[subego]

Just hit a whopping 20K miles on my 8 year old van.

[Laminar]

Just did an oil change this week at 283,000 miles.

[reader50]

I'm seeing some safety issues here.

[Laminar]

Think my headlights are aimed too high?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

Some blocks on the rear tires would be nice, but that frame is high enough not to crush anyone.

[Laminar]

I definitely block the tires when I'm jacking it up, but for the ramps, Park + e-brake is enough belt+suspenders for me.

[subego]

Chanced across this in the lot I parked in.

[Laminar]

I love the idea of getting an old beater like that running and driving like normal.

[MacNNFamous]

I saw a 50s Chevy sedan driving in a snow storm in central Wisconsin. Thought it was awesome. Car was sort of a POS but there it is, transporting people in a snow storm. Another time I saw a trash ford econoline in the rockies with a snowmobile in the bed, was one of these types of econolines:



Thing had a 15k powder sled in the back of it, and it was going up a mountain pass. Seems legit terrifying in something RWD with no impact/crumple zones at all, but I was impressed by the sheer size of dudes balls.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by subego 

Chanced across this in the lot I parked in.

How was the interior? Might show if they care about the car.

[subego]

Originally Posted by MacNNFamous 

Adorbs!

Originally Posted by reader50 

How was the interior? Might show if they care about the car.

That’s a good question. I didn’t think to check.

[subego]

Still there when I left, so I scoped the inside. Didn’t take a photo because it was dark, and also because it sorta crosses my “intrusive” line.

The restoration level was on par with the outside. Some clutter, but not egregious. No garbage.

In the back seat there were two jump starters.



Edit: with the Econoline, wouldn’t the sled in the back make the RWD less squirrelly?

[MacNNFamous]

Idk but it's still a RWD vehicle with drum brakes and you're sitting above/in front of the front wheels. Hit anything you're dead.

[subego]

I have very little experience with them. Rented a Mustang once for a production, but didn’t really push it.

[Waragainstsleep]

I bought an old Audi A6 Avant.

[Laminar]

Bad choice, they're very very bad cars. Just...really horrible cars, badly built, anyone who buys one is way off base.

[MacNNFamous]

She's back on the road. Definitely been the biggest, most expensive project of my life.

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Bad choice, they're very very bad cars. Just...really horrible cars, badly built, anyone who buys one is way off base.

Its not as refined as the X-Type, but its doing ok for 148K miles. The only issues I have are the cigarette lighters don't work (Probably a fuse) and for some reason I can't pick up MW or LW on the radio. And the SatNav thinks the car is in Ireland.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by MacNNFamous 

She's back on the road. Definitely been the biggest, most expensive project of my life.

Apart from the Singer, that's my favorite Porsche model and type. Although mine would have been in 1970s bright orange.

PS Is there some rust bubbling up in the rear left panel?

[MacNNFamous]

No, paint is just shot and buffed through into the primer. It was like that on one side of the car when I bought it, so I sanded the paint everywhere down to 1500 in random spots, then polished the heck out of it. Now all the panels look like a worn baseball glove.

[Thorzdad]

Is it safe to give a car’s VIN to someone inquiring about it? I get that they probably want to run a CarFax or something, but is there anything nefarious that they could pull on me?

[Laminar]

If it's listed for sale I'd provide the VIN. Every vehicle for sale on Cars.com has a VIN listed, it's not like giving out your SSN.

[Thorzdad]

Yeah, I kind of reasoned it out in my head after I posted. Been awhile since I sold a car, and no one ever asked for the VIN.

[reader50]

It can't be very private, given it's visible from outside the car. They probably want to check it's not stolen or salvaged. Along with any pending recalls.

[Thorzdad]

Yeah, that much is pretty obvious. You get bombarded these days by so much “guard all your info!!! You won’t believe what bad guys can learn about you from what soup you eat!!!!” shit, that it’s hard not to permanently wear a foil hat. I really hate this timeline.

[andi*pandi]

So, who has ever had a gas tank spring a leak?
Yesterday I travelled out of state to visit family, trip up no problem, filled up the tank to head back... huh, the pump autoshut off at 18 gal. SO's Honda Pilot I don't usually drive, couldn't recall the exact tank capacity... (this site says 20 https://fueltankcap.com/honda/pilot) go into gas station to get a drink, come out, and huge puddle under car. Gas. Overfill? it's not leaking out the tank fill area. Someone goes under and there is a <dime sized hole suddenly leaking gas on the muffler. Gas station had to call all the higher ups and close the store while they poured kitty litter on it. Towed to a family-connected garage nearby. Driving one of their cars. Nissan Xterra. Seems very nice for an older car.

If I hadn't gone into the store for a drink I would have just pulled away and thought nothing of it.

So that was my Saturday night.

[reader50]

Was it a deliberate puncture?

