Is keeping a car 50 years frugal?
'nam vet.
they go under. warrantee, parts service?
--
When the Power of Love,replaces the Love of Power.
that's Evolution.
Lou
"'nam vet." <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote in message
news:georgewkspam-FF6C...@news.humboldt1.com...
> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
Let's see, you have a 47 year old car, and you're worried about warrantees,
parts, and service on a new(er) car? Whatever happens, the parts and
service situation would have to be easier than it is for that 47 year old
car.
Daniel T.
> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
How much does your 47 year old car cost you over the next year? Over the
next 5 years? Over the next 10 years? Compare that to the cost of a new
car...
h
"Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:daniel_t-C5F6C0...@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
Assuming the OP isn't trolling, I'll bet the 47 year old car was built to
last and might very well be worth keeping on the road until it dies. New
cars, particularly anything built in the USA are not worth much. When my old
Subaru (built in Japan) dies I will reluctantly replace it with one built
here, but I already know they aren't built as well as they were when made in
Japan. I've seen the Consumer Reports stats.
Gary Heston
'nam vet. <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote:
>It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
>they go under. warrantee, parts service?
It's paid for, cheap to insure, and aftermarket parts shouldn't be a
problem if it's a major US brand (as opposed to my '72 Volvo 145).
I vote for keeping it. The biggest advantage is that you can work on
it yourself, instead of being forced to go to a dealer.
Gary
--
Gary Heston ghe...@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man"
General of the Army (four stars) Ann Dunwoody
Daniel T.
> "Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > "'nam vet." <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote:
> >
> > > It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a
> > > ford and they go under. warrantee, parts service?
> >
> > How much does your 47 year old car cost you over the next year?
> > Over the next 5 years? Over the next 10 years? Compare that to the
> > cost of a new car...
>
> Assuming the OP isn't trolling, I'll bet the 47 year old car was
> built to last and might very well be worth keeping on the road until
> it dies.
What does "dies" mean in this context?
> New cars, particularly anything built in the USA are not worth much.
> When my old Subaru (built in Japan) dies I will reluctantly replace
> it with one built here, but I already know they aren't built as well
> as they were when made in Japan. I've seen the Consumer Reports
> stats.
I'm not so sure about that. Also remember, it is in Consumer Reports
best interest to inflate the differences in quality between
manufactures. If the came out with a report that said that all car makes
were near the same in quality, no one would need their magizine anymore.
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds
FF6CDA.154...@news.humboldt1.com:
> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
You have a 47 year old car. How long have you had it? Does it work?
Don Klipstein
I wonder if a 47 year old car as of 2008 even has air conditioning
(including any that has conked out). I suspect more likely not, since I
found presence of air conditioning in cars to be selling points and
options for new cars about 35 years ago.
Keep in mind that A/C system in a car has the main good way to defog
windows on cool/cold humid days.
How much are you good for having your car being one without A/C and the
window defogging that is done so much better when the car has a working
A/C system?
(Yes, I am aware that most cars less than 20 years old use the
A/C system to "defrost" the front windshield and such cars that
have a feature to "defog" the rear window do so by resistance heating.)
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
'nam vet.
> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
Well, it is a VW and parts are cheap and it is easy to fix . I have road
service . And I only drive it on nice days as the top is getting kinda
ragged. A cabriolet. Only 30 smiles per gallon.
I figure that it is increasing in value as it ages. Rust is under
control and I have up-dated it with many safety features. And I think
like a motorcyclist. i.e. assuming the other drivers don't see me.
Squeezed air horns into the front grilles.
Wish us luck !
Theev
Not necessarily. Fewer -- LOTS fewer -- things to go wrong with the
older car, and you can fix them yourself. If you break an outside
mirror you can just screw on a new generic one (or one from a wrecking
yard). You don't have to disassemble the dashboard area (a $400 job 10
years ago).
