Lots of car consumers (carsumers™) are single-make buyers, steadfastly loyal to Toyotas or Fords or Hondas or whatever. No big deal there. Repeat model buyers are a rarer breed, but hardly uncommon. Yours truly owned not one but two Dodge Omnis (full disclosure, one was a Plymouth Horizon, but come on). My Dad was a Volkswagen guy for a good bit before going all-in on Toyotas. He started with a used Type 3 which (according to my Mom) made 2-year-old me cry because I saw it belch fire from the exhaust and I thought it was going to explode. That squareback was followed by two consecutive Beetles, but I only remember the last one–a red convertible Super with a black top. Now that was a car. Would Paul Newman lie to you? 
So tell us: which car models have you purchased more than once? Or enough times to extend to near-infinity, like whoever assembled that impressive fleet of Nissan Figaros in the top shot? What made you such a fan–or did you, like, just happen to end up getting two Honda Civics in a row? And FYI, it’s cool if your tale of multiple-models isn’t actually yourself but your mom, dad, brother, friend, weirdo on the outskirts of town … we’re not policing this thing.
To the comments!
I’ve owned 5 Ford rangers. Most were just old cheap trucks that got used up until they hit the scrapyard then got replaced by a slightly less beat one when I needed a truck again. Similar story for F150s, owned 3 of them when I needed more of a truck than a ranger or found one cheap enough.
Never got rid of the bug – have an 89 ranger again but unlike the rest in Missouri my California ranger is nearly rust free and in decent(ish) shape (after a fair bit of work).
3 Geo Metros, a’91 & 2 ’92s. Cheap cars that were easy to fix and polish. Drove ’em hard as one was wrecked, another junked but still have the third.
Looking for a newer car I came across a ’97 Civic. Really liked it after a while so got 2 more, a ’95 & ’98.
Had to think for a bit but I did have two repeats…
First was a pair of back to back 1986 Pontiac Sunbirds in college – first was so bullet proof that, after I sold it to pay my rent for the rest of the semester, I eventually saved up enough cash to buy another car. Didn’t HAVE to be another 86 Sunbird, but it just worked out that way. Heck, all these years and much nicer vehicles later, I’d still daily an old Sunbird.
Second pair was a 1997 GMC Sonoma extended cab, and the a few vehicles later, a 2002 (+/-) Chevy S10, in rare Crew Cab format. Bought that just to test how small of a bed I could creatively use, given it’s 4.5′ length and narrow body. Sold it a year later and bought a nearly new 2nd gen Honda Ridgeline which felt like a luxury full size truck compared to that S10!
Awesome, yeah used to have a black Sunbird hatchback w/ blue interior…good car
Ooh- that would have been my Sunbird ‘dream car’! LOL
Or perhaps more accurately, the rare Buick Skyhawk T Type with the half covers for the headlights… oh how I wanted one of those when I was scanning Auto Trader and classifieds for cheap finds.
I used to hear a story about a man in the TX Hill Country who bought 3 of the last year Model Ts new because he figured he would never need more car than that, wore one of them out, died midway through the 2nd leaving the 3rd ready to go to a collector. I always laughed at the man in that story.
Since then I’ve put 183K daily driving a 2007 Mustang Shelby GT, 83K miles on my 2012 Boss Mustang and now scouring the web to find a suitable 2012-2013 Boss to replace it.
So, I guess Ford SN197 for life and who is laughing now.
Most was 3 Honda Accords (for reliability of course)
I’d happily own Volvo 240 #5 should the right one come up again.
Hell yeah, fire-spitting Volkswagens.
I’ve had 2.5 Porsche 944s. The .5 was a shell I initially wanted to swap the first one’s drivetrain into, but I ended up finding a better intact full car and selling the shell.
Why? Because the parsh is good. Or because race car. Both, really. Because parsh race car is good.
2 Accords, an ’01 and an ’07, both EX-L 5MTs sedans. But within a same generation of a model, my dad had 2 Saturn sedans, ’96 and a ’98.
