I’ve owned a few cars. I haven’t owned a crazy amount of cars, or anything of significant interest, but they’ve at least been interesting to me. Below is a list since my ~2013 intro to Oppo and a brief explanation of why I got what I did.
The Daily Drivers:
2012 Tundra
The 2012 Tundra was my second ever new vehicle purchase, the first being a 2002 Tundra. At the time, I was driving a salvage title XC70 that I tinkered with, and had to tinker too much with over time. My wife had been hinting about wanting to get a trailer/camper, and a Tundra fit the bill. Ultimately, when I purchased the Tundra, I actually went to the dealer with a different vehicle in mind, a 2012 Tacoma. Discounts on the big truck made it a less expensive proposition than the Tacoma, so the Tundra came home with me. It lasted with us almost two years. I guess I should note that I actually leased the Tundra for 24 months, and traded it in at the 20 month mark. I received about $5k more for the vehicle than the agreed residual value (lease residual was $22k, I received $27k on trade in). It was traded in once we decided a camper wasn’t for us, and it was an unnecessarily large vehicle for what we needed. But man, that space was nice!
2014 Focus ST
I don’t know why I bought the FoST. Well, yes I do. It was cheap (under $20k with the Ford rebates), and it was fun. It was also cheap. My son liked the speed aspect of it. My wife did not like the cheap aspect of it. Financially, it was purchased for an OTD price of $19,600 (not including down payment), and was traded in for $19,400.
We only put 4k miles on it over the course of a year, and it’s time with us was short lived. 11 months after purchasing the little hot hatch, a growing boy with a growing hockey career led me to my next purchase...
2015 Tacoma DCSB
The Taco was a great little truck, and it served us well. I was reminded when I was ready to get out of the Focus of when I initially went truck shopping in 2012 and wanted a Tacoma. This time, I left the family at home and went to check out a Blue Ribbon DCSB TRD Sport with a manual transmission. I left with a Barcelona Red TRD Sport with an auto. Overall, the Taco was with me for over 4 years, which nearly broke my “years of ownership” record for a single vehicle. It took us to the mountains, to NY/Montreal and back, and was a solid companion over its almost 40k miles. It had one TSB fix, for the whistling weatherstripping.
The back seat was a little on the small side, and the more my son was kicking the back of the front seat, the more I realized I needed a little more interior space. I purchased a locking tonneau cover, mainly for the aforementioned cross country trip, which basically meant I had a huge trunk. The bed of the truck was seldom used for anything that most other vehicles could handle.
So, in 2018, the Tacoma was traded in. It was purchased for $31,500, and was traded in for $28k.
2019 4Runner
My current DD, the 4Runner. Purchased for just over $36k in December 2018. It currently has a whopping (for me) 23k miles on it, and it too has taken us to NY and back. I haven’t missed a pickup since I bought the 4Runner, and the third row, while small, has proven useful.
Unlike my other purchases where I had made up my mind before even buying the vehicle, I test drove quite a few different vehicles before deciding on the 4Runner. Everything from a Scat Pack Challenger, to a Rubicon JLU, Regal TourX, Alltrack, etc. I guess the familiarity and overall trust of Toyota reliability won me over. Of my 4 new vehicle purchases, three have been Toyotas. Of course, me buying something for long term reliability is laughable. A recent threat of job loss already had me looking at 4Runner replacements, but I found out today that my position is safe. The 4Runner wins a stay of execution.
The Projects:
1992 Miata
This was fun, and probably the most I’ve modified a vehicle. I purchased it from a lady that had just replaced it with a 350Z convertible. It was one owner and had nearly 200k on it, and was purchased for $900. When I found it online, I called immediately and left work to go check it out. I left her a check, and went back that evening to drive it home.
Conveniently, I had a friend that had built a Monster Miata and had replaced numerous aftermarket parts he had put on his Miata prior to the supercharged 5.0 going in. I ended up with a full Flyin’ Miata Stage 2.5 suspension for less than $200. Ventus RS3s on 949 Racing 6UL wheels for less than the price of replacement 14" tires. I purchased a Boss Frog full roll bar, and stumbled across complete body panels to replace the faded and dented panels on the car. For $400, I bought doors, trunk, door, front and rear bumpers, R front lip. A week after I put them on, it got hailed on. Ugh.
I ended up building the Miata as a track vehicle and ultimately, never went to the track. Thus, it went up for sale. I made about $2k on it overall, if I don’t count my labor time. I rounded up and between my purchase price and profit, I figured that gave me about $3k towards my next project.
1967 Cougar
Enter the ‘67 Dan Gurney Special Cougar. I thoroughly enjoyed this car, as did rust, which is what led to it being sent away. When I bought it, I was initially searching for a ‘67 Mustang, but those were escaping my $3k budget. I found the Cougar for $4500. After driving it, I balked at the price and offered $2k. Discussions went back and forth, and I picked it up (with a replacement front fender) for $3k. By the time I was ready to move on from the Cougar, I had about $5700 into it. I sold it for $7100. The quotes I had received to fix the rear rust issues ranged from $12k and up. I knew the Cougar wasn’t my forever car, although I still look at pictures and think, damn, that was a looker!
1968 Mustang
The current project. Picked up in May 2020. So far, I’ve rebuilt the entire braking system, switched out some wiring harnesses, and swapped on new wheels/tires. All of that while battling some previously documented title issues. More to come for this one. Picked up for $5600. All of my repairs have been funded by selling off my Exoto 1:18 Ferrari Diecasts.
The Flip:
I tried my hand at flipping. When a ‘99 Honda Civic Hatch showed up in the neighborhood for $1000, I couldn’t pass it up. I snagged it for $900 and went to work. It needed a detail, tires, and a new interior sourced from the junkyard. The previous owner was a heavy smoked and every time I drove the car, it felt like he was in there smoking. It’s one car I should’ve kept. It was so cheap, and such a fun little car, too. I ended up with $1385 total into the car, and sold it for $2500. This car has since made the rounds on craigslist a few times.
That’s it. Thanks for hanging out with me through my little trip down memory lane. Eight cars in the past six years. It’s been fun, Oppo.