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Features Frugally Living With Old Shit

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Feb 18, 2020.

  1. Dutch 1960
    Joined: Nov 3, 2018
    Posts: 13

    Dutch 1960

    '90s pickup trucks are the way to go, IMHO. Chev, GM, Dodge, or the old body style early '90s Fords. Auto, A/C, and you can carry home parts or pull a flatbed trailer. Tough as nails, not too much plastic. Case in point, my '99 Dodge shorty, bought with 100k miles a couple of years ago out of CL, cherry, $3,800. 360 and the SLT package. The downsides are mileage (12 to 15) and you get to learn how to diagnose electronics. OBD and noid tools. Multimeters. Shop manuals. The old "change out the plugs, and set the points and the timing" doesn't work any more. So far, so good, but the electronics is a whole new game. OTOH, a comfortable Dodge pickup that starts and runs every time is a nice thing. I've got plans for it when it's no longer a DD. Either the back comes down or the front goes up. Right now, the factory rake looks pretty good.
     
  2. Full coverage insurance and taxes suck on them new cars. Yeah momma has a new one, but i drive junk. Id rather spend that money on the things i enjoy. I just bought a new bed, like to sleep on lol, $4000, but if you think about it, i spend a lot more time in it every day than i do my vehicle. So why pay more for a car? My little S10 gets me everywhere, makes me money hauling parts and windshields, and it gets good gas mileage, paid $1900 for it :D
     
    Ron Funkhouser likes this.
  3. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    Lately I've been driving modern cars most of the time, but I still enjoy a nice punishing thousands of mile journey in some old pile or other. Just because I can.

    Where you live, where you have to drive to regularly, how old you're getting, what it takes to keep mom happy, how many miles you've racked up in uncomfortable old cars, all plays into it. You gotta do what you gotta do.

    My brother still only owns old cars. I'm getting jealous. Sort of....
     
  4. One of the best was a 68 f100. Paid $200. Sold the engine for $150. Dropped a used 302 freebie I had in it. traded a free vette hood for a new radiator and rebuilt the brakes.
    Drove it a couple years and traded the body for the labor for wiring my home shop.
    The radiator is in my bus, the 302 is in ride #3.
     
    6-bangertim likes this.
  5. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    We played the new car game for years. Then they got so expensive we said no more, we went to used. Now, I have no need for a new daily driver since I’m in the semi all time, my 99 F150 4x4 does me fine. 130,000 miles on it when I bought it, have only put about 4000 miles on it in 4 years.

    The wife drives more than I do, so she gets a dependable SUV. The one we had before this one got rear ended and totaled out, I paid $3500 for it, we drove it for 4 years, put 150,000 miles on it, and still got $3000 from the insurance when they paid off! Current SUV is a 05 Expy, had 130,000 on it, paid $4500, two years later it has 162,000 on it. I buy 10 year old stuff, drive it a few years, then get rid of it and do it again. Has saved me a ton of money over the years.

    Short trips around here I hop in the Lincoln or her Firebird unless I have to haul something, then the pickup gets the nod. When I retire in a couple of years, the old stuff will get driven even more. We don’t get the salt and snow, so it’s possible to drive them almost all year. But then, I probably won’t have anywhere to go!
     
  6. gene-koning
    Joined: Oct 28, 2016
    Posts: 4,040

    gene-koning
    Member

    We have always had old beaters. Usually, the beater my wife drove was in pretty good shape. In 2005, my wife bought herself a 2004 PT Cruiser, and she is still driving it. That little heap has been a pretty good little car. It has somewhere around 130K miles on it now, it will be a pile of rust before the drive train gives up, and I figure that will be in 4-5 years.
    About 20 years ago I started building rides for me to drive, because it was more cost effective. I'd pick up a decent body, buy a donor ride for the drive train, put new disc brakes on them, and drive them until I got bored (4 or 5 years), that started the process all over again. When the new ride was roadworthy, the old one was sold, usually for more then it cost to build. The coupe was a different direction, I started with a donor and bought a body to throw onto the donor chassis. Yes, it has fuel injection, a computer, disc brakes, and rack & pinion steering. Yes, it gets 17 mpg in town, and around 20-22 on the highway (for the record, the PT only gets 24 highway). We have put 60k miles on the coupe in the last 7 years, we take it on vacation. I don't carry many tools, but do have a AAA card, and a spare computer. The car has been flat reliable and its the only thing I drive 9 months out of the year (unless we need seating for more then 2 people). When I don't drive the coupe, I drive beater cheap trucks (or the PT).
    I picked up a 49 Dodge pickup late last fall. It will get a modern 4x4 chassis with a fuel injected motor, and it will be my winter driver and will share driving time with the coupe. I think the coupe and the 49 truck will be the best of both worlds. Old classic sheet metal and a drive train I can drive any time and any where. Gene
     
    ffr1222k, 41 GMC K-18 and trollst like this.
  7. Tri-power37
    Joined: Feb 10, 2019
    Posts: 510

