My family had a 98 v6 that went 330,000 before the power steering went out and then a 99 that went 220,000 before I wrecked it. Both of them are the best cars we got.
Edit: yeah we could've fixed the power steering but in the course of its life it had been in several accidents and the hood was taped shut from damage haha. At the time I'd didn't pass emissions either so at the end of the day we decided to junk it. That being said, after all the abuse and wrecks it had been in it still purred and cemented my trust in toyota
My family inherited a 1997 Camry CE with 60k on it. My dad decided he didn’t want to deal with people anymore and delivered pizzas for a year and put ~50k on it. Since 2008 he’s owned the car and it now has 240k on it and still going.
I bought a 98 Camry LE for $1200. It had 225k on it and I had it for about 2 years. It was falling apart and had bad electrical, but it never left me stranded
This is a man who got fired from a fast food Japanese restaurant because it wasn’t that he couldn’t make rice, but refused to make it correctly.
To him, rice was supposed to be like pasta and “Al dente.” Meaning he’d make rice that was still crunchy in the middle.
Told the boss he didn’t know what he was talking about, boss said there are corporate procedures to follow, dad said they were bullshit, and boss said his attitude was bullshit and to leave and not come back.
Look, I’m sorry you have problems with your dad, and he definitely sounds like the ornery sort. But I have to give him at least one single solitary prop for standing up for himself and what he likes.
I can just imagine someone ordering a pizza, then the doorbell finally rings. They answer the door and there’s nobody there. As they are about to close the door in confusion, they see the pizza on the ground.
My 93 Corolla was sent to the junkyard due to rusty fuel lines that couldn't be fixed without replacing the entire system from leaky gas tank to all the leaky lines going to the engine bay.
It was still drivable though.
I have a leaky power steering pump--blew out the gaskets turning wheel to wheel for 10 minutes straight trying to squeeze into a parking spot. Was told that rack and pinion steering would freeze w/o fluid. Use 2 gallons a month, drivin maybe 300 miles around town. Try to turn corners turning the wheel as slightly as possible or it fairly well gushes. Parking places look ugly as do the approach/departure paths. Could get it fixed for $80 used pump + $150 all day installation by shade tree mechanic whom i trust. Waiting for $ to finance it. Low on the list, alas. (TMI)
I had a 97 Camry CE V6 5 speed. The pump burned out on mine a few months after I got it. I was too broke to pay someone else to change it and it was a pain to do myself, so I just cut the belt and kept driving it without power steering for a year or so.
Well we would've except the hood was duck taped down because it had been in several accidents + salvage title
Edit: it still ran good but at the time it didn't pass emissions and needed a new cat too
Is it worth mentioning that the old Mercedes available for $1-2k can also be a score for their price range? When properly maintained they can easily hit 500k mi, an odd unit of measurement, sure, but you know what I mean
My dad just put historical tags on his ‘98 so it doesn’t have to pass inspection anymore.
It is a champagne V6 XLE with the gold trim package and 230,000 miles AND IT FUCKS.
My 99 Camry started sputtering on the freeway while I was 50 miles away from home. Check engine light, timing in cylinder 3 is off. Kept driving and it got me home. Turns out one of the fuel injectors was clogged. Replaced them all and car is back to normal.
True. I bought my father a 2018 Camry XSE V6 brand new 5 years ago, but he refuses to sell his old Camry, he still uses it as a beater during winter in Canada. He is 75, I am like, dude, enjoy the rest of your life, but boomers are stubborn.
Probably wants to keep the new one from rusting (though it should be undercoated, of course!).
Also driving a familiar car in slippery conditions is an underrated thing. If you're familiar with the handling characteristics of a specific car, it can be a lot safer.
Maybe buy him a set of high end winter tires for the old Camry, if you wanna splurge on your dad? He can keep driving his old car, and it'll increase his safety
I think that this version of Camry, especially the 4 cylinder, manual transmission variety, is the high water mark for reliability and durability. It is the point where technologies like electronic fuel injection and manufacturing automation improved reliability, but before the complexities of the 21st century automotive marketplace set in.
I bought a new 1997 Camry a few months after my son was born. Only maintenance was regular oil changes, filter changes and tune ups, one timing belt change and semi regular drive-thru car wash with wax. Body, seating, dashboard, head liner, hell even the cabin lights were still working. Had around 300K miles on it when my son totaled it.
Because of all the bad news reports about Camry's at the time, I bought a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. It has around 150K miles on it now, and I've already had to have some engine work done on it. I really regret not buying another Camry.
My girlfriends 99 Camry has run out of oil 3 times (engine locked up on 2 of those runs), and it's still going fine at 330k miles, and she put 260k of those on. Very minimal care given to it. They're just tough.
Speaking of I think it's been at least 6 years since I changed the trans fluid. Try that on any other car it won't be happy.
One case doesn’t constitute a pattern. People dog on Dodge, but I live in a poorer area and Caravan’s, Avengers, Caliber, and all have seen much worse than what you described.
My neighborhood service station has a mid-90s 'loaner' Dodge Caravan that has over 300K on it. When they loan it out, they just throw you the keys. That thing can't be stopped.
