This old car doesn't owe me anything

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've bought and sold many cars/trucks over the years, some I've loved, some not so much, LOL
I tend to buy a car that's near the end of it's life, so there is always a chance I get unlucky with repairs, and sometimes I get lucky with few repairs...but there is always something to fix/maintain on a older car.

ANYWAY, one of my favorites was a 1988 Honda Civic CRX that I bought with 195Kmi on it. That little 1.5 ltr engine (5 spd manual) was quite peppy in that super lightweight 2 seater. I'd get crazy good gas mileage as long as I kept the RPMs down and wouldn't drive into a strong wind, LOL. I put 55Kmi on it before I sold it for nearly what I had into...most of the repairs I did to it, were installing used parts from a parts car I got for $75, that I bought specifically for the wheels, but I wound up pulling all kinds of parts off of it and even selling some parts. That car was seemingly designed to be repaired by the owner, one of the easiest cars this ham-fisted wrench-twister ever worked on.

[fatelk]

As much as I hate to admit it, youtube is an incredible resource if you work on your own vehicle.

[brass410]

have 89 gmc 3/4 4x4 out behind shop, its got 500k plus (odemeter quit in 2008) took it off the road in 09 got new truck, anyway after reading this thread I thought maybe I should restore the ol girl, carried a battery out dropped it in darn if it didn't fire right up smokes a little probably stale gas. Just shows a little care and they can go a long time, if the frames don't rust out first.

[Petrol & Powder]

As much as I hate to admit it, youtube is an incredible resource if you work on your own vehicle.

It really IS.

Pre-internet days there was an unofficial network among mechanics. Some secrets were a bit harder to gain access to than others but for the most part you could get the info you needed if you knew who to ask. You Tube has largely replaced that old unofficial network and I think it levels the playing field. As car technology becomes more and more complicated the internet keeps those trade secrets circulating.

Sometimes just little knowledge can be extremely valuable.
Remember when manufacturers starting putting "cabin air filters" in cars (a ridiculous device if you ask me) and dealerships would charge $100 to change one? That practice lasted about a year before the internet completely eviscerated that scam.

[jonp]

Wife's daughter had a Saturn. Ran great and had a ton of miles on it with just normal stuff replaced like shocks, bearings, brakes etc. Finally got rid of it because the sunroof leaked and we couldn't get it to stop.

My daily driver is a 1997 Honda CRV. 175,000 miles and runs great. I was going to get rid of it but I think I'm going to do an experiment and see how long it will run down the road.
Truck is a 2004 F150 XLT 4wd with the 5.4 Triton. 160,000 runs good but needed a rod as the timing jumped due to broken chain guide.
Wife has a 2012 Fiat 500. 166,000 and nothing but oil change and tires.
Our newest is another CRV. 2008 with 75,000. Runs like a champ and bought it to drive the 1,000 miles home as the truck is kinda hard on gas.

[FISH4BUGS]

My 81 Mercedes 300 diesel I sold with 414k on it....and it was still running well and passed inspection. Mechanically was fine...the body had been done over twice and I think that was enough.

[Petrol & Powder]

My 81 Mercedes 300 diesel I sold with 414k on it....and it was still running well and passed inspection. Mechanically was fine...the body had been done over twice and I think that was enough.

It's unfortunate but rust kills the good ones.

[aap2]

My dad bought a new 1967 Chevy Impala 4 door with a 283 V8. We always did regular oil changes and suggested maintenance; and other than normal wear items it was always reliable and ran great. I took it to college in 1975 and 5 years later it had over 300k and was still in good mechanical shape... If body and frame rust didn’t kill it, I would still be driving it.

[DLCTEX]

Well said. I’m happy they don’t make them like they used to. I remember when an engine that got 50,000 miles without an overhaul was a good one. A vehicle with 80,000 miles was worn out. I am accustomed to now getting 250,000 miles with few worries. I have owned some that didn’t even need brakes repaired for 200,000 miles. Try that back in the day. Give me the modern ones thank you. I love my remote starts, seat warmers, navigation, Bluetooth for my cell phone, etc. etc.

[woodbutcher]

Got a 84 F150 with the 300ci inline six.Other than a battery failure,it has never let me down until today.(more than 400k miles on it).The ignition box died in the parking lot.
First time in 200k miles I`ve had a DS2 box to fail.Yeah,I know the 84`s had the TFI ignition system with the electronic carb.But it was wore out when I got the truck,and just swapped out the whole ignition system for the DS2 which is a better system as far as I`m concerned.
Took a whole two hours including going to a friends house to use his timing light.
Was a complete plug and play conversion.So, tomorrow,weather permitting got to get another ignition box.Might be able to get a freebie,as a friend has a couple at his place.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[bob208]

my first computer truck is a 98 k1500 4.3. it has 220000 mi. no power anything runs like a top. gets 18.5 mph here.