--
Cheers,
Bev
The Real Bev
> "h" <tmc...@searchmachine.com> wrote:
>> "Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> "'nam vet." <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a
>>>> ford and they go under. warrantee, parts service?
>>> How much does your 47 year old car cost you over the next year?
>>> Over the next 5 years? Over the next 10 years? Compare that to the
>>> cost of a new car...
>> Assuming the OP isn't trolling, I'll bet the 47 year old car was
>> built to last and might very well be worth keeping on the road until
>> it dies.
>
> What does "dies" mean in this context?
Something essential that can't be replaced breaks. Case in point: leaf
springs for a 1960 Ford station wagon. The ones in the wrecking yard
are just as rotten as the ones you have and you can't find any new ones
no matter how hard you look.
--
Cheers, Bev
==============================
All bleeding eventually stops.
Vic Smith
Just not looking in the right place.
You can get a leaf spring set up in many spring shops for just about
any car. Won't be as cheap as bone yard springs, but not very
expensive either. One of my kids works in such a shop, oddly enough
called Spring Align.
Frame rot is the only real killer for most cars.
But when too much cancer hits the body, it might be more frugal to
replace the car.
--Vic
curly'q
I agree. Up here in the road salt belt, those late '80s early '90s
Hondas and Toyotas then run forever (probably the best generation for
both) are mostly all swiss cheese and not worth anything to me.
LA
Jeff
> In article <Xns9B6DCC19918B5...@87.106.137.111>, Malcolm
> \"Mal\" Reynolds wrote:
>> "'nam vet." <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote in news:georgewkspam-
>> FF6CDA.154...@news.humboldt1.com:
>>
>>> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
>>> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
>> You have a 47 year old car. How long have you had it? Does it work?
>
> I wonder if a 47 year old car as of 2008 even has air conditioning
> (including any that has conked out). I suspect more likely not, since I
> found presence of air conditioning in cars to be selling points and
> options for new cars about 35 years ago.
Boy, that just shows how a few extra years will change your opinion of
auto AC.
I have a friend that used to cut the AC drive belts (to save
horsepower), now he adds ACs to cars that didn't have them.
There's short term frugal and long term. But I'm not sure either one
matters here. You might drive a 10 year old or 20 year old car because
it is frugal not to buy a newer model. No one does that for a 1961
model. You drive that car because you like it!
Now, there's few cars of that era that are frugal on gas. The
collectables in particular are gas hogs.
Jeff
Who drives a 20 year old car, owns a couple of 1970 models, and is
looking for a Honda hx for a daily driver.
Jeff
Dennis
<dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>I'm not so sure about that. Also remember, it is in Consumer Reports
>best interest to inflate the differences in quality between
>manufactures. If the came out with a report that said that all car makes
>were near the same in quality, no one would need their magizine anymore.
Aren't you the same guy who was railing about conspiracy theories in
another thread? Sheesh, PKB.
Dennis (evil)
--
"There is a fine line between participation and mockery" - Wally
Jeff
I agree. I've got a shop right in my neighborhood that does nothing
but make leaf springs.
Must be a lot of them around.
> Frame rot is the only real killer for most cars.
> But when too much cancer hits the body, it might be more frugal to
> replace the car.
If you love the car, you can keep it alive for a long time. If you
don't, a bad tranny or an engine rebuild or a bad fender will finish it off.
Jeff
>
> --Vic
>
Vic Smith
>
> If you love the car, you can keep it alive for a long time. If you
>don't, a bad tranny or an engine rebuild or a bad fender will finish it off.
>
Had an '88 Celebrity I loved. Junked it in 2002 because of body rot.
190k miles. If the rest was good I would have gladly popped $3-4k
for a new engine or tranny if it needed it.
But the body work would cost at least that.
Still ran well, but everything was old, and where do you stop?
Sometimes you just have to let go.
