Retirement Cars

[travelover]

Around here the retiree car of choice is a 10 year old Crown Victoria. Be sure to get the power seat so you can see over the steering wheel when you get really old.

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 I own a 1994 chevy cavalier with 100k that the transmission is going out on. The engine is good and does not burn any oil. Should I have the transmission rebuilt or should I get another used car? Which used cars are cheap to run in retirement? What have you had good luck with that is cheap?

It depends on
1) the cost of repairing the transmission,
2) other foreseeable repairs,
2) how long will it last after the repairs?

We have pretty good luck with our Toyota cars: 98 Camry and 00 Corolla. If we had to replace them, we would consider the newer models (96 - 98).

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs0460a Picked up an '05 Caddy SRX with 35K on eBay a few months ago. Original list at $55k. I got it at bid $20k. Was purchased from a Caddy dealer (off lease, at 35k) with a 6 year bumper to bumper warranty (till Nov 2010).

I think this is a great car for someone who drives little. Luxurious, very safe, beautiful-and cheap! Besides all this, the Caddy dealer will almost get you a hooker just for bringing it in for service.

Ha

[rs0460a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha the Caddy dealer will almost get you a hooker just for bringing it in for service. Ha

You must own a Caddy, since you know about this "value added service"

- Ron

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem Joe Sixpack seems to have an emotional attachment to that 2002 Suburban and believes he'll find a buyer to eek out that extra $500 in sale price. No stats to back that up, just based on looking at the newspaper ads.

During our shopping we learned that individual buyers are also having a heckuva time coming up with the cash.

HELOC or not, there are a lot more buyers who can scrounge a six-year car loan than cough up a $20K cashier's check.

This month, as the summer moving season cranks up, there are dozens of sub-$2000 cars on Hawaii's Craigslist. Even if we put our '94 Taurus wagon up for $1495 I'm not sure it's gonna sell. Anyone want any good used parts?

[bobbee25]

Honda's hydrogen
Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Official Web Site

[samclem]

Here we go again. Hydrogen= the "solution" that solves no problems, and does it worse than present solutions.

But, there will no doubt be tax credits coming.

We need a bumper sticker: Hydrogen: The New Corn Ethanol

The New Atlantis » The Hydrogen Hoax

[bobbee25]

You should let Honda know, they appear to be past the development stage and have started limited production. I guess their engineers aren't too sharp.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbee25 You should let Honda know, they appear to be past the development stage and have started limited production. I guess their engineers aren't too sharp.

You're right. Apparently those clever devils have repealed the laws of thermodynamics. I notice that there are no plans to actually sell these cars, but you can inquire about the potential to reserve the option to get a place in line to get an application to eventually consult further about the process needed to maybe lease the vehicle.

Three things come to mind:
- Public relations vs. real product
- GM Impact electric car reprise
- "Vaporware"

[FANOFJESUS]

Thanks everyone I had the oil and filter changed for $53 and that seemed to help alot. I am going to trying and keep it as long as I can. Maybe I can get a few more years out of it.

[AltaRed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 Thanks everyone I had the oil and filter changed for $53 and that seemed to help alot. I am going to trying and keep it as long as I can. Maybe I can get a few more years out of it.

I am surprised the tranny was even working by this time (14 years and 100k miles without a fluid change??).

Regular fluid changes (engine oil, tranny, anti-freeze) are the cheapest preventative maintenance going. Hope it holds up for you.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AltaRed Regular fluid changes (engine oil, tranny, anti-freeze) are the cheapest preventative maintenance going.

As I said, serviced every 3,000 miles, a vehicle with only 100k miles on the odometer is still "new."

[windsurf]

The '04 Prius I gave to my daughter with 90k plus on it last year now has toward 110k and is still running like a clock. The body is in A1 condition even here in our rust belt climate. I have an '07 and we drive it everywhere leaving my wife's suv in the garage as much as possible. In the warm months, I am getting a little over 50 mpg whereas her suv gets barely 20 mpg. At this rate her car will last 20 years.

[FinanceDude]

When the Honda FCX is affordable, I'll get one......

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd As I said, serviced every 3,000 miles, a vehicle with only 100k miles on the odometer is still "new."

Yup. My regularly serviced Subaru has 129k on it and still runs pretty much like it always has. The pounding has taken a bit of a toll on the body, especially nicks in the paint job from stuff kicked up by trucks on I95.

[Marquette]

Accord with 74k miles on it... I keep up with maintenance and it drives like it's new. Then again, it's an '06 so it should.

