This year, i will be a sophmore in college. I have been blessed the past few years with parents who had an extra vehicle that I was allowed to drive around, but soon is the time where they make me either buy it or give it back. The car is a 2000 Chevy Malibu with 97K on it, we bought it brand new. We guesstimated blue-book on it would be somewhere between 3 and 4 grand (which my dad will sell it to me for). So here is my question: how much sense would it be for me to not buy the Malibu, but instead go with something older (60's, 70's?), with perhaps a newish motor/running gear? My thinking, is that with the older car, I would get excited to drive to and from work everyday in it, whereas the Malibu strikes no emotion out of me. Also, the Malibu has been in and out of the shop for minor, yet costly things. The older car would probably be slightly more suceptible to breaking, but I would be able to fix it. Whereas with the Malibu, I need $5000 worth of equiptment just to run a simple diagnostic. Plus with the computer running the show, I would have to probably take it to a shop to fix anyway, and Lord knows labor these days is crazy expensive. ($90 for a $20 part). I always like to ask guys with more experience with me about things like this, just to see if they make sense, and I already know what my dad will say ("old cars break."). So now I turn to you, fellow HAMBers. Whadya think?
You're past warranty and "useful life" of that POS Chevy, get rid of it asap. Buy an old car and stand out.
Build it right and it'll be more reliable than the new car...plus, you'll know how to fix it. I'd be surprised if anyone said go for the new car, after all, this is a hot rod and custom site. Bryan
Speaking from someone who made the wrong decision about 5years ago, go for the old car. A properly build older car will be just as reliable as a new car will. All you get with a new car is expensive plates, expensive insurance and an expensive monthly payment. Oh yeah, and when it breaks, you have an expensive repair once it goes out of warranty and you're still paying on it.
Just what I was hoping to hear. Thanks. So just for the sake of argument...what would be a reasonable price to consider for a "properly built", on the road, old car? and where might i begin my search?
I'll tell you that whatever car you go with, make sure its one you won't mind getting banged up, door dings especially.
Well, it depends on what era car you're looking into and how finished you want it to be. From some of the stuff that my father and company have built, you could hop into some sort of car for less than $10,000. Something we've considering for myself is building up a nice early 60's Dart/Valiant, etc... for a daily driver with an reliable Slant 6 motor. Be cheap, reliable and easy on gas.
Okay, ready for the s**t storm?? A 2000 Malibu with 97,000 miles is good for another 100,000 with regular maintenance. The only thing you need to watch is the 3.1L (I ***ume it's a V6) can have intake gasket problems. Yeah, other things can happen, but these cars are very reliable. $3-4 grand, liability insurance, tax and license will be next to nothing. Good reliable transportation while your saving for that rod. I'd go for the Malibu. All of us know that it ****s to be working on your daily, and with the Malibu, you can chase parts, and if you've got the rear diff torn apart, your not stuck. Having a rod as a daily is cool and all of us love'em, but you need something you can depend on......to keep a job.....to finance a rod (unless your independantly weathy) And, I would like to see what kind of rod you will find, that's good and driveable for 3 grand. Okay, I'm too reasonable, I'm braced now.
I would say go with the new car. You will have more time and money for the old one in a couple years. Hyfire
You can't get a cool old,reliable car for $4 grand. And even if you do,it won't be near as safe as a newer car for a commute. On the other hand,the Chevy's no jewel and will soon be an antique. I'd say take your $4000 and put it down on a good reliable 3 year old Honda or Toyota. Go for milage and safety. Get a job to pay off the new car and save up while looking for the old car you want. I expect decent liability coverage for someone your age,for daily driving, in an older car without modern safety equipment is not a cheap as you think. As for what the Malibu's worth,check kbb.com or nada.com
you might have the wrong outlook if you feel you need a car to get excited about going to work. Use the chevy as a way to get to work so you can get the car you really want later on.
I would look into an older truck like 60-70's maybe with a small block or a 6 banger in it. These trucks are fairly cheap to work on brakes etc. You being a young guy it will help you move around too. Were in the same town.
You say the Malibu has been in the family since it was new. If the car has been properly maintained(and you should know) it should have a lot of miles yet to go. My guess is that it should also be getting 20 city and 30 highway. Haggle with Dad a bit on the price and you will have an inexpensive daily driver that will allow you to put some money aside for a project. Trust me, old cars are more fun if you're not up against a deadline everytime you get the toolbox out. The last thing you should do is put your money into another late model car with an unknown history. As an aside, you could also do some low cost messin' with that Malibu to show up the Ricers. Good luck with whatever you decide. Paul
I totally agree the chev /gmc trucks of that era look great and they are hard to kill. go for an old car and sell the boring malibu.
