My current VW has been unreliable lately and I am looking to replace it. I live in the city and commute 25 miles each way to work, between the daily commute and the street parking wars my car gets abused a bit. Because of this a nice car is out of the question and I am not crazy about anything in the 15k range, so I have been looking at some old late 80s Caprice and Olds. I can pick a really clean one up for around 5k and I like the styling and comfort more than the new econo-boxes.
I need to make a decision quick and my options are between, 2011 Focus/Fiesta/corolla or 1988 Caprice/ Olds
My questions are, do any of you have any experience with these older tanks and would you advise using one as a daily driver? Also, how is the gas mileage and maintenance costs?
I got my son a '12 VW Jetta. DIRT CHEAP but a real good car. Lots of standard equipment and economical. Just go with the manual if you can drive one, they seem to be more reliable.
I got my son a '12 VW Jetta. DIRT CHEAP but a real good car. Lots of standard equipment and economical. Just go with the manual if you can drive one, they seem to be more reliable.
I love VWs but lately this Golf has gotten sick. And the bills are through the roof, just hit 100k and I have a transmission slip and an unchanged timing belt looming over me. I am just hesitant to get into another VW.
I dunno, some of the best cars I've owned were from the 80s and I certainly don't ever remember having a 1500 bill from the mechanic. But like you said, I question how well they have held up in the last 30 years.
I dunno, some of the best cars I've owned were from the 80s and I certainly don't ever remember having a 1500 bill from the mechanic. But like you said, I question how well they have held up in the last 30 years.
The "VW" badge isn't helping on the maintenance cost. I'd hunt something hum-drum. Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu (the newer front wheel drive ones). Personally, I'd look for a station wagon, because nothing says I'm comfortable with my manhood more than a station wagon. That, and you can haul a crap-ton of stuff in them if you have to.
If I were stuck in the 80's, I'd be looking for an El Camino, because, who wouldn't? And, the last ones could be had with a bullet proof 4.3 (non-vortec sadly).
The "VW" badge isn't helping on the maintenance cost. I'd hunt something hum-drum. Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu (the newer front wheel drive ones). Personally, I'd look for a station wagon, because nothing says I'm comfortable with my manhood more than a station wagon. That, and you can haul a crap-ton of stuff in them if you have to.
If I were stuck in the 80's, I'd be looking for an El Camino, because, who wouldn't? And, the last ones could be had with a bullet proof 4.3 (non-vortec sadly).
Did you just buy it from some guy last week and need to rely on it to get you to work tomorrow as your sole means of transportation?
Or, have you owned it for sometime and personally maintained it properly because it was you're daily driver?
Big difference.
I DD a '79 CJ7, but I know what it's capabilities are because I've had it for a while. As such I can usually guess the next thing that's going to break and fix it or ignore it. It runs better than my 2000 Blazer, which runs great. Bottom line is I keep another clunker on hand so I can afford to ignore the next issue coming up if it looks messy. Speaking of staion wagons, sounds like your doing something similar with your XJ. :laugh:
If I wanted to buy a reliable vehicle from a stranger on the cheap, I'd stay away from a 25+ year old vehicle if I wasn't open to the possibility of having to perform constant maintenance to get it on stronger feet.
80s cars were huge piles of dung!
They were trying to do good but didn't know how. Look at any one of them mile for mile with a newer car.
My 79 trans am needed major work at 80k, My inlaws had a ~84 Mitubishi Galant, blew the timing belt at 60k and was burning major oil at 80k, Fox body Mustang and Pinto, 80s GM diesel cars??..nuff said.
my daughters 97 Sunfire GT still not burning oil 147k, 1990 YJ abused to all heck and still only minor work 136k, wife's ,04 Olds van 153k still not burning oil and only work so far was replacing FR ABS harness due to wire breaking. My 99 dodge 2500 diesel 142k and it is just starting to be broken in (plastic though was just breaking).
The production methods, raw material science and quality control in the 80s was no where near where it is now. Even invisible things like corrosion prevention.
Damn dude... you need to go to www.ross-tech.com and www.vwvortex.com and learn to work on your car yourself... I'm assuming it's a 1.8t? It's basically a 4 cylinder version of my V6 twin turbo in my S4, so I have 2 more cylinders and then 2 extra of everything else. Mines at 130k and has been the most reliable car I've ever owned and I haven't had to put more then $500 into maintenance in 2 years just because I work on it myself. There is a ridiculous amount of free information out there on them and they are fairly simple to work on.
I'm a member on Vortex and have built 4 jeeps, some from scratch. I have the know how to do 95% of the work, but since my wrenching days I have moved to manhattan where it is dangerous enough just getting into your car, let alone working on it in the street. Also, my job leave me with very little free time, certainly not enough to spend on my vehicle.
The more I think about it, I am leaning towards a focus. As sad as it makes me ;(
Since your thinking of Ford, why not an older Grand Marquis, Crown Vic, or Town Car? You can pick up one for cheap as they are a dime a dozen, get 20s for mpg on the highway, and they notoriously run for 200,000+ miles. Tons of room for tall people (I'm 6'5" myself), great ride and comfort as well. I'd stick to an 03+ as they have better handling, steering, and performance compared to previous years.
Regarding 80s cars, some were great as I owned a 87 Grand Marquis coupe (coupes were made from 79-87) for several years and that was hands down probably the best vehicle I ever owned. Drove it 59,000 miles in one year (only did oil changes, a spark plug change, and the tires) even through several snow storms passing 4WD vehicles in ditches (yes, even jeeps lol) and through 105 degree heat with ease. Only sold it because gas got too expensive and I couldn't afford it being a poor college student at the time.
However, I'd agree that buying an 80s car today wouldn't be good as the problem is two-fold. Buy the cheap one and it's clapped out because 30 years of driving has taken it's toll. Buy the more expensive, mint one and it'll nickel and dime you to death because even if its garage kept, 30 year old parts still fatigue and seals dry out.
My 2002 mustang GT convertible gets around 22mpg on the highway and bounces between 19-21 in town depending on how I drive it. PO geared the rear end down a bit and strapped a bunch of goodies on it. I was expecting it to be a lot worse. The in town mpg is better than the highway mpg my GC was getting. More fun to drive too.
Almost all LE packages are heavier and slower than the regular. They're built around fleet use instead of normal. So same engine but all parts that would normally be aluminum around made out of dark matter instead. So the 4k pound car now has the density of a dozen suns. Bad mpg to boot. Plus they spend hours every day sitting and idling, which engines love.
Then hard and abusive use etc. Even starting with brand new squads I never was in one that I would pay more than $500 for when it was finally retired. The older cars definitely had issues before they phased out.
If you don't have the time or place to wrench on cars you pretty much have to buy something newer and more reliable. I would go something small, fwd, and gets decent gas mileage. I can image parking in NYC is a pain in the *** especially if you drive a big full sized car.
If you are stuck on getting an older full size car get a hearse they usually have low mileage and the chances of somebody messing with you are much less.
For a low cost commuter car I have to go with Hyundai. Hyundai has been really pumping out some nice cars that are priced great and look great.
Though I'm also not a fan of American cars, except Jeeps! I do think a lot of the Hyundais sold in America are made here though.
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