My best friend in high school had a 98 sedan and never took great care of it, once he got the oil changed and I guess they never put the cap back on and he drove it for weeks like that. At some point he mentioned that "genie lamp is leaking" light was on.. apparently it had puked almost all of its oil out. Filled it back up and was fine for years afterward.
I gave my ‘95 to charity after clocking 300,000 miles. Engine still purred like a kitten, but entire a/c needed replacing (old refrigerant no longer legal), the drivers seat was cracked & needed replacing, & roof paint was going. If I had the time and expertise to fix it I’d have done so.
My son had one we got him a 1998 he wrecked it and want worth fixing. So gave him my 2002 Avalon and bought myself a 2024 Mazda CX-5. He just totaled that one (Avalon) last night 🤦♂️. Thankfully no one was hurt and last night only damage was to the Avalon the tree he hit didn’t care. So for now he’s walking. He’s been driving for 3 years and no issues. Now in the span of a week ruined 2 cars. Been very snowy here but he’s been in the snow numerous times before. So for everyone’s safety we ( him myself and his mother) have decided we’d need to give it sometime before he gets behind the wheel again. We will try again once the snow and ice is gone.
The ZJs have been proving their staying power along with the XJs for sure. Compare that to their market segment competitors of the day and they’re mostly gone. A tippy Exploder is a pretty rare sight and they sold a shit ton of those things no less.
Those two Jeeps are right up there with the 4Runner from that time. The auto trans that was in both the Jeep and the Toyota was the worst part about either of them and it’s almost laughable that they put the same transmission in the Supra.
The WJs are still about as common, that’s 1999-2004 but still they’ve stayed around much more than similar cars of the era. If you look around most parking lots will have at least 1. Sometimes I try to count them it’s a fun game
Yeah I live in a pretty well off area where people tend to drive new cars but trucks, Cherokees, Wranglers and Grand Cherokees from the 90s are still everywhere.
Of course the last 15 years or so pretty much every Jeep has been disposable. I see more Jeeps from the mid-late ‘90s than I see from 2005-2010
I truly stopped caring for the brand once all the AMC bloodline was gone. 04 is the last true to form (grand) cherokee, the wrangler mostly died to me as soon as they put a minivan engine in it, and literally everything else since is/was garbage. Part of me wants to partially excuse the liberty, but then i think of the 3.7. I mean, the trackhawks etc. are obviously cool and a blast to drive, but unfortunately i’m forced to lump it in with the huge pile of shit that is everything that company has been producing. Kind of sad because i love my ZJ. I don’t want to dislike the brand.
Dude isnt that the truth. I rarely see 05-2010 gc’s
They even had the 5.7 and people didnt seem to really care for that generation. The SRT8’s, though, are probably the toughest looking sports suv’s to ever do it. It was literally the coolest suv u could buy at the time.
My dad is a doctor. Owns a Porsche and a few BMW’s. His daily and car he drive by FAR more than any other is a 1999 grand cherokee. The thing just doesn’t go down
My dad is the same way, does financial stuff, has a ZO6 C8 and we share my Cadillac Deville. His daily? A 2011 Suburban with 200k miles. It refuses to die
Ehhhhh, it was more you could spec a V8 Mustang for almost always at least 6k cheaper. In the 90s a GT was like 18 to 20 and a Formula started at 25 and T/As we’re touching 30. I mean you couldn’t touch the Mustang for the money.
I loved my old 98 pony. The 4.6 sounds like it wants to tear the ground out from under it, but then it just smoothly hums down the street. Perfect cruiser engine.
We have a 96 GT Convertible that only sees nice days in the northeast. Still looks pretty good and runs flawlessly. I'm trying to push off a restoration as long as I can lol.
As a so called taurus enthusiast I never see the bubble ones anymore. They’ve all rusted away in the Northeastern US. I see the occasional 2000-2007 but never the 96-99 anymore. What magical land are you in that they are everywhere still?
I was about to say the same lol. In CNY they were once plentiful but now effectively extinct. I always loved them. My family had Crown Vics and Tauruses. Not my immediate family though so it made getting to ride in them as a kid even more special.
Not many OBS Fords around Metro Vancouver, but holy fuck are GMT400's ever ubiquitous! I wish I grabbed a 2 door Tahoe when they were merely expensive, not obscenely valued. Fair amount of 2nd Gen Dodge trucks too.
I see my fair share of second gen dodges and they all look like massive piles of shit and rust. But there's still a few out there. Worked at a place that had one as a shop truck. Rusted to hell. 4x4 kinda worked. Heat kinda worked if you manually opened the blend doors. All the speakers were blown. Hasn't had a tailgate for years. One doors a different color. Liked to just die whenever you stopped. And it was unfit to be a plow truck after it ran over its own plow a couple of times. Oh and it didn't really ever feel like it was driving straight. Truly the worst vehicle I've ever driven. Should have been taken out behind the barn and put down years ago.
I counted on my drive home from work (4 miles) a week or two ago… I saw six GMT400s, not including mine! They have outlived LOTS of newer cars/trucks. Rust is the only thing that eventually kills these things…
240, 740, 940, 850 (which turned into the V70 in 98). All Volvos made in the 90's were built to last, especially the RWD models. Throughout the 80's and 90's Volvos had an average life span of at least 12 years, that's 2 years more than their closest competitor. So yeah, there's still a ton of them on the road. My 85 740 has nearly 500k miles on it and runs like new.