I think i'd go with the malibu. From experience, I can tell you it's a major pain in the *** to work on a car while needing to get to work. Not to mention breaking down like a lot of 40yr old cars tend to do. My parents have a 2001, it is expensive to repair, but it is a good driving car.
I would say it depend on how much do you know mechanically. With my first real job in 1994 I was 20 and had a $300 83 ford LTD II (it was not driven that often, but it was there just in case) and bought a $1200 53 Chevy 5 window that use to be a work truck. It had a 216 I-6 4-speed and drove it to Idaho from Cal and back with no issue, well be sides heat in the cab cause it was winter. I got lucky and no repair was too costly since I was working on it. Hope it helps.
I drive old but i was driven old when it was late model. So I can't give you much advice. I don't know how much you got to invest or what your mechanical abilities. If you don't mind wrenching one on occaision and you can get your hands opn a good one IE mechanically sound than an older ride is the way to go. If your a techno-nerd who doesn't know an alxe from a spark plug and you are starting a new job in a new industry thwen you probably better get something with a warrentee. And buy an old hooptie to learn on, one that isn't required to get you to the job everyday.
There is always a positive and negative to everything. #1 - that Malibu is going to depreciate like heck - as you have probably noticed that it already has. If you give your Dad $4k for it - in 2 years you'll be lucky if it is worth 1k. Old cars Appreciate in value (most of the time) #2 - Insurance. Old car insurance for a younger guy is going to be expensive (especially if you have it insured for full value and all that garbage) You can't insure it as a "hot rod" cause you'll be driving it everyday - so you have to go through a regular insurance carrier - they don't usually like cars that "Appreciate" or don't know that they even exist. If your just going to get liability insurance and "self-insure" yourself for the car it won't be that expensive...but you are ***uming the liability to your own car #3 Gas milage - figure any old car you get is going to be around 15mpg depending on motor and size of the car - this may vary a little. Even the ones with highway gears, smaller 6's and overdrive ******'s aren't going to get much more than 20. How far do you drive to school/work???? #4 It's nice to have a "Parts Chaser" that will get you to work without you wrenching on it every weekend or night I'm a young guy (25) and have had a few Daily's and a few Toys. I would suggest looking into a Late 80's early 90's Pickup. You can get something pretty nice for $3-4K, They tend to hold thier value alot better than Cheap American cars (Read: Chevy Malibu)
The first thing I thought of was that the Malibu has started having problems on a regular basis, based on what you said. This probably won't change. OTOH, I personally know of more than a few Mercedes, Toyotas and Hondas that have gone far longer than that and still run reliably without frequent repair. Some would say that's unAmerican, and that the American cars will last just as long. I say ********. I have never seen (heard of a few, very, very few) any American car with the near 300,000 miles of my current Benz, and will STILL compare quality of a NEW American car with my 21 year old, 300K mile Benz. It still does not burn oil unless you are hammering it at 100+, and even then it burns less than a qt over 3,000 miles (I hammer it regularly). The highest mileage American car I have personally seen (owned, even) was a Lincoln Town Car at 210,000, but the digital dash was dying, the engine had that "liquid-y" sound of the nearly worn out, and I couldn't convert that one to use veggie oil Cruise and A/C didn't work (they both do on my Benz), and the Benz has more power, with less capacity (3.0 litre vs 5.0). What do I think?? Flog the Malibu, find an old W123 Benz, and save up for what you really want. You'll find nearly 90% of the people on this board have new cars (less than 5 years old, though not me) for chasing parts and for reliable family transport. And, like Harley owners, most of us won't admit that our beloveds ever break, but they do, they do. And if it's your only transport, for job and school, you're f&*ked. BTW, the Benz has been super-reliable, so much so that I recently took it to Florida to trailer some stuff back. Had a couple issues, but they were sorted within a couple hours. Not bad for $1,700 (in 2001) and 285,000 miles. And the trailering was the direct cause of the issues. Second choice: motorcycle. Works best below the Mason-Dixon line, but super economical under 750cc. Cosmo
Since you're going to College, I think your folks should either give or at least loan you the car till you graduate. That's what I would have told my folks if they wanted to sell me the old wore out family sedan. But then, maybe we're dealing with a real boy named sue here... If you gotta buy a car, just buy a $300 winter beater and if it dies, dump it and buy another one, and keep air in your bicycle tires in between. Cars get beat to **** at Colleges. I think a lot of students do it on purpose sometimes. Especially if you have a "nice" car. My Wife had a 96 Civic that was dentless till she started taking cl***es at Art Center, It got about two new door dings a DAY there, at Art Center no less!
I have to say to go with someting that you like. For me my "new" truck is an 80 with over 500K on the clock. I keep it becouse i like the truck and its fun to drive, gets good fuel millage and is a breaze to fix. For me thats the biggest advantage to older cars, they are simple and easy to fix. Shure a computer will tell you wats wrong with your fuel injection but id still rather just rebiuld a carb for $25...
