Vehicles: New vs Vintage

[Missourian]

Continued from here:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/current-events/98039-plug-ins-yes-or-no.html#post1811473​

Heck no I would not pay 25,000 for a car. I have a well used but nice looking van with wheelchair lift, etc. Prior to that I drove a Subaru for 20 years.

I can afford to pay cash for a new Mercedes but choose not to.
I do not need to buy status.

One thing on points and such. Cars with feuel injection sytstema, airbags, antilock brakes, etc are much safer and more reliable than the old one.
You get a new car now and it is likely you will go 59k or so before you do anything except change oil.
A 63 impala would be pretty well shot at 100k but now we commonly put nearly 200k on our vehicles.

The safety is relative. I'll take steel body panels and a solid frame over an airbag.


I've rebuilt my inline six twice, at a cost of $600 each time...$300 for the rebuilt kit and $300 to the machine shop (the advantage of inline engines...only one head.

 

[uscitizen]

Continued from here:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/current-events/98039-plug-ins-yes-or-no.html#post1811473​

Heck no I would not pay 25,000 for a car. I have a well used but nice looking van with wheelchair lift, etc. Prior to that I drove a Subaru for 20 years.

I can afford to pay cash for a new Mercedes but choose not to.
I do not need to buy status.

One thing on points and such. Cars with feuel injection sytstema, airbags, antilock brakes, etc are much safer and more reliable than the old one.
You get a new car now and it is likely you will go 59k or so before you do anything except change oil.
A 63 impala would be pretty well shot at 100k but now we commonly put nearly 200k on our vehicles.

The safety is relative. I'll take steel body panels and a solid frame over an airbag.


I've rebuilt my inline six twice, at a cost of $600 each time...$300 for the rebuilt kit and $300 to the machine shop (the advantage of inline engines...only one head.

Ahh yes but there are few of us out here that can rebuild an engine. These kids now-a-day do well to keep oil in them and air in the tires.

I understand where you are coming from though and partially agree. However the most dependable cars I have ever had were fuel injected and computer controlled.

 

[Missourian]

I should put a question in here so everyone can join in.

Which would you prefer, a new car or a vintage car?

 

[Missourian]

Continued from here:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/current-events/98039-plug-ins-yes-or-no.html#post1811473​

Heck no I would not pay 25,000 for a car. I have a well used but nice looking van with wheelchair lift, etc. Prior to that I drove a Subaru for 20 years.

I can afford to pay cash for a new Mercedes but choose not to.
I do not need to buy status.

One thing on points and such. Cars with feuel injection sytstema, airbags, antilock brakes, etc are much safer and more reliable than the old one.
You get a new car now and it is likely you will go 59k or so before you do anything except change oil.
A 63 impala would be pretty well shot at 100k but now we commonly put nearly 200k on our vehicles.

The safety is relative. I'll take steel body panels and a solid frame over an airbag.


I've rebuilt my inline six twice, at a cost of $600 each time...$300 for the rebuilt kit and $300 to the machine shop (the advantage of inline engines...only one head.

Ahh yes but there are few of us out here that can rebuild an engine. These kids now-a-day do well to keep oil in them and air in the tires.

I understand where you are coming from though and partially agree. However the most dependable cars I have ever had were fuel injected and computer controlled.

I can't argue with that, new cars are more reliable, but the old cars are easier to repair on the side of the road.

I broke the throttle cable on my 69 VW but repaired it with a shoelace.

I couldn't go very fast, but I could shift and we got it home.



It saddens me that home auto repair is slowly dying out.

Some of my fondest memories are of working on the family car with my Dad.

 

[Old Rocks]

New or old? Hmmmm........ I had a 1962 Volvo, one that looked like a shrunk up '48 Ford. It was quick, got 28 MPG when driven sanely, and withstood a violent crash rather well. A prospecting trip that ended on a curve covered with black ice. End for end, rolled over twice over a pile of boulders, and 6 or 7 ft down into a creek on it's top. A light small car well enough built that the roof did not come down on us, and neither myself nor my uncle were hurt.

Then there was the '62 Mercedes 220s. 25 mpg, easy to work on, had over 200k when it finally needed the engine worked on. A real economy car, just a steep up front cost if you bought it new.

Subaru? Yeh, a 1984, carberated, 31 mpg at 70 mph. two speed 2 wheel, 4 wheel drive brownie box. Ran it into the ground, bought it with over 100k on it. Wonderful car, took it into unbelievable places.

But the comfort level, gas mileage for size, of the new cars, as well as the durability, is hard to beat.
An example of this is the 1954 Chevy pickup with a six and granny four speed that I had. It was small, had a heater, and little else. Got 15 mpg, and was limited on power. I have a 1990 Ford 350 van, fuel injected 460, it gets 15 mpg, and has more power than I can sanely use. 135 k, and still going strong.

I guess it depends what one wants out of their vehicle.

 

[Mr. H.]

I should put a question in here so everyone can join in.

Which would you prefer, a new car or a vintage car?

One of each.

'07 Avalon and a '70 Classic Beetle (on jack stands but gimme time).

 

[ScottBernard]

If I had money to burn, that Fisker Karma is an extremely intriguing vehicle. Dramatic design profile on her. Looks like a cross between a Jaguar and Porsche.
You can tell a good car from a nominal car by the passion the designers and engineers put into it. It really shows. That is something the Big 3 American manufacturers seem to have forgotten for at least 15 to 20 years. If I was hiring for an executive position at a car company you would almost have to have motor oil in your blood to get the job. Not just be a numbers person.
Owning and driving a vintage car is about passion. Technically it is a money pit.
But you do it because you love it, and it speaks to you in some way. It fills you up in your heart.
Hey, kids still work on cars these days. But instead of Edelbrock carbs and heads, they may be swapping out ignition modules and doing some reprogramming with laptops.
I got started on 'beaters' which I worked my butt off for; best way to learn the nuts and bolts. You aren't afraid to throw it around and go at it. I am glad I wasn't just given a car by my parents, otherwise I wouldn't have cared.