Here's Why You Bought Your Current Car

I get a different daily every few years. I bought my 1989 Firebird because I used to have a ‘91 Camaro and really enjoyed it, but wanted a 3rd gen with pop-up headlights and power windows. It took a bunch of searching, but I found this 1989 Firebird with 88k original miles, 305 V8 and 5-speed in really good condition.

Yes, the t-tops leak and the pop headlights have failed twice. No I do not have a mullet.

I fear you need to grow a mullet, Sid. However, it’s awesome you bought the car you wanted. It’s so boring to make rational car purchases. An ‘89 Firebird is a way better daily than a Camry or something like that, if you ask me.

Submitted by: Sid Bridge

Current car? This is Jalopnik. You mean current cars.

Daily driver: 2018 Tesla Model 3 AWD. I reserved it back in March 2016 after being very excited about the future of electric cars, but couldn’t afford a Model S (and Model S is too big of a car). I come from a tech background, enjoy quick cars, and gas stations, so it’s kind of a no brainer. Delivered fall 2018 so I’ve had it just over 4 years.

Racecar: 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth. Currently in the middle of building a rally car. I’ve been getting more and more into rally the past 10 years and finally decided to compete. I previously had a 2015 Fiat 500 Pop that I won in a raffle at an Italian restaurant, and wanted a better one at some point. Killed two birds with one stone by making an Abarth my racecar of choice.

Summer weekends: 2009 Pontiac G8 GT. Bought new back in 2009. Had previously owned 4 Pontiacs and immediate family history including at least 4 other Pontiacs. Just graduating college and yearning for my first V8, I was going to wait another year to buy it, but Pontiac announced they were closing. Found one many states away and bought it over the phone and drove home. It had to be blue or the deal wasn’t happening. Super low miles still and drive even less lately since it’s redundant with the Tesla and gets way worse fuel economy obviously.

Look at you, a person of taste and money! This is really up there with the best decent three-car garages there are. The G8 GT really speaks to me, as I’m a red-blooded American who loves big and loud things. Also, please keep us updated with the 500 rally car. That sounds so neat.

Submitted by: StalePhish

Clicked on this article because I too am a Z4 owner. ‘03, 3.0, 6MT. <50k miles and I nabbed it for $13k (Owner was moving to Florida and the wife was making him sell at least one of their cars. Between a Jeep, a Lexus Sedan, and a unremarkable crossover I don’t ever remember... this is somehow what got the axe).

I wanted a roadster to daily drive. Miatas sound very meh an I don’t fit comfortably (6'2", 210lbs), S2000s are overpriced if you just care about roadster, Boxters are either hideous or too expensive depending on the generation. Z3s are either ugly combos, clapped out, or too expensive at this point.

You can arrive at buying a Z4 simply by listing the reasons you *don’t* want to buy another car, without even delving to why you want a Z4.

It is extremely comfortable for a sports car. Plenty of room for me, even with a helmet, and I can drive in work boots without feeling like my feet are going to get caught up on the underside of the dash.

Reliable. The N52 might not have the best reputation, but the M54 of the early years will likely run longer than the sun will burn. I’ve done nothing to this car in 2 years of daily driving outside of an oil change.

It looks and sounds great. Quiet when you’re putting along, but that I6 note when you hammer it is worth the price of admission. Looks wise it is really great, the E85 design aged so well and no one believes me when I say it is almost 20 years old now.

Fuel Mileage: This isn’t one you’d expect from a ~20 year old sports car, but my overall average mpg is 28.13 (31mpg if you’d rather believe the dash).

Trunk space: Another one you wouldn’t expect and what really sets it apart for practicality from other roadsters. The trunk of this car is massive. Full family grocery trips? Not even putting a dent. Week+ Vacation luggage for two people? A Breeze. Air compressor, power tools, plumbing and more home depot goodies? Yep. As long as you aren’t trying to shove furniture or lumber longer than 4-5' into it, the trunk can fit whatever you typically need.

