I am still working on my 72 Chevelle wagon and can't wait to start driving it. My 1994 Toyota pickup is starting to get a little tired. She has several years left in her, but after that, I don't know. I am retired and have no plans of going back to work. I enjoy working on my wagon and my 64 Chevy van. But when my truck finally gives up, I certainly will not be able to afford a new $38,000 vehicle, or much less a $20,000 used vehicle. Being single with only a retirement check doesn't leave much room for adding to my savings account. So since I have the Chevelle wagon that is rustfree, it will likely one day become my daily driver. By the time I am through with it's restoration, I'll have less than $4,500 into it. It's value will continue to rise with each passing year and since it has a strong solid body, any service or repair on it will be nickles on a dollar compared to the repairs on todays cars. These pre-computer operated cars will get us coast to coast, border to border with nothing that can go wrong that can't be purchased at the nearest AutoZone or Advance Auto. Sure it will cost more in gas to drive a 4,000 lb. vehicle that gets 17 mpg on the road, but it will take a long time to offset the difference in the cost of a newer vehicle. A car note on a new car of $450.00 a month, is $5400.00 a year. My wagon will not cost me a dime to drive after I am finished. And it's funny that, here you are sitting at a red light and a guy pulls up beside you in his brand new F-150, Dodge 300, or his Navigator and gives you a 'Thumbs Up' and yells out the window, "Love your car man". Kind of makes you feel 'fuzzy' on the inside.
As I read your post I had to re-check the author, because the train of logic looks like something StorminNorman would've written. I look at it this way, if I had/have $30K (or whatever) to spend on a vehicle, I would rather spend $3K on the car, and have $27k left to work with. You can build alotta car with that kind of scratch. Or, how many miles can I go for the amount of money I spend on a vehicle over it's lifetime? Looking at it that way I would rather spend that extra $$ on gasoline!
I am a firm believer in that logic. When you consider the monthly payment, full coverage insurance and fuel, you are ultimately getting ripped off. MPG is almost irrelevant; its monthly/yearly cost of ownership that counts.
Completly true. Other kids im my school go out and buy new mustangs and sports cars right off the line, then pick on me for my wagon. yet at the same time because of the year im paying a heck of alot less for insurance than they are. Even with 16mpg im still comming out on top.
We're a team here, in the 'Peg. Almost like Swarzenneger's Twins movie. He's taller. I'm the lowrider - close to the ground.
RockAuto website has a page where you can get comparison of what would you pay for the parts to do maintenance on two cars. I plugged my wifes 2003 Volvo and my 1970 Chevy wagon and it turns out that Volvo is 2.51 times more expensive to maintain Love my wagon.
i luv the Rockauto site....those comparisons are enuff to make you never buy a new car !! and...i walk out every morning between my cars and run my fingers down them and say Good mornin to them....friends think im nutz
I say burn rice for quick stop and go commuting type driving, and cruise the boat at all other times.
License tags for a new car in Mississippi can be as high as $800 a year. My 94 Toyota pickup is around $33.00 a year. My 72 Chevelle wagon has 'Antique Plates' which is a one time charge of $50.00 and they are good as long as you own the car. No more license fees, no road taxes or assested value taxes, or annual registration fees. Basically, no more visits to the DMV to stand in line. A yearly inspection sticker is still required. A buddy of mine has a 64 Chevy pick up as his daily driver and is his only vehicle. He keeps it up and it runs like a top on it's original 283 engine. He goes everywhere in it. He goes on 2 or 3 vacations a year that require driving over 400 miles each way. For this, he rents a Cadillac and sits back in comfort. I asked why not take the truck and he said, "I don't want to wear it out". So I guess renting a luxury car 2 or 3 times a year for an extented roadtrip and saving your classic, is not such a bad idea.