[bayfritz]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an interesting study here:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd...006/809952.pdf

Looks to be 152,137 lifetime miles for passenger cars and 179,954 for light trucks. If you believe that sorta stuff.

[Westernskies]

I have been gritting my teeth reading thru the responses to this post. Never have I seen such a Nippon love-fest. We do still have a domestic auto industry folks, and they are turning out a decent product. Don’t just take my word for it- go look !

I may be an anachronism in this age of enlightenment, but I still firmly believe in “Buy American”

The big three are struggling, no doubt – some of it self-inflicted, but the biggest problem is subsidized imports. The loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs (auto, supply chain, steel, engineering, etc.) is a serious threat to our long term economic well-being. Manufacturing is what built the US economy. (look at what is going on in China, Mexico, India, etc today) I have traveled extensively around the world selling specialized manufacturing machinery, and have observed first-hand how desperate developing countries are to get their products into our market, while simultaneously shielding their domestic market from US imports. Our open-door trade policies are too one-sided, and are eroding the backbone of our long-term economic well-being.

I realize that the Japanese automakers are now “building” cars here- but only to appease the uninformed consumer-primarily with imported parts manufactured in low-cost labor markets. Pouring our hard-earned money into the Japanese (or Korean or Chinese) auto economy isn’t doing a damn thing to help grow the US economy, fund our ever-increasing social programs, or ensure your retirement benefits will be viable over your lifetime.

When your neighbor loses his job because you bought a new Japanese car, who pays his unemployment benefits? Who makes up for the $ he isn’t paying in SS, Medicare, Federal, and State payroll taxes? Who picks up the tab when he defaults on his mortgage, credit cards and quits paying his car insurance? Sure as heck isn’t the folks who brought you the Prius or the Accord. It is you and me, people.

Until the US consumer wakes up and realizes we need to support our own manufacturing economy first, they better hope that Honda and Toyota are going to step in and take care of their kids retirement programs- because an economy based on us selling hamburgers to one another isn’t sustainable over time.

You can’t evaluate a new car purchase strictly with your computer- go test drive a new Chevy, Ford, or Dodge product. Objectively compare it with the imports. You will be surprised how far the US automakers have come- The new Malibu is a case in point-competition is a good thing- buy something with an extended warranty if that gives you sense of financial security. There are some tremendous deals to be had right now- as in rebates, 0% financing, etc. Quit listening to 10 year-old rhetoric from your latte-slurping liberal yuppie neighbors about how they will never buy a US car, blah-blah, blah.
Gee, that poor old Cavalier only lasted 15 years… And I venture to say that many of the people driving imports haven’t objectively compared a US-made product recently.

All that being said, I do have a BMW Z3 convertible for a weekend car- it was manufactured in South Carolina, and I bought it USED. My primary vehicle- which I will buy new when my 1997 F-150 needs replacement will be something from the Big Three. And just so you don't think this post is all Japan -bashing, I did evaluate USED Miata and Honda 2000 convertibles- but alas, they were built offshore, and were a POS compared to the BMW.

Invest in America- we are still the greatest country on Earth.

[brewer12345]

Oh please. How much of the parts content of the big 3 (meaning GM, Ford and Xler, not Toyota, GM and Ford) vehicles is domestic, vs. the Asian and Euro brands? How quickly have the US makers outsourced everything, bought as much as they could from foreign suppliersand shifted as much work as possible to non-unionized suppliers/plants?

I always do comparison shop domestic makes vs. the non-US brands when I buy. I've owned a Ford and a Chevy, as well as a Toyota, a Honda anda Subaru. I would consider the best choice for my needs regardless of brand when I next need a vehicle. But I suspect I will end up buying a non-US make, since the likelihood of Ford or GM offering what I need are pretty slim, seeing as how they are still mostly locked in the "giant truck" business model.

[Abreutime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwonderfulwyoming Until the US consumer wakes up and realizes we need to support our own manufacturing economy first, they better hope that Honda and Toyota are going to step in and take care of their kids retirement programs- because an economy based on us selling hamburgers to one another isn’t sustainable over time. ... Invest in America- we are still the greatest country on Earth.

Can you explain to me why it is important that the US is the leader in manufacturing all products? Is it ok to have computers or t-shirts made abroad as long as cars are made domestically? Why is the car industry special? The way I see it, I purchase the goods that are good quality and competitively priced, and I don't worry where the company that makes them is located.

Currently, the US car industry has very large retirement programs that make it difficult for them to offer the lowest prices. I think you'll find the people on this board are very meritocratic, and do not make purchases/investments based on emotional appeals. I'll "invest in America" when I see products worthy of my money.