--Vic
OldRoads
Up until a couple years ago our shop truck was a 1946. We used it for
a couple decades and it didn't cost much in repairs, parts were still
available and it was great advertising.
Safety was the big problem: drum brakes, vaccum wipers, no defroster,
etc.
I was cheap to run, though.
Vin - Menotomy Vintage Bicycles
http://OldRoads.com
Lou
"Theev" <bashle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ghjiip$iat$1...@news.motzarella.org...
about cars, but I don't see why you'd have to disassemble the dashboard to
screw on a generic outside mirror on any car.
Gary Heston
Don Klipstein <d...@manx.misty.com> wrote:
[ ... ]
> I wonder if a 47 year old car as of 2008 even has air conditioning
>(including any that has conked out). I suspect more likely not, since I
>found presence of air conditioning in cars to be selling points and
>options for new cars about 35 years ago.
My '64 Dodge Coronet has factory air conditioning, it's a basic four-
door sedan. The higher end cars had air conditioning in the late '50s.
> Keep in mind that A/C system in a car has the main good way to defog
>windows on cool/cold humid days.
[ ... ]
Oddly enough, warm air works real well for defogging windows. Since
there's a ready supply of heat available by diverting a small amount
of engine coolant through a radiator under the dash, that feature
has been available on vehicles for over 50 years.
And, depending on the climate, A/C may not be needed. I get by without
it in North Alabama, and save gas.
Dave Garland
> I wonder if a 47 year old car as of 2008 even has air conditioning
> (including any that has conked out). I suspect more likely not, since I
> found presence of air conditioning in cars to be selling points and
> options for new cars about 35 years ago.
I suppose it depends on where you live. My current car (a 1995
purchased when it was 12 years old) is the first I've had with AC that
worked. My last one had AC, but nonworking (and my mechanic advised
against any attempt to fix old AC systems, said it would be $250 and
in a couple of months it would need another repair ad infinitum). AC
is nice, but I don't spend much time in the car (mostly I'm already
where I'm going by the time the car gets cool) and in Minnesota you
wouldn't use it more than a few days a year anyhow.
Last summer I successfully procrastinated putting the window AC in my
home office until the cooling system was over (if you have enough
fans, AC isn't that important).
Dave
Daniel T.
> "Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> > I'm not so sure about that. Also remember, it is in Consumer
> > Reports best interest to inflate the differences in quality
> > between manufactures. If the came out with a report that said that
> > all car makes were near the same in quality, no one would need
> > their magizine anymore.
>
> Aren't you the same guy who was railing about conspiracy theories in
> another thread? Sheesh, PKB.
What's your point?
Daniel T.
It's cheap to dress like a bum too, but does that mean your going to do
it?
Daniel T.
> >> It's going on 47 next year. should I keep it? What if I buy a ford and
> >> they go under. warrantee, parts service?
> >
> > Let's see, you have a 47 year old car, and you're worried about warrantees,
> > parts, and service on a new(er) car? Whatever happens, the parts and
> > service situation would have to be easier than it is for that 47 year old
> > car.
>
> Not necessarily. Fewer -- LOTS fewer -- things to go wrong with the
> older car, and you can fix them yourself. If you break an outside
> mirror you can just screw on a new generic one (or one from a wrecking
> yard). You don't have to disassemble the dashboard area (a $400 job 10
> years ago).
You can just screw a new generic mirror onto a 2008 car too. Nothing
stopping you.
The Real Bev
You don't. Any car that has a nice joystick that controls the outside
mirrors has something -- probably a cable -- running from the joystick
to the mirror, to which it is soldered. This cable passes through the
works on the dashboard -- the AC, radio, etc. The $400 was the Caddy
dealer's quote to replace that cable due to the need to remove all that
stuff to get at it.
Her 1988 Caddy uses the same system. I am really careful about
adjusting the mirrors.
nada
know they are around, as well as other suppliers.
