Are there NO used cars anymore? (a rant/question)

I replaced a 89 Suburban with a 89 Ranger for gas mileage reasons.I have been poking around it as the weather allows and found out the 4 banger has 8 spark plugs and dont even see where some of the plug wires are on a 4 CYL!!!$500 truck may get junked cause the plugs cost too much to replace!

 

Heck...

I think they're easier to work on than the old ones.

Alternator goes bad, 3 bolts, 1 belt... disconnect one wire, put it back together.

Same with most of the junk on em, fuel rails, computers... And it is junk... 'cause it breaks... total melt down.

Problem is if you want to fix what actually breaks instead of sending it to a circular file, ya gotta be a rocket scientist of electron flow paths...

 

well genious you're the one who bought the thing,keep blamin your lazyness on not having a manual, there must not be any other way to find the info you neededhell you could have had the guys at your local napa store tell you where it was.just keep blaming everybody else for your incompetance,us paid mechanics make a living off of you

 

Ah shit........leave it up to a new guy to piss off the Master Monster artist.

Tingle, just remember you always have fiends...errr FRIENDS and we will always help you....even if that means scratching your tummy.....right after we shave it.

 

Tingler,

by now you should know i like to push buttons,but to show i respect my elders(you being an old schooler) i'll let you in on some advice. next time you need work done on your truck, goto the dealer and walk back in the shop and try to find a technician in his late 20's early 30's that may appear to have a family to feed.ask him if he does sidework, usually they will and for a whole hell of a lot cheaper than the overhead prices
you can still be mad at me but i love ya

 

I drive an 87 Toyota truck. 4cyl/4-speed w/OD, manual steering, power brakes. It got some kind of TBI/electronic carb dealie, but otherwise you could stand in the engine bay. Everything is logical and accessible. I love my old car, but it's great being able to go out at 4am when it's -20 and knowing your car isn't going to give you problems

 

thanks for the offer, but i think i'm off to rub one out,the wife just went to sleep, i also work on mazda trucks which is a ford ranger with a mazda grill if i can help you out let me know.

 

New cars will soon be entirely disposable. The thermostat goes out , you take it back to the dealer and they give you a new car and prorate the old one. Old being four months... I plan to, when I retire, drive my '32 till the day I die. I'll save millions in tomorrow's dollars.

 

"Genious"?????????????????.....try genius smartass.....better learn the english language if you plan on being a mechanic these days.....ain't nun of dem carbrettors on dese karz tuday....jus foeol unjecktin.

 

I'm still looking for the thermostat on the wife's '95 Chevy .DAMN is right. We're screwed.

 

Try looking for the throttle cable on any 2006 model car. They no longer exist.

 

Other than my 97 Ranger nothin newer than 72 in my driveway.

 

screw the thermostat

just walk up to it and tell that bitch be cool, say "BE COOL BITCH!"

 

funny, there's one on my wife's scion.....



hey tingler, next time ya got a problem with your late models,feel free to contact me.
it's what i do (evil ways, ya know)

 

Man, is that thermostat gold? I bought one yesterday for a 4 cyl Ranger. $6.00. The gasket was another buck. Murrays near Chicago. Geez, I bought one for a '93 5.0 Econoline from the dealer last month ,was only $14. Didn't the shop quote you first? As far as shop manuals, libraries are free. The copy machine is a nickel.

 

I just got rid of a 93 Dodge one ton dually with a Cummins diesel in it. 145,000 miles on it and hardly no maintenance was done on it except for the oil changes, filters and etc.
I hate to say it, but after doing a lot of research on all the new vehicles, I bought a Toyota pickup. I did get all of the warranty on it that I could, but all of the normal maint that needs to be done on it, I can do. The only thing I have a problem with is there is no tranny dipstick and no place to add fluid.

 

Dunno, guys...

been back and forth on this issue. Started out with nothin' but old cars (had no money) and then bought new when I could afford it. The dealer was a jerk and pissed me off - stopped buying Fords for about ten years. This was 1984.

In '90 I bought a chevy which had a clutch prob - was in the dealership for a month while they 'attempted' to figure out how to fix it. I had told them EXACTLY what was wrong (warped clutch) but the snot-nose at the service counter didn't want to go there on account of it was a lotta work - and he'd get dirty. When they *finally* replaced the clutch, I asked them why they didn't listen to me in the first place...

'We can't just take anybody's advice on car repairs,' said the snot-nose matter-of-factly.

I swore off new cars. That lasted about four years; the most reliable of the bunch was a '56 Chrysler - the least reliable a '63 Merc.

The car that flipped me in favor of new cars was a Caddy fleetwood limo. Whilt it ran, it kept doing all these damned annoying things that kept me in the garage when I would have preferred the back yard and a beer.

