Past Simple incorrect?

[alla]

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
• I had felt discomfort for a week before I finally decided to see my dentist.

Is it possible to use Past Simple forms in the sentences above? , i.e. :

• We had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they owned it for more than forty years.
• I felt discomfort for a week before I finally decided to see my dentist.

Thank you

[5jj]

They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

The past simple is fine in the first and third - 'before' makes the sequence of events clear; the past perfect is also fine. The past perfect is better in the one above.

[bhaisahab]

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
• I had felt discomfort for a week before I finally decided to see my dentist.

Is it possible to use Past Simple forms in the sentences above? , i.e. :

• We had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they owned it for more than forty years.
• I felt discomfort for a week before I finally decided to see my dentist.

Thank you

The first and third are fine (there is a subtle difference in meaning, but too subtle to worry about), but I would use the past perfect in #2.

[5jj]

At last! I told you that I'd beat you to it soon, bhai.