What is your car ?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by mattpa

Best trucks they made was the 1990s chevy silverado / sierra 1500 with the 5.7 vortec my friends dad has one original motor has 739k on it, drives it from winnipeg to the pas twice a month only does regular maintenance. its a beast

I agree, but... first, I just averaged 10.5 l/100 km on this entire Quebec to Texas trip, while carrying a 2,000# load. No small block Chevy can get anywhere close to that.

And also, for a few years, I ran it on used vegetable oil that I got from a local fast food place. A small block Chevy engine can't run on free fuel.

Thirdly, if you know the handful of things to fix / look for (relocating the PMD, getting aftermarket oil cooling lines) that gave the 6.2/6.5 their poor reputation, they're actually reliable engines. Not as legendary as the small block gas V8, but they have advantages that it can never match.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by st7860

There was an available factory turbo for the caravan too

Very true, but in the early years only. It was soon dropped in favor of the Mitsubishi-sourced V6. (By the late 1980s, if I recall correctly.) Any surviving Caravan/Voyager with the turbo 2.2 would be quite a sight (and a keeper!).

Nice to not disagree with you for once

[Dr Nevergold]

^Any Caravan couldn't possibly be 'a keeper'.

[lio45]

I'm going to bring this thread back from the mothballs, any SSP regulars changed vehicles since 2015?

This is my new-to-me '92 F150, that I plan on leaving here so I can consider flying to and from Quebec without being on foot here. (Would be a shame to have it ever get in contact with snow, given that it's in pretty good condition for its age.)

I don't have the F250 from earlier in this thread anymore, though I do still have my VW back in Quebec. Ford trucks have the best online community IMO, that alone is a reason to pick them as used vehicles - the level of help and service you get from fellow enthusiasts is amazing.

P1070941

[esquire]

I added a second vehicle since then. This is not it specifically, but it looks exactly like this one... a sensible-shoes, modest but reasonably comfortable, 2015 Nissan Altima.

We don't drive it a whole lot, 5000 km last year, on pace for maybe 3000 to 4000 this year. But it certainly comes in handy when we need it. Great on gas but still big enough to haul around kids + their stuff.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by lio45

I'm going to bring this thread back from the mothballs, any SSP regulars changed vehicles since 2015?

This is my new-to-me '92 F150, that I plan on leaving here so I can consider flying to and from Quebec without being on foot here. (Would be a shame to have it ever get in contact with snow, given that it's in pretty good condition for its age.)

I don't have the F250 from earlier in this thread anymore, though I do still have my VW back in Quebec. Ford trucks have the best online community IMO, that alone is a reason to pick them as used vehicles - the level of help and service you get from fellow enthusiasts is amazing.

P1070941

Florida must be a pretty good place to buy a used car, given the climate. I'd think a city like Phoenix or Las Vegas would probably be the best. Montreal might be among the worst: snow, salt, bad roads, aggressive city driving.

[esquire]

^ Funny thing is when you look for a later-model used car on AutoTrader.ca, the cheapest ones are generally always in Quebec. Out of the 10 cheapest, for example, 2016 Honda Pilots, it'll usually be something like 3 or 4 in random various provinces, and 6 or 7 in Quebec.

It's enough to make me suspicious... do they not come with clear titles over there? Are they all rusted through from the salt?

[le calmar]

Why are used cars cheaper in Quebec? I am not sure about the reasons, but I bought a few used cars over there and they were free of rust.

I traded my 06' Malibu last year for a 16' Cruze.

[Rollerstud98]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Florida must be a pretty good place to buy a used car, given the climate. I'd think a city like Phoenix or Las Vegas would probably be the best. Montreal might be among the worst: snow, salt, bad roads, aggressive city driving.

I'm on a truck forum, all I've heard is Florida is surprisingly terrible fore vehicles and in my own searches Washington state specifically the Seattle area is unreal for clean and modestly priced vehicles.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Florida must be a pretty good place to buy a used car, given the climate. I'd think a city like Phoenix or Las Vegas would probably be the best. Montreal might be among the worst: snow, salt, bad roads, aggressive city driving.