Out of desparation, I bought a new Ford Festiva. It was the best car I'd ever owned, a damned rollerskate and a ball to drive.

I'm in the middle now with some old stuff and some new stuff. I know the guys who design this stuff - they're not rocket scientists - so if they can build it, I *should* be able to figure it out, right? So...I spend time just before going to sleep a few nights ever week reading factory service manuals. Nowadays, they're written for eighth graders - block diagrams for troubleshooting. An OBD-II diagnostic tool, a multitester, the manual, and you CAN fix these buggers as well as the shop rats that charge $55 for t-stats.

My primary beef, to be honest, is with the dealers. Lazy-assed bastards want to do nuthin' but change oil and filters. If something breaks - they're parts changers! Last time I took a new car to the dealer, they told me I had a bent pushrod...on a DOHC motor! Idiots.

I do me own work - period.

As for the question on used cars - yeah. I just bought a '95 Roadmaster outta Witchita with 37K on the clock. The damned thing is the late-model high point of GM; I figure it's got a good 150K in it B4 consigning it to the scrap heap. You just gotta pick and choose whatcha buy, that's all.

 

when the "computer" said on my 2003 blazer my "MAF sensor" was bad and i paid like 180 for a non refundable electronic part only to find that ONE of the 2 of my catalytic converters on the car was clogged. (which was my FIRST initial diagnostic, but hey, the computer cant be wrong right? )

you dont need 1 let a lone 2 converters.

i will never buy another car that i have to hook up to a computer to diagnose again and im not a technophobe. i work in the computer industry for living working on cutting edge technology...............that SHOULDNT BE IN A CAR!

 

They took out all the thermostats, dipsticks and such when they removed the soul from cars in the mid sixties......

 

145,000 miles.. Dude that is just when they start to break in I have close to 200,000 miles on mine I will drive it until the body rotts away and then stuff the driveline into something else. I sure like my first generation Dodge/Cummins.

Dawg

 

I'm with ya !
I was looking at what a new truck costs vs. how long you can expect to drive the damn thing and decided i could spend 1/4 of the money on an old truck and fix it myself no matter what went wrong on any weekend. I refuse to spend 30-40 grand on a vehicle. A vehicle that is made to die in less than 10 years.......And that is designed to need major service at EXACTLY the time the warranty runs out. and GM wonders why they are having to lay off 30 thousand workers......make an inexpensive car ( 15k) that runs for 200k...DUH!

 

Perhaps I'm a bit premature. I know that is the direction most of the makers are headed. I was told they are pretty much all doing it now. I know for a fact Ford is doing this in some cars and so is GM. Replacing a $30 part with a sophisticated $100 part.

 

You can still get them but you have to kinda do the research ahead of time. Kinda like knowing your wifes crazy before you say i do deal.

My last two trucks were bought used at about half there new price. the first was a gmc sonoma, and my daily now is a dodge dakota r/t. I found a body i liked and found there support network( web forum) and did lots of reading. I knew in both situations what would break and why- I replaced two spiders before fininding someone who made upgraded ones that last in the sonoma and got 155k out of it. I was also not surpised when the radiator took a shit due to the great orange sludge making stuff they put in them. For my dodge i knew the front end was shit, that the manifold blows stock gaskets like fat ladys fart, and the tranny is weak. So far at 55k i replaced the manifold gasket with an upgrade, i have all the parts to rebuild the front end as improved as possible, and keep a chunk of cash for when i finnaly push the tranny to hard. For me abs, air bags, and ac are needed for a commute, in addition if someone plows into it i won't have to kill anyone. But the auto makers are making it even harder which will be there own demise. It would be fun to replace not one coil but eight next time you do a tune up on a newer truck huh! The next new car i will buy will be a honda for my wife and son. I will change the oil and let the warranty take car of the rest.(in most cases they whon't be a rest)

Oh and the automakers all know what will take a shit and have plenty of those parts in stock- for them it's all short term numbers, They knew the ball joints were bad on my truck, they did nothing but charge people tons and make them replace the whole a arms instead of doing the labour of cutting the rivets out. Then some soccer moms had some bad accidents in durango's due to the same thing and 5 years later they started a very quite recall. The big three are just like mini governments- lots of lawyers and beurecrats making all the decisions.

just my .2 cents

Hope you get your ranger figured out

danny

 

I don't have a new car anymore. sold it... gone... Here's my story:

- My "new" car was a 2002 Ford Harley edition F150. Paid almost $40k for it in July 2002. Lost almost $20k in depreciation when I sold it last month.... screw that.

- My previous daily driver was a '62 Lincoln Continental Convertible. Paid $7k for it, and it was a GREAT daily driver.... and is still in my garage. Over all these years, its depreciated ZERO (actually it's worth more now.)

