#17 1991 Chevy 1500 - I traded in the Nissan on this used Chevy. While there were times I enjoyed driving around in a giant vibrator, I wasn't condusive to good driving. The Chevy had a bigger bed and more power. With the great buy I had on the Nissan, I didn't lose much on the trade for the Chevy so it all worked out allright. After a couple of years, I was able to hire someone to takover my work and went back to driving a car.

 

#18 Ford Probe GT LTD - The kid came back out in me again. The same dealer I had bought the Chevy from had this nice little pocket rocket on the lot used with 6,000 miles on it. V6, chrome wheels, automatic and leather. It had all of the options and I picked it up for $12,000 (only a year old). It was too good of a deal to pass up on. I think that's part of my problem with buying cars. I find a deal that's too good to pass up, and I don't.

 

#19 1996 Chrysler Concorde - The biggest down side of having an office in Newark, NJ is car theft. After three break in attempts on the Probe, I had to get rid of it. I had the misfortune of walking in on the third one. So I needed somthing low key, but comfortable as a daily driver and picked this up from that same Chevy dealer...again used. Looking back at the beggining of growing the 1st business, it's amazing how how cars were so much a part of things, and how I had to work on such a low budget. I still managed to keep it interesting though if not anything else.

 

^^Ah, the LH cars. Dawn of the "cab-forward" marketing campaign....

 

Intermission - By 1998 my second marriage had come to an end. I was living in a one bedroom apartment and going through hell with my ex. The business was going ok, but life itself was just sucking. I had my son every weekend and a few nights each week which was good, but it's like I was stuck at a stop light and waiting for it to change. I guess the fix was...you guessed it... #20!
And as eric pointed out above, I was kind of digging the whole cab forward thing from Chrysler but I found a DEAL!

 

#20 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC - Bought it from a Lincoln dealer with 4300 miles at almost an $18,000 reduction from MSRP (foreshadow). 280 hp and 285 ft lbs of torque when that kind of power wasn't around. The perfect car! Fast, incredibly well equipped and beautiful. I was on top of the world! Fully loaded with everything and included a suspension that would drop down at higher speeds to give it more stability. Imagine a car that would drop on its own! As it turned out, that was a problem for Lincoln, the LSC and me. The engineering of the concept was off a bit. Once you exceeded 65 mph, the car would crouch to its lowest setting. As a rear wheel drive car, it had one major problem; the angle of the u-joints was so great they would whip creating a vibration from 65 mph and higher. I spent many days at the dealership over this issue. They tried everything from road force balancing to replacing the tires and wheels. After a month of working on it, they had the regional tech come in. He never looked at the car but sat down with me at the dealer and explained the situation. He acknowledged the vibration but would not acknowledge any problem. His "fix" was that it was illegal to drive over 65mph and if I didn't do it there wouldn't be any vibration. Off the record he said it was an engineering issue and because that was the last year of the LSC, Lincoln would not do anything to address it. So after a month and a half and 5,000 miles (I drove all over New England at the time) she had to go. I had headaches from the vibration and putting that kind of mileage on daily I couldn't drive 65?!



another pic (not mine):

 

#21 1999 Chrysler LHS - After several years off of the market, Chrsler brings back the LHS in a design I fell in love with. Perfect timing...I had to get out of the lincoln and the Chrysler dealer offered me $500 less than I paid for it on a trade after putting 5,000 miles on it. I still paid a couple of thousand less than MSRP on a brand new model year car (foreshadow) even with the good trade in on the Lincoln. The Chrysler was great on gas, lots of room and had great style for the time...but it WAS a Chrysler. If you HAVE to buy a Chrysler, NEVER buy a new model year. Chrysler had the new ability to take a car from conception to dealer in 4 years and that came with it's drawbacks;

