I traded up after the gas tank fell off...for the second time.
1997 - bought a 1990 Chevy Cavalier for about $2k. It lasted me through college, but then I handed it down to DH and bought a new car when I graduated.
1999 - bought a 1997 Saturn, about $11k. Pretty decent car. It was good to me considering I treated it like crap. When I was prego with ds #2 I traded up to a minivan and DH got the Saturn.
2004 - bought a 2000 Ford Windstar for about $7k. I hate this car. I truly hate it. I don't mind driving a minivan, but I do mind all the things that have broke so far: seatbelts, tape player, automatic locks, interior lights, air conditioning (twice), brakes, tie rod (broke while I was driving a few months ago), others that I am forgetting to mention. Ugh. But we paid cash for it and I will be driving it as long as I can.
(DH finally got the chance to drive a car that was not previously owned by me. He bought a 2005 Nissan Sentra -seems to be a popular choice - last year when the Saturn bit it).

I do know that I will never, NEVER buy a new car again. I work PT, and one day I realized that I had worked PT for a year to afford that Sentra. A year! For a car! Never again.

[scfr]

Dependable. Solidly middle-class. Kinda boxy and not at all sexy.

Nissan Maxima - bought used
Ford Taurus - bought new
Toyota Camry - bought new
Subaru Outback - bought used

Those are the 4 cars my DH and I have owned in 14 years of marriage; we still have the last 2. Before we got married, I never owned a car. I walked or rode the bus, and a couple times a year I would rent a car with unlimited mileage for a weekend to take trips and stock up on heavy groceries.

[34saving]

I've been driving for 17 years, but only 2cars. Drove a 1987 Plymouth Sundance from 1990 to 2000. Sold it for $500 -- it still ran. Drive a 1996 Camry now (Bought it rehabbed after somebody else totalled it.) I think that means I'm pretty dull and I like it that way.

[FrugalTexan75]

My first car, Age 18: 1991 Hundayi Sonota (sp?) Used - Great car, I drove it for three years - had two accidents in it (one small, one with repair estimates of over $2k but got it done for about $800) -- sold it to my parents who then proceded to drive it for another two years before it finally gave up the ghost. Biggest non-accident related repair - rebuilding transmission.

My second car - Age 21: 1997 Honda Civic (new)- Awesome car. Have replaced hood twice (once due to an accident, once due to hail damage). Had to replace part of a/c system in 2000 (the compressor I think). Other than routine maintenance (oil changes, replacing timing belt, starter, etc) nothing major. It has 93.5K miles and I hope to make it last at least another 90K or more!

[nanamom]

Wow, you mean you guys remember everything you drove? I'm impressed, I am also not real car conscious as you can probably tell. I remember the first car was an old green station wagon that we paid 500 dollars for and it broke permanently within a month. The next was a VW beetle, it came with an idiots guide and lasted about a year or two. After that it's a blur. I know we had a white rabbit, and a putrid colored citation. I've owned a small pickup truck, a explorer and a dodge thing that was small. I had a couple vans or so and now we have a van that we are hoping God fills with kids. when I got divorced I got a red ford focus that was sporty and I loved it. Other than that who knows.

[lieweheksie]

Only 3 cars- been driving since "89 and only now on 3rd car now do I have a car payment :-(
89 to 92-My little red beetle "74 1600
I drove this car while I was at varsity- loved it
run on smell of an oil rag, climbed hills at 60 km/ph, once transported 12 other people( students actually)
sold it when moved to JHB
then no car of my own till 1999
99-06-Datsun '74 1200 Box
taken over from my folks
very light on fuel, never afraid of beiing carjacked
sold it when it started breaking down on weekly basis
06 till i hope 4ever ford fiesta 1400
i brought this as a demo- practically new
I finaly have car that I know will get me to work, has aircon so I don't have to drive with gloves in winter- light on fuel
love this one - will drive her for as long as I can

[project15]

16 yrs old - 1991 Honda accord 5-sp. Loved that car. The clutch gave out after about 4 years of teenage driving and I didn't want to put any money into it

20 years old - 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GS-T. Loved this car as well. Turbo, convertible, 5 speed. Sold it to my dad since it wasn't practical in Chicago. He's enjoying it in the NC weather and calls me every day to tell me he's driving with the top down

21 years old - 1994 Mazda 626 V6. The distributor/electrical system broke and I replaced some parts, but it never ran the same so we donated it.

21 years old - 1995 Eagle Talon AWD, 5 speed. This car was cool because it was turbo AWD, but the kid before me beat on it. Worst financial mistake of my life. I got in an accident in it and a month later a CV joint broke. I had to sell it since it wasn't worth repairing. Lost $4k on that sale in less than 4 months of driving it.

22 years old - 2003 VW GTI, turbo 5sp (current car) Love this car now, leather heated seats, black on black, it's a quick little thing.

[Ima saver]

My first car was a 1953 ford, used
next car was a 1967 cougar, new
new car was a 1972 convertible spitfire, new
new car was a 1975 convertible spitfire, new
next car was a 1978 corvette, new, still have
next car was a 1987 bronco, new
next car was a 1997 camero, rally sport, new
next car was a 1933 ford victoria
next car was a 2004 corvette, new
next car will be a corvette

What kind of person am I?

[PauletteGoddard]

ooh I'll play

age 19: Hyundai Pony
age 30: Saturn SL2
age 36: Yamaha Majesty 400cc

Either I am getting wilder in my dotage or I'm just not a car person.

[project15]

My first car was a 1953 ford, used
next car was a 1967 cougar, new
new car was a 1972 convertible spitfire, new
new car was a 1975 convertible spitfire, new
next car was a 1978 corvette, new, still have
next car was a 1987 bronco, new
next car was a 1997 camero, rally sport, new
next car was a 1933 ford victoria
next car was a 2004 corvette, new
next car will be a corvette

What kind of person am I?

I don't know, but I like most of the cars on that list.

[Daylily]

Boring but dependable. 3 cars in 19 years!

1988 - Used 1982 Chevette. (only put 45000 miles on it in 9 years)
1997 - Used 1994 Oldsmobile 88. (still use this one. it has 211k miles)
2004 - New 2004 Subaru Outback.

[Ima saver]

I am obviously a sporty car person. The bronco was because we were moving to the mountains and thought we needed 4 wheel drive! However, I still had the corvette to drive for fun.
I will probably be the only person in the nursing home with a corvette parked outside my window.

[dmontngrey]

I think I'm really unbelievably boring and unimaginative based on my cars!

Aug 1998: bought a 1990 VW Jetta Carat. This lasted until Dec 2001 when the engine had an unfortunate accident. We just couldn't sink any more money into it. 166,000 miles on it at the time.

Dec 2001: bought a 1998 VW Jetta GL with 28,000 miles. Just passed 145,000 miles this week! I have had everything you've never heard of go wrong with this car. My check engine light has been on 99% of the time since September of 2004 - I panic if it shuts off! Am I getting rid of it anytime soon? NO! It had a rough year last year, but the only major problem so far this year was a faulty spark plug wire that was replaced under warranty. Not bad over all for not having an oil change since... um... well.... It's a VW! They run on sludge! I do need a new suspension, but this car rides ok on one that's shot.