Teenage cars

[Lord Garth]

Too old to be reliable, too new to be "classic". Lots of repair bills, not a lot of the original parts.

I drive a 1998 Toyota Camry that I've had since July 2002. In the past year-and-a-half, I've spent more money on repairs than I have the entire first eight years combined.

The air/fuel sensor, the front breaks, the struts, one of the tire rods, something break-related with a cylinder (I forget what it was), and a hole in the exhaust pipe. None of this was cheap and came out to about a combined total of $2,000. And three flat tires.

Oh yeah, a not-at-fault accident too where some idiot came from a side street, I had no time to react, the front of my car was smashed, but (thankfully) no one was hurt. So, the hood, the front bumper, and the front lights were all replaced.

I don't even think I'm driving the original car anymore and I almost think I should've bought a new one.

Anyway, older cars are great. What are your experiences with rebellious teenage automobiles?

 

[MacLeod]

Cars are like people the older they get the more maintenance they need to keep going. From experiance, once a car starts to cost more to repair than it's worth. It's time to change it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

My car is from 1998 as well, but it probably has considerably less mileage. Still, if I could afford a new car, I'd replace it once it gave me trouble. There's no point slowly bleeding away money on small repairs if they'll cost as much as a newer car.

 

[ares93]

Too old to be reliable, too new to be "classic". Lots of repair bills, not a lot of the original parts.

I drive a 1998 Toyota Camry that I've had since July 2002. In the past year-and-a-half, I've spent more money on repairs than I have the entire first eight years combined.

The air/fuel sensor, the front breaks, the struts, one of the tire rods, something break-related with a cylinder (I forget what it was), and a hole in the exhaust pipe. None of this was cheap and came out to about a combined total of $2,000. And three flat tires.

Oh yeah, a not-at-fault accident too where some idiot came from a side street, I had no time to react, the front of my car was smashed, but (thankfully) no one was hurt. So, the hood, the front bumper, and the front lights were all replaced.

I don't even think I'm driving the original car anymore and I almost think I should've bought a new one.

Anyway, older cars are great. What are your experiences with rebellious teenage automobiles?

Hmm, that's weird, mate. In my experience the XV20's are one of the most reliable cars I've ever had the pleasure of working on. My neighbor has one, and on the off chance that something goes tits up, i'm always the one to fix it. I'm actually thinking of getting one of them to replace my recently scrapped Merc.


As for my own cars, I've owned a 1989 Ford Probe and a 1984(1989) Mercedes 190d. No mechanical problems on the Ford whatsoever. But the body had had the consistency of wet crackers. Turns out the yanks arent very fond of protecting against rust, and here in Sweden the roads are salted to avoid ice. Long story short, the jack vent straight though the floor when i changed to winter tires.

As for my Merc, Lady B, I cant in good conscience use it as an example since the entire car had been rebuild from the ground up. Completely refurbished power train from a 1989 190 Cosworth with 80000km on the meter. So that car was practically brand new. Only reason it was scrapped was because i ran a police blockade and my car was deemed unsafe since the 102bhp diesel had been replace with a 372bhp petrol engine. I payed the 500€ to have it reregistered as an amateur built car, ( therefore making the use of that engine legal) but the vultures wanted even more. So I just pulled the parts and scrapped the empty shell. The right hand drive annoyed the hell out of me anyway.

My sister in law's 2002 Ford Ka on the other hand is a living nightmare. She doesn't use it much, so I've been driving it recently. But in truth, i spend more time under it, than in it. Bloody pain in the ass piece of shite... Alternator, starter, drive shafts, clutch, gear box were all replaced the last six months. Only positive thing about that car is the 1.6 liter engine. So its a bit quicker than the average Ka.