1. Three window motors
2. two sets of front brakes and rotors
3. 4 calipers
4. electronics
5. electronics
6. electronics

At 35,000 miles I had an issue with the heat not working. I brought it to the dealer to make sure it was covered under warranty. They could not duplicate the issue. A month (and 4,000 miles) later, it happened again in the middle of December and 10 degrees f. I was told that the car was out of warranty and the repair could be as much as $1,500 depending on the issue. It was electronics and could be anything. I argued over the fact I was there a month earlier and said they would "try to get a credit issued" from Chrysler once the repair was done. There was no loaner, I needed to head to Boston the nest day and I was pissed. I was going to think about what to do so I left for the office without leaving the car. On the way up, the drivers window dropped off the track and in to the door.
No heat, no window and 10 degrees.

I saw a Nissan dealer on the way to the office and stopped. I was pissed and irrational and traded in the Chrysler on a Maxima GLE. I didn't get killed, but took a $4,000 hit on the trade which started my Nissan kick.

 

#22 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE - My first real run back at the imports. The Maxima had plenty of power, handled well and was bullet proof. I was averaging 45,000 miles per year and it never let me down. The thing about high mileage driving is that either you get out under 60,000 miles or your in trouble. If you're lucky, you may get 200,000 miles before you have to put major money in to them. A 5 year loan is a recipe for disaster. So I made the decision that I would work with low payments, little down and turn them with under 60,000 miles to get the best possible end result. I spend nothing on any maintenance (tires, brakes...nothing) have low monthly payments and take the hit once when I turn them. (not actual car but identical)

 

My first car was a 66 4 door impala with a create motor 350 me and my pops put in. Bought the car in 2000 sold it for 4k in 2001 and bought a 1997 Trans am WS-6 in my senior year in highschool.

 

No pics but my short history
1966 impala
1997 WS-6
1998 Dodge Dakota R/T
1998 WS-6
2004 Chysler 300m Special
2003 Honda accord V6 EX 2 door
2006 Jetta GLI 6spd
2005 Acura TL.

 

Intermission - I met the real love of my life in December of 99 and we married in August of 01. It took me a few tries to get the marriage thing right but I really think age had alot to do with it. I was 36 and by then I had a real good understanding of me. That's one of the most important parts of being married; being grown up enough to understand how to be married...but I digress

 

HEY HEY...
This is my story, start your own thread

Nice cars though

 

#23 1996 Mercury Villager - We needed a minivan so we traded in my wifes older Accord for the Mercury Villager. Three boys made more room necessary. We just bought a new house and things were tight so we tried to keep the numbers down. Not much to talk about with this one.

 

#24 2002 Nissan Maxima GLE - The 2000 had 55,000 miles on her and it was time to trade. It had been a great car and the 01 had some minor upgrades (more hp, minor refresh nose and tail) and the dealer was willing to play. I first went in the first week of December of 01 and negotiated the deal I wanted. The dealer said he just couldn't do it so I walked knowing the end of the year was weeks away. Sure enought I got a call a few days before Christmas with an offer half way between theirs and what I wanted and I said no. I got another call a week later and picked up the new one a few days before the new year. That was the beggining of silver for me. I got silver because of the funky tails that the maxima had. They were one of the first production cars that I can remember to use the Altezza style tails?

 

#25 2001 Honda Oddysey - We were at my buddies house (the Honda dealer GM) one weekend and his wife showed my wife the new Ody he had brought home as a demo. It had all the bells and whistles and even a VCR entertainment center. Yes, you read right...VCR. We all went out in it and she couldn't get over how nice it was, but never said another word about it. The wife's birthday was coming up, so guess what I did?

 

#26 2002 Honda Accord EX-L - Things at work blew up. My partners decided to sell out the business to a big company. Long story short, things went really wrong but I was able to negotiate a good deal with the new company including a nice signing bonus. My Mom needed a new car and wasn't able to afford one so I took care of a big down payment for her and brought her payments well below what she could afford. One of the greatest memories I have was bringing her out to the driveway to surprise her with it. I've never seen her happier. She passed a few months ago and the car came back to us with 17,000 original miles on it. I didn't want to sell it, but we didn't have room for it. The two boys already had cars. As it turned out, an in law was out of work for a long time. He got a job offer to work but it was an hour drive each way and their car wouldn't cut it. So everything works out for the best; I get to see the car all the time, and we helped them when they needed it the most. These pics are taken recently when the car came back.