[jonp]

My 81 Mercedes 300 diesel I sold with 414k on it....and it was still running well and passed inspection. Mechanically was fine...the body had been done over twice and I think that was enough.

Boy, I've seen those old diesels with a few hundred thousand more than that on the odometer and the doors still thunked when you closed them. Other than rust I'm not sure what could kill one of those.

I had a girlfriend years ago that had an old VW Jetta 4 door. 300k and solid as a rock. She just had to have a new car cause a couple of girls at work got one so sold it and bought a Honda Civic. Would not sell me that old Jetta but at least she got a good one to replace the Jetta.

[jonp]

As much as I hate to admit it, youtube is an incredible resource if you work on your own vehicle.

You are not joking. That and some dedicated sites like f150 Forums along with free rental tools and Harbor Freight for tools I won't use often so only have to work once. I would never had tried to replace my rear axles in the F150 without watching a video on it and seeing how easy it was. Youtube has saved me a ton of money. At this point it seems that no matter what your vehicle is and what the problem is someone has already been there, fixed it and posted a video on how to do it.

[RED BEAR]

I had a 86 celebrity euro sport that I bought used in 89 drive it for 18 years out over 200k miles on it other than routine stuff brakes oil ect. The only thing I ever did was put a rack on and had to put a door on where someone hit it. Finally have it to my sister and now she have it to her son and it is still going strong.

[lead-1]

I've got a '98 Chevy truck that as rusty and crusty as it is, has been pretty good to me. I bought it for $1200 and had to put a battery in it to be able to move it, I have kept track of every dime I have put into it except gas, oil and antifreeze. So far it has cost me $42 a month and that goes down if I don't have to put anymore money into it and some of the money spent wasn't on necessities. I don't know of anywhere you can buy a car for $42 a month.

[wyofool]

Ok, I don't ordinarily post on these threads but I will for this one. An uncle gave me a '36 Chevy 4-door when I turned 16, I gave it to my son when he turned 16. He still has it (not original) and he turns 50 this year.

[rbuck351]

About ten years ago lady at work said she had three dead cars in her back yard and I could have one if I got one of the others running. I put on a set of brake pads and a pair of differential pinon bearings in one and got a 2001 Chevy Cavalier with a bad rod bearing. 65$ for the pads and bearings and $200 for a Craigslist Cavalier motor with 115,000 miles on it and I have driven it another 100,000. Other than gas,oil, battery, tires and a fuel,pump it has been a very cheap car to run. Probably under $100 per year not counting gas. It still burns a half qt of oil every 5000 miles or so. This is my new car. I also have a 98.5 Dodge Cummings with about 200,000 on it. It seems to be about broke in. And lastly a 93 Jeep Wrangler with unknown mileage, probably over 200,000. So far I haven't found a need for a newer car.

Modern cars are running much longer than they used to. New fuel injection systems manage the fuel/air mixture much better so you don't get rich mixtures washing crud past rings contaminating the oil like carbs do. Rings, cylinder walls, bearings and other engine parts last longer running with cleaner oil. When I started driving (1964) an engine that lasted over 100,000 miles was doing very well. Now an engine that doesn't make it past 250,000 was abused or just a lemon. I,m not a fan of all of the computer controlled stuff on modern cars but computer controlled fuel injection and ignition timing have made for much better engine life and mileage. Traction control and abs are a couple of improvements I could do without. Not very fond of automatic transmissions and especially ones computer controlled either.

[Bloodman14]

Mine was a 2004 Chevy Cavalier, 2-door, with a 5-speed manual, and a 2.2L engine. Got it from a rent-to-own outfit in '06. Went through an entire suspension rebuild in '14 because of a new job (my first in the medical field). Got a job as a mobile phlebotomist, and decided that the old girl wasn't going to last much longer. Saw a side article on Fox News about the most affordable cars on the market. Top of the list was the 2017 Chevy Spark. Local dealer had one, we checked it out, and drove home the next day with it. The Cav chose that time to start giving up the ghost; limped her to the dealership (trade-in), kissed her on the hood, patted her back bumper like you would pat a good woman on the butt, and said 'Goodbye, and thanks for being such a good car'. 278,514 miles.

[RugerFan]

My 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 (4.8L) just turned 200K last week. No major repairs and runs like day one. Really tickled about that.

[mattw]

Gotta say... I have a 2007 Expedition EL with 258k miles on it. It has bad cancer right about the running boards and the paint is bubbled on the back hatch. I do like the old truck. My last F-150, a '97, was sold with 287k on it!