Cars should easily last 35 years?

I see a lot of this as I travel. I swear this dude bought this car brand new and has kept it running. Who needs a new car anyway?

Disclaimer: We were traveling at a crawl through Indianapolis yesterday as I took the pictures.

yeah why not? i have a 1987 van that my dad bought new and it's still running. It's less rusty than that car there, too. Made it from wisconsin to the east coast while overloaded without a single problem. It just takes a little TLC and preventative maintenace.

that crazy old guy probably paid off his house 30 years ago and hasn't had a car payment since the mid 70's.. doesn't he know that by not buying a new car every 3 years and taking out second mortgages to buy Jet Skis and what not that he is helping the terrorists win? oh, and it's his fault that GM had to declare bankruptcy and get bailed out by the government..

Cars should easily last 35 years?

I'd say the turd in question is the exception, not the rule (73 LeMans???)

novaderrik wrote: that crazy old guy probably paid off his house 30 years ago and hasn't had a car payment since the mid 70's.. doesn't he know that by not buying a new car every 3 years and taking out second mortgages to buy Jet Skis and what not that he is helping the terrorists win? oh, and it's his fault that GM had to declare bankruptcy and get bailed out by the government..

And he probobly doesn't even know what MTV is. How unpatriotic can he get?

Rust and collision damage are the only real enemies of a well maintained modern car.

Everything else can be fixed, although the economic realities of doing so are often a bitter pill to swallow.

The vast majority of cars die from neglect, almost none from wear.

In reply to bludroptop: I'd say thats true. I can't wait to see the cars made today in 20 years or so, like Mercedes S class sedans for instance; cracked display screens, no funtioning electronics, been out of alignment for 10 years looking tires, no climate control. It should be interesting to see how they look.

Heh, my "new" car is 20 years old in 2011.

My daily driver will be able to wear antique tags in January.

racinginc215 wrote: Buick Century

shpanks.

I think most modern cars will be in the junkyard in 15-20 years because the owners can't afford the $5K-$10K in needed control units. The body and interior will probably still be perfect.

My parents still have the '91 Nissan 240SX that they purchased brand-new 20 years ago. I took it for a spin--not bad at all.

There's a guy I see often on my daily commute who drives a '71 Pontiac GTO. In Minnesota. It's a little rusty around the edges but it's still going strong. My own daily drivers are an '86 BMW M535i and an '89 325iX, I figure on driving them both for the next decade at least.

hell, even the "simple" cars being built today have overly complicated control systems that will cost an arm and a leg to replace. even 5 or less year old nissan xterras are having the IPDM, or Intelligent Power Distribution Module, that basically replaces the voltage regulator, but is way more complicated and less reliable. when they go out, the dash lights up like a christmas tree and eventually the truck starts shutting off at random times. only place to get them is the dealer and they're 6-800 bucks

My pop DDs a 69 VW and is loving it. I could rebuild the whole car for less than half a new car too.

Our daily drivers are an '87 Alfa Milano and an '89 MBz 190E.

my "newest" is 10... the others are 16 and 20

71 MGB GT and 84 300D here. One reason I love this site, even though I'm just an OK auto-x'er, not really into motorsports and only a so-so mechanic is that everyone here shares the sick sense of pride in keeping a car running and enjoying it, aside from any marque specificity.

i'm at one new car only a year old, and one older than me at 24 years. I would guess it'll be cheaper to mainain an old car at advanced age than a car currently being made when it is 24 years old. My old van will never need any sort of screen replaced, no computers to go wrong, etc... but all of the mechanical parts are extremely cheap by comparison to new cars. I had a u-joint replaced and the oil changed, total bill was $150. What new car would be that cheap? People say it's too expensive to keep an old car running, but other than maintanence (like brake pads, oil changes) i probobly dump less than $300 into my van every couple years. my new car payment in 6 months could keep my van running for another couple decades.

My cars are all 20, well except the Mighty Dak which is around 15. If it wasn't for the bloody salt up here, cars would last a lot longer.

Ahh yes, the beauty of a proper, RWD platform.

Unit repair is great. I can fix just the engine, just the transmission or just the drive axle as needed.

None of this "remove engine and transmission to access glovebox" crap.

ALL of my vehicles are over 14 years old and the majority are over 25.

My DD is a 1982 Corolla, I have a 48 chevy, 57 and 58 Pontiacs, a '67 MG Midget and a few 1980 Firebirds. The wife owns a 1970 Lincoln and a 1996 F-150.

Steel cars with simple mechanicals are infinitely repairable.

Shawn

Up until about 1990, my DD was a '67 Pontiac with a quarter million miles on it. I still have it and it would easily clear 300k if I ever drove it regularly.

DD: 91 Integra 336,000 miles. Bacup DD: 87 Civic 130,000 miles.

What's kind of scary/funny, is that I think I'll eventually have to get something older in order to have something I can keep for 30 years. Something I can still find parts/whole motors for. Sadly, 1st gen crx/3g civic stuff is drying up. It used to be (I'm talkin' a couple years ago) that I could find a head or a block or a whole motor in an afternoon. Not so much anymore. A turbo slant-six 4-door dart is sounding better and better all the time as an "all-around" fun DD.

If the motor lets go on the integra tomorrow, I can still find parts easily. But I'm wondering what it'll be like in 10 years.

That car isn't even close to "old".

slantvaliant wrote: That car isn't even close to "old".

you rarely see daily drivers like these in the midwestern snow belt. Salt eats them away......although this one is still holding up. Paint looks to be original?