Here is to all the HAMBers who have ditched late models, I'm done with new vehicles

I like trouble shooting old cars alot better than new cars. Its alot easier to replace a clogged fuel filter on a carb motor than try to figure out if its the electric intake pump, the relay, the pressure module, the injector, the blah blah blah. Maybe its just easier to throw old parts at old cars...

I am making 2 car payments right now, one for me one for her. If I could get outta mine and into an old wagon or old truck I would do it. Keep hers for the long hauls coz I only live a few blocks from work and am off 4 days a week. I really dont need an ultra reliable brand new truck....but with my payment I hope I have one.

 

read farther.... same thread...

and I have a 57 Buick. I have to say that the stock prices are on part with some of the new stuff. But then I have a Jaguar suspension under mine and those parts are cheap.

 

hey VERBAL...if U can do the work on an older car/truck, and have the bread to do so, didn't say if it's your family car? but i'll say this, mechanics cost an arm and leg on every thing. most of these guy's have older cars, well as a secont ride!i hope i;am not out of order here SIR. but my wish is, truely you find satisfaction where ever U find it. YOUR NEW FRIEND. call me POP...or the old FART! HA!

 

Just saying. My wifes 2008 Dodge has a lifetime drivetrain warranty. Have at your arguement.

 

I agree with that one 100 percent. I have driven an old 2wd 77 F-100 for the past 7 years. Between replacing the clutch once, transmission once plus some odds and ends (it had 260,000 miles on it) it has cost me less than 700 bucks including the purchase price of the truck. I have never bought a tire for this puppy, usually some garage has an old tire pile I can dig through. Not only are parts ridiculously cheap but they are usually in stock everywhere I go. Compare this to my friend's 03 Malibu which has had over 2,000 bucks worth of repairs since last year plus the car was 4000 grand to begin with. A junk yard tranny ran me 125 bucks shipped to my house. As far as cars go a generic 60s era big three compacts (Nova, Valiant, Falcon) are about as simple as one can get with reasonable parts availability, cost, and performance. Fifties cars and below tend to be more quirky in design with closed drivelines or trunnions but that isn't stopping me from trying to get my 53 Willys on the road as a daily driver.

 

My wife is with you (i drive a company truck, brand new, gas card, i hate it but it's free...)

Her Sebring engine blew at 60k miles, luckily under warranty and later she rearended someone and the car was totalled out, meanwhile she was driving her 50 Merc to commute to work, pick up kid, grocerys, you name it. She started looking at buying a beater outright but I told her she could buy a $2500 car but imagine what $2500 would do in the Merc.

So, I threw some new shocks and she's been driving it daily for last 6 months or so... course I rebuilt the motor and trans, updated suspension and whatnot some 10 years ago

I personally have never owned a new vehicle or had a car payment in my life

 

2 wd trucks are cheap but dont forget normal GM cars like the t-400 10 bolt and 283 in my 81 el camino, everything else on the car has fallen apart, i even had to replace a blowing fuse last weekend with a pair of lightbulbs to regulate the juice, but it gets me there and is easy to fix

 

same here and I am 59 years old

If you gave me a brand new car for free, I would sell it!
I wouldnt even drive it around the block once

 

My current daily is an '04 Cherokee.It does what I need it to do but,it bores me shitless!My next daily will be a '40's -'60's station wagon.At least I could fix it if I had problems.
The problem with modern stuff is ,even if you manage to fix it without a factory diagnostic machine,you'll probably still need to go to a dealership to get the computer re-set.New stuff is designed so you can't fix it at home,a complete rip off!

 

Personally I got tired of dumping money into my German POS. So I bought my C10 from Fidgeter and couldn't be happier with it. Kept the Jetta for my daughter to drive. If it craps out, it craps out. No biggy, at least it's safe for her to run around town in. One more repair and it's gone. The C10 is a keeper. I can fix it in the parking lot if I need to, haul my bike and other crap in it and piss off the tree huggers on campus. Should even get decent mileage with the new trans.

My wife's car is another matter. A wise man told me once, "you can drive crap, but Momma needs a nice car." I'll keep her in a late model with PS, PB, PW, AC, stereo, etc. and I'll gladly pay any repair bills that may crop up. Fortunately, she's put more than 140,000 on her car with NO major repairs. Should I even mention the "H" word here? Like it or not, they make a solid car. Just sayin'.

 

Here it is, put simply:

When you turn on your car, does it do the same thing for you?

 

Good luck with your warranty (not being a jackalope - I genuinely mean that)

My buddy had one for his wife as well. Shortly the front wheel bearings took a dump - he thought NO PROBLEM IT'S UNDER WARRANTY!!! Boy was he surprised when the dealer explained that the drivetrain warranty covered AXLE bearings and NOT WHEEL BEARINGS!

He went on to find out his warranty didn't cover crap & he bought the "best" warranty they had to offer when he bought the truck.

My buddy is a mechanic by trade - so fixing it was no issue - this was strictly a PRINCIPLE thing. They sold him a bill of goods - but time came to pony up & they figured out everything ahead of time - he never had a chance!! BTW he had purchased from this dealer MANY TIMES prior - never again according to him.

Bottom line - maybe you're covered maybe not - my buddy learned the hard way he had WAY LESS coverage than they TOLD him when he bought it. Read that warranty CAREFULLY.

Back to the topic - Old car costing as much to maintain than a new car - no way, not one I ever drove.

 

My wife's daily, a '62 Impala, is by FAR less, and cheaper, to maintain than my Jeep Cherokee.