Believe it or not, 2 GM cars. Bought 2 Yukons now, and 2 Impalas. Had a 2016 Yukon SLT and a 2016 Impala LTZ Midnight edition at the same time. The money came from a settlement gotten from an accident I endured in my 2004 Impala.
When the car market went on it’s head in 2020, we traded both cars for more than we originally paid for them. Upgraded the Yukon to a 2021 Yukon XL AT4, and the Impala to a 2019 Cadillac CT6 Sport with SuperCruise.
I’ve had about a bajillion cars now and it took this long to get doubles. Everything from Volvos to Hondas to Buicks.
My dad had a 1985 Pontiac Fiero when I was a kid. As a 17 year old in need of a car, I ended up buying a 1984 Fiero 2M4 in his footsteps. But for $900 it was actual crap, but I loved the idea of the car. So the next year, I bought a 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT (with the 2.8L and 5-speed), which I kept for 12 years!
In more modern times, I bought a Tesla Model 3 in 2018, and I’m about to buy a Model Y. I know it’s not the “same model”, but it’s basically the same thing, just a little taller, and we’ll have both of them at the same time at home.
I’ve bought a Honda S2000 twice. A (singular) Suzuka blue S2000, twice. I bought it, sold it, and it went through two other owners and came back to me, and I hope to keep it until forever.
I’ve bought two Audi A4 Avants. The first one in silver. One year later, my wife felt she’d rather have a black one, so same model, black. The silver one sold to Mom.
I’ve owned two Miatas. One 1990 red, one 2002 black.
I’ve owned two Mustangs. One 1968 GT fastback, and one 1971 Mach 1.
But I’ve never owned more than two of the same marque. I’m a serial two-timer.
I bought 2 2010 Ford Fusions, retired fleet cars from my employer, as cars for my kids to drive. One of them did amazingly well in a rear-end collision at freeway speeds and kept my kids alive. The other one is for sale now with 150K miles – any takers?
My grandpa, starting in 2012 started buying Mercedes SLs for cheap, ended up with 4 before he decided to stop.
-The first one a R129 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500SL(7k) he bought from his mechanic it was far from perfect but he used it as a commuter for 4ish years and on year 2 reverse went out but he just dealt with it instead of fixing it. Ended up getting junked after it stopped running (cant remember why)
-Second one in about 2013 a R107 1987 560SL(3,500) Baby blue, my favorite when we had it. He bought it intending for my grandma to drive but spent more time as a spare when the 92′ was in the shop. It had 168k by the time the engine blew up, Timing chain failure I believe. Would have been nice too keep but it had pretty bad body rot too.
-The third one 2014 or 15 a 1977 450SL (5k), probably the worst buy, Although the body was nice and rust free and it allegedly had a top end rebuild it never ran right. We had it for 3 or so years and only drove it 1 or 2k miles due to it always being broken. Suspected that it had bad piston rings because of so much fuel in the oil.
-The 4th bought in 2015 1997 SL500 (7500) This is the only one we still have we put 80k miles on it and its been pretty reliable for a 26 year old car. It was basically my first car and has a special place in my heart. Recently put a transmission in it after it began slipping and really never needed much more than brakes tires and suspension components, of course the top is broken but still a great car.
Although they may have not been the smartest of purchases I find them to be a great experience for me as a kid learning how to work on cars them teaching me most of what I know.
This should be a fun trip down memory lane. Here we go!
Chevrolet 3100 series pickup – 2: Right out of the gate, my very first two cars ( trucks) were a ’52 and ’53 Chevy 3100 series pickup. They were both basket cases given to me by my dad who had pretty much given up on the idea of restoring one by that point. I did get the ’53 running and sort-of driving, but only managed to put a few (as in 2 or 3) miles on it before moving on to something else.
Plymouth Duster – 2: ’85 and ’79. The same car in name only. The ’79 replaced the ’85 when I was 16 and was by far the better of the two.
Ford LTD – 4: Had a ’74, ’75, ’77, and and ’80. These things could be had for a song when I was in high school and college. Seriously, the respective prices on those cars were $75, $250, $75, and $70.. Plus they were generally reliable and comfortable for such cheap transportation and I even made some cash on each one except the ’75.
