My Car Is Slow - The thread of your car's quirks

[vaca22]

I have a 2005 Mazda 3, which I had special ordered in April of 2005. This car has had ZERO problems. It is the epitome of reliability.

 

However...it is slow.

 

165hp 5-speed which I'm sure has lost some OOMPH over the years. I have no idea how quickly I can get it to 60 but I'm sure it's not "quickly".

 

My beloved 3 has a flip-up Nav that hasn't worked in 7 years. There is rust on the rear wheels. It sometimes sounds like a 30's rig when the engine turns...

 

BUT...it's mine.

 

This car will run until the wheels fall off. 256,859 miles currently. I'm convinced it's one of the higher mileage 3's around.

 

What is unique or special about your car?

[MtlJeff]

I've never owned fast cars either.... I find it kind of funny that my current car, a milquetoast Chevy Equinox, actually has the fastest tested 0-60 time of any car I've owned.

[iteachgolf]

First (still only I think) EV vehicle to have a multi speed transmission

[Fellaheen51]

My "old man's" whip is a Chrysler T & C minivan with 120K+ miles on it. Most assuredly there's nothing special about it. Other than it can haul 4 people and 4 bags of clubs to the golf course with ease. And I can lower the rear seats if I need to haul some 4x8 sheets of plywood home. And can take the entire Mrs. collection along on a road trip. Other than that.......it's very boring. Going to drive it till it pukes.

[copperjeff]

Second owner of an 05 kia sorento with 313,000 on it. Bought it for $400 and have put over 70k miles on it. Best car buy ever!

[MtlJeff]

Second owner of an 05 kia sorento with 313,000 on it. Bought it for $400 and have put over 70k miles on it. Best car buy ever!

 

400$ for 70K miles!!!!!

 

that car cost you half a cent per mile!

[Wriggles]

I've owned a 1985 Chrysler LeBaron convertible since 2012. Little old lady owned, it spent most of its life in Fort Myers, Fl. A nice little car, trying to mimic a Mercedes SL, but very slow at under 100 hp.

 

I've only had one other slow car, a 1984 base Camaro bought new, with the v-6. It was better on the highway, due to an overdrive transmission. 70+ mph was a cinch. The Lebaron, with the 3 speed Torqueflite, would probably redline under 70. Would not try it.

[highergr0und]

Drove a jeep for 10 years. It was noisy, slow, lacked most modern conveniences but it was awesome. Couldn't beat a nice day with the doors and top off driving around town. Or heading into the woods for a little getaway and 4-wheeling. Finally gave it up when kid #3 was on the way. Now I have a Ram truck that is fairly fast with the hemi, at least compared to the jeep, and is totally loaded with convenience features. Not sure I could go back to something so basic any more. I will get another jeep at some point, but it'll be strictly for nice days and weekends in the woods.

[moegolfer11]

I bang my head on the door frame almost once a week...I should've known that a being tall and owning a coupe are not a good mix. Thankfully I'll be getting a new car this summer...although I do loathe car shopping.

[ohioglfr]

Our two cars (sub-50,000 miles) are unremarkable considering your epic milestone of 250,000+ miles. I would just keep driving that car 'till it gives up the ghost. Just curious . . . do you use full synthetic oil and how many miles before you change it?

[vaca22]

Our two cars (sub-50,000 miles) are unremarkable considering your epic milestone of 250,000+ miles. I would just keep driving that car 'till it gives up the ghost. Just curious . . . do you use full synthetic oil and how many miles before you change it?

 

Okay, so many of you won't like this...

 

I took meticulous care of this vehicle for the first 6 years of its life; regular oil changes at 5k mile intervals (roughly), regular cleanings and annual detailings, also full service records in a binder in chronological order. I had the luxury of having garage space to do this at that time. When I moved I lost the garage, and everything just went flying out the window.

 

Just last night I saw the windshield sticker reminding me of my next oil change - 236,410 miles. That hasn't happened. I'm 256k+ currently and know full well that I need to handle this. I was going at least 10k miles between changes from 2011 to about 2016. AT LEAST.

 

I used to only use conventional oil, but in the last few years whenever I've needed to top off I've been using synthetic blends. Maybe someone can confirm this, but I think the conventional wisdom was that you couldn't use synthetic on a motor that didn't specifically indicate it, but now it doesn't matter and supposedly synthetic is better in virtually all cases.

 

The car slowly burns oil now which is why I do the topping off.

[padget]

Our two cars (sub-50,000 miles) are unremarkable considering your epic milestone of 250,000+ miles. I would just keep driving that car 'till it gives up the ghost. Just curious . . . do you use full synthetic oil and how many miles before you change it?

 

Okay, so many of you won't like this...

 

I took meticulous care of this vehicle for the first 6 years of its life; regular oil changes at 5k mile intervals (roughly), regular cleanings and annual detailings, also full service records in a binder in chronological order. I had the luxury of having garage space to do this at that time. When I moved I lost the garage, and everything just went flying out the window.

