(OT) Who Still Drives Older Vehicles/Junkers ?

[gobilz]

95 Jeep Grand Cherokee

184K miles and still going strong.NO PAYMENT!

[erynthered]

Thank you. That is absolutely what I'm talking about. We put every $$ we can in our house and 401K, and our house has appreciated over 30% in two years. Cars? A waste of friggin money. If I lived in a city with decent public transportation, we'd probably only have one.

5161[/snapback]

 

 

Couple things,

 

My house in 14 years went up almost 140% here in Florida where I live. Sweet.

Plus found a distressed seller when we bought our new home, Sweet.

 

Todd, you say you would do public trans., Have you ever done it? Even for a sort period of time? It sucks.

 

Course, some City's have it down pat.

[Rico]

AAA+ and a Cell phone is my norm. I won't keep it when the Transmission or Engine starts going.

5175[/snapback]

Me too. I believe in running them into the ground, only 3 cars and a ton of miles over the past 16 years.

[R. Rich]

I drive a '94 Eagle Vision. It's a POS. I've been able to learn a few things in terms of maintenance-brake replacement, in particular-to try to minimize the costs. It still is a pain in the a**.

 

Like Mark said, I'd rather spend the $$ on my home than on a car. I like big cars (DUH!), but I can wait until we hit the Powerball jackpot to buy that brand new Lincoln Towncar, fully loaded. What $$ we have goes into the house. Our tax refund went toward a badly needed sectional sofa. Next up, we're getting a 6' vinyl privacy fence installed for the backyard, hopefully in the next 2 or 3 months.

[Buffaloed in Pa]

I have a 87 Ranger yes 87 4 wheel drive with 170 ,ooo miles on it original engine..tranny ..still run`s good and I`m a Auto body Tech ,by trade so it still look`s good...I`ve also got a 99 explorer with 100,000 miles on it ..I need 4 wheel drive big time where I live ..just change the fluid`s like clockwork and haven`t had any big problem`s to speak of

[Art in PNS]

1993 Toyota Pick up, 135,000 miles and runs like a top no problem. Other vehicle is 1999 Jeep Cherokee sport. With my travel schedule I only put about 7,000 miles a year on one vehicle year so with 2 who knows. THe Toyota still gets 30 MPG so that is my basic back and forth to work vehicle.

[tatonka12]

I can see your points if you got a good runner ,no payments NICE! but its been my expirence more often than not a used car is just buying some one else's headache .I would rather have the payment with the warranty myself ,cause I've found if I'm not paying monthly payments I'm paying for it with my time and energy keeping it running, a slow bleed over a long time.and besides I just plain like my ride,goes fast, bad gas milage,big payment and yah its got a HEMI in it

[Tom]

Many of you are fortunate to run cars into the ground without major repairs. My friend owns a gas station & I'm always amazed when I look at bills for $1000 or $2000 for repairs on early '90 vehicles, etc. I couldn't imagine shelling out that kind of coin on a 10+ year old car only to need a transmission or fuel pump a few months later. To those who rely on a cell phone & some batteries in case you break down: God Bless. I don't want my wife & son to be in that predicament as 'breakdowns' can occur in some 'not so nice' places. Newer cars are generally safer, nicer , more environmental friendly and depending on how/what you buy, be fairly cost effective. No, they are not a great 'investment' but a necesary evil for many of us. I'm on a 6 year cycle now, meaning between my wife & myself, a new car enters the household every 3 years. Its my turn now......

 

PS: I've always been a car guy & a former Drag-Racer. Still have a street/strip '87 Mustang 5.0 that I drive occaisionally (Not this rainy summer tho). Daily driver is a '98.5 C-SVT Ford & wife has a 2001 Mercury Villager.

[Guest .....Hogboy the slob]

86 chevy celebrity

 

87 Plymouth Gran Fury

 

I win

[ExiledInIllinois]

I have a 1994 Chrysler New Yorker (the newer LHS style/platform... Not the boxy "K" platform)... It has 165,000 miles and going strong. Looks new! I keep it very well maintained... I hope to get 300,000 K on. Just did the cam, crank seals, timing belt and water pump. Everything else on it has been maintained. There is no reason why the new cars can't run for a very long time... By far nowhere near a junker... Totally no rust (okay, a bubble near the rear door... But, I am on it come fall! ). I take it everwhere, the trunk is amazingly huge! Perfect family car, took it to the east coast this summer and the kids can be easily out of arms reach in the backseat! B) . And the best part, still gets around 23 to 25 a gallon on the highway.