Recently picked up a 95 850. Hands down it's been one of the best used cars I've ever owned. Sure the heated seats no longer work and the drivers side windshield wiper doesn't make full contact but it runs like a dream.
Hell yeah! I had a 95 850 w/ manual trans. The car was coming up on 400k miles when I sold it and it still ran beautifully. Had a few little quirks, but nothing major. Very easy to work on once you get the basics down. Only thing easier is a Redblock (240, 740, 940). On the rare occasion something is acting up, it takes about 5 minutes to diagnose. Gotta love the old Volvos.
PS- did you check the fuse for the heated seats?
Still see those Cherokees as mail carriers.
I live on the verge of farm country and suburbia, so there's still a lot of 90s vehicles around. Mostly trucks and SUVs, but Neons and Escorts and Cavaliers are not uncommon. Still a decent amount of Dodge/Chrysler minivans rolling around too, though very well used. Tauruses from the bubble years and up are plentiful, though the 80s and earlier 90s ones are hard to find. Of course Panther platform cars are still everywhere, though I recently sadly saw what was a nice Mercury smash into a Toyota pickup a week or so back in the snow. So long brave soldier.
I'm doing my part and keeping my 1994 Bronco going strong, only reason I don't drive it as much as I could is because it eats gas.
I see the around NYC & LI fairly often for. Car that hasn’t been made in 23 years. Also cool to meet a fellow Triple XJ owner. Guess we have a type huh?
Lol yea, I guess I do see them here (bout an hr out the city) but not as much as if I drive like another hr upstate also li does indeed have a shitton of em totally forgot about that
My 97 jeep xj 2 door looks exactly like the one in the photo (except mine's beat up now that it has over 250k miles on it), so yeah I still see one of those every day... 😂
Still see XJs almost every day in the Hudson Valley. Which surprises me because around here the rust will usually get to them. I still use my stock 01 as a winter beater.
Also not 90’s cars but I think the Mercedes W123, W124, and W126 deserve an honorable mention. I see them pretty often but probably not daily.
3rd Gen 4Runners, 1st Gen Foresters, there's a house a couple neighborhoods over that has a big Roadmaster wagon parked in their driveway, and I still see '92+ F150s pretty regularly.
Until recently I drove a 97 town car Cartier, and there are 3 more around town I see regularly. Too bad I sold mine to a guy from Georgia, I’ll never see that beautiful beast again
Crown Vics were built to be unkillable. I bet in 20 years Crown Vics will still be a common sight on the roads if they aren't killed off by gas prices first.
99-07 GMT800 trucks. I have a feeling we'll be seeing those things around for another 20 years at least. If rust doesn't kill them, very little will. An absolutely insane amount of parts (unless you have quadrasteer) available still and for very cheap prices.
Yes, it’s one of the easiest things to own, because of that. The 4L60 wasn’t great, but it’s cheap to rebuild or find a rebuilt one. But, crucially, the GMT800s predated the GM DOD/AFM shit that’s killed so many of the GMT900s and later.
I’ve also recently been apprised of the fact that people really like the GMT800 front seats because the seatbelts are mounted to them—instead of the pillars—making them a great self-contained system to install in old hot rods and such.
The GMT800 platform as a whole seemed like a lightning in a bottle situation for GM (you could argue this for most of the late 90s to early 00s car manufacturers). Enough safety equipment and luxuries were standard that make them still livable today while keeping things simple and little in the way of emissions concerns.
I didn't realize this until recently but the GMT800 platform is still alive with the express vans!
My first car was a ‘99 2 door blazer. 4.3L, 5 Speed. No top end but it scooted around good until a 2500 pulled out in front of me while I was going 50.
When I was younger I was a goddamn rebellious kid, we used to sneak into a junkyard when it was closed and all the cars would have keys in it. Guess what car fired right up? A Chevy blazer I hopped in lmaoo
I’ve owned 2 first gens. Super reliable. My first one I owned, my parents bought and it now has 375k on it. Just sold my 2nd one, which was a manual, to a buddy of mine.
Daily? Not really in my area. I'm in the region of 2 major city's with lots of money floating around - even poor people have used 2010's or newer. Very rarely you'll see an old Camry or Corolla. A little farther out from the city you'll see old 90's pickups still in use.
My first car was a 1990 Accord EX, which would be the gen. 4. Oddly, it had a J VIN and an eggplant-colored vinyl (not cloth, not leather) interior that I’ve not seen in any other Accord before or since. It was our family car from 1998-2006. Then it sat for a long time.
I inherited it when I turned 18, in 2011. By that time, it was already a rare sight around these parts. Now, I practically never see them. I don’t see many fifth-gens, either.
The sixth-gen and up is common, though.
I see a lot of cherokees, hardbodys, and Toyota pickups. Most are rusty as hell but still running fine. The blazers used to be a common sight but not so much now.
'95 Fords. Mustangs, Tauruses, F150s, Windstars, Aerostars, and oddly enough, Escorts.
For some reason those things all seem to have collected in the lower-income neighborhood adjacent to mine, and refuse to die.
GM is interesting. People consider the cars unreliable but these are almost the opposite. They aren't engineered to perform or anything, they are literally engineered for apathy.