Mercury Grand Marquis – 2: Had an ’84 and an ’89 at different times of life again requiring cheap transportation. Probably could have added these to the previous LTD listings, but Ford and Mercury were technically different cars then.
Toyota Celicas – 2: Again, cheap transportation. Bought an ’84 and a ’91 from two different friends for $200 each. Fixed up the ’91 including my first ever paint-job at my home garage and drove it to over 250,000 miles. Used it to teach my wife stick shift. Great car, really developed a lot of respect for Toyota over the ownership of that one.
Oldsmobile Silhouette – 2: The Cadillac of Minivans! Actually, one more round of cheap transportation – a ’95 “Dustbuster” style and a ’98 face-lifted regular one. Both of these were bought when we were pretty-much completely broke, but still wanted a mini-van to cart around our new daughter. The ’98 I picked up from a neighbor for only $300 since it needed lower intake gaskets and a few other things. It did have a working VCR from the factory in it! They both served us well for a couple of years while we climbed out of the great recession.
Mercedes 2xxD – 2: Okay, I’m cheating a bit here since the two aren’t exactly the same models, but a ’72 220D and a ’74 240D are pretty darn close. The ’74 had a full used fryer-oil conversion.
Mercedes 2xx – 2: Again, not the same exact model, but I feel a ’69 230 and a ’69 250 are similar enough for inclusion on this list.
Mercedes 300TD – 2: Bonus with these two since not only were they the same model, but also the same year. 1979 to be exact. Fun cars, but I let them go at the end of my Mercedes/bio-diesel phase.
Volkswagen Fox – 2: After having been to Brazil a number of times to hang out with my wife’s family, I’ve become enamored with some of the cars available there. One of those is the 2-door wagon version of the Paratí. When I learned VW shipped those up to the states for 3 years rebranded as the Fox, I had have one. Of course, then I needed another. Found an ’88 and a ’90 on Craigslist. The ’90 was much rustier than I realized, so I let that one go to a local VW enthusiast, but I do still have the ’88.
Jaguar XJ6 – 2: An ’82 and an ’87 XJ6. Both are still at my house – I only drive the ’87 once, and it’s become a parts car, but the ’82 still gets taken out each year. It’s a bit of a “street rod” in that it has a TPI 350 and 700r4 transmission in it from an ’87 IROC. It doesn’t really do anything the best in any way except make the person driving it feel pretty cool – that it does incredibly well.
Cadillac Eldorado – 2: Purchased a ’98 Eldorado shortly before getting married. Great car that ran up to 190,000 miles without any issues except 3 bad driver’s side window motors. Bought a ’75 Eldorado Coupe that was originally supposed to be a daily since my wife had started driving the ’98 at that time, but ended up on ebay instead after not doing much with it and having a kid on the way.
Cadillac Sedan deVille – 8: Three of these were ’59s, although I’m again cheating a bit in that one of those three was actually a Series 62 and not a true Sedan deVille. At any rate, those were followed by a ’67, ’69, ’71, ’93, and ’94 Cadillac Sedan deVille that have all graced my garage at one time or another over the years. The nicest was the ’67 – just 40,000 miles when I got it. 52,000 miles when I sold it.
Cadillac Brougham – 5: An ’87, ’88, ’89, ’91, and ’94, although once again there’s a caveat – the ’94 (which I still have) is actually a Fleetwood, with the Brougham trim package, and not a true Brougham as the other four were. Not that it matters as they were all great versions of a ’70’s car that one could buy through the mid 90’s. Regardless, these big shiny parade floats encourage driving in a sort of non-hurried, we’ll-get-there-when-we-get-there type of way. The ’89 was the first car I ever took a loan out for and I drove it half-way across the country and back numerous times. They’ve always been my favorite, so here they are in the “saved the best for last” slot.
Wow, awesome….I’m jealous!