When gas prices soared late in the pandemic, there were some gas thieves who used an ice pick to puncture tanks. Fill up and run. They forced a gas tank replacement for hundreds of dollars, while stealing $50 in gas.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

What year? Pretty unusual to have a gas leak

[andi*pandi]

2007 Honda Pilot.

We had parked in a large uncrowded lot to walk to an event by the river. I didn't notice a puddle around the car when we got back, and drove straight from there to the gas station. It's possible I missed it? If so, the tank was already near empty when they did it. The hole is right in the middle of the bottom:



Or, it's possible someone did it in the 10 min we were in the store? The store manager was chatty during cleanup and said we were a pleasure to deal with compared to the usual troublemakers. (some of whom pulled up and started an argument while we were waiting for tow)

[reader50]

The puncture is above the tailpipe. Thieves would puncture in the clear, to capture pure gas. Not gas washing over a dirty pipe. Also, cars with bigger tanks were the usual targets. Pickups, SUVs.

More likely it's something you drove over. The puncture itself is out of focus - the camera focused on the tailpipe. An irregular puncture would argue natural causes.

[andi*pandi]

The garage guy says the heat shield (what we see ^ ) rusted; the tank underneath is plastic. So no punctures just weird thing.

He is finding me a used replacement for $250.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

Or, it's possible someone did it in the 10 min we were in the store? The store manager was chatty during cleanup and said we were a pleasure to deal with compared to the usual troublemakers. (some of whom pulled up and started an argument while we were waiting for tow)

Doing it at the gas station would be a wild move, no one spends more than a couple minutes in there paying for gas and there's lots of traffic and cameras around.

The picture looks like the gas is coming through a heat shield of some kind. When the tank gets pulled, you should be able to tell if something flew up and hit the heat shield and tank or if somebody deliberately hit it with an ice pick or cordless drill. reader50 is right, it'd be weird to purposely go above the exhaust pipe and through the heat shield rather than just drill through an exposed plastic area where you can easily drain it into a can.

Unless someone purposely wanted gasoline flowing out onto a hot exhaust pipe...you don't owe money to any shady mobsters do you?

[andi*pandi]

I did piss off a local rightwing nutcase last year... for a while I was paranoid about every slow leak my tires had. This is my husbands daily though... if there was sabotage it happened at least 200 miles before the leak became evident.

[andi*pandi]

Update: when he took off the exhaust to put in the tank, he found it was an exhaust hole that had melted the tank... the mufflers were full of gas. New mufflers going in.

Did a little surfing on cars.com yesterday to trade either of our aging cars in for something with less ... likelihood of bleeding money. Not sure we'd buy another pilot or something else. I'd like another subaru but not sure if I'd want a CVT or automatic since manuals are becoming rare.

Bluebook value for my 2010 6spd manual subaru $4k, going for 10k. 2014 subaru outback, last of the 6spd transmissions made, going for $20k. Not luxury trim either of them. 20k for a 10 year old car? New base subaru outbacks are 29k.

So perhaps repairs are a decent investment after all.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Used prices are high, but new prices have gone up too. Expect used prices to start dropping at some point, but it looks like the Japanese carmakers in particular (Subaru, Toyota, Honda) really got hit hard with the supply chain issues and have been low inventory on a ton of stuff.

[reader50]

This is not the time to buy a car if you can avoid it. Domestic dealer lots are loaded and overpriced. Import dealers have spotty inventory - Shortcut is right. And used prices remain unusually high. The shortage of new cars made over the last few years, means there is little supply of late-model used cars.

Prices are starting to crash at the wholesale level, but it hasn't really hit retail yet. It looks like dealers are going to get soaked, if you can just wait longer. Their current oversupply will have to be sold somehow, and it will take price cuts to make it happen.

[MacNNFamous]

Cost of replacing the entire engine and continuing to drive it is likely less than buying another new thing and the depreciation hit. I could afford to replace the engine on any of my cars, several times, and still be ahead vs buying a new car.

[andi*pandi]

I have yet to buy a new car, but when old cars prices are close to new, that's wild. You have the great advantage of being able to do all the work!

The repair bill for the shop up north cost less than the price of a new tank here in MA, but was still ~ 1/4 the blue book value of the car.

[MacNNFamous]

Stop looking at blue book tho. That only matters if you're selling it. You're already way underwater on it, might as well ride it out and keep it on the road.

Getting something else newer = massive depreciation. It costs you more. I made a lot of money last year, my daily is still a $3000 shitbox with 300,000 miles. I'm driving it til it dies. If it dies.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Eh, let me provide an alternate viewpoint. Your used car has probably actually appreciated and will never be worth more, and that will likely change within six months. Dealer repair visits come in waves and will probably increase in frequency, whereas a new car will require nothing but occasional servicing. You don’t service your own car. And new vehicles are amazing in comparison to 15-yo cars and you’ll feel amazing and wonder how you ever got along without wireless CarPlay.

