Good point, very good point. I'm in about 7K on a car that doesn't even have a working heater, and I doubt that i'll ever get that out of it. Just making me antsy, that's all. Looks like i'm going to pour some more cash down it's throat, and see if I can make it into a decent car. Thanks for the opinions folks!
Look at it this way, when some schmuck pays 35k for a new car or truck off the lot, they throw 7k away as soon as they turn onto the street leaving the dealership. I know, I've done it.
I've had only the normal things go wrong on my 64 mustang, it was my first car when I was 16 and I still love it today. but I had a 1990 4 cylinder mustang that I couldnt keep running, it would die on a busy freeway and the 3rd time it really left me stranded I sold it. I went back to ******s for daily drivers and never looked back.
I usually have good luck, but it varies from car to car. My '60 Pontiac they had redone just about everything on including a new transmission. I got 30,000 miles out of it and the most major change was the voltage regulator. I had an '87 Pontiac wagon after that and it broke a ball joint clean off on me, I quit driving it after about a year and got a '72 with a 455 instead. That one the frame broke on, so I replaced it with another one I found in the paper. That one I put up after a while and just sat on. 2 years ago I got an '84 Skylark for free that ran. Someone was trying to fix the brake lines and didn't know what the hell they were doing. If I hadn't put an exhaust on it finally I never would have had more than about $250 in it. It got me home on a flat in the snow, too (lug had rounded off so I couldn't get the flat off it). Always started right up, even when it was 20 below. I really needed a truck, though, so when I saw an '89 Ramcharger for $50 I grabbed it. I spent about $100 on the water pump it needed and some other odds and ends - they don't drive very well with no trans fluid, for example - and it was reliable, although the gas was terrible. Then I found my Suburban and sold the Ram for $400. First time I made money on a beater. The Suburban has been the biggest money pit of all. It's never broken down on the road, but I've changed just about everything in the brakes, the radiator, gas tank and sending unit, all the gas and brake lines, blew a tire and had to buy a pair, changed a U-joint, the muffler is going now and the rear main seems to be dripping a little oil. I have bodywork to do on it yet too. For what I've spent I could have gotten one for the Kelly Blue Book price that didn't need anything done to it. Of all of them this truck had the lowest milage on it, 56,700 showing when I got it. And it had been a school bus, so in theory it should have seen regular maintenance. But it did sit two years in a barn, so that was the biggest reason for a lot of these issues. The '60 had 76,000 and the others were well over 100K. I can't remember what the '87 had on it. Sometimes it's just the idiot who's working on it, too. That '87 wagon I bought an '86 Buick wagon to use for parts, the clowns who had it couldn't get it to run and had the ignition all apart. I put it together with some junk parts to diagnose it, and found it to be bone dry out of gas - I had to leave the cap loose so the fuel pump could **** it up into the carb. After that I drove it around as a field car until some kids smashed the windows out of it. When I took the seats out I found a marijuana pipe jammed into one, that explained a lot. But that Suburban, just makes me wonder what's next -
I've never really had a car from hell yet. However on my '65 Sport Fury I tend to spend $75 to fix $5 problems. But that's mostly 'cause I'm dumb.
Fullsize 1990 Chevy reg cab shorty stepside 4X4 full interior upholstery full paint 2 waterpumps 3 starters 2 alternators 4 motors 1 ****** 2 rear ends dash cover instrument cluster AC pump Steering column front axles tie rods and ball joints U joints e brake cables one brake line 3 rotors (one new one conveniently fell apart) these are just the parts that readily come to mind, many many more left out. and I am just under 31,000 miles since i got it! Id say you are doing good so far.
Yeah - I see what you mean when I look at that '56. If you were not so far away I would let you give it to me for Christmas because I have room for one more.... Gary 4T950 Chevy Guy
Well, to put it in a nutshell, yes some cars are simply junk. Its not because they were always bad cars, its because they were probally run harder or breat to **** or have a ton of miles on them. For example: I had a 1959 Studebaker, 144k miles, 289 Studebaker engine poorly put in the car (originally a six). SOMETHING always was broke or breaking on that car. No matter what I fixed something else would brake. It wasn't the cars fault - but due to the milage the front suspention was worn out, the door locks were worn out (its intresting going down the road and have your door fly open!), even the rear axle was growling. After I quote "fixed " the car, driving it down the road it caught fire and burned this summer. On the other end of the sprectrum, this summer I bought a 54 Studebaker for $650. from an estate. Put a battery in it, gave it gas, aired up the 1965 wards tires on it and drove it 30 miles home. Replaced hoses, brake rubbers etc, put new tires on it and have drove it 1,200 miles this summer and it never has let me down! Why this one so "good" compaired to my other? Its cause it only has 60k original miles and had great maintenance its whole life. Just my 2 cents on this topic Kenny BTW pictues of the two cars can be seen here: http://www.albumtown.com/deliriouskenny
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