 

[Q2UnME]

I, up until recently, drove a 1999 Camaro. Last year I had to replace the clutch, mass air flow sensor, ignition module, all 3 coil packs, wires, rotors and two break calipers. Total cost over $3000 to keep it running. Less than 3 months later it started acting up again. I could no longer afford to keep pumping more money into something I could no longer trust to get me safely to work every day. Traded it in and bought a 2010 Camaro. Much happier because of it. Some time you just have to cut your losses, especially when what you are driving turns into a money pit.

Q2

 

[Lord Garth]

I shall definitely purchase a new car when money is no longer an issue.

As it is, I can barely afford to keep up with repair expenses, so I think I'd have to put just as many repairs into a used car I'd purchase in that price range (i.e. under $2,000). At least with the car I have now, I know the history and what I've already had fixed.

Can't wait to get a new car though. Or even something that's four years old or newer. It's going to be one of my first priorities as soon as I get a better job. Which I hope is soon.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^^ Plus, you get to drive one of the beautiful new Camaros. Did you get the V8?

It's been a long time since I had a money-pit type car. I try to stay in a new/newer one so I can avoid that kind of trouble.

Currently I have a 2010 Grand Cherokee. That followed a used 2004 Grand Cherokee & a new 2005 GTO. Once the GTO was gone, I got the new G/C, so's to have a warrenty again.

 

[ares93]

Currently I have a 2010 Grand Cherokee. That followed a used 2004 Grand Cherokee & a new 2005 GTO. Once the GTO was gone, I got the new G/C, so's to have a warrenty again.

Whats your take on your 2004 Cherokee? Cause its one of the cars I'm considering.

Currently I'm stuck between a 2001 Camry, a 2000 Mercedes C320 (station wagon), a 2000 Grand Cherokee and i recently got an offer for a 1998 Range Rover. They're all in the same price range with 500-600€ difference.

Spoiler: Just random pics of the cars. In order.

 

[Q2UnME]

^^ Plus, you get to drive one of the beautiful new Camaros. Did you get the V8?

Actually, no, I opted for the V6. I know, the new Camaro LIVES for the power of the new V8. Since the car is my "daily driver", I had to pick MPG over BHP. My commute is 84 miles round trip, so the V6 gas milage was a must. The one thing I really wanted was a stick shift (manual transmission), but I couldn't pass up the price on the one I bought; I got a damn good deal on it. Besides, 300HP is more than enough to get me in trouble ....

Q2

 

[ares93]

Actually, no, I opted for the V6. I know, the new Camaro LIVES for the power of the new V8. Since the car is my "daily driver", I had to pick MPG over BHP. My commute is 84 miles round trip, so the V6 gas milage was a must. The one thing I really wanted was a stick shift (manual transmission), but I couldn't pass up the price on the one I bought; I got a damn good deal on it. Besides, 300HP is more than enough to get me in trouble ....

Q2

Bah... 1500kg and 300bhp? Get you in trouble? Amateur... Now; turbo, 400+bhp and 800kg (full tank w/ driver) on the other hand... Only car I've ever lost against was an Mercedes SLS. Then again, if a copper catches me driving that car on the road, I'm pretty sure he'll shoot me on sight.

 

[Lord Garth]

Hmm, that's weird, mate. In my experience the XV20's are one of the most reliable cars I've ever had the pleasure of working on.

Well, for the first eight years I drove the car I hardly had any problem with it. And the last flat tire I had before 2010 was 2003.

The first problem was the struts, then everything I listed except what was break related when I got my car inspected last year, then finally the breaks this year. The last time I had my breaks taken care of was 2006.

I think a bunch of little issues just happened to crop up all around the same time.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

My last car (a Mazda Protege) rebelled against me quite a bit, especially in the winter. There were cold days when it took half a bloody hour to start. It eventually broke down for good and I sold it back to the dealer for scrap.

 

[infinix]

I have a 2001 VW Jetta, has about 190,000 miles on it. I've probably spent $4,000 in the past 18 months replacing the water pump, the timing belt, brake pads and rotors, and hand brakes. There are still things that are not quite right with the car, and it'll cost me another $2000 to fix.