 

#27 2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan - I was only a few months in to the new Maxima, but come on! I had to! This had the Nismo body kit, and all options including Navigation. It was the car of my dreams (for the moment). Actually, I owned that car longer than any single car I've owned to date. I added many mods including TB spacer, intake, plenum, exhaust, grounding kit, springs, sways, clear corners, head lights and two sets of wheels and tires. I'll post more pics at the end of the thread. I don't have many on this computer.

 

#28 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited - I was on contract to stay with the new company until 2006 and time was coming close. I could have stayed there but big corporations just aren't for me. I knew I wanted to start something new on my own and I needed to start looking at cutting back expenses. A $700 plus car payment was the first place to start. So I pulled all of the mods and brought the G back to stock. The dealer was amazed at the stock wheels and tires with no wear. I was looking at a Mazdaspeed 6 and was pretty much sold. I had an "appointment" with the dealer for Saturday morning at 9:00am to test drive one last time and close the deal. I arrived at 9:00 and found the entire sales team in a meeting and was asked to wait. Forty five minutes later, they're still in the meeting and I'm getting annoyed, so I went for a ride. I stopped at the Subaru dealer down the street just to kill time. I had never looked at Subaru or even given it consideration. The sales manager had just pulled in to the lot (they didn't open until 11:00) and asked if he could help. I told him I was just waiting for the dealer down the street and what car I was looking at there. He offered (without pressure) to show me what they had as an equal if I was interested in the mazdaspeed. So I looked, and ended up driving out with a leftover 2005 at an unbelievable deal. It ended up $10,000 less than the Mazda and the dealer was great. The Mazda dealer called me later that day to ask me to come down and I explained what happened. He was very upset that they kept him in the meeting and it really did cost him a sale. He had his sales manager call me to confirm and the DB tried to get me to return the Suby!
Anyway, lots of mods with the suby...it was a rocket.

 

#29 2005 Honda Odyssey - The lease was up on the last Ody and it was time to get in to something else for the wife. Marty (my buddy) got us in to a ridiculous deal on an 05 EX-L with entertainment. We ended up paying less for a lease of a base model. We drive to Florida so often to see my in-laws, this is the perfect vehicle.

 

:ibthethirddivorce: j/k

You've owned an interestingly wide range of vehicles (make, body type, style). My brother's car history is similar to yours. I think he is crazy for trading in so many nice cars in so short time, losing money on trades, and continuing the process to this day. He's not really crazy, but when it comes to cars and women he can never be satisfied.

Your story seems more plausible than my brother's (ie: reason you trade so much). I've only had 5 cars in my lifetime and they were all coupes, so my list is far less interesting than yours. I just love coupes.

 

#30 2007 Honda Civic SI - The Leggy was a great car and an animal but with the new business up and running I needed to start acting like more of a grownup and stop driving modded cars. The SI was a little practical (good mpg, and a 4 door) and a little fun (Vtec and great handling) and low cost. All in the name of being practical! OK, I can't really rationalize this one, I just bought it. Bad timing on my part, but you'll see why in #31.

 

Which was faster, the Legacy or the G35?

 

I think it's safe to say I would walk from now on before I'd ever get divorced. This woman is the best one I've ever found, and things just keep getting better.

As far as the cars go, they are my cryptonite. I can't always justify why I do what I do, but it always seems to make sense at the time. There haven't been many that I have taken a hit on. I usually come out ahead on the deals that I make. I've made maney on many, broke even on more and lost on some. At the end of the day, I guess it's my vice. I don't gamble, do drugs or run around on my wife...but I do buy cars.