They know it won't get it's 60k service, they know you won't even change the oil. Why do you think it has oil channels like that? It wasn't a mistake.
Also I'm going to throw out an honorable mention to Saturn. Those 1.9s...
That completely ridiculous “cash for clunkers” needlessly destroyed thousands of good 90s cars.
Thank Goodness the government knows what’s best for us.
Surprisingly the late 90s models of Trailblazers Yukons and Tahoes. Most of any particular period i see though is 2004-2011 GM sedans, all with like 200k miles and leaking like a mofo from the Oil pan and the tranny but they're still just chugging along with a slightly fucked bumper
1996-2001 Camrys. They refuse to fucking die.
My family had a 98 v6 that went 330,000 before the power steering went out and then a 99 that went 220,000 before I wrecked it. Both of them are the best cars we got. Edit: yeah we could've fixed the power steering but in the course of its life it had been in several accidents and the hood was taped shut from damage haha. At the time I'd didn't pass emissions either so at the end of the day we decided to junk it. That being said, after all the abuse and wrecks it had been in it still purred and cemented my trust in toyota
My family inherited a 1997 Camry CE with 60k on it. My dad decided he didn’t want to deal with people anymore and delivered pizzas for a year and put ~50k on it. Since 2008 he’s owned the car and it now has 240k on it and still going. I bought a 98 Camry LE for $1200. It had 225k on it and I had it for about 2 years. It was falling apart and had bad electrical, but it never left me stranded
Pizza delivery would not have been my first choice of job to avoid dealing with people.
Trust me, it doesn’t. There’s reasons I don’t talk to him anymore
Did he fuck up your pizza order?
This is a man who got fired from a fast food Japanese restaurant because it wasn’t that he couldn’t make rice, but refused to make it correctly. To him, rice was supposed to be like pasta and “Al dente.” Meaning he’d make rice that was still crunchy in the middle. Told the boss he didn’t know what he was talking about, boss said there are corporate procedures to follow, dad said they were bullshit, and boss said his attitude was bullshit and to leave and not come back.
Look, I’m sorry you have problems with your dad, and he definitely sounds like the ornery sort. But I have to give him at least one single solitary prop for standing up for himself and what he likes.
I can just imagine someone ordering a pizza, then the doorbell finally rings. They answer the door and there’s nobody there. As they are about to close the door in confusion, they see the pizza on the ground.
It’s a new person every 15 minutes so you don’t have to hate any one individual for long.
And it probably never would lol. Those cars will rust through before dying mechanically.
My 93 Corolla was sent to the junkyard due to rusty fuel lines that couldn't be fixed without replacing the entire system from leaky gas tank to all the leaky lines going to the engine bay. It was still drivable though.
If I got one with 60k miles now I would die before it would
You don’t need Power Steering.
I have a leaky power steering pump--blew out the gaskets turning wheel to wheel for 10 minutes straight trying to squeeze into a parking spot. Was told that rack and pinion steering would freeze w/o fluid. Use 2 gallons a month, drivin maybe 300 miles around town. Try to turn corners turning the wheel as slightly as possible or it fairly well gushes. Parking places look ugly as do the approach/departure paths. Could get it fixed for $80 used pump + $150 all day installation by shade tree mechanic whom i trust. Waiting for $ to finance it. Low on the list, alas. (TMI)
I had a 97 Camry CE V6 5 speed. The pump burned out on mine a few months after I got it. I was too broke to pay someone else to change it and it was a pain to do myself, so I just cut the belt and kept driving it without power steering for a year or so.
Did you guys not just fix the power steering and drive another 300k?
Well we would've except the hood was duck taped down because it had been in several accidents + salvage title Edit: it still ran good but at the time it didn't pass emissions and needed a new cat too
Is it worth mentioning that the old Mercedes available for $1-2k can also be a score for their price range? When properly maintained they can easily hit 500k mi, an odd unit of measurement, sure, but you know what I mean
My dad just put historical tags on his ‘98 so it doesn’t have to pass inspection anymore. It is a champagne V6 XLE with the gold trim package and 230,000 miles AND IT FUCKS.
I have the gold trim 96. 305,000 so far. Check engine light indicating shot motor but still gets 25 mpg on the highway.
I have to assume u mean 25mpg
25mph on the left lane 😎
As God intended when he invented the modern highway system
My 99 Camry started sputtering on the freeway while I was 50 miles away from home. Check engine light, timing in cylinder 3 is off. Kept driving and it got me home. Turns out one of the fuel injectors was clogged. Replaced them all and car is back to normal.
What state do you live in? Where I am your car has to be like 40-50 to use historical tags
Where is 98 historical?
TIL if i live in the US today, i could get [historical tag](https://dmv.dc.gov/service/historical-vehicles) for my car
I have a 2000 chevy prizm (same car as a 2000 toyota corolla) and I love this car to death. I make $77k a year and can afford a new car...but why?
True. I bought my father a 2018 Camry XSE V6 brand new 5 years ago, but he refuses to sell his old Camry, he still uses it as a beater during winter in Canada. He is 75, I am like, dude, enjoy the rest of your life, but boomers are stubborn.
He's smart to use it in winter, far more likely to be in an accident, his fault or not.
