My Scion is only 2.5 years old so not too many quirks other than the ones it was built with. I owned over a dozen $500 specials between '82 and '99 and really like having a car now that won't suddenly leave me sitting on the side of the parkway. Not that I drive much, I probably put 10 miles a week on it.

My bike is leaking oil. Or was yesterday. I'm on my way down to check on it this morning.

SO not looking forward to used car shopping for the winter. peppy + stickshift + decent mpg + good on long trips (has CC) + fits my frame does not exist for less than $5k. Plus I hate most of the folks listing cars on craigslist. Every time I meet one, it's something else.

My car's nearly 12 years old, just turned over 60,000 miles and, whilst it looks like crap (I probably haven't vacuumed it for at least 18 months, and last cleaned it probably 6 months ago), it runs well and is a solid, well-made car (Ford Escort, 1.8 litre engine, enough oomph for me).

It has a little bit of bubbling rust starting to appear, nothing to worry about (yet) and it has a small dink in the driver's door, as well as a few scrapes on the bumper. It doesn't have a CD, just a radio/cassette. Compared with my neighbours' cars (Mercs, Porsches, Audi TTs, everyone's cars, even normal ones, much newer than mine) it's a wreck, but as I live in a fairly affluent area where just about everyone's car is better than mine, this more or less guarantees two things:

- thieves would not be seen dead in it;

- drivers of nicer cars are more likely to have insurance, in the event of an accident.

My feet could use a new coat of nail polish, and sometimes my sesamoiditis flares up, but other than that, things are good.

mr. gaspode needed an oil change the other day. That's about it.

I do plan on keeping my car for another ten years. I only sold my last one because I needed an automatic so that my wife and I could both drive the same car.

The 982 bus to the Pavilion Park & Ride have been the new 'metrobus' models but don't have the comfy seats the Express buses have. This makes for a sore ass by the time I get to my stop.

Plus the fall schedule started this week and the drivers don't know the routes well so you actually have to pay attention and not browse interwebs or get some shuteye. Yesterday the driver missed my stop because the sign was blocked by a tree branch. The bright side was I was going to the grocery store anyway so I didn't have to walk across the street.

Him (me, very occasionally):
14 year old Toyota, just clocked up 154,000 miles.
1) Missing petrol cap (I left it behind when filling up... now has replacement, but it looks funny) and flap (not replaced)
2) Makes a new funny noise every week
3) Covered in very recalcitrant bird crap, which doesn't come off no matter how much it rains (What? Isn't that how everyone washes their car?)
4) Passenger side window only stays closed with the help of a strategically inserted ballpoint pen
5) Has decorative but non-opening sunroof
6) Tends to lose power somewhat after 50 miles on any given journey
7) Does unpredictable lurches at roundabouts
8) Highly unlikely to get stolen
9) Has enough room for mr alto (6'5"), me and all our stuff
10) Has done sterling service but it will soon be new car time

Me:
1) feet in good order, shoes sufficient
2) live near city centre and train station

It fails to exist. Which has not been much of a problem for me, given the parking situation in my neighborhood.

I'm currently driving one of my brother's cars (1990 Lexus) and unfortunately, it takes premium. So while I'm not exactly the most sociable person out there, I've been basically completely cut off from the outside world because gas in this bitch is fucking RIDICULOUS.
(And the serious lack of public transportation can suck it too, while I'm at it.)

The biggest quirk is that the brakes are weird in it.

2005 Mustang. Only real quirk is that it sometimes doesn't want to shift into reverse (manual transmission) and I have to roll forward an inch or so before it will then go into reverse.)

[insert generic pious statement about how I live in a city & ride transit every day here]

I just bought a new fancy Campagnolo G3 wheelset and a pair of rear brake pads for the cyclocross bike (bonus: new wheelset can/will get used on the 2 roadies as well). My other 5 steeds have all been a) recently bought or b) recently tuned, so they're in good shape. The fixed gear is on mandatory bed rest owing to my recent knee issues.

Other than that, the regional busses are pretty comfy, unless they're overloaded like last night's Boulder --> Denver express regional, then you have to stand up for a lurchy 45-minute trip.

The regionals in Denver are the same chassis/model as greyhound uses, and also have tons of cargo storage (they can accommodate something like a dozen bikes underneath with 2 on the front rack) so they're pretty cushy but not at all equipped for standing passengers.

I experienced one bus breakdown this summer; the brakes started overheating so the driver radioed in and changed equipment at one of the park-n-rides. Didn't waste much more than 10-15 minutes, which was amazing.

Mr. lfr's old Jeep Cherokee has been developing the odd electronic hiccough and sometimes refuses to start unless you jiggle the ignition switch, but then I find that electronic gremlins are standard equipment with older Chrysler products. He maybe drives it once every 2 months unless we're going out of town, so...

My Toyota pickup is about fifteen years old and just turned over 227,000 miles. It's very easy to work on, and so there aren't a lot of real serious quirks. Like Hank Hill, in the back of my mind I'm kinda hoping that I can just gradually reduce my driving, and keep it for the rest of my life. This probably isn't realistic.

lfr: I finally bought a singlespeed 29er, and I pretty much love it. Put it this way--I haven't ridden a geared bike since.