 

The Leggy. Both were 5spd automatics but the G was N/A.

By the way, it looks like my math was off. I've remembered several cars in putting this together, and just added one more a couple of weeks ago so we may be close to 40. I guess I'll have to change my sig

 

#31 2007 Honda Ridgeline - As mentioned in #30, timing is not always my best suit. As things progressed in business, we needed to start towing equipment. We were at the end of the lease on the Ody, but my wife couldn't drive a stick. The Ridgeline is an incredible truck. It drives like a car and has a ton of room. For any of you in the market for a light truck, take a look at the Honda. This one was a base model, but it was so good it made the cut for numbers 32 and 35!

 

#32 2007 Honda Ridgeline - Not sure if this should count, but I bought another for the business because it worked so well!

 

#33 2008 Chevy Malibu 1LT 4cyl - The wife couldn't drive a stick so we needed to trade in the SI. We were both feeling a little patriotic and the wife liked the looks of the new Malibu so we thought we'd give one a try. In all of the previous 32 cars purchased, I took the biggest loss on this car. There were so many problems we traded it in within 6 months of ownership. (file picture)

 

MOAR!!!! This is a great thread. Although one similar exists to this one, we should make this the official car ownership progress thread.

 

#34 2007 Toyota Camry - My in-laws had recently picked up a new Camry and my wife loved it. It was a great car, and a Toyota so it should have been solid (foreshadow). We bought it used from the Subaru dealer. Picked it up for about $4,000 less than any comparable Camry. That helped offset the $8,000 loss on the Chevy. By the way, deals aren't always deals...sometimes they're lower in cost for a reason. We had ongoing issues with throttle response. Constant hesitation that the dealer could do nothing with. We learned to deal with it over time. (file pic)

 

No way! I thought this was an original!!

 

Well, it is a list of all the cars you have owned up to your TL. It is in the 3g section. Just be glad to know your is better...

 

#35 2009 Honda Ridgeline - Things were going really well with the business and the miles were getting up there on my 07 Ridge. The local Chevy dealer had a fully loaded 09 RTL (top of the line) with only 8,000 miles on it. I was able to trade mine with no money down and the same monthly payment. The loan term was extended by 12 months but I had a truck with 50,000 less miles and fully loaded. It was a no brainer!

 

#36 2009 SHAWD TL - Our business was purchased by a Canadian Company and we formed a new US company in November of 2009. We absorbed the former US sales manager from the Canadian company so I gave him my Ridgeline as a company vehicle. It didn't look like I would be driving so much so I thought...time for a new car (what a surprise). I didn't plan on an Acuar, but the local Chevy dealer took in an 09 with only a few thousand miles on it. I took it for a drive and was hooked. I thought about just buying new but for the difference in price it didn't make sense not. It was even the color I would have chosen new.

 

Bone stock? What about those rims?

 

#37 2007 Yukon Denali - Things change...frequently. We just launched a new laser screed that needs to be towed and showed. It's a very specialized piece of equipment and will be my project for the next year or so before passing it off. The Ridge doesn't have the horsepower to pull the 16' enclosed trailer with this machine in it so I needed something more. We don't have the minivan anymore for our Florida trips, so I figured I might as well combine business with pleasure. The Yukon is the 6.2l 402 hp and 413 ft lbs torque. 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. If I have to drive a truck, I'll settle for this one; good Ole number 37

 

I'd like to say this is the end of my list, but if you've read this far you know that may not be true. There are more pictures in my archives that I have to find and put up, and there may even be more cars that I can't remember. Thanks for taking the trip back with me if you have. This has been fun.

 

Dunno... with as much effort as NJ put into creating sure an interesting AUTOgraphy (I made it up), it ought to remain his thread.

 

Wow that's an interesting list of cars, you probably went through more cars than most people in their entire life! haha.

Great thread!

 

I guess I better change that part of my sig too

 

Well done, sir!