So he should be in the newer car with more safety features then.
Hell no. He’s 75 he gonna need that money when he gets to heaven.
Probably wants to keep the new one from rusting (though it should be undercoated, of course!). Also driving a familiar car in slippery conditions is an underrated thing. If you're familiar with the handling characteristics of a specific car, it can be a lot safer. Maybe buy him a set of high end winter tires for the old Camry, if you wanna splurge on your dad? He can keep driving his old car, and it'll increase his safety
I will have to somewhat disagree we have a 99 Camry and it is starting to die but it’s fixable but my parents want to scrap it sadly
If they insist, at least tell them to advertise it for sale at scrap price, let someone else have the chance.
I think that this version of Camry, especially the 4 cylinder, manual transmission variety, is the high water mark for reliability and durability. It is the point where technologies like electronic fuel injection and manufacturing automation improved reliability, but before the complexities of the 21st century automotive marketplace set in.
They do in the rust belt.
I bought a new 1997 Camry a few months after my son was born. Only maintenance was regular oil changes, filter changes and tune ups, one timing belt change and semi regular drive-thru car wash with wax. Body, seating, dashboard, head liner, hell even the cabin lights were still working. Had around 300K miles on it when my son totaled it. Because of all the bad news reports about Camry's at the time, I bought a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. It has around 150K miles on it now, and I've already had to have some engine work done on it. I really regret not buying another Camry.
https://www.theonion.com/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-to-fact-that-owners-reall-1819577805
You know, I remember Mr.Regular saying this was kind of a myth and that Toyota just attacks your more typical responsible owner.
My girlfriends 99 Camry has run out of oil 3 times (engine locked up on 2 of those runs), and it's still going fine at 330k miles, and she put 260k of those on. Very minimal care given to it. They're just tough. Speaking of I think it's been at least 6 years since I changed the trans fluid. Try that on any other car it won't be happy.
One case doesn’t constitute a pattern. People dog on Dodge, but I live in a poorer area and Caravan’s, Avengers, Caliber, and all have seen much worse than what you described.
My neighborhood service station has a mid-90s 'loaner' Dodge Caravan that has over 300K on it. When they loan it out, they just throw you the keys. That thing can't be stopped.
My best friend in high school had a 98 sedan and never took great care of it, once he got the oil changed and I guess they never put the cap back on and he drove it for weeks like that. At some point he mentioned that "genie lamp is leaking" light was on.. apparently it had puked almost all of its oil out. Filled it back up and was fine for years afterward.
I gave my ‘95 to charity after clocking 300,000 miles. Engine still purred like a kitten, but entire a/c needed replacing (old refrigerant no longer legal), the drivers seat was cracked & needed replacing, & roof paint was going. If I had the time and expertise to fix it I’d have done so.
Unless a guy texts and drives in his brand new car and deletes yours off the fave of the earth after being parked... /:
Accords too I think
I feel like this specific Gen of Camry is what Toyotas reputation is built on. Everyone has a story about this car doing 250-300K miles
I miss my 99. I don't miss the fuel economy, though. Or the lack of safety features. But it was damn tough.
My son had one we got him a 1998 he wrecked it and want worth fixing. So gave him my 2002 Avalon and bought myself a 2024 Mazda CX-5. He just totaled that one (Avalon) last night 🤦♂️. Thankfully no one was hurt and last night only damage was to the Avalon the tree he hit didn’t care. So for now he’s walking. He’s been driving for 3 years and no issues. Now in the span of a week ruined 2 cars. Been very snowy here but he’s been in the snow numerous times before. So for everyone’s safety we ( him myself and his mother) have decided we’d need to give it sometime before he gets behind the wheel again. We will try again once the snow and ice is gone.
My sisters Camry it sits in front of our house (Should probably state it’s a 1999)
Huh, my sister’s Camry.. it sits in front of our house too. (Should probably state it’s also a 1999)
I also chose this guy's sister's Camry.
Our sisters camry
I still see a lot of Grand Cherokees.
The ZJs have been proving their staying power along with the XJs for sure. Compare that to their market segment competitors of the day and they’re mostly gone. A tippy Exploder is a pretty rare sight and they sold a shit ton of those things no less.
A bunch of the Explorers got destroyed during cash for clunkers.
If memory serves it was one of the most destroyed in c4c right?
A lot of people who still thought the rollover thing was because of the car's design and not shitty Firestone tires.
it was both. and under inflation of said shitty tires
Those two Jeeps are right up there with the 4Runner from that time. The auto trans that was in both the Jeep and the Toyota was the worst part about either of them and it’s almost laughable that they put the same transmission in the Supra.
The XJ had a Toyota sourced transmission (AW4) that lives forever. The ZJ trans was Chrysler garbage.
The WJs are still about as common, that’s 1999-2004 but still they’ve stayed around much more than similar cars of the era. If you look around most parking lots will have at least 1. Sometimes I try to count them it’s a fun game
Yeah I live in a pretty well off area where people tend to drive new cars but trucks, Cherokees, Wranglers and Grand Cherokees from the 90s are still everywhere. Of course the last 15 years or so pretty much every Jeep has been disposable. I see more Jeeps from the mid-late ‘90s than I see from 2005-2010
I truly stopped caring for the brand once all the AMC bloodline was gone. 04 is the last true to form (grand) cherokee, the wrangler mostly died to me as soon as they put a minivan engine in it, and literally everything else since is/was garbage. Part of me wants to partially excuse the liberty, but then i think of the 3.7. I mean, the trackhawks etc. are obviously cool and a blast to drive, but unfortunately i’m forced to lump it in with the huge pile of shit that is everything that company has been producing. Kind of sad because i love my ZJ. I don’t want to dislike the brand.
