Most underrated or underappreciated vehicle you have ever owned?

1987 Cavalier Z24...2.8 liter V6, 5 speed...was wore out with +200K miles and had jumped a ditch when I paid $800 for it. Gas, tires and oil in the 60K I put on it in 1.5 years were my only expenses. Sold it for $800. Nowhere near this nice
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When I moved from Charleston SC to Columbia SC I was driving a very ragged out 1987 Toyota pickup truck that eventually kicked the bucket on one of my many trips back and forth while moving. A gentleman named Ron Hensley that my father went to school with, built muscle cars as a hobby and owned a mechanic shop in which I took the Toyota to to attempt to fix. The motor ended up being blown and I had maybe $1000 to my name so he traded me a 71 Mercury Montego for it plus cash. It was a partial restoration and more or less ready to roll starter drag car with a swapped in 351 Cleveland and C6. (Originally 302+c4) It really wasn't all that fast, but the V8 rumble and sound in that car made me never want to own anything less.
This picture is not of mine. No pics since I did not even own a cell phone back then. Mine was the same color white with black racing stripes and a cowl hood. on my return trip to Charleston me and my buddies ranging in age from 16 to 19 would load up in this car and cruise from Charleston to Myrtle Beach and had an absolute blast.
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1988 Chrysler Lebaron hardtop couple. Had the turbo motor in it. Super comfy and moderately fast once it spooled up. I drove the hell out of it in college when my Blazer was down. It once spun a rod bearing when I was driving down I40 going back to NCSU. I kept driving it to my apartment, about 10 miles. Dropped the pan, slapped some new bearings in it and drove it for another 40k miles before I sold it.
 
88 Nissan Pathfinder I drove in high school and through college (98-03) until transmission stopped going into high gear. Parked it at my parents and it sits idle about 360 days out of the year, but every time it snows, my dad will fire it up and it's always ready to go. Probably still has Deep Purple in the CD player:rockon:

@ramjo drove his 91 Nissan 4x4 from high school (1997ish) up until just a couple years ago. That thing was a warhorse.
 
junkxj said:
Easy one for me.

1990 toyota P/U. Regular cab, 4x4, 22re.

Bought it when I was in high school with 150k miles on it, and beat on that poor truck every weekend for almost 2 years.

It caught air as often as a stadium truck, and i can honestly say i did everything humanly possible to destroy the truck.

Sold it to a family friend, and he drove it another 7 years untill the frame rusted out.

The truck didnt go worth a poop offroad, but taught me the value of a run and go, and the oh so important speed lockers.

I actually feel bad to this day for what I put that truck through.........
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I was not aware that the Toyota trucks were " underrated or underappreciated" ?..............sure they can't tow much, but they're tough,durable,long lasting when treated right and very capable off road.I'd say they were and are now the best small trucks ever built.
 
jcramsey said:
88 Nissan Pathfinder I drove in high school and through college (98-03) until transmission stopped going into high gear. Parked it at my parents and it sits idle about 360 days out of the year, but every time it snows, my dad will fire it up and it's always ready to go. Probably still has Deep Purple in the CD player:rockon:

@ramjo drove his 91 Nissan 4x4 from high school (1997ish) up until just a couple years ago. That thing was a warhorse.
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Pretty sure dad put about 20,000 more on it DD'ing it to work after you were done with it.

I've spent more in parts on my '97 F350 in the 3 years I've had it than the 17 years I drove my '91 Nissan truck :rolleyes:. Man, that was a good little truck.
 
My 99 XJ has been great. Was doing burnouts at lunch today with the guys and has made many off road trips. I bought it in 02 with 40k miles and in now has 220k and has cost very little in upkeep. Engine makes a lot of noise when cold and it starts a little hard but does not use oil.
 
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CasterTroy said:
My 2004 exploder

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I know folks with the 6cyl basically coined the phrase exploder, but you honestly have to question the decision making ability of someone who'd choose a 6 when the 4.6 V8 was offered in one.

V8
AWD (with low range)
Has a turd row (saleman was from one of those countries they source all the technical support from....that's how HE said it)
Rear AC/heat

Just tripped 211k

Trans has never been serviced
belt/plugs/coils at 110k
Blend door actuator at 190k
NEEDS rear blend door actuator (started acting up at 200k)
Replaced rear wheel bearings at 80k, and 90k but found you can't buy shit ones from Advance. Since then, no issues
Rear end sings the song of blue whales, but if you're in the turd row, I probably don't like you anyway, and you deserve the annoyance.

I've beat the ever living hell out of this thing.
I drive it like a cop trying to destroy his cruiser so he can get one of the new ones the dept just received. Every DAY! (@Jason W. can confirm)
Every time I leave a stoplight it's a race to see if it redlines or throws a rod
I've had all 4 wheels off the ground at LEAST once a year. At OBX I had the whole family with 6" of air between their butts and the seat and they loved it.
It's been a tractor, a tow pig, and mud pit champion. Honestly it's the only vehicle I'll WILLINGLY take into the mud.