I for one when i need a car buy the best cheap car i can find. If opportunity provided i would Jensen Healey and Honda Civic again.
My grandpa bought 4 beetles in a row. He would usually get one with a lot of miles, and rebuilding the motor became job one when acquiring one. He also had a bus at one point. He also bought 2 Grand Marquis. It drove my grandma, who is a stickler for pronunciation, nuts when if pronounced it “Grand Marcus”. To top it off, they lived in Versailles street which I pronounced “Versalees”.
Or “Grandma Keith” ha ha
OBS Ford f350 with the 460 big block. I’ve had three, and still have one. The lowest mile one that I’ve had is my current one, and the highest was my first one at 450,000ish when I sold it. The 460 is so understressed in them that that high mile one never needed a rebuild, just annual tune-ups. Fuel economy is catastrophic, but they just keep running so I’ll live with 10mpg on ethanol-free and 7.5mpg with the ethanol crap in a pinch.
Do headers or chips ever help? Our OBS 460 F250 is a thirsty gal and I’ve seen a lot of wild claims on the internet.
Chip, no. Headers yes, free flowing intake yes, also check 460efi.com their setup actually performs as advertised.
In 2015 I was debating what car I wanted next after I’d had my GTI for the last nine years. That one is still one of my favorites and still the car I’ve kept longer than any other.
I’d never owned a convertible and I was really starting to feel the pull. A friend of mine had owned a few Miatas and a Boxster and seeing his experience pretty well swayed my decision.
I didn’t want anything with a back seat so looking for roadsters only. I always thought the look of convertibles with the top up was awkward but at least the shorter roof of roadsters minimized that awkwardness. The main problem with this plan was that I am about 6’ 3” with longer legs than the height even generally provides. No Miata or MG for me.
The 981 Porsche Boxsters were just starting to come off leases and arrive as CPO offers on dealer lots for the 2013 year and I ended up with a black on black version of that car. I did not want a black interior on a convertible, especially living in the sweltering Atlanta metro area but the thing came with air conditioned/ventilated seats. My wife and I don’t have kids so I never really need the extra seats.
I was in love with this thing but it wasn’t really optioned like I’d wanted. Surprisingly it got much better real-world MPGs than my GTI which is a reason I don’t prefer our current world of small 4 pot engines with turbos all over the place. But I’m getting off track…
Fast forward to 2019 and I was driving home one night and was rear ended on the expressway. Hit and run. A drawback to a Boxster is that with the top up visibility is pretty terrible and at night with six lanes worth of headlights in my eyes I couldn’t even see the color of the SUV and I just assumed they were pulling in behind me. Asshole.
I did get the car fixed. Maybe something wasn’t right, more likely it was just in my head since the damage wasn’t that bad but I took it to Carmax and they offered way more than I expected.
A few weeks later I found a Carmine Red 2016 Boxster for sale in North Carolina by a dealer offering another CPO deal and a salesman who worked his butt off to make me feel comfortable with buying and shipping a car sight-unseen to my doorstep. I still have this one and don’t plan to get rid of it. Such a great car.
My wife and I even recently took it on a x-country road trip from Atlanta to Sonoma Valley for a week then drove back. Total 3 week epic road trip in the tiny Boxster. It was amazing but I might have a bigger car if I ever did it again.
I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it but if I ever find an affordable 911 Targa… it might make me think. Dreams….
Used Datsun/Nissan small pickups for me.
Datsun 521, mint green, rear-ended and totalled when the engine died in an intersection late at night.
Datsun 521, brick red, flipped on its side in a panic stop/swerve, repaired and then lost to the Parking Gods.
Datsun 720, brown, I was in a bad space and can’t recall what happened to it.
Nissan D21, ice blue, signed over to a friend in need when I moved across the country.
Nissan D22, dark blue, current daily driver and beat-to-hell repair project.