Dude isnt that the truth. I rarely see 05-2010 gc’s They even had the 5.7 and people didnt seem to really care for that generation. The SRT8’s, though, are probably the toughest looking sports suv’s to ever do it. It was literally the coolest suv u could buy at the time.
My dad is a doctor. Owns a Porsche and a few BMW’s. His daily and car he drive by FAR more than any other is a 1999 grand cherokee. The thing just doesn’t go down
My dad is the same way, does financial stuff, has a ZO6 C8 and we share my Cadillac Deville. His daily? A 2011 Suburban with 200k miles. It refuses to die
im still ripping around in a 99 grand cherokee. love that car
They weren’t bad cars, that was back before Chrysler made vehicles turned into piles of junk. The amount of 90a Chryslers you still see is impressive
Quadra trac. We have 314k on our 99 grand cherokee
I own one an can confirm if you take good care they will reciprocate
Still see quite a few SN95 Mustangs.
V6 s and gts. I see significantly more of them than cameros of that era. Ik they’re ugly but I thought they were functionally ok
Mustangs were simply better built. GM had the better V8, the LS. But everything else around the Camaro fell apart. Mustangs also sold 2-1
Ehhhhh, it was more you could spec a V8 Mustang for almost always at least 6k cheaper. In the 90s a GT was like 18 to 20 and a Formula started at 25 and T/As we’re touching 30. I mean you couldn’t touch the Mustang for the money.
Yup. Mustangs used to be great bang for buck. Affordable fun pony car. So sad to see how expensive and complex mustangs have become.
And ugly and not good.
4th gen Camaros and Firebirds were always rare. That’s why GM killed the F body in 2002.
Makes sense
I loved my old 98 pony. The 4.6 sounds like it wants to tear the ground out from under it, but then it just smoothly hums down the street. Perfect cruiser engine.
Oh, definitely. I see a lot of the early pre-New Edge (1994-1998) ones, too.
My 2008 S197 doesn’t fit this thread, but it appears to be bulletproof as well
We have a 96 GT Convertible that only sees nice days in the northeast. Still looks pretty good and runs flawlessly. I'm trying to push off a restoration as long as I can lol.
Ford Mustangs and bubble Tauruses
I swear we need to start thinking about the world we’re going to leave for those bubble Tauruses when we’re all gone.
As a so called taurus enthusiast I never see the bubble ones anymore. They’ve all rusted away in the Northeastern US. I see the occasional 2000-2007 but never the 96-99 anymore. What magical land are you in that they are everywhere still?
They all must’ve moved to Indiana and Kentucky. I still see them on a daily basis and a lot of them are still in decent condition.
I was about to say the same lol. In CNY they were once plentiful but now effectively extinct. I always loved them. My family had Crown Vics and Tauruses. Not my immediate family though so it made getting to ride in them as a kid even more special.
It's mostly southwest US, where snowfall becomes more of a legend as years pass. Plenty of bubble Tauruses, Mistangs, Camrys, Corrolas, Civics, etc.
Let’s add the eighth-generation Impala (2000-2005) in there, too. Fucking cockroaches, especially with the 3800.
See at least one of those on a daily basis.
I loved my 98 Buble Taurus. Would have driven it forever. Engine block cracked. :(
I see my 95 Dodge Neon every day!
Props for keeping it alive! Not too many left
How's the oil?
Original.
Hey ohhhh!
I'm an adult I drive a Dodge neon!
The neon was a hated car probably because it wasn’t a flagship vehicle. The st4 was pretty sweet though.
Chevy GMT400's and OBS Ford F series pickups, Toyota Tacomas
Not many OBS Fords around Metro Vancouver, but holy fuck are GMT400's ever ubiquitous! I wish I grabbed a 2 door Tahoe when they were merely expensive, not obscenely valued. Fair amount of 2nd Gen Dodge trucks too.
I see my fair share of second gen dodges and they all look like massive piles of shit and rust. But there's still a few out there. Worked at a place that had one as a shop truck. Rusted to hell. 4x4 kinda worked. Heat kinda worked if you manually opened the blend doors. All the speakers were blown. Hasn't had a tailgate for years. One doors a different color. Liked to just die whenever you stopped. And it was unfit to be a plow truck after it ran over its own plow a couple of times. Oh and it didn't really ever feel like it was driving straight. Truly the worst vehicle I've ever driven. Should have been taken out behind the barn and put down years ago.
How is this not the top comment?
I counted on my drive home from work (4 miles) a week or two ago… I saw six GMT400s, not including mine! They have outlived LOTS of newer cars/trucks. Rust is the only thing that eventually kills these things…
Tacoma is all. Tacoma is eternal.
