The Cars I’ve Owned

Maybe it’s ADD, maybe it’s the fact that I like to have a car that best suits me at a specific time, maybe I just don’t know what I want. Whatever is the reason, I’ve owned a dozen or so cars in my life. While that’s not a staggering number and the cars themselves are not necessarily all that exciding, but they are (or were) mine… and here they are.

FULL GALLERY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

’84 Jeep CJ-7

I wanted a Jeep long before I had my license. I was obsessed with Jeeps and I managed to find this one for a low price of $2400 (in 1994). I’ve owned it for about a year.

Pro:  Cool, looked great, awesome in the summer, easy to drive.

Con: Had rust in places where other cars don’t have places. Heater might as well have not been there. Crappy highway ride.

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’89 Honda CR-X Si

My first sporty car. Three days after owning it a smacked into a curb at 60mph, strictly due to my lack of driving experience. I fixed it, drove it for a year and sold it.

Pro: Awesome handling, decent power, great gas mileage, simplicity, reliability.

Con: The biggest problem with it was its color.

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’94 Acura Integra GS-R

I loved this car. Probably my biggest project to date. When I owned it I was surrounded by carguy friends and their peer pressure to do things that I wouldn’t have necessarily done myself. In the end, the GS-R always looked close to stock, and I believe that I may have been one of the first people in the country to swap over 5-lug ITR suspension.

Pro: Great handling, package with a huge potential, super reliable, great value, simple.

Con: Theft magnet, poster child for all that is rice.

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’99 Honda CR-V EX AWD 5-Speed

Drove it interchangeably between the below Civic after the Integra was stolen.  Bought new and remained in the family for six years and 100k when it was traded in for an ’04  Acura TL.

Pro: Fuel efficient and reliable, very versatile and surprisingly spacious interior (compared to say, a Jeep Grand Cherokee). Decently quick with the manual transmission; Real Time AWD and decent ground clearance made it a very perfect vehicle for ski trips.

Con: Rear diff started making noise at 90k miles, only because the fluid was never changed. Sunroof was not available from the factory. I’m nitpicking.

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’94 Honda Civic DX Auto

Bought it off a friend who worked a Honda dealership to which it was traded in with a blown head gasket at 120k miles. Handling was borderline dangerous until I put 15″ Integra rims on it with some decent tires. I sold the car to my friend’s father who still has it!

Pro: Cheap!

Con: Slow, basic, manual windows and door locks. Heh, didn’t even take any pics of it.

’01 BMW 330i 5-speed

My first and thus far only brand new car, leased. It happened to be on a dealer lot, but it was perfectly equipped for me, had everything I wanted and nothing I didn’t want: black on black, 5-speed manual, Sport Package, Cold Weather Package, Xenons, sunroof, leather, Harmon Kardon (‘in ’01 it was an option, standard on ’02+ 330′s), manual seats (no premium package).

Pro: It was so perfect for me… PERFECT, I loved everything about it

Con: Thicker rear sway bar, LSD, and a 6th gear (standard on later 330′s) would have made it absolutely perfect.

’99 Jeep Wrangler SE

When I met Steph this is what she was driving; yes, you marry a chick who drives a black Wrangler with a manual transmission. I’ve got a few accessories on it and put on 30″x9.5″ tires. It was a base model (4-cyl) with full metal doors and a sound bar.

Pro: FUN! Quite easy and fun to drive around the city, especially in the summer with the top down, but great in snow too.

Con: Highway ride was crappy, especially on the larger tires. Top speed of 75-ish. Handling was awful which wasn’t a surprise, lack of ABS and overall weak brakes did not help driver confidence. Small interior… hey it’s a Jeep, none of this should be a surprise.

’97 Honda Civic DX Hatchback 5-speed

Bought this off a friend. When I got it, it was equipped with some really stiff adjustable coil-over’s and shocks to match, removable steering wheel, and gutted behind the front seats. The idea was to set it up for track, so while under my ownership I installed a roll-bar, Civic Si rims and few other minor things… but at the end of the day I got bored with it and sold it after two months or so. It was a fun car, I just wasn’t in the right place in life for it.

Pro: Amazing handling.

Con: No power steering and stiff suspension made it a pain in the butt to drive around the city.

’02 Subaru Impreza WRX sedan 5-speed

Bought it from a used car lot in fall 2003, the only used car I’ve ever purchased from a dealer and probably last. Everything looks really good on paper, 227hp turbo engine, AWD, but for me it just never worked; the gearing was odd on highway, no power under 3000rpm and after that it would just shoot to redline. Handling was not as good as people would have you believe and overall quality was average at best. I sold it after six months. While I had it, I put in Eibach Pro-Kit springs, OEM gauge pod, and some other minor crap. I was tempted to raise the boost, and also bought a huge 3″ HKS downpipe that I did not get to install. To be perfectly honest, this would have been a much better vehicle for me if I didn’t own the 330i before it, which had spoiled me.