And no, I can not entertain any sort of interest in a D40, the whole point of a small pickup truck is to be small. 🙂
Let’s see. I’ve owned multiple:
BMW convertibles. 2 of the same year consecutively (e36 95 318 and 325), and currently a newer e46 01 330. The 318 I found as a great deal, and liked everything about it except the 4 cyl engine and the automatic transmission. So I sold it at 220k miles and got a 6 cyl/MT 325. Drove it to around 300k miles, then sold it to a friend. A couple of years later I wanted another one, so I got the e46. I’ve had 2 other BMWs as well, a 740iL (sold to a different friend) and X3 which I currently also own.
I’ve had 2 Ford Trucks, a 78 F-150 and an 88 F-250. Also 2 Ford cars, a Focus and a C-Max. Oh and a 69 Mustang I currently have, waiting for me to finish fixing my CJ-7 before I start on it.
I’ve had multiple Audis of the 80s – 2 Coupe GT, 2 4000s, a 80 and a 200. The Coupe GT are explained by I liked the first and sold it, bought the second a bit later and it was older, slower and didn’t run well, so I gave up and sold it. The 4000s was also an update to the CGT, but the first (quattro) got totaled, and the second (non-quatto, 4 cyl) I sold after a short time because I didn’t like it as much as the CGT or the quatto 4k. I got the 80 shortly after that and liked it, but it too was totaled.
I’ve had multpile Toyotas, as 82 Celica and 85 Celica, an 88 Tercel and a 2007 RAV4.
I’ve had a couple of Nissans of the 80s, a Stanza and a 300ZX.
I’ve had 2 Isuzus, a 91 P’up and a 02 Trooper. I bought the Trooper because I remember liking the P’up so much, but it turned out to be quite unreliable, so I sold it at a big loss.
I guess I’ve owned 2 Dodge trucks as well – a 76, and currently a 14 Ram.
Just rememberd, 2 Jeeps as well, a 82 Cherokee SJ, and currently a 76 CJ-7.
For fun, I’ve had 4 Checkmate boats as well.
I have to say I’m surprised at some of these. Part of being an enthusiast to me is experiencing the variety of automotive offerings, not repeating the same thing over and over.
That said, I am on my second Toyota Sienna, because the first was an ideal appliance car, and that’s exactly what I wanted for the second as well.
I’ve also owned two Holden Commodores, a VE and a VF, although GM has called them different things here in the States (G8 and SS).
I’m a (non-diagnosed) schizophrenic and accordingly I have owned a string of four Acura Integras starting with a first-year 86, an 88, a 91, and a 97 (I lived overseas from 92 -97 accounting for the lag before buying the last one.
All very reliable cars.
BUT
I’ve also owned four Alfa Spiders… a 67, two 71’s (one is in my garage right now) and a 74.
I like to think that if you have one foot in a bucket of boiling water, and in a bucket of freezing water, everything averages out, right?
I’ve also owned or leased a string of BMWs since 1998 to present – first 3 Series and later 5 Series. I highly recommend them as lease vehicles… I learned not to own one that’s out of warranty the hard way.
Volvo 245, manual, We’ve had 3. Presently it’s a 1987 DL.
My personal obsession was Land Rover Series Vehicles, with 4 series IIa’s and one series III followed by a 97 Defender ST. Fun fact was: every one of them made money when I sold them. There is something charming about a loud rattling leaky box that can go anywhere and be fixed only by the aid of a really complete set of hammers. IT is also one of my fetishes as a geologist, a decent off-road vehicle that you can really beat up day after day. Still driving a Defender, albeit one of the new ones. Which only resembles the old one in the spelling of the name. What was also nice the 97 Defender, when it sold completely paid for the totally tricked out new Defender 90X. Now that is retaining their value and some.
I have had so many of the same vehicles it gets hard to keep track…
At least 4 XJ Cherokees, most of them modified, and one with a Chevy V8.
2 MJ’s, one swapped to a 350 Chev.
Countless squarebody GM trucks including 2 CUCV pickups and a diesel K5.
2 B-body wagons.
3 early CJ-5s.
4 or 5 SJ Cherokees, P/Us, and Wagoneers.
2 Saturns SL2s
2 80’s Supras plus an 80’s Celica.
2 280ZX, one turbo.