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Almost anyone can buy a new vehicle... keeping an older vehicle on the road is another matter.

I like older vehicles too. But, two weeks ago I got rid of my 1995 Ford F-150 4WD. It still had grease zerks, and when I was crawling around greasing things a few weeks ago, I noticed the rubber boots on the tie rod ends we’re about disintegrated. I took it to a shop to be rebuilt, along with getting new brake lines put on. The frame had a hole rusted in it near the steering gear box and the shop refused to work on it. I did the brake lines myself but crawling around underneath to replace the tie rods ends was more than I could handle. The frustration with the shop and having no garage to use for repairs convinced me I was getting too old to drive that truck.
 
NMEDGE said:
Me personally I would purchase a new one. I don't keep vehicles long anyway but that's just me. As long as you are happy with it, that's all that counts.
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yeah, after my time working in garages, to rebuild an engine, first and foremost, the entire vehicle must be gone over with a fine tooth comb.

even then there is no way possible to see into every nook and cranny of a frame, to be 100% certain it'll hold up..then the transmission, manual or automatic...

unless the customer pays for a full teardown, and inspection, on the rest of the drive train, all any mechanic can do or say is..." it looks good TODAY, and how long it'll go....i don't know"

so now, the customer spends like nearly $2,000 to rebuild an engine (1970's dollars), and he or she "might get", another 100,000 miles on THAT rebuild, but then the transmission explodes, and there goes another $1,000 into an old vehicle...

at what point does one stop, re-evaluate the situation, then just go and get new..???

at that point, if "new" is the way to go, they i know for every new vehicle i and the wife have bought, we ALWAYS buy the factory extended warranty.....did we ever have to use that factory extended warranty..??

yes, at least once, to replace a blown transmission, which was an automatic/overdrive, and the cost of that would have set us back.........$5,000......

oh sure, you can trade the car in then, but they will deduct that repair cost, on the value of what's left.....so you get "zilch"....

or, you can junk it.....and get double zilch...

on a car that in good working condition would have been worth at least $10,000 for trade in value....

nah......new for me and the wife as well.

and don't anyone fool anyone else.....even a 100% perfect used car, ain't gonna go cheaply, in fact, it'll be close to the prices of new...so why go used..???
 
somorris said:
I like older vehicles too. But, two weeks ago I got rid of my 1995 Ford F-150 4WD. It still had grease zerks, and when I was crawling around greasing things a few weeks ago, I noticed the rubber boots on the tie rod ends we’re about disintegrated. I took it to a shop to be rebuilt, along with getting new brake lines put on. The frame had a hole rusted in it near the steering gear box and the shop refused to work on it. I did the brake lines myself but crawling around underneath to replace the tie rods ends was more than I could handle. The frustration with the shop and having no garage to use for repairs convinced me I was getting too old to drive that truck.
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it is called......LIABILITY

if the shop takes on that job, with the frame the way it was...

i too would refuse any such work, and frankly, i have....and i vividly recall it was a Subaru, and in later years (truth) , the husband of that lady, remembered who i was, and where i worked, when i went to work where he was......(long story for another time)...and all those years later, he was still grateful i refused to make any repairs.

with a lawsuit litigious society, no one that has a good reputation, wants to lose everything they worked hard that got them up to that high reputation with the customers. (look back at my garage days in the paragraph above)

there are frame rebuilding shops, but many parts of the country, those may be hard to find.

of course, full on frame replacements are available for many makes/models of cars, but then too, unless it is a highly desirable vehicle, it's just too much money.
 
I have already started setting money aside for if/when the transmission goes out, it's still more cost effective for me to keep this rust free truck going as long as possible. Buying new is never a smart choice, depreciation and electronic tech anxiety decrease the value of a new vehicle the moment you start driving the vehicle.
 
Blackfeather said:
I have already started setting money aside for if/when the transmission goes out, it's still more cost effective for me to keep this rust free truck going as long as possible. Buying new is never a smart choice, depreciation and electronic tech anxiety decrease the value of a new vehicle the moment you start driving the vehicle.
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well actually, anytime any new vehicle is driven off the car lot........the value decreases.....and that even includes...used cars

that's nothing new.
 
Blackfeather said:
Buying used from a dealer is never a good idea because you pay too much, always try and by from the owner for cash or arrange your own short term financing.
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buying from a name brand dealer, here at least, you get a 90 day warranty....and it is spelled out either 100% parts/labor, or 50/50 % parts/labor

buying from a corner lot dealer, you might get 30 days

there are at some brand name dealers, "mechanic specials" and advertised as such, so no warranty

buying privately, you get zilch.
 
Old_Me said:
buying from a name brand dealer, here at least, you get a 90 day warranty....and it is spelled out either 100% parts/labor, or 50/50 % parts/labor

buying from a corner lot dealer, you might get 30 days

there are at some brand name dealers, "mechanic specials" and advertised as such, so no warranty

buying privately, you get zilch.
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Do not trust the word of the seller... Always pay to have a qualified mechanic inspect the used vehicle you are considering BEFORE you buy it, and make sure the mechanic does a deep scan of the vehicles computer. Receipts for service performed on the used vehicle by previous owners is also very helpful... CarFax is minimally helpful.
 
Blackfeather said:
Do not trust the word of the seller... Always pay to have a qualified mechanic inspect the used vehicle you are considering BEFORE you buy it, and make sure the mechanic does a deep scan of the vehicles computer. Receipts for service performed on the used vehicle by previous owners is also very helpful... CarFax is minimally helpful.
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that goes nearly without saying......many people simply just take the word of the seller, especially if they know each other.

yes, carfax and auto chek, do not have all the information, one needs, but they are each a start.

i'd NEVER tell anyone to buy a used car that's been in a wreck, as no one knows the quality of the repairs.

this is why the wife and i buy brand new.

we have "lemon laws" that protect us, in such cases if a lemon was bought.....NEW.

you can never be 100% certain you are not buying a used lemon car, from a stranger.
 
good advice - don't buy this
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