Of all the cars I’ve owned this is my 2nd favorite “fun” car behind my E30 that I beat on like there’s no tomorrow, and 2nd favorite daily driver, behind my SHO.

And honestly I think 2nd place in both of those categories at the same time is pretty admirable.

You. I like you. We should be friends. In fact, you are now my friend.

Submitted by: CHuber

I had my 5 Series wagon and I was reading various websites including this one talking about the 8 series. I was bored at work and I went to E-Bay and put a 3K bid on this which was the lowest priced one at the time and won the auction. $2956 plus tax and title

I’m absolutely loving the BMW representation today. I’m happy to know I’m not alone with my very costly mistakes.

Submitted by: Bob

2yrs ago I bought a 2014 Focus Titanium Hatch with the Sport package (18" wheels and sport suspension). It was exactly the color and trim I had wanted in 2012 when I instead, leased a loaded SEL sedan that did not have the Sprot Suspension. This one had only 31K miles and was in perfect shape. It replaced my handed down from my wife 07 Saturn Vue V6. I wanted a practical, economical but somewhat engaging car for my small commute and my prev experience with 2012 SEL was positive. I’ve only put 8K miles on it since but it handles like on rails and gets decent around town mileage without costing me nearly anything to own.

It is due to be handed over to my 16yo daughter in April when she gets her license. This opens the door for me to look at less practical/reliable Manual vehicles:

BMW Z4; Porsche Boxster; BMW 335ix; Mini Countryman All4S; Mustang Ecoboost. Manual is for me to drive again but to teach my daughter too so she can spend a summer in Italy driving.

Look at you, being a reasonable human being. Just kidding. You currently have a good and sensible car, and you’re going to replace it with something that’s not that. Good. Life is too short to be sensible. Also, there’s one car you should definitely consider above the rest. I’ll let you decide which that is.

Submitted by: Monsterajr

The most recent was our 2008 Honda Element - picked up used with 90 000 km on the odometer for a steal. There were a couple good reasons:

The rear seats are elevated, so our toddler can actually look out the window when we’re driving - which he loves. It must really suck to be a kid, in a car seat, being driven around and al you can really see is the sky, the tops of trees, and maybe the occasional lifted truck next to us.

It’s about the perfect vehicle for our activities - easy to load paddle boards on the roof. Great rear hatch / tail gate for diving (it’s right at the level needed to get your gear on). And the easily washable interior is a huge plus.

We have a house that needs yardwork, and the customizable interior means we can haul pretty much anything we need home, or take anything we don’t want away (record is 10+ tubs of yard waste with room to spare).

We’ve put about 15 000 km on it - and apparently made money judging by what people are asking online and what we paid. No guarantees that we’d get what others are asking - but they do sell like crazy around here, and a modern version with low(ish) kilometers would be in high demand.

It’s pretty neat that you are the exact customer Honda envisioned all those years ago. Better late than never, I suppose.

Submitted by: TheWalrus

We bought a 2022 Subaru Ascent over the summer. It replaced our 2016 Outback which got handed down to our son.

We went with the Ascent because of the size, but namely because Subaru has had the quality/features/cost ratio nailed, and has for a while. It’s hard to find cars that have the quality and features (especially AWD) for the price that Subaru offers.

We came close to getting a Grand Cherokee L, but we couldn’t justify the added cost especially when you also take reliability track records into account and what you were actually getting for the money vs. the Subaru.

Your child is going to ruin the back on that Outback. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this.

Submitted by: sschwing

I was really interested in my car (Regal TourX) in 2020 when they announced they were going to stop selling them, but I had just paid off my last car and it was in fine shape and maintenance free so I kept the old car. Then when that car was stolen in December, I was able to do a deep dive into the used market, find a TourX spec’d out exactly like I wanted it, and pulled the trigger.

The Regal TourX was such an odd, out of place curiosity in the Buick portfolio. I, as you may have imagined, loved it. They’re also quite a value on the used market now, as well.

Submitted by: hillrat

A Tale of Two Cities

A long time ago, before covid, RNRJeph would happily spend summers back home in the US of A and the rest of the year working abroad. Those were the the good times.

