Here’s a table showing all of the vehicles that I’ve owned and bought new, following “my own math" and regimen, operating and maintaining these vehicles for the long term, I.e., religiously changing the engine oil - the vehicle’s life blood - and filters on a timely basis, getting regular tuneups, checking all fluid levels, balancing and rotating tires and so on.
| Bought | Years Owned | Miles Driven | Transmission | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURRENT VEHICLES OWNED | ||||
| 2010 Toyota Camry LE 4-cylinder | NEW | 15 yr. | 70,000 | Automatic/front-wheel drive |
| 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V-8 | NEW | 28 yr. | 187,000 | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| 1982 Mercedes Benz 300 Turbo Diesel 5-cylinder | NEW | 40 yr. | 400,000 | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| PAST VEHICLES OWNED | ||||
| 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V-8 | NEW | 2 yr. (a) | 150,000 est. | Automatic/ 4-wheel drive |
| 1987 Toyota Cressida inline 6-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| 1977 BMW 320i 2-door 4-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Manual/rear-wheel drive |
| 1968 Volvo 122S 2-door coupe 4-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Manual/rear-wheel drive |
| Note: | ||||
| (a) Jeep stolen at the San Diego Zoo parking lot; had a LoJack but never found |
The table also shows my long-time bias/preference for rear-wheel drive vehicles, i.e., all except for the 1994 4-wheel drive Jeep and the 2010 front-wheel drive Toyota Camry.
We bought the new 2010 Toyota Camry LE 4-door sedan with the new 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder base engine and the new 6-speed automatic transmission at a very attractive low price, using the Costco Auto Buying Program and taking advantage of the CARS Program (Federal “Cash for Clunker” program) that gave us a $3,500 credit for my daughter’s qualifying used car. My wife was the buyer and my daughter the co-buyer. Thereafter, my daughter drove the Jeep until I bought her a new 2016 Mazda 3i 5-door Sport sedan as a gift for earning her BS Nursing degree and passing the NCLEX.
Although I am in good health, I recognize that my driving days are dwindling and for now plan to keep the Toyota as my last car and am considering selling the Mercedes and donating the Jeep that would eliminate costs for maintenance and auto insurance. I get notes left under the MBZ windshield wiper to call a number if I’m interested in selling the car. My MBZ has its original 5-cylinder turbo diesel engine and its original transmission both operating very well. I get 25-29 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. I’ve never experienced algae growth in the fuel tank. Another consideration is that in California the availability of type 2 diesel fuel has been shrinking. Union 76 now offers only 95% bio-diesel and Berri Brothers only 30% biodiesel, both of which are not recommended by Mercedes-Benz and my MBZ repair shop for my diesel vehicle. I buy my diesel #2 fuel from Chevron stations, currently selling for $5.35 per gallon.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMD_EPD2D_PTE_SCA_DPG&f=W
My Jeep’s original V-8 5.2 liter engine and original automatic transmission are both operating well, but gets only 15 miles per gallon.
Although my Mercedes has been hands down the best operating, most reliable vehicle, my most favorite vehicle is the 1968 Volvo 122s coupe with the popular British racing green exterior color. After the car warranty expired, I did my own oil and filter changes and tune-ups using a Chilton’s Repair and Tune-Up Guide manual. I had an auto repair shop change the brakes and tune and balance the Weber twin/dual SU carburetors. My vehicle had a Volvo B18B engine described as follows at the Hemmings.com website:
Volvo owes at least part of its legendary reputation for durability to the B18 engine, the inline-four that proved itself capable of rolling up interstellar mileages at a time when getting 100,000 miles out of an engine was unheard of. Introduced to power the company’s new P-1800 coupe, the B18 was eventually offered in the 122S and PV-544, as well. Road & Track called the engine “the most understressed unit we have seen in many years,” presciently adding, "Certainly, the engine will take a lot more than is being asked of it at present.”
My Volvo was fun to drive, a 4 banger with a manual transmission with about a 2-foot long gear shift extending from the interior floor. When I bought this car, I was an Ensign officer (O-1) in the U.S. Navy, making only a couple hundred bucks a month and with no credit history. Fortunately, a senior Navy officer directed me to the Navy Federal Credit Union that provided me an auto loan at a very low interest rate and to the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) that back in 1968 offered only auto insurance to a membership of only U.S. military officers. Since then, I continue to be a member of both NFCU and USAA - 54 years.
For those interested, here’s a video of a refurbished 1968 122s coupe that looks exactly like my Volvo except its a rare automatic:
BTW, I bought and picked up my new 1977 BMW 320i 2-door sedan with manual transmission at the BMW Munich, Germany factory for a month-long motoring tour of Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, where I dropped the car off at the Rotterdam port for shipment to Los Angeles with new BMWs.
Regards,
Ray