I pick up a new GMC Canyon in a couple weeks. Haha can’t wait

[Laminar]

There's a subset of people that work on cars that don't have the awareness to realize that for most people, car repairs are an expensive, time-consuming disruption that messes up kid dropoff and pickup, getting to work on time, running necessary errands and more. A car payment is insurance against all of that happening, as saving a couple hundred bucks isn't worth it to lose your job or have your kids late for school or miss practice. My POS daily has 286,000 on it and in three years I count 21 maintenance or repair items that the average person would have needed to take to the dealer to do at the cost of many thousands of dollars. For the most part they were a piece of cake for me in the driveway, plus I have a spare car if I need to run for parts or get the kids somewhere or get myself somewhere.

The best article I've seen on this is by someone who usually has really bad takes, and even in this article he ironically demonstrates that he understands the concept of privilege but is wholly blinded by conservative media's propaganda. That being said it's a great explanation of how owning and repair cheap cars is a good idea for a very small subset of people.

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...ich-cheap-car/

[andi*pandi]

That is an interesting article and there is truth to the opportunity cost of repair - being down to one car, in a 3 driver household, is not great. Luckily I am still working from home for the most part.

I've driven old cars and definitely getting my money's worth for years after bank payoff gives a lot of satisfaction. Subaru1 topped 300k, but toward the end, every drive was a gamble that something would break. As a young poor person that was a gamble I had to take, that I don't need to now. Combusting or franticly pumping brakes when all the fluid has leaked out, does not appeal. Subaru4 only has <150k (short commute, other vehicle for trips, pandemic) but so far this year I have replaced brake lines, exhaust parts, and am probably due for that fun timing belt or clutch. All repairs in MA seem to average 2k apiece.

Kid2 wants to learn stick shift though so I'll hold out for a while longer.

[MacNNFamous]

Still cheaper than a new car depreciation hit.

Here is a better article:
https://www.suzeorman.com/blog/Remem...-You-Buy-a-Car

[dav]

I'm starting to get new car fever... my car is running great (2008 g35x) but after 15+ years I'd like some new features and a more comfortable driving sedan for long road trips. The Infiniti, after about an hour on the road, can get fatiguing. Not this year though.

[MacNNFamous]

What's fatiguing about it? I thought those were pretty good highway cruisers.

For new features, I just added a car play stereo my van, and man... I have everything I could want in my dash now; car play, waze, music, back up camera, etc etc etc.

[dav]

I think I'm just getting old, looking at retirement in maybe five years?
It's the road noise, and stiffer suspension, seats are average. Around town, it's a lot a fun still (although the transmission is kind of slow). Cosmetically the interior dash is starting to break down, and the paint they used on the steering wheel/arm rests have been flaking. A/C initially has a musty smell. I think those are the only complaints. It's been solid otherwise, just had to replace both front bearings a few years ago, and a coolant hose.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I don’t understand the obsession with “depreciation hit”. It’s the cost of a vehicle; it’s not an investment per se. There’s not much in this world that a consumer buys that increases in value, except for land or weird niche & rare items. Computers and TVs and phones and bikes and boats and Legos and wrenches and books depreciate once you buy them new. It is known.

[MacNNFamous]

Originally Posted by dav 

I think I'm just getting old, looking at retirement in maybe five years?
It's the road noise, and stiffer suspension, seats are average. Around town, it's a lot a fun still (although the transmission is kind of slow). Cosmetically the interior dash is starting to break down, and the paint they used on the steering wheel/arm rests have been flaking. A/C initially has a musty smell. I think those are the only complaints. It's been solid otherwise, just had to replace both front bearings a few years ago, and a coolant hose.

I can't help you with material break downs, but musty smell in the AC is your fault. Basically, if you run your AC hard, all the way to your house, and turn the car off, those AC components in your dash are still super cold... and when you turn the car off, they get condensation, which starts to accumulate mold/mildew creating that musty smell.

This is true of every single car ever made, ever.

The fix is to use your AC as you are doing today, but BEFORE you get to your destination, roll your windows down, turn the AC off, and turn the fan on full blast. This will blow air across the super cold components and warm them up so they don't get condensation.

[MacNNFamous]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

I don’t understand the obsession with “depreciation hit”. It’s the cost of a vehicle; it’s not an investment per se. There’s not much in this world that a consumer buys that increases in value, except for land or weird niche & rare items. Computers and TVs and phones and bikes and boats and Legos and wrenches and books depreciate once you buy them new. It is known.

Because it's avoidable.

Buy new $40k car, drive off lot, it's worth 35. 3 years later it's worth maybe 25k. 10 years later it's worth... 10-15? If you add up how much money that is, per year of use, it's a lot.

I bought a used Honda in 2013 for $3k. I still have it. I've put 100k on it. It's still worth 3k. I've had to do the front control arms, wheel bearings, and one temp sensor.

My girlfriends VW was purchased for $4500. It's required some work over the past 7 years, but nothing crazy. It's still worth $4500.

In any event, if EITHER of these cars completely grenaded their engine, AND TRANS, it would be cheaper to replace the entire drivetrain multiple times vs buying a brand new car.

[reader50]

Rob, that reasoning only applies if you plan to sell a car while it's still young. If you buy what you want, and drive it until it dies, depreciation never matters.

I have yet to sell a car. All my past cars eventually went to junkyard heaven.