Because of spending time between two continents I felt like I needed to have my own car in both countries I lived in. I bought my 2003 Z4 in 2009 to keep in Michigan and to use when I was back home in the summers. Driving my parent’s 1995 Accord wasn’t really my style. That car opened up the United States to me. As a teacher I have at least one month of uninterrupted summer holiday and because I grew up abroad I never really traveled in the US before.

After getting that car every summer I would fly back to the US, get over jet lag, choose a far away point, plot a course and try to experience every sight, park, attraction and random stop I could on the way there and circle back home doing the same thing.

The Z4 is perfect for this, it has a surprising amount of room, and is pretty good on fuel, sometimes over 30mpg if I try. It sounds amazing, drives amazing and has been extremely reliable. It is superb on the track and autocross and doesn’t look like a 20 year old car.

My other car is a 2011 Camaro I bought in Beijing, China in 2013. Having come from Michigan, I have always been a fan of muscle cars and especially the Camaro.

I bought that car just as a commuter car, but couldn’t leave it alone so did extensive modifications to it over the nearly 10 years I have owned it. I love taking it to the mountains on road trips, going to the track (even though my helmet touches the roof liner and its hard to see out of), car shows and just driving it to the store brings me joy.

Still, at the end of the day it is my daily driver and has been reliable and problem free. I just have to worry about getting in and out of tight spots and it bottoms out going slowly over speed bumps or coming out of parking garages, but that’s my fault for lowering it.

We are also best friends now. Congrats. This is quite a get.

Submitted by: rocknroll_jeph

Needed a daily driver:

Reliable, with a bit of a oomph (Bought the Turbo). Nice interior to be in... got bells n whistles that I want in a modern day vehicle. Easy to commute and drive in the city without getting beat up by the suspension, while still relatively fun to drive on a weekend trip into the back countries.

Dealer did not rip me off under the current environment and just paid MSRP plus 0.5% financing. No complains here.

God the Mazda3 hatch is such a good looking car. I’ve never driven one, but from what I’ve been told, it’s extremely refined for what it is, plus the interior is that of a baby luxury car. What’s not to love?

Submitted by: SennaMP4

Current cars are:

2022 Crosstrek Outdoor. This is my wife’s DD and our light-adventure vehicle. We needed good AWD capacity, some ground clearance and the ability to stuff it full of gear, with kayaks or bikes on top. It needed an interior that could stand up to the dog and the abuses of outdoor adventures. I was pushing for an Outback Wilderness but my wife is short and had a hard time lifting a kayak onto a J rack with the Outback. With the Crosstrek, she can load a boat by herself and go get lost on a river. We really wanted a Subie. Our son has a WRX, most of our friends have Outbacks, Foresters, WRXs.

2003 Tundra Stepside. I love my truck. It has 310,000 km on the odo. This has been our go-to skiing/paddling/camping/climbing/getting lost in the wilderness vehicle for a dozen years. We needed a “do-it-all” vehicle when the kids were little and we didn’t want to be a multi-car family. The truck was a deliberate choice as we live in a winter-heavy region (Central Alberta) and needed that combination of ground clearance and dependability. We needed to be able to get groceries while hauling climbing gear, two kids, a dog, and then go camping in the back country. Now at 19-years-old it’s getting either a new motor or a rebuild this winter. It’s also getting the back bumper repaired from when someone backed into me in a parking lot. I’m never selling this vehicle.

Not a bad little garage you got there for yourself, my friend. Make sure to hold on to that Tundra. In a couple of years it’ll be worth at least $3-4 million.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

Back in 2014, I had a job that both required me to drive all over the GTA (about 40k kms a year), and didn’t pay very well. The aging Hyundai Accent I had at the time was starting to develop a few problems, and was just a miserable little POS. I wanted something cheap and sensible, but also something I didn’t hate having to make a monthly payment on. Between low interest rates on new cars, not being able to do my own maintenance in a condo garage, and just how much I drove, a new car seemed to make most sense, and the Mazda2 was the most appealing of the choices available to me.