 

Just last night I saw the windshield sticker reminding me of my next oil change - 236,410 miles. That hasn't happened. I'm 256k+ currently and know full well that I need to handle this. I was going at least 10k miles between changes from 2011 to about 2016. AT LEAST.

 

I used to only use conventional oil, but in the last few years whenever I've needed to top off I've been using synthetic blends. Maybe someone can confirm this, but I think the conventional wisdom was that you couldn't use synthetic on a motor that didn't specifically indicate it, but now it doesn't matter and supposedly synthetic is better in virtually all cases.

 

The car slowly burns oil now which is why I do the topping off.

 

Yeah may want to get on that lol.

 

I used to sell cars and worked with a guy over the course of several months on a mustang deal. Nice guy, was some sort of military instructor, maybe a little off upstairs but super nice and cordial. He finally bought one and about 8 months in he called and said the engine was knocking and I told to bring it in to be checked out. He had put about 12000 miles on it and never changed the oil!! The guy was honest and said he never changed it, was busy and didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. I was just a sales guy, I tried getting the service dept and our sales dept to help the guy out but there was not much I could do. The service writer had already put these notes in the system which pretty much terminated any warranty he had. I felt gutted for the guy, he had bought the car brand new. Our service dept could have definitely handled it much better but by the book they weren’t exactly wrong. The dealership said there was nothing they could do, as they didn’t want to buy his car back for any number to put on the used lot. I finally pulled him aside and told him to get his oil changed somewhere else and if the knocking persisted, try a different dealership for warranty work.

 

I still cringe thinking about that. Change your oil.

[tatertot]

My 09 VW Jetta has made high pitched whirling noise for the last 70K miles ... but it starts, runs and it's paid for. What more can you ask for.

[ohioglfr]

If it’s burning oil, later you’ll be fouling plugs, let alone smoking. I’d list it in Craigslist or a local college newspaper. You more than got your money’s worth.

[Hawkeye77]

Now my wife has a Subaru I feel a sense of having given up on life a little bit.

 

Wrangler top going down at first chance this spring!

[BIG STU]

LOL still have the rat rod 96 Dodge Dakota PU--- I have drove it 10 years now showing 260 K on the speedo. But have done some work on it. I did an inframe and rolled some bearings in it a couple of years back when the nylon timing gear went also put in a new oil pump. Believe it or not it does not burn any oil. I will scoot pretty well for a 4 cylinder but I do not push it that often. Heck when it dies I work for a metal recycling company I will put it on the pile and have the guys crush it and send it to the shredder. Have a Borla exhaust salvaged off a Honda car and 6 cylinder injectors. A true junkyard dog vehicle. Got 4 mismatched tires too when I need a tire I pull one off the pile and mount it. One of the advantages of working at a metal recycling company. In 10 years it has been hit 2 times by other folks (their fault ) and I have collected insurance money off it both times. Dented patina and rust my style

[tocino]

i drive a 2013 prius v. it's decently quick from a stop but that's about it. Top end speed? well you don't buy this type of hybrid to go fast. It doesn't get the gas mileage that its smaller siblings achieve but it only costs me ~$30 to fill it up at california's inflated fuel prices. I do like the wagon-ish cargo area in the back and it's nice that the back seats can recline when i have passengers and fold flat when i need to haul junk around. I haven't had more than 2 golf bags in the back but it could probably fit up to 4 without any issues.

[Edward_Majorwin]

I own (as of today, just paid off the loan) a 2018 Civic Si sedan. Drove it off the lot brand new back in Dec 2017 and it didn't take long for the dash rattles to come alive - intermittently of course, and never when the Honda tech drives it around the block. It's downright pathetic that a new car would have so many squeaks and buzzes from behind the plastic but Honda (along with every company in the world) ain't what it used to be. Drives like a champ though and killer gas mileage to boot.

[Imp]

^^^^ I know "slow" is a relative term, but an Si doesn't fit this category. It's under 7 seconds 0-60.... I would say 8+ 0-60 is "slow".

 

--kC

[mshills]

Slow? Some time back I drove a succession of early ‘80s Mercedes 240Ds. 4 speed manual and 67 diesel HP made for what I called The Thinking Man’s Car because you had to plan moves ahead! The 240D with the auto trans was not slow. It was glacial. These cars made my step up into a 300D turbodiesel feel like a revelation. When I bought a 300 HP 400E it might as well have been from another planet!

 

Some car quirks along the way:

 

- Several MB diesels would not shut off with the key

- A truck that would not go into reverse unless you put it in drive first

- One Dodge would not start unless you got out and opened the hood (WTF?)

- Had one beater in college that would only run cold. Once it warmed up, it stalled and would not restart until cold again (that was fun until I had the $ to fix it!)