I've got a 2006 Sentra. Sometimes when I turn on the air conditioner, especially if I'm driving at low speeds, I'll feel a little jerk.

I have a 2001 Saturn L series wagon. Only new car I ever bought, and have had generally good luck with it. This model was discontinued, but I like it. It's over 100k and still runs well. I keep it maintained, though, which is new for me in that I used to run cars into the ground.

My bike: An old Reynolds 531 throughout Raliegh frame, Campy throughout expect for Modolo brakes and low-end Suntour dérailleurs. Oh and a Shimano closer that some benighted bike mechanic switched out for me when I got a wheel worked on due to the Campy one being stripped. I would like to get Campy deraillerus but have not found any that are reasonably priced. I have had this bike for decades. . .the leather saddle is perfect for my butt.

'94 Honda, runs very well, but is making more funny noises. Just replaced the radiator yesterday. About half of the heat sink fins had rusted/fallen out and it was starting to get hot if I was stuck in traffic. Oddly, some old lady came up to me today and asked if I thought it was a good car. Still running after 14 years, so I told her it was a great car. I'd buy another one if I could. It still gets 40+ miles a gallon mixed driving.

Oh, also, the radio doesn't work. The antenna's bent, too. There's a couple of dings and scrape marks from Powell's Bookstore garage from when I was in Portland. There's a big dent in the side from when a javelina ran out in front of me in Texas years ago. Paint is peeling in a few places. Passenger mirror partly broken. Windshield gasket peeling out. It has some scars.

The previous mdonley mobile was a green Suzuki station wagon (and you thought they only made motorcycles!). It was awesome. The only quirks were an indelible lasagna stain (NB: don't offer to cater your friend's birthday party without a tarp lining your trunk) and a magnetic attraction to dust.

I LOVED that car.

*pours one out*

My daily driver is a Hyundai Elantra, so the only quirks it has are the impressions other people have of it.

However, my son drives the old Ford Escort Wagon that was our family car for many years. It's approaching 130k with amazing grace considering the beating it's received over the years. It's best described by my sig picture from the Ford Escort forum:

≡ Click to see image ≡

P.S. Jan- the 1.8L engines in Escorts are truly great engines and provide pretty good power for a car so small.

My car runs great. Not too many quirks. I have a Honda CR-V. There is tons of beach sand that won't vaccuum out. No matter what kind of industrial Hoover super vaccum you try. Escpecially in my trunk.

I didn't have my car for six months and my husband was painting something white and had white paint on his butt and he got in my car. Now I have a line of white primer on my driver's seat. I could have killed him for that one. But I didn't kick his ass because he already felt bad.

Also, when I unlock my car with a certain automatic unlocker/locker thingy the car automatically re-locks in 30 seconds. It drives me crazy. I could be out in the garage rooting for something in the car and I hear it click and lock by itself. I'm always afraid I'm going to lock my keys in the car.

And I'm constantly spilling water and coffee in my car.

'98 Nissan Patrol (~240k km)

• The rear doors (in the cargo area) have to be slammed to make sure they are shut properly, or the interior light flickers as you drive
• The automatically retracting antenna doesn't
• The master window control on the driver's armrest doesn't work properly for all the windows (and, at over $300 for a new one, it ain't getting fixed).

'98 Holden Commodore Wagon (~220k km)

• The transmission sometimes shifts funny when going up hills at over 80k or so, although the mechanic has checked it out and it is in perfect condition (including the computer)
• The airbag warning light is on all the time, which is apparently a common problem caused by voltage spikes at start-up sometimes - the mechanic will re-set it on the next service
• The air deflector on the back was broken by a hail storm and now gets a funny vibration at exactly 103km/h
• The antenna was snapped off by the same hailstorm and now has a modified metal clothes hanger inserted in the socket
• It has about 30 dents all over the roof, bonnet and LHS from the same hail storm
• Is for sale.

'95 Mitsubishi Lancer Coupe (~150k km)

• Clear coat peeling from boot
• Idles a bit rough when cold
• Is for sale.

Frankie is 15 this year, and he's an MH Holden Barina (which actually means he's a Suzuki Swift, with a Holden badge on).

Apart from the times when he stops, and doesn't start, he runs just fine. I think that's just dodgy battery leads. One of the back doors is a little, well, concave, but that's purely cosmetic (and purely my fault. Sorry Frankie!). Also, there's a big piece of edging rubber poking out of the driver's door, which I keep meaning to cut off.

My FM transmitter for the ipod broke the other day, and the replacement sucks, so I'm back to CD's for tunage, which is a bummer.

2000 Ford focus ZX3.

Once hit a sign on the side of the road, so the left quarter panel has a big-ol' dent in it.

Front fascia got caught on something when my mom drove it, and almost ripped it off. Now It's shoved into place...hasn't come off yet.

Also, the gearbox....ugh...feels like crap to me sometimes.

My other cars were a series of Regan Era BMWs. Of all of them I miss the first, a 1983 320i that I found in a field.