I have a 06 hhr with red wheels ,airbrushed woodgrain sides,lowered and pinstriped.I bought it because I can haul my paint in it and still get 30 some mpg.My 58 chevy sedan delivery gets probably less that half that.
Here is my stock answer for this question, I've been asked a hundred times. Buy a circa '74 to '80 Domestic midsize car, like a Nova, Granada, Volare, or a bunch of other variants on a theme. This era of vehicle provided the rock solid dependability of the small block V8, the OHV six, The TH350, 904, C4, Non computer controlled electronic ignition (HEI) 10 bolt, 8 inch, or 8 1/4" rears.....and on and on. These cars regularly had A/C, power steering, and a radio. Most had what are now cheap, generic tire sizes that the tires can be bought new for $25 a shot. (like a 205/75/R14 or 15) Ever price a brake caliper for a Volare? Parts are cheap, plentiful, and available. Repairs are fast and easy. Insurance is cheap. Gas mileage varies, I had a Volare that got 24 highway, and a Fairmont that got 18 highway. What features do you value? It might be worth it to you to have to buy more expensive tires to get fuel injection cold starts, or whatever. Funny thing is, everyone who I have given this advice to has ignored it.
Get a truck. You're gonna need a truck once you start building cars. I'd take a V8 over 4wd for the sake of towing. I have a 4x4 with a 4 cylinder, don't be like me...
I'm gonna put in another vote for some kind of 60's-80's pickup. And don't be tempted by the cheap one if you need it for a daily. That $3-4k will buy you a nice truck that isn't rusted to hell and has a decent paint job and motor.
If the Malibu has been troublesome, it will probably continue to cost you money, so another car may be a better choice, but if the price was right, I'd take it over a rod or custom at this point. For me, the 70' and 80's were the absolute low of American car styling except for a couple of high$$ early 70s muscle cars. Therefore, I'm in the 60s at best. Having a 40+ year old car is not without its problems , even if you can fix them. Between working, studying, attending College, girls, keg parties, etc., you won't have a lot of time to work on keeping a car going. If you are not at home, I doubt you'll have tools and a good place to work on it either. Get reliable daily driver and save up for a rod. I drove 2 VW Rabbits and a Golf diesel through high school and University. They were reliable, easy to work on (i.e. no computers) even if the parts were not cheap and the diesel got up to 45 MPG. Not "cool" cars, but they got the job done. As for trucks, I agree that they can be had cheaper and retain their value. The key is finding one that has not been totally abused (i.e. not a work truck). A 100,000 mile shop truck that 5 people have kicked the **** out of for 6 years is going to be MORE trouble than the Malibu ever would be. Just my 0.02.
Man this is a bit of a toughie, but as much as I hate to say it, I'd say go with the devil you know. A 2000 Malibu isn't a dream car, but you just need something to get around school and work and whatnot. Drive that POS into the ground. Don't fix anything unless it prevents the car from moving down the road. Trim, A/C, heater core, interior/exterior, let it all go. You'll get a good car when you get out of college, right now it's just about having any kind of transportation. Mitigating factors: If you know the trans or engine is about to go on the Malibu, obviously shine it. Also, if you come across a *sweet* deal on an older car, I mean *really* right, it'd be worth considering. Good luck.
I'd buy older, but I _am_ older. I'd avoid cars of the '70s because the early smog technology was lame, they didn't have any power, and they don't run well. My son shopped for a while and found a clean '63 Biscayne, 6-stick four door. I think the price was below your Malibu budget. It's been as reliable as a gas stove, he can work on it himself, and with modest means he's made some nice improvements (pic enclosed). Some things to consider that he did, and you should, for the sake of reliability and thrift: Avoid sporty, performance models that appeal to young guys. Buy an old guy's car that's been driven gently and well maintained. A 4-speed V8 coupe is way ***ier than a 3-speed six, but it's also been beaten on for 40 years. Sixes are reliable and simple, and parts are still widely available for them (same goes for 3-speed transmissions). Trucks are good (and tough), but clean old ones are scarce. Probably best to avoid orphans like Studebaker and Hudson, although they were good cars, because parts will not be as readily available as big 3 stuff. Happy hunting!
I had a 2000 Malibu until a couple of years ago. There's a flaw in the design with the brakes. With use the rotors will have to be replaced often, even more often than brake pads. Mine was under extended warranty, but I can't tell you how many times the dealership kept it for three or four days only to tell me they couldn't find anything causing the noises,, horrible vibrations, whatever was possessing it at the time. It was maintained properly, but it's a buggy car. They completely revamped the brake system for the 2001. And on the back drums. all the brake dust goes inside and causes a whole new set of problems. I'll push my 53 before I'll own another "Newer" car they haven't worked all the bugs out of.
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