Bought it with 18k on it back in 2006 for $17k and have gotten about $50k of value out of it. When we got it my oldest was 10 and my youngest was 5. And with 3 kids, it seemed every weekend we were toting around at LEAST 2, if not 4 additional kids that claimed temporary residency in our family room upstairs, so the ability to take 7 adults (or 2 adults and 7 skinny little kids with a couple sharing a seat belt) was a HUGE plus when they were in school.

In the pic above we took 4 kids and pulled a 5x10 u-Haul enclosed trailer out to the 4x4 beach at Corolla slam packed with crap. Then I took the fam out to the trails behind the house (that you're not supposed to go on because they're for the horse tours:driver: )and caught air. Came over a HUGE dune and slammed the whole frontend down. Engine bay FULL of sand. Never missed a beat. Had a coil go bad 2 years after that trip and had to vacuum sand out of the spark plug port :lol:
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@shawn don’t you drive a V6 exploder?
 
2003 Expedition

We bought ours 3 years old with 35k on the clock. Just turned 206k and doesn't really miss a beat. I know they have a bad rap for the 5.4, but in 03 they still had the 2 valve motor. Yes, I have gone thru a few coil packs, but that's really it. It's served as my main tow vehicle since then. We even had a 8000lb camper we pulled for a couple years. Still rocking 3 of the 4 factory unit bearings.

Sent from my SM-J737A using Tapatalk
 
mommucked said:
I was not aware that the Toyota trucks were " underrated or underappreciated" ?..............sure they can't tow much, but they're tough,durable,long lasting when treated right and very capable off road.I'd say they were and are now the best small trucks ever built.
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I guess the point I was trying to make, was that no truck, even a toyota, should have stood up to the abuse my poor truck endured.
 
1975 Pinto.
I remember the first time my kids rode in it. I picked up my oldest son who was then in Middle school. First thing he said was " Wow, day got a sports car" LOL It was red, mag wheels, 4 speed, red interior. If I drove it regular, I added "maybe" a qt between oil changes. But, it was a loaner car, I think everyone in my ex's family borrowed it at one time or another, sometimes for "extended periods of time. I would go over and check the fluids, always low. I did regular maintenance on it, and it NEVER let me down. I enjoyed it other than No AC! I bought it for $400, and actually give it away to someone needing a vehicle. If the right one came alone, I'd have no issue with owning another.
 
Jman78CJ7 said:
89 Ford Escort. 1.9 liter 5 speed.
My grandmother gave me the car in 2010-2011 only had 32,xxx miles on her. Everything plastic on it was dried out, but it got 31mpg. Used it as a dd/ gas saver and hauled lots of random things in it. Once had a Dana 30 and CJ grill in the back of it. Sold her for $850 in 2015.
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My buddy had one. Talk about a vehicle that wouldn’t get out of its own way!
 
Jody Treadway said:
Between my wife and I, we have had like 5-6 stock XJ and ZJs. Can't say anything bad about any of them.
We usually stick to the lower optioned ones and just keep servicing up to date.
She DDs a 98 ZJ and I'm high falootin' in my 01 XJ
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I have had soooo many XJ's I've lost count, literally. At present I own 4 of them, so but one are running. The one that isn't I bought for parts but was running originally. Greatest vehicle ever made.
 
CasterTroy said:
Replaced rear wheel bearings at 80k, and 90k but found you can't buy shit ones from Advance. Since then, no issues
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Did you build the fixtures to press them out, or just torch it all off?
 
shawn said:
Did you build the fixtures to press them out, or just torch it all off?
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Hub grappler, Impact, Vice for one side, 20 ton press for the other


Jody Treadway said:
His hands are entirely too delicate to use a torch :D
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Sometimes it's a bitch making six figures here sitting at a computer all day
 
CasterTroy said:
Hub grappler, Impact, Vice for one side, 20 ton press for the other
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You might have boogered the new one when you put it in. The moog kit is a lot easier, if more expensive. Hard to fuck up, too.
 
obullfish said:
@shawn don’t you drive a V6 exploder?
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@trailhugger has had a couple of them. The first was a 2-door, so the 4.0 OHC motor was the only option. The 4.0 Cologne was a fine motor with a long history, the OHC, not as much. You had to get the 4-door to get the 5.0. Ford had an extended warranty on the timing chains, but it only applied to the three on the front of the motor. It didn't include the one on the back.

By the time the 3rd gen came out, the OHC issues had been resolved, and we'd been burned by Triton bullshit, so seemed a no-brainer. That motor has been fine. Everything else sucked, though. I mean, the fucking thing got three half-shafts by 80kmi, two of those before 40kmi.
 
shawn said:
@trailhugger by 80kmi, two of those before 40kmi.
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KM? This is America!

You know what they say. There are two types of countries in this world. Those who use the metric system and those who have landed on the moon.
 
The majority of people love to hate minivans, but my 2010 Sienna (bought it in 2011 with 36k miles, old lease vehicle) now has 138k miles on it, and I have only changed brake pads, engine oil + filter, and the air filter. I haven't done shit else in 102,000 miles of driving over 7 years. Edit: I have replaced the battery once too.
 
Blaze said:
KM? This is America!

You know what they say. There are two types of countries in this world. Those who use the metric system and those who have landed on the moon.
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kmi :flipoff2:
 
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