Who's smarter?

[Jesus Freak]

Forgot to mention,

either jump in the rat-race and buy a new/used vehicle every few years with a warranty.......and wait around at the dealership/service center (wife, whom I love dearly)

Or buy something you want, and learn to work on it, and enjoy the pace of your own pace. (me)

Oh, and just to take it to the next generation, here's a picture of my 20yr old daughter's ride. 88 mercury cougar 5.0, real dual dynanax exhaust! She couldn't imagine a modern vehicle. She changes her own oil, rotates her own tires, and did a whole tune up on it when we got it. What a girl!

 

[Brian VT]

My neighbor just bought a 1983 Mercury Cougar 5.0 EFI with only 30k on it.
Looks cherry. Just needs a headliner and a hood release handle.
He said it's basically a stretched Mustang underneath?

 

[Jesus Freak]

My neighbor just bought a 1983 Mercury Cougar 5.0 F.I. with only 30k on it.
Looks cherry. Just needs a headliner.
He said it's basically a stretched Mustang underneath?

I had a 84 xr7 which is the turbo 4cyl, I blew it up. I prefer the 83 to 86 cougar. If it has the ground effects on the front bumper and it's black its like a stylized Darth Vader helmet.

 

[ISPKI]

I had this conversation with an old buddy of mine just a few weeks ago, driving down to philly to pickup a 1950s west german record player setup.

He and I have always had older vehicles, always worked on them together. My first car was a 1982 crown vic, his was a 1984 lincoln towncar. Learned from each other how to fix stuff, although hes more into it than I am, he has a mechanic shop at his house, I just work on my own vehicles.

I enjoy my IDI for all the reasons already mentioned and because I have the time and skill and shop and tools to fix everything on it myself. If I had to pay a shop to fix it due to any 1 of these factors, then it would not be worth owning. It works for me because I dont NEED it to work all the time, every day, everytime I need it. If I go to harvest some firewood and find it's rear brake line blew, oh well, no big deal. Spend some time replacing the line instead of getting firewood. However, if I hop in to respond to a fire or a search and rescue event, or any other critical work related event, blowing a brake line (for example) means huge consequences and there is no room for that for some people.

Thats where a newer truck makes sense and an older truck does not.

 

[Old Goat]

Fun fact, after vw's oil consumption issue of the early 2000's most manufacturers now have an acceptable oil consumption limit. For a lot of Cummins engines, 400 miles to the quart is limit. Seems crazy.

Well it looks like Iam almost up to the acceptable level with oil consumption with the 86.
Think Iam aound 600 miles. I need to write it down to really see how much she is using. Not big deal though.
I didn`t need to pay $80K to use that much.



Goat

 

[Jesus Freak]

I had this conversation with an old buddy of mine just a few weeks ago, driving down to philly to pickup a 1950s west german record player setup.

He and I have always had older vehicles, always worked on them together. My first car was a 1982 crown vic, his was a 1984 lincoln towncar. Learned from each other how to fix stuff, although hes more into it than I am, he has a mechanic shop at his house, I just work on my own vehicles.

I enjoy my IDI for all the reasons already mentioned and because I have the time and skill and shop and tools to fix everything on it myself. If I had to pay a shop to fix it due to any 1 of these factors, then it would not be worth owning. It works for me because I dont NEED it to work all the time, every day, everytime I need it. If I go to harvest some firewood and find it's rear brake line blew, oh well, no big deal. Spend some time replacing the line instead of getting firewood. However, if I hop in to respond to a fire or a search and rescue event, or any other critical work related event, blowing a brake line (for example) means huge consequences and there is no room for that for some people.

Thats where a newer truck makes sense and an older truck does not.

That's where it comes around to a "well maintained" vehicle. A brand new car with a warranty will let you down just as fast and you gotta keep paying for it while it's being fixed with full coverage insurance.
Had said truck been serviced, the brake lines would have been looked at and replaced before they blew. Even then, though, stuff happens.....to new and old.
Believe it or not I've heard of brand new cars driving over nails and having their brand new fully insured and warrantied tire blowout.

 

[captain720]

I am finally selling my first rig, a 1985 Nissan Datsun 720 4wd that I drove the wheels off for 7 years, 50k miles later I am actually getting more than I paid for it. With 3 sets of tires, two sets of wheels, and a FULL mechanical part replacement (I’m not joking if it was there I pretty much replaced it or rebuilt it at some point) I was about $4,000 in total parts spending for a daily driver for 7 years and that includes purchase price. I’m sure there’s plenty of little things I forgot but after that initial expirament I am sold. In crust we trust old stuff is the way to go. That little pickup hasn’t left me in the side of the road since august of 17 and that was only cause I drove it 15 miles after the clutch pedal fell off to a convenient parking spot where I was motivated to finally replace that transmission that popped out of gear.

