hey, there are WORSE ways to spend $50 thousand! :-)

[CarolU]

I saw this story and instantly thought about the thread on why we have horses. I thought I'd share this to let everyone (and their significant other) feel better about the $$ that turns into fertilizer every year!

http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/worstcar_1.html

Enjoy (and share with all your doubting Thomas relatives and friends! LOL)

[Heidi]

I drive a 1978 American sportscar and it has remained reliable for the 16 years we've had it. It has about 270,000 miles on it. Rebuilt the engine two winters ago ourselves. Rebuilt the rear end pumpkin gears and independent rear suspension about 11-12 years ago.
Other than the usual accessory parts, if you keep up with maintenance, these old cars will treat you well.
This car was paid off 14 years ago.

We will be done paying for hubby's truck this spring and he is thinking of selling it and getting an older (60s-70s) Jeep. We are both leary of the new cars with computer this-and-that. To us, that technology just means more $ to fix it when it breaks. With the older, pre-computer cars, we can fix it ourselves. ...and yes, I can troubleshoot and turn a wrench if I have to.
Heidi

[CarolU]

Heidi, sounds like our Camrey...a 1990, 365,000 miles. Still gets 40 mpg and 37 mpg in the winter with studded snow tires on. Has never NOT made it to work...on a few days we were some of the few who made it over the mountain. :-)

On the third battery.
Struts, and shocks replaced
Front wheel bearings replaced
Brake pads replaced
Timing Chain replaced (didn't really need it, but noticed at 190,000 miles the owners manual said to do it at 60,000 :shock: )

That's it. Oil every 3,000 miles. Still sound, still solid, still quiet. Amazing.

[Bonnie LR]

1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera. 336,000 kilometers [208000 miles] gets 800 kilometers to a tank of gas--never lets me down. Paid $1000 three years and 100,000 kilometers ago. [Canadian dollars, remember.]

1992 Hyundai Elantra--same milage, paid $600 for it two yrs ago--never has cost us a cent, drives 80 kilometers every day.

1988 Chevy pickup two wheel drive, 5 spd--never quits Paid $400 two yrs ago.

1978 Dodge van--owned for 20 yrs--body is falling off, engine/running gear has never hesitated--still always starts, and has been a dog house for 2 years, LOL!

[reuben T]

in the last 50 yrs the dodge has always been the most reliable for us, door hinges wear out and rust takes over but they keeps running, a 60 pickup we bought in 68 ran untill i retired it in around 90, then pulled the engine and ran a sawmill edger with it. and a 76 van we got new i retired a year ago cuz it had a rusted out gas tank and looked like a piece of junk and put the engine in a 86 pickup and keep using it.
the subaru's of the late 70's to the mid 80's were purty good, they seemed to need a little higher maintaince, but we usually run them to 250,000 or more befor they rust out too bad to use, and i ran into one that had 750,000 on it. however the way vehicles keep getting more computerized, and more unfixable by normal users. and the way the simple fixable ones are getting older and harder to get parts. eventually to get phased out. I've decided I'm not going to put up with it. I'm planning to build my own drive system in everything from the suburu to the ton truck, make them simple hybred electric with fuel processor powered generators. getting up to 10 times current mpg. something the industry should have done decades ago but didn't because they liked the money that came from gas sales. and when someone invented a car that would last several times longer than usual, (stainless steel body, very simple engine with little to wear out, easy to work on, etc.) he couldn't get them manufactured because the industry knows once someone buys one they won't need another one for a good long time, and their resales would suffer. They are intentionally designed to not last as long as posible just so they can sell more.

[CarolU]

Reuben, it's called "engineered obsolesence" and you are quite right, things are designd to break, fall apart, need replacement. It's what keeps our economy afloat, you always go buy a new ______ never fix the old one.

How many coffee pots break within a few weeks of their one year warrenty period? They are designed to wear out after so many pots...when there really isn't anything there that should wear out. I still have an old electirc percolator that is 35 years old...still works great. I had an old Kenmore washer and drier for 20 years...finally had to replace them because they quit making parts for them.

There were two women and one's daughter that slid into 30' deep water next to I-80 several years ago. The car floated for some time but the girls couldn't get out of the car. Why? Everything was electic, the locks the windows, and it all stopped when the battery went underwater. They drowned - after breaking the heels off their shoes and ripping their fingernails out trying to break the windows and claw them open. What a horrible way to die...and it woudnt' have happened if they just had hand crank windows.