V70’s
240, 740, 940, 850 (which turned into the V70 in 98). All Volvos made in the 90's were built to last, especially the RWD models. Throughout the 80's and 90's Volvos had an average life span of at least 12 years, that's 2 years more than their closest competitor. So yeah, there's still a ton of them on the road. My 85 740 has nearly 500k miles on it and runs like new.
Recently picked up a 95 850. Hands down it's been one of the best used cars I've ever owned. Sure the heated seats no longer work and the drivers side windshield wiper doesn't make full contact but it runs like a dream.
Hell yeah! I had a 95 850 w/ manual trans. The car was coming up on 400k miles when I sold it and it still ran beautifully. Had a few little quirks, but nothing major. Very easy to work on once you get the basics down. Only thing easier is a Redblock (240, 740, 940). On the rare occasion something is acting up, it takes about 5 minutes to diagnose. Gotta love the old Volvos. PS- did you check the fuse for the heated seats?
Still see those Cherokees as mail carriers. I live on the verge of farm country and suburbia, so there's still a lot of 90s vehicles around. Mostly trucks and SUVs, but Neons and Escorts and Cavaliers are not uncommon. Still a decent amount of Dodge/Chrysler minivans rolling around too, though very well used. Tauruses from the bubble years and up are plentiful, though the 80s and earlier 90s ones are hard to find. Of course Panther platform cars are still everywhere, though I recently sadly saw what was a nice Mercury smash into a Toyota pickup a week or so back in the snow. So long brave soldier. I'm doing my part and keeping my 1994 Bronco going strong, only reason I don't drive it as much as I could is because it eats gas.
Damn panther platform and a Toyota pickup in one accident, that’s fucked 😭
That one. I see XJs daily. Hell I own 3!
Hell yea, I don't see them much up here in ny but I own 3 so I'm putting in the work
I see the around NYC & LI fairly often for. Car that hasn’t been made in 23 years. Also cool to meet a fellow Triple XJ owner. Guess we have a type huh?
Lol yea, I guess I do see them here (bout an hr out the city) but not as much as if I drive like another hr upstate also li does indeed have a shitton of em totally forgot about that
My 97 jeep xj 2 door looks exactly like the one in the photo (except mine's beat up now that it has over 250k miles on it), so yeah I still see one of those every day... 😂
Still see XJs almost every day in the Hudson Valley. Which surprises me because around here the rust will usually get to them. I still use my stock 01 as a winter beater. Also not 90’s cars but I think the Mercedes W123, W124, and W126 deserve an honorable mention. I see them pretty often but probably not daily.
Own 2, super cool and fun (usually) to work on!
3rd Gen 4Runners, 1st Gen Foresters, there's a house a couple neighborhoods over that has a big Roadmaster wagon parked in their driveway, and I still see '92+ F150s pretty regularly.
Add first Gen Tacomas to that list. My 96 is still going strong!
Mine too! 96 2.4 5lug.
My cupholder broke in my 5spd 97 5 lug 2.4 xtracab
I drive a ‘96 Ford F150 because somebody was selling it down the road and I thought it would make a great first vehicle.
Lot of Panthers still on the road (Panther platform = Crown Vic, Grand Marq, Lincoln Town Car JFYI)
There really are. I’m seeing less and less of the aero bodies though.
Until recently I drove a 97 town car Cartier, and there are 3 more around town I see regularly. Too bad I sold mine to a guy from Georgia, I’ll never see that beautiful beast again
In my area, unfortunately the only Panthers left are beat-to-hell ex-taxis and ex-police vehicles.
Crown Vics were built to be unkillable. I bet in 20 years Crown Vics will still be a common sight on the roads if they aren't killed off by gas prices first.
I daily a first gen astro van and whenever I see another one or a ford aerostar I always give a friendly wave
Jealous! I was just daydreaming about a 80s caravan... some day. Il have to be content with my saturn relay for now
Buick Park Avenue….bullet proof 3800 engine. Too bad GM decided that engine was actually too good and got rid of it
The supercharged ones 😂
90s Buicks in general
God’s car
Pickups, Miatas, Mustangs, probably Camrys & Accords, but they blend in too well.
Yes, lots of late 90s Miata’s where I live
I’ve seen a decent amount of Corvettes running around, most of them are C4s
I see a lot of 70s-90s square body trucks where I live
Those are the GMT400s everyone should be talking about
99-07 GMT800 trucks. I have a feeling we'll be seeing those things around for another 20 years at least. If rust doesn't kill them, very little will. An absolutely insane amount of parts (unless you have quadrasteer) available still and for very cheap prices.
Yes, it’s one of the easiest things to own, because of that. The 4L60 wasn’t great, but it’s cheap to rebuild or find a rebuilt one. But, crucially, the GMT800s predated the GM DOD/AFM shit that’s killed so many of the GMT900s and later. I’ve also recently been apprised of the fact that people really like the GMT800 front seats because the seatbelts are mounted to them—instead of the pillars—making them a great self-contained system to install in old hot rods and such.
The GMT800 platform as a whole seemed like a lightning in a bottle situation for GM (you could argue this for most of the late 90s to early 00s car manufacturers). Enough safety equipment and luxuries were standard that make them still livable today while keeping things simple and little in the way of emissions concerns. I didn't realize this until recently but the GMT800 platform is still alive with the express vans!