 

The general rule was a 15-25 year old car is a good beater. Cheap to purchase, insure, repair and get parts. Problem is, that means 85-95 now. The 80s stuff aside from trucks is crap.
Better to have somethig that has less junk, is easier to work on, and has a little more value.

 

I just about have my whole family convinced old cars are MUCH better value. Transmission went out in my step son's Toyota Supra. $2700 repair (including this little senson gizmo, bought the size of a flasher with some wires coming out, $240, geez),Car isn't worth a dime more now. Just replaced the 3 speed in my daily driver 57 Ranchero. $400 for a good used top loader 4 speed with new Hurst shifter, $285 for a new longer driveshaft to fit, few hours work and good to go again. Could of replaced the 3 speed with another 3 speed much cheaper but for a fraction of what the Supra cost I upgraded mine (I assume it will add value if I ever sell) plus the addtional fun factor of a 4 speed is worth something to me. Said step son is now trying to find someone who wants to trade his Supra for about any pre 73 American 2 dr or truck.
Wife is coming around too. Her 95 Chrysler has been a good car and only has 49,000 miles but the age is showing, starting to have seal and electrical issues ($$$). Instead of looking at new cars she's eyeing this nice little 66 Nova wagon down the street. She knows now even if we did a ground up rebuild it would still be cheaper then a new car and would not depreciate to nothing in 10 years like the Chrysler has.
I think a lot of people drive newer stuff is simply because it can be financed. They can't afford a $1000 repair to their older paid for car so they dump it for a $400 month car payment (???)

 

selling parts for Audis and VW's has positively soured me not only an ANY German car but ALL NEW cars regardless of who makes them. i'm used to fixing stuff on my Falcons and Galaxie, not just Remove and Replace. when an ECM or TCM costs more than any one of my old cars.... forget it. when my service dept rakes in 130/hr for labor... forget it. when our warranty policy is so convoluted and full of pitfalls that the slightest -tic- gets a claim denied, forget it.
i know my '62 Falcon; hell, it's like i BUILT the damn thing i've done so much to it. i know where every fail point is, where i went with something stronger, and where i used something from a different car entirely. same thing with my '66, and to a lesser extent with the '59.

and i got no sympathy for our customers. nobody twisted their arm to put their ass in an Audi to start with, so they PAY for parts and service.

 

I am building my 48 Olds to be my daily driver 5-speed overdrive tranny 455 mild build. I will then sell my cad sts neat car but boring. Thats the major problem with me all new cars are boring zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz did I say boring

 

My daily hasn't been any newer than a '67 C10,that one lasted for 19 years, finally retired it in March for my '63 C10 ...
Illinois has this emissions exemption if it's 1980 (?) or older , and passes the sniff test ... it is exempt from testing as long as it's in your name and plated every year

 

Do the job yourself, it'll take maybe 10 hours, and only cost you about 600$!

 

Try driving anything old in the rust belt looking at a new old car every 5 years or at least a good tear down and rebuild as the salt will find its way into every crook and cranny. My 450,000 kilometer tercel will be just fine as my winter sacrificial lamb easy fix and cheap parts. I need to move south.

 

I drove my ole pick it up for ten years and the worst thing to happen to it besides freeze plugs rotting was the timing chain broke. Fixed it and kept running for another five plus years. It might not be exactly a creeme puff who gives. I'm going to be putting it back on the road just as soon as I get done rebuilding the motor. Cost to rebuild the motor....not as much as a new motor and hell of alot cooler than another LS....

 

You should do what I do to protect em from that evil road salt, drain oil Sure it's messy but man nothing keeps a way salt like a well oiled machine I slather the stuff everywhere, and in the nooks and crannies too. Usually by the end of the winter the stuff is just about washed off.

 

Well I used to drive my 67 C10 as a daily driver (rain, snow, etc.) for 4 years. I guess it's "cool" to be able to drive your classic but I probably never will again. It got old trying to keep it clean, maintained, and I felt like I couldn't do some things in it that I could a new truck (maybe I just had too much work in it). As a daily driver, I would much rather have a newer car with power windows, locks, brakes, etc. Just my opinion...

 

My daily driver is my 1958 Fairlane(my Avatar) and I sold my nice late model 3series BMW so I could buy it.

 

My daily is a 1979 Dodge D100 that I bought a year ago last June from a friend living in Salmon, Idaho for $1000.00. I drove it home to Blaine, Ohio (6 miles from Wheeling,WV) over 2700 miles. Since then I had to replace the front u=joint, the alternator, and a set of spark plugs. I also put a mop n glow paint job for just over $60 bucks.
I have NO car payments and all I have is PL&PD insurance on it. It is a slant 6, 3 speed short bed. Plans are for a new HEATER for this winter!!!
Would you drive it?

 

Nice D100, wish it was mine.

 

That is why you need a real rolling wreck like what I have. My maintenance schedule consist of putting gas in the tank and a quart of oil into the motor every once in a while.

Wimp I have power nothing and the windshield wiper motor hasn't worked in three years in my pickup. Every time I drive my truck it is like I am going to the gym with the work out I get from not having power steering or brakes

 

Ya should be drivin that mint granny car ya got this year!

 

Who would have thought to change the spark plugs in a S-type Jaguar, you would have to R&R the intake manifold; this is the same motor that is in the Lincoln LS. The dealer wants $95 for the gaskets, RockAuto has them for $15. On another forum, one of the members mentioned that his bill for changing the plugs, from the dealer, was $750; maybe he changed the coils too.

 

Ha yeah I guess I got used to all the creature comforts now. Still don't regret it though. Oh yeah the 35 mpg compared to the 14mpg is pretty nice too