 

My other car, a 1998 Isuzu Rodeo... 110,000 miles and very cherry.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Many of you are fortunate to run cars into the ground without major repairs.  My friend owns a gas station & I'm always amazed when I look at bills for $1000 or $2000 for repairs on  early '90 vehicles, etc.  I couldn't imagine shelling out that kind of coin on a 10+ year old car only to need a transmission or fuel pump a few months later.  To those who rely on a cell phone & some batteries in case you break down:  God Bless.  I don't want my wife & son to be in that predicament as 'breakdowns' can occur in some 'not so nice' places.    Newer cars are generally safer, nicer , more environmental friendly and depending on how/what you buy, be fairly cost effective.  No, they are not a great 'investment' but a necesary evil for many of us.  I'm on a 6 year cycle now, meaning between my wife & myself, a new car enters the household every 3 years.  Its my turn now...... 

 

PS:  I've always been a car guy & a former Drag-Racer.  Still have a street/strip '87 Mustang 5.0 that I drive occaisionally (Not this rainy summer tho). Daily driver is a '98.5 C-SVT Ford & wife has a 2001 Mercury Villager.

5332[/snapback]

 

Do the reapirs yourself. You be amazed what you can save. Same thing with major appliances. The coupling went out on my washing machine... Cost $12.00... If sears would have come out, no doubt it would have been over 100 bills.

[Tom]

Do the reapirs yourself.  You be amazed what you can save.  Same thing with major appliances. The coupling went out on my washing machine... Cost $12.00... If sears would have come out, no doubt it would have been over 100 bills.

5423[/snapback]

 

Not many people a prepared to work on new cars, we are not talking '56 Fords here anymore.... or toasters... or washing machines, etc. The average person doesn't have the tools or the know-how... many repair shops won't touch some of the newer hi-tech engines as well. Have you seen what dealers charge lately?

AAMCO won't even rebuild some transmissions, they buy new ones from the manufacturer!

This ain't your Fathers Oldsmobile!

[Guest DOH!]

My daughter called when her car overheated & after it cooled down she proceeded to put in water under my direction. After 6 gallons, I told her to stop & I drove 120 miles to drain it out of the crankcase. A lesson was learned here.

[Guest guest]

Used to drive a 68 chevy pickup. sold it to a guy who needed a truck to move from Buffalo to Texas. It had 360,000 Mi. at the time. Love those old chevy straight 6's. Told him that it wasn't 60,000, 160,000 or even 260,000 miles but he bought it anyway. A year lated I recognized the truck on Elmwood Ave. He drove back to visit family!

 

Now I'm driving an 86 Mazda pickup. Bought it new FOR $6,500. For some reason good used trucks cost almost as much as a new one. In almost 19 years the truck has never let me down, always starts and has never needed a tow truck. I just keep putting in brakes, exhaust systems ( 5 or 6 lifetime guaranteed mufflers now) and change the oil.

 

I'm looking arounnd for a repalcement because I know it can't last much longer --Still has the original clutch, starting to run a little hot, nothing lasts forever. I hope I can find something as reliable as these, but I doubt it..

[KnightRider]

I wish more people understood this principle.  It amazes me how many kids go out and get credit for a certain amount of money for a car, then spend every cent of it buying something they spend about 2 hours a week sitting in - then they live in a friggin' slum and have less than $100 in the bank at any given time.

 

I drive a 1999 Chevy Silverado that I bought new (cash).  It was the first vehicle I ever bought new and I'll drive it until it explodes.  It still runs and looks great.

5147[/snapback]

 

 

'91 Honda Prelude- Bought it in 1999 for $5800 with 91k miles. It now has 182k and the only major repair was to the AC and Radiator + (Hood and Bumper) when my Brother-in-Law backed into it with his Pickup.

 

'94 Chevy S-10 Blazer- Bought it in '98 with 97k miles. It has 174k on it now and I basically use it to plow. It also makes it easier when a car is in the shop. It had some problems in the 120k - 130k range, but has been great ever since.

 

'97 Ford F-150- Has ~100k miles, 40k of them mine. I'll let you know what I think of it once it's broken in a bit more... I probably wouldn't have bought it, except that it was Canadian, and owned by a friend who was meticulous about it. Whith the exchange rate what it was two years ago, we both got a great deal...

 

One thing that has worked for me is never do a loan. Always save, and that way you are in a good position when a great deal comes by and slaps you up side the head...

[JinVA]

A 95' Dodge ram I bought brand new but I would never buy new again although I didn't always feel that way, basicaly a good rule of thumb is never make payments on anything that doesn't make you money its that simple.