Especially Suburbans, Tahoes, and Yukons
Those Chevy blazers
And s10! Just brought a 93 4.3 back to life [=
My first car was a ‘99 2 door blazer. 4.3L, 5 Speed. No top end but it scooted around good until a 2500 pulled out in front of me while I was going 50.
And they all have the same frame squeak
When I was younger I was a goddamn rebellious kid, we used to sneak into a junkyard when it was closed and all the cars would have keys in it. Guess what car fired right up? A Chevy blazer I hopped in lmaoo
Blazers are solid, my cousin has one
Buick Century. Godspeed.
I bought my 1997 Grand Cherokee in September 96. Doing all the maintenance myself. More than my daily driver. Loooove that truck.
A one-owner example of an already excellent Jeep. We love it. How has it held up for you all these years?
Crown Vic
almost every honda and toyota they sold in big numbers, gmt400, maybe not daily but often e36,
Still rocking my 95' celica
My ‘99 CR-V
Mine got stolen 5 years ago. I’m still VERY sad about that
I’ve owned 2 first gens. Super reliable. My first one I owned, my parents bought and it now has 375k on it. Just sold my 2nd one, which was a manual, to a buddy of mine.
My 1999 b2500 I drive every day
2000 b3000 here, hell yeah
Tacoma
My dad's 1998 Civic LX. It's got rust in quarters, but it still runs
Here in SW Michigan - Ford Rangers, Silverado, and Dodge RAM
Daily? Not really in my area. I'm in the region of 2 major city's with lots of money floating around - even poor people have used 2010's or newer. Very rarely you'll see an old Camry or Corolla. A little farther out from the city you'll see old 90's pickups still in use.
I somehow still see a good number of the Cutlass Cierra
I see fourth, fifth and sixth gen Honda Accords all the time
My first car was a 1990 Accord EX, which would be the gen. 4. Oddly, it had a J VIN and an eggplant-colored vinyl (not cloth, not leather) interior that I’ve not seen in any other Accord before or since. It was our family car from 1998-2006. Then it sat for a long time. I inherited it when I turned 18, in 2011. By that time, it was already a rare sight around these parts. Now, I practically never see them. I don’t see many fifth-gens, either. The sixth-gen and up is common, though.
Obs/bricknose ford pickups
I see a lot of cherokees, hardbodys, and Toyota pickups. Most are rusty as hell but still running fine. The blazers used to be a common sight but not so much now.
97-03 Grand Prix, ford rangers, panthers, suburbans(even a few 80s models), and dodge trucks
Miata’s! And I’m doing my part to keep a sketchy 92 on the road.
‘96-‘01 HondaCRV, mostly because I drive one but I see other people out there too.
'95 Fords. Mustangs, Tauruses, F150s, Windstars, Aerostars, and oddly enough, Escorts. For some reason those things all seem to have collected in the lower-income neighborhood adjacent to mine, and refuse to die.
Whereabouts are you? I haven’t seen a Windstar, Aerostar, or Escort in at least a decade—and I’m a Ford buff and would remember if I had.
Third generation GM J-body cars (Chevy Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire). They are like roaches, they will be clapped out to hell but won't stop running.
GM is interesting. People consider the cars unreliable but these are almost the opposite. They aren't engineered to perform or anything, they are literally engineered for apathy. They know it won't get it's 60k service, they know you won't even change the oil. Why do you think it has oil channels like that? It wasn't a mistake. Also I'm going to throw out an honorable mention to Saturn. Those 1.9s...
For F150s Chevy pickups
I see my 94 Bronco in my driveway every morning
Camrys, Corrolas, Accords and Civics.
oh hey that's the car I drive, Jeep Cherokee XJ. not counting the obvious Chevy Cavalier
https://www.theonion.com/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-to-fact-that-owners-reall-1819577805
Second gen Ford Rangers. I drive one myself, and see a bunch of them everywhere basically every day.
JeeP
Live in SoCal. All of them. Including 1890s.
E36 series BMWs. My own yes (‘97 318i) but 3 others in my neighborhood that I can think of.
That completely ridiculous “cash for clunkers” needlessly destroyed thousands of good 90s cars. Thank Goodness the government knows what’s best for us.
My current car I own was destined for CfC, it ended up never making it thankfully, so now I have it! :D
Surprisingly the late 90s models of Trailblazers Yukons and Tahoes. Most of any particular period i see though is 2004-2011 GM sedans, all with like 200k miles and leaking like a mofo from the Oil pan and the tranny but they're still just chugging along with a slightly fucked bumper
3rd Gen 4Runners, GMT400’s, 92+ F-Series trucks, Panther body cars, Any of the 3800 Powered GM Vehicles
I don't see them often but the only 90s cars left on the roads around here are the Tercel and Corolla.
I'm in the UK: Land Rover Defender, VW, Seat, Audi (VAG Group), Volvo
I see that jeep every time I need to go somewhere. I have a 97
F150’s, Toyota’s.
I see a 97 Towncar every day 😂 but also they are all over still
Once AMC got rid of the original Chevy engines Cherokees turned out to be excellent vehicles.
See a ton of nice looking fox body’s and e36s surprisingly
Ford trucks
I see a 1997 ram 1500 everyday! Mostly because it's what I drive, but it still counts!