As discussed in another thread, I thought it would probably be a good idea to start a thread where people can post their non-performance cars i.e. bunky, daily driver, thrasher, or whatever you want to call it.
I'll kick it off.
When I'm not driving my WRX, I'm sailing around in a yacht known as a 1996 Ford Fairlane Ghia.
I'm as passionate about this car as I am about my WRX.
What I love about it:
- It's been in the family since new and was given to me 3 years ago, and as such is in excellent condition. It done 10,000km a year for 11 years, meaning the overall km are very low.
- Still registered through our family business (note the number plates), which means I don't pay for rego or insurance.
- Has plenty of torque, because its a V8. As such, it does great skids.
- Converted it to LPG last year and now it costs as much to run as your average 4 cyl.
- The most comfortable car I've ever driven. With its fully operational self-levelling air suspension and fairly fresh shocks all round (replaced about 2 yrs ago), its like a big lounge suite floating on a cushion of air.
- Reliable. Starts first go, and drives beautifully all day, every day. We did a major service and replaced most of the cooling system when I was given the car (typical mid 90s Ford crumbling cooling system issues), so now its perfect.
- Easy to park once you get the hang of it.
- Lots of features, as expected in a mid 90s Australian luxury car....fake wood, over-the-top textured velour on every surface of the interior, half decent stereo, electronic climate control, warning lights for everything you can think of, etc.
What I don't like about it
- When my grandfather had the car, he scraped the edge of the front left quarter panel on a wall. I haven't repaired this.
- Few scratches and pin dents, which is expected for a daily driven 11 yr old car (although the car looks fab once its polished up!).
- Foggy headlights. I need to polish these up every few months, because they go yellow and foggy (like all Falcon/Fairlane's of that era).
- It currently has two blocked cat converters, so economy and power are down a bit. Will be fitting full exhaust soon.
- Small coolant leak that I still can't find. I need to drop some coolant into it every few months to keep it topped up, so its no big deal.
- Needs to have front rotors skimmed and brake pads replaced, as they vibrate under braking.
- Some arsehole broke the back quarter window about 12 months ago, and although I replaced it, I haven't retinted it yet.
- The same arsehole attempted to break my drivers side lock. Now when I lock the car using the remote, you can open the door by pulling the door handle up. If I lock it with the key, its fine.
- The LH mirror snapped off its mounts. I taped it up but it fell off again yesterday. New mirror on the way.
- Front passenger door mould fell off, new one sitting on bench ready to be painted and fitted.
Overall, I love it...and now that the car is getting to the point where I'm extremely happy with it, I can see me keeping it for a while. Comfortable, big and cheap to run. Cant beat it IMHO
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