 

[ISPKI]

Yeah of course stuff happens to newer vehicles as well but there are tons and tons of parts of a vehicle that are not maintenance items and dont get serviced ever over the life of the vehicle, not to mention the actual body metal of the vehicle itself. The longer its on the road, the more stuff is going to start failing on it and the more maintenance needs to be done on it. May be an unpopular opinion but automotive technology doesnt get worse, as much as it may pain me to admit it. New vehicles do everything they are designed to do far better than older vehicles. Nowadays, cars arent even considered well used until they are over 200k and the majority of vehicles make it past that mark easily. Vehicles from the 90s, not so much.

Not to say there arent outliers, we certainly have all heard of or owned that old truck that had a million miles on it but that isnt the norm.

Also - Lets be honest here, nobody is maintaining a 30+ year old vehicle the way it should be maintained, at least not to be at the same reliability as a newer and lower mile vehicle.

 

[ISPKI]

I am finally selling my first rig, a 1985 Nissan Datsun 720 4wd that I drove the wheels off for 7 years, 50k miles later I am actually getting more than I paid for it. With 3 sets of tires, two sets of wheels, and a FULL mechanical part replacement (I’m not joking if it was there I pretty much replaced it or rebuilt it at some point) I was about $4,000 in total parts spending for a daily driver for 7 years and that includes purchase price. I’m sure there’s plenty of little things I forgot but after that initial expirament I am sold. In crust we trust old stuff is the way to go. That little pickup hasn’t left me in the side of the road since august of 17 and that was only cause I drove it 15 miles after the clutch pedal fell off to a convenient parking spot where I was motivated to finally replace that transmission that popped out of gear.

As a counterpoint, I have a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 that I bought with 72K on it. Currently has 197K and the most work I have done to it has been 2 coil packs at 55$ each. Sounds like it needs a rear wheel bearing as of right now.

 

[Brian VT]

I noticed some deep paint scrapes on my neighbor's 2021 Chevy truck (prob. $70k?).
He said he wasn't worried because he opted for the stainless steel body. I didn't know that was an option since the DeLorean. lol

 

[Cant Write]

Fun fact, after vw's oil consumption issue of the early 2000's most manufacturers now have an acceptable oil consumption limit. For a lot of Cummins engines, 400 miles to the quart is limit. Seems crazy.

My high school pickup, '84 C10 used around a qt in 1000 -1500 miles. I used a lot of "Wolf's Head" oil back then. Only ever changed the filter.

the 355 sbc was pretty powerful but suffered from a poor hone job and the rings never seated. It was a Christmas present, and I loved it, oil usage and all.

 

[Cant Write]

May be an unpopular opinion but automotive technology doesnt get worse, as much as it may pain me to admit it. New vehicles do everything they are designed to do far better than older vehicles.

In complete agreement. From the basic vehicle systems standpoint (drivetrain, suspension, braking, steering, HVAC) new vehicles are untouchable. I also think the law of diminishing returns is upon us and the amount of added doo-dads and unnecessary bling to sell new models each year turns me off. Well that and the cost and added complexity for bling. How about a new model every 5-7 years that is truly vetted before it is available for sale....? Computers have made wonderful advancements in technology, but do we really need 230-niner-fife of them in each car.

Take Wally for example, Such a simple robust engine design, and then they add the electrical complexity of the E4OD. Why did the 4L80e and E4OD need to be electrically controlled? Why not keep it hydraulically controlled with a lock-up TC.....? I am sure there is a reason, I just have not researched it.

I personally am not a fan of all the additional safety features (braking, steering) that will enable most of the American public to take advantage of them, in a negative way, and be even MORE distracted. I am all for crumple zones, airbags, and the ejection of parts to dissipate potential/kinetic energy.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I also think the law of diminishing returns is upon us and the amount of added doo-dads and unnecessary bling to sell new models each year turns me off. Well that and the cost and added complexity for bling.

I completely agree with this. As an example, Jeeps. They used to be simple, low budget, highly capable off road vehicles. These days, they are just fancy cars with boxy bodies to look tough. Sure, they may still be capable off road vehicles, but with all of the added on crap, their cost and complexity are both sky high.

 

[Cant Write]

I was with a friend coming down the Telluride side of Black Bear Pass, I was driving, and decided to let the car and all its fancy computers control my descent. DAC, and what have ya. Between the Christmas tree lights, brake pulses, and what-have ya's, I was over it in less than 1 switchback, maybe a 1/4 mile.

Back to 4-lo and 1st or 2nd depending on grade, a much calmer, more pleasant experience.

My good buddy is a huge Jeep fan, and we have been thinking about one for all the trails around here, and he says just that, stay away from the JL's cause of all the additional nannies.

 

[Nero]

Don't forget those trademark jeep angry eyes!