However, it runs now and I'm planning on just driving that thing into the ground. Hopefully I can get another year or so out of it.

 

[RoJoHen]

All the cars I've bought have been 4 years old, and I've kept them for 4 years myself. 8 years has proven to be a decent shelf-life for cars. I could keep them longer, but it just seems cheaper to get a new one.

 

[B.J.]

No mechanical problems on the Ford whatsoever. But the body had had the consistency of wet crackers. Turns out the yanks arent very fond of protecting against rust, and here in Sweden the roads are salted to avoid ice. Long story short, the jack vent straight though the floor when i changed to winter tires.

Yeah, that's an issue here too, but only up in the northern states. And most people know that you *never* buy a used car that came from up north.

 

[ares93]

No mechanical problems on the Ford whatsoever. But the body had had the consistency of wet crackers. Turns out the yanks arent very fond of protecting against rust, and here in Sweden the roads are salted to avoid ice. Long story short, the jack vent straight though the floor when i changed to winter tires.

Yeah, that's an issue here too, but only up in the northern states. And most people know that you *never* buy a used car that came from up north.

Yeah, I sorta learned my lesson. The sad thing is that I dont even have a picture of it any more.

On an interesting side note. Looky what I found. I've got a bunch of brochures, , warranty documents, basically everything that came with the car. Including a few hundred page long shop manual.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Currently I have a 2010 Grand Cherokee. That followed a used 2004 Grand Cherokee & a new 2005 GTO. Once the GTO was gone, I got the new G/C, so's to have a warrenty again.

Whats your take on your 2004 Cherokee? Cause its one of the cars I'm considering.

Currently I'm stuck between a 2001 Camry, a 2000 Mercedes C320 (station wagon), a 2000 Grand Cherokee and i recently got an offer for a 1998 Range Rover. They're all in the same price range with 500-600€ difference.

As with any used vehicle, depends on who had it 7 how they treated it. I think 2006-2010 is the "previous" generation of the G/C (before the 2011 redo), you might think about one of those.

I got the 2004 G/C in mid-2007. It only had 28,000 miles on it and was pretty clean.

Never had any problems with it, though it was mostly a winter vehicle for the first couple years, then an every-day driver for another year.

Now I've had the 2010 for 20 months and no real problems here either. Minor issues with the navi/radio unit and the keyless entry.

 

[ares93]

As with any used vehicle, depends on who had it 7 how they treated it. I think 2006-2010 is the "previous" generation of the G/C (before the 2011 redo), you might think about one of those.

I got the 2004 G/C in mid-2007. It only had 28,000 miles on it and was pretty clean.

Never had any problems with it, though it was mostly a winter vehicle for the first couple years, then an every-day driver for another year.

Now I've had the 2010 for 20 months and no real problems here either. Minor issues with the navi/radio unit and the keyless entry.

The winters are sometimes extermely harsh over here. Good to hear that it can stand it.

Thanks for the tip mate, but the 2006 model way above me. I've got a budget of around 50.000 SEK ($7.000 USD) The cheapest Cherokee I found from the 2006 series is 135.000SEK ($19.000 USD)

I'd buy the 2006 model if i had the money, but with being a student, unable to work full time, the bills dont exactly grow on trees.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

My first car was a 1990 Chrysler New Yorker that I got in 2004. That car had so many problems, but it was super-cheap. Left me stranded more than once. Once the massive overheating problem was fixed, the car ran great for 2 years, before it said, "No," and decided to overheat again. During that 2 year period, the car didn't overheat, but it did have over problems, like during certain curves, it would stall. Getting onto a freeway on-ramp was an interesting process, since that's where it tended to stall the most, lol. BUT! When it was all said and done, i love that car.

 

[Davros]

Only 2 of the cars I have ever owned were made in the decade that I drove them in.