You can find all kind of repo if not OEM parts for most old American cars.
meow...@care2.com
Nail on the head there. There's another issue too: speed, which is a
big issue if you use it a lot, journeys can take twice as long in a
vintage vehicle. The plus is theyre great to drive, if you dont mind
all the handling problems and are in no hurry.
But the safety question really is the main deal. Old vehicles lack
very basic stuff, such as, for common examples, consistent steering
behaviour, ability to grip the road on rough patches, some have split
rim wheels, braking is often dreadful, brake fade on hills, no crumple
zones, no seat belts or airbags, no collapsible steering column,
hinged seats, etc etc etc.
NT
Dennis
Just trying to figure out which wild-eyed conspiracy theories are on
your Approved List and which are not.
Daniel T.
> "Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Dennis <dg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > "Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I'm not so sure about that. Also remember, it is in Consumer
> > > > Reports best interest to inflate the differences in quality
> > > > between manufactures. If the came out with a report that said
> > > > that all car makes were near the same in quality, no one would
> > > > need their magizine anymore.
> > >
> > > Aren't you the same guy who was railing about conspiracy
> > > theories in another thread? Sheesh, PKB.
> >
> > What's your point?
>
> Just trying to figure out which wild-eyed conspiracy theories are on
> your Approved List and which are not.
What "wild-eyed conspiracy theory" are you talking about? I've sided
with none that I know of.
Roger Shoaf
"The Real Bev" <bashle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ghjj8e$p23$1...@news.motzarella.org...
>
> Something essential that can't be replaced breaks. Case in point: leaf
> springs for a 1960 Ford station wagon. The ones in the wrecking yard
> are just as rotten as the ones you have and you can't find any new ones
> no matter how hard you look.
>
If I needed leaf springs for a 60 Ford, I would go to a spring shop and have
them make me a set. These would be brand new, and if for some reason the
factory design was deficient for some reason, they could remedy that also.
You can also get drive shafts built from scratch and have starters,
alternators and carburetors overhauled.
--
Roger Shoaf
About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.
Dennis
<dani...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Perhaps your wild eyes can't see the quoted material above.
Zuke
clams_casino
> Have you seen the price of a '57 Chevy lately?
>
>
My first car was a 1962 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible. Saw one for
sale recently at $44k.
Daniel T.
> On Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:51:15 -0500, "Daniel T."
> <danie...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >Dennis <dg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > > > I'm not so sure about that. Also remember, it is in
> > > > > > Consumer Reports best interest to inflate the differences
> > > > > > in quality between manufactures. If the came out with a
> > > > > > report that said that all car makes were near the same in
> > > > > > quality, no one would need their magizine anymore.
> > > > >
> > > > > Aren't you the same guy who was railing about conspiracy
> > > > > theories in another thread? Sheesh, PKB.
> > > >
> > > > What's your point?
> > >
> > > Just trying to figure out which wild-eyed conspiracy theories
> > > are on your Approved List and which are not.
> >
> > What "wild-eyed conspiracy theory" are you talking about? I've
> > sided with none that I know of.
>
> Perhaps your wild eyes can't see the quoted material above.
Perhaps your wild brain can tell that the quoted material above has
nothing to do with any conspiracy theories.
SMS
> Something essential that can't be replaced breaks. Case in point: leaf
> springs for a 1960 Ford station wagon. The ones in the wrecking yard
> are just as rotten as the ones you have and you can't find any new ones
> no matter how hard you look.
Lots of places will make obsolete leaf springs for you. It's not too
expensive or complicated. I.e.
"http://www.longbeachspring.com/products.html"
Dennis
I've no doubt that's your perception -- few will concede that their
own moonbat sputterings are conspiracy theories. Which brings us
full-circle back to my original comment: PKB.
Vic Smith
I wouldn't go so far as to call the questioning of CR's self-selected
survey auto ratings and colored circles a "wild-eyed conspiracy
theory."
But I have high standards.
--Vic