Pro: Fun, on the right road.

Con: Looks, quality (interior, paint), overall package.

’94 BMW 318iS 5-speed.

Just as I sold the WRX, I lost my job and my therefore my budget got significantly lower. The moment I sat in this car it reminded of the 330i; the feeling was there and I knew I was hooked on bimmers. 200k miles on the clock and everything original meant clutch, suspension, cooling system, and alternator had to refreshed. It was really slow, but once it got going it wasn’t so bad. Highway ride and passing power was actually adequate. I am convinced that an E36 318iS would make great, and cheap, entry-level track car.

Pro: Handling, feel.

Con: Horribly slow.

’88 BMW M5

The 318 was nice, but I needed power. Things came together in a way that I found a buyer for the 318 and found this M5 for sale in Queens. I did not spend enough time looking at it before buying it and everything turned into a project on it. Top-line Dinan suspension and other bits made the car handle awesomely, however the engine was far from being in top shape, and the transmission was funky too. All that in addition to the fact that I had to drive into NYC everyday convinced me to sell it. I didn’t miss it.

Pro: By far, the best handling BMW I’ve owned.

Con: It was a major project car.

’83 Mercedes Benz 300SD (diesel)

Not really mine, but in the family and I’ve used it quite often. It was near mint when we bought it, but it quickly developed some bugs, mostly HVAC and electrical. Rare for this car, the transmission was strong and smooth. Very slow off line but once the turbo kicked in, it moved. Great road car, drove it to Washington D.C. with three people and it was very comfortable ride, while averaging 30mpg.

Pro: Highway ride, comfortable.

Con: Issues (well, it was an old car), no ABS, slow off line, could have stopped working at any time, trouble starting when temps dip below freezing point.

’90 BMW 535i 5-speed.

I traded the M5 for this plus cash; awesome deal. 200k on the clock and I put 50k miles on within the year that I’ve owned it. I loved this car; simple, reliable, well built. I put in some OEM Euro sport springs and Bilsteins, short shifter and 16″ wheels (skipped on 17′s due to NYC’s crappy roads).

Pro: LSD + manual transmission, bullet-proof engine.

Con: Color, it’s age and mileage.

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’01 BMW 325i

Every time I saw an E46, I wanted one more and more. I just really love how these cars look, even now. I found this car and it had the important to me options: sunroof, folding rear seats, manual transmission. I would have loved the Sport Package but those usually carried a much higher price tag, and I knew I could upgrade the suspension and wheels myself and make my own SP. I made a low-ball offer and to my surprise the guy took it, ha! I kept this car for three years which is like an eternity for me. Did a few upgrades here and there and enjoyed every one of the 60k+ miles that I’ve put on it. Look for a future article on the E46 experience.

Pro: Handling & ride, comfort. Folding rear seats allowed it to transport all kinds of stuff.

Con: 30hp more, 6^th gear, and LSD would have made it perfect.

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A very important event occurred here (well, relatively speaking); I changed jobs and my new office is walking distance from home. At that point we sold the Jeep and Steph became the primary driver of the 325i and the subsequent cars. Living in the city parking is always a problem and so we became a single car family. And so, I have no car and that’s how this website started.

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’02 BMW 525iT

I was married, and I was a dad. I finally had an excuse to get a BMW wagon, a.k.a. Touring. And not just any wagon; this late model E39 had a proper sport package, a rare manual transmission (E39 540iT’s were only automatics), and a decent color. Unfortunately, the car had a few issues, mostly because of previous owner, and required frequent visits with the mechanic. It didn’t help the fact that my wife hated driving it; she actually was against this purchase but we agreed that she’d give it a fair shot. Six months later it was gone. Look for a future article on this and similar sport wagons.

Pro: More room than E46, cool looks, sport wagon.

Con: Steph hated it, called it a “station wagon” and said it was difficult to drive. Bah.

’05 Acura MDX

I bought this out of necessity, but in the last six months I’ve grown to like it a lot. It’s a Honda, it is simple and reliable; no issues, only routine maintenance. I like the room, it’s comfortable for long trips, but it does not feel huge. It’s got nice integrated features such as Bluetooth and satellite radio which the E39 did not have. Most importantly, Steph likes driving it.

Pro: Size, functionality, easy to drive.

Con: Gas mileage, handling.