CONCLUSION:

- Both cars got similar gas mileage.
- The Lincoln cost over 5 times less than the "new car"
- I can work on the Lincoln.
- The Lincoln is about 250 times cooler. Guess what car got looks at every angle?
- The Lincoln is cheaper to insure.

I'm relying on my bike (a recent chopper I built,) and my old car drivers ('60 Chevy Wagon, '62 Lincoln and soon '60 Caddy) as my daily transportation. Heck, during crazy traffic times I've even been taking the train, cause I dont like to punish my old rides in traffic.... Since i've sold my new car, i've been really happy with my transportation.

No more new cars for me (when I need one, my wife has a new Chrysler Pacifica).... I don't have the room for it anyway.

-scott noteboom

 

Lift the bed, and do it while the tanks still mounted, it'll save you about 3 hours. 4 hours if it's it raining, 5 if you remember to put the little sock back on the pickup. I did a '96 the WRONG way.

 

Spent a couple weeks in the garage a couple years ago replacing the clutch on my 93 Nissan 4X4 pickup. Had to take out the seats, the console and the carpet to get to the bolts for the plate around the shifter so I could unplug the electrical connections and get at the shifter. 3 or 4 of them if I remember right. Then there were the torsion bars going thru 3 crossmembers that also had to come out along with the exhaust. That allowed access to the tranny bolts and shift linkage. Then unbolt the engine mounts and jack it into position to drop the tranny and get at the clutch. Piece of cake. Swapped the clutch and rebuilt the truck, then took it into get the suspension re-aligned because the torsion bars didn't act the same after it was all back together. (Alignment cost me more than the clutch). That was at 70,000 miles. Now at 98,000 miles the new throwout bearing (aptly named) is making wierd noises but it stays in gear and the clutch still works ok so I haven't gotten around to replacing it again. Oh, the 4X4 light on the dash has been on ever since we put the truck back together at 70,000 miles. Missed the wiring hookup there somewhere I guess, but I'm not dismantling the truck again to find it.

Back in the 60's and 70's it used to take about an hour and a couple beers to swap out a clutch. I'll keep the old stuff till I can't find parts for it anymore.

On the + side, in 13 years and 98,000 miles I've replaced that friggin clutch, windshield wiper blades, oil, radiator fluid, tires and 1 battery cable.

A 50's 60's car would probably have needed an at least new rings and main seals, several sets of points, plugs condensors and wires, 2 or 3 carb rebuild kits, 2 new sets of mufflers and pipes, ball joints, a starter or 2, a couple alternators, a water pump and fuel pump, a clutch, more tires, and some shocks in that same 13 years and 98,000 miles.

I'd still rather have the old one...Go figure...

 

Hey Tingler, I consider myself an expert on the subject - I have a '99 Ranger, 2.5/5spd, and I have performed three repairs on it in 140K miles: a third brake light bulb, a busted spring inside a rear brake, and - no kidding - the thermostat!!

It's in a plastic housing on top of the intake; it's hard to miss, the radiator hose goes into it. You'll have to pick one up from your dealer, it only comes in a 195* temp, and I remember it being a little expensive. I thought mine was busted because the truck wouldn't come up to operating temp (by the gauge) on cold days, but it's the same now. Guess the radiator is kinda big for a whopping 150 cubic inches. No gasket necessary, the housing seals with an o-ring.

Yes, new cars are a pain in the ass to work on, but if you get one that doesn't need any work - something used commonly as a fleet vehicle - you probably won't have a problem.

 

Got you all beat on the $$, my brother was a GM service manager. He bought everything it could be when my truck would not start. paid him 75.00 for everything, relay, fuel filter, and gm fuel pump. Two guys lifting a 8' bed is a bad idea. Made my nuts hurt.....

 

i work on new cars for a living and i don't own a new one (newest is the '64 panel truck).......that's sad. the rangers thermostat is buried under the intake, slightly behind the water pump (i believe) and is NOt fun to do. the dealer therostat is around that price, my personal opinion is that if it's that hard to get to then i'm NOT messing around with an aftermarket piece. also i heard someone talking about the gm 4.3 v6 fuel pressure regulator, it kinda sucks, the injector, regulator is in the middle of the intake (inside) and they had many problems with it.....there's even an update to replace the spider (injector unit) with another one at a cost of around $700 just for the part. since my girlfriends '61 bel air is still down she drives a '95 altima i go from a customer, it had a typical 2.4 nissan oil leak that takes about 10 hours and a $1.00 seal to fix (of course the customer didn't want to do it....but it was good for me). alot of new cars are next to impossible to work on with a basic set of tools (and diagnostic equipment). for the cost i have in tools i could have bought a full set metal tools (english wheel, shrinker/stretcher........) enough to outfit a good shop (if i had the skills)......that's really sad. i know around here cars last longer do to a less harsh climate....but i like to see them on the road......and i don't need to smog them either.