The U.S. southwest is even better as it's completely away from saltwater (east of the mountain ranges) but I have to say vehicles here compared to Quebec, Ontario, and New England, are in fantastic shape.

Vehicles that have lived their life on the beach however may have some rust. I've seen some in listings that pointed out they were rusty from being fishing trucks, etc.

However, this one is in great shape rust-wise... it spent its entire life in the interior of Florida, that's probably why. Away from the sea's salty air.

[lio45]

Quebec and Ontario vehicles are the cheapest, in my experience. Especially with the exchange rates these days.

Trucks are really, really expensive in the U.S. while cars aren't so bad.

Given that it seems FL doesn't require inspections to register vehicles here, I am toying with the idea of buying a (used) new, nice truck in Quebec every single time, use it to drive down, then register it here and sell it... then fly back.

The same trucks easily sell for much more in USD than their prices in CAD in Quebec. Now, of course, they can't be too rusty - anything "rusty" by Quebec standards might not be sellable here, people will be WTF? this vehicle is finished. Even by Alberta standards, in my experience - my ex-gf drove a reasonably solid Escort Wagon to Edmonton that I bought in Sherbrooke for her, and over there they deemed it good for scrap when she tried to register it in AB.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I traded my 06' Malibu last year for a 16' Cruze.

Loyal Chevy guy? I seem to recall your dad has (had) Rams... so that's likely not from growing up in a GM family.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Rollerstud98

... and in my own searches Washington state specifically the Seattle area is unreal for clean and modestly priced vehicles.

I recall that back in the day (where cars would rust a lot faster and Depts of Transportation everywhere were big fans of salting roads) if you got to bring back a BC or AB vehicle to Quebec ("a Western vehicle") you could sell it for quite a bit more than the same vehicle from Quebec - it would be rust-free, by our standards.

One of my uncles regularly went West, and often bought a vehicle to drive it back. I recall among others a '83 Tercel he brought back from BC that looked new - this was in the late '90s, and by that time basically every single model of that generation was gone from Quebec roads.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by lio45

The U.S. southwest is even better as it's completely away from saltwater (east of the mountain ranges) but I have to say vehicles here compared to Quebec, Ontario, and New England, are in fantastic shape.

I would think Seattle would be fine for salt water since there are virtually no waves/wind in the Puget sound, much like Vancouver.

I've lived three blocks from the ocean for 10+ years and had the same car since early 2011 and there's zero rust. Before that I was literally 30 feet from the ocean and parking in an open carport, same deal. No one has rust here.

I'd be worried about the sun prematurely aging things in Vegas/Phoenix.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by lio45

Loyal Chevy guy? I seem to recall your dad has (had) Rams... so that's likely not from growing up in a GM family.

I have never really woken up one day and told myself "hey I think I'm gonna become a Chevy guy". They just happened to be cheaper than Japanese cars (lower resale value though) and the latest models have been quite reliable and well-designed. So yeah I might have slowly turned into a Chevy guy

[ssiguy]

2016 Nissan Micra............great little car!

[Bandage]

[esquire]

^ Oh dear

Originally Posted by ssiguy

2016 Nissan Micra............great little car!

Never seen one up close... how is it? Any creature comforts?

When I was a student I had a Pontiac Wave which strikes me as a bit similar to the Micra... obviously not a car to impress anyone with but you know, I have to admit I really liked it. It had everything you needed to drive comfortably, decent seats, AC, sound system, good amount of storage... it was fine considering I rarely ever take drives longer than 50 km. I could see myself buying a subcompact again down the road once the kids are bigger.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I have never really woken up one day and told myself "hey I think I'm gonna become a Chevy guy". They just happened to be cheaper than Japanese cars (lower resale value though) and the latest models have been quite reliable and well-designed.

Agreed 100%. Midsized Toyotas and Hondas are boring as hell and they're still priced as if there was no competition. Malibus these days look and work great and the dealers around here advertise them at prices lower than Camrys and Accords. No brainer in my opinion.



I would have bought one if I hadn't found an amazing deal on a Nissan first.

[SHOFEAR]

Picked up a 2011 4Runner in December. Love it. Got rid of the goofy looking stock 20's for some classic looking baja style 17's. Trucks and SUV's should have big wheels unless your a dealer.