Of course, 6 months later I changed jobs, and stopped having to drive all over the place (first a six month contract where I carpooled with my boss, because somehow in a metro area of ~6 million people, I managed to apply for a job where my next-door neighbour was the hiring manager even though I’d never met him, and after that, I moved on to a job close enough to bike if I felt like it). Still, 8 years later, it’s held up well, repair needs have been minimal (bad fuel pump at delivery covered under warranty, cracked rear spring gave me an excuse to install lowering springs, and just now are some of the factory components worn out enough to require replacement), and it averages 30mpg pretty much no matter how I drive it (35+ is possible with a lot of highway driving, but that doesn’t happen often).

I’ve always thought the Mazda2 was a neat little thing. It’s got all of the simplicity of a cheap car with none of the blandness. Also it’s honestly impressive that you were hired by your neighbor. I assume it would have been awkward had they not.

Submitted by: Maymar

I needed a new explore-mobile. My 2010 Xterra was showing it’s age and after 9 years and 225k it was time for something new. I was tempted to pick up another, newer Xterra as it’s a familiar platform but I wanted something new. Specifically, a truck. So I could be one of those Overlanding Truck Guys. The new Bronco had me interested but would stretch my budget too far. The Ranger didn’t really excite me. Tacoma’s have the aftermarket going for them, but not a fan of the interior. Really like the new Frontier, plus most of the frame / suspension / brakes are from the last gen which means I’d be familiar with it all. But both the Pro-4x and TRD Pro 46k+ spec’d out how I wanted, and neither seemed really that.. special, I guess?

So in comes the Colorado ZR2. Heard the rumors that both the extended cab and diesel were getting the ax for ‘23, so decided the time was now to order exactly what I want and get a unique ‘little’ truck. Front and rear lockers, Multimatic DSSV shocks, heated seats, heated steering wheel, android auto, and a neat little Duramax diesel for less than the Pro-4x or TRD would have cost me. Super happy with it so far.

The Colorado ZR2 is a neat little truck that really does get left behind the in the mid-size truck conversation because of the Tacoma. Also, really cool of you to get a diesel, especially since it’s on its way out.

Submitted by: Laststandard

The Abarth: for me (I saw it for the first time while on vacation in Italy). It was instant love, manual, growling little thing, etc. The Audi: for my wife (she does appreciate German cars -and any and all German products- for some reasons). The picture was taken in the Spring (yes), the Abarth never goes out in Winter.

What sort of hellish place do you live in that this picture is your Spring? I’m not even religious, but I’m going to pray for you.

Submitted by: minardi

2007 Porsche 911S - Because it’s a 911, and the last one that’s still a sports car and not a grand tourer. It’s also the last generation with hydraulic steering. And I needed a better autocross car than the S4.

2014 Audi S4 - Because a tuned supercharger = almost 500hp, and I need a less showy daily that can be parked at work amidst my coworkers’ Dodge Journeys and Chrysler 200s.

I love the 997 so so much. It’s probably because that’s the real 911 of my cognizant childhood. It just speaks to me. Anyway, all that is to say that I’m very jealous of you.

Submitted by: Sponge

I bought my car because I felt it nailed everything in its design brief, and coincided with what I like.

It’s small, sensible, economical, reliable, huge inside, yet it’s still fun to drive if not the fastest thing.

Eight years later, and I still love it.

Bought new in June, 2014, and about to take yet another multi-thousand mile trip.

I think the Fit is so charming. I wish Honda still sold it in the U.S., but I guess I understand why they don’t. It’s just too bad!

Submitted by: XL500

I am 6' feet tall.

The tray is 6'2" long.

I can sleep in it.

There still hasn’t been any truck thing on sale in my country, where I can lie down in the bed comfortably.

**** em all.

My brother in Christ, why do you need to sleep in the bed of your truck? Also, why are you sleeping completely straight? You don’t curl up or anything? That’s nuts.

Submitted by: Rollo75

Honestly, because wagon.

This is as good an answer as any.

Submiited by: Ac_slater