    Tri-power37
    Member

    In my 30 + years of adult life my daily drivers have always been 10 - 15 year old high end European cars that nobody else wants to own. BMW , Volvo , Mercedes you can buy them for 5 -10 cents on the dollar for what they cost new and I’ve always had good luck with most of them. Sure there is always 3 or 10 things wrong with them - some I ignore - some I fix.

    I don’t have any love and respect for them like I do my old cars if they blow up in any serious way I just throw them away and get another. Save my money for more important things.
     
    57JoeFoMoPar likes this.
  8. 4 pedals
    Joined: Oct 8, 2009
    Posts: 958

    4 pedals
    Member
    from Nor Cal

    My daily is an 18 year old import car, with 225k on it. I drive it 4 days a week typically and our old Suburban the other day just to keep it going. 50 miles a day, year round. I'd love to daily my 64 Camino, but at the range of 12-13 mpg, I just can't justify it. My 70 F100 is more reliable than the rain, but it's even more thirsty and I don't need a truck to haul most of the time. My wife drives a 10 year old Challenger that we bought used a few years ago for cash, and she loves it. I do worry about how much longer I will get out of my current daily, would like to find something simple and inexpensive that gets good mileage. Chevy II's and Falcons aren't cheap used cars any more.

    Devin
     
  9. Wavetrain75
    Joined: Jan 22, 2020
    Posts: 31

    Wavetrain75

    My wife bought a used Ford Edge in September, figuring new retail vs what we paid, it lost value at a rate of 85 cents per mile. I must admit that little twin turbo V6 is hoot.
     
  10. I've never financed anything but the house and never bought anything new. My newest car was in high school ('73 and it was '86) and the g/f just purchased a newer car for herself (2007 with 185k) for those days where she isn't driving the Lark. I did drive my '60 Elco for about 10 years (my only car) and drove my '64 panel daily in traffic. The '64 was warm during summer and I did have to do more maintenance but sooooooooo worth it.

    A couple of things that made it easier for me was I don't have children, my g/f is cheap like me (and likes old stuff), we live in no snow Ca. and my lust of old cars out weighs any common sense. But then like I said before, to me the "hobby" is my job....this old car thing is my life. I thoroughly enjoy working on them (even a breakdown on the side of the road), driving them and smelling them :). Some months I enjoy driving them vs working on them....but they're still intertwined in my life. It's like the Twilight Zone episode where the old man thinks he'll die if the grandfather clock stops moving.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2020
    6-bangertim and williebill like this.
  11. realsteeler
    Joined: Mar 30, 2012
    Posts: 38

    realsteeler
    Member

    I am still driving my 1982 c10 which I've had for 27 trouble fee years. In 700,000 miles, I've seen many new computerised wonders broken on the side of the road. Makes me happiness filled.
     
    6-bangertim and rusty valley like this.
  12. Well... then you need TWO cars, ONE is NONE when it craps out.
     
    belair likes this.
  13. 20160228_145336.jpg The other day when I dropped the trash off at the local dumpster, {recycling station}. I was driving our 56 Nomad. The attendant there said that I shouldn't be hauling my trash in it. I told him it's just an old car, and a driver. He said that I was crazy! { his words } lol I do have a plastic HVAC drain pan that I keep in the back for hauling. I also have one in our 34 delivery too. Old cars are just that.{ CARS }, and they are meant to be driven, They're really only good, if you use them. Our old Nomad is a pretty dependable driver. But it does need new glass, interior etc. But with the newly rebuilt 350 Chevy. I'm hoping to use it as my daily driver. I have seatbelts in it also. So I feel it's safe for taking the grandkids too. I don't do any city traffic or interstates. So that makes it much easier also. At least hope to drive it every day that the weather isn't crappy. Old Cars are much more fun than the boring late models. But I understand why we need too. Ron.....
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2020
  14. Mike51Merc
    Joined: Dec 5, 2008
    Posts: 3,856

    Mike51Merc
    Member

    I'll never buy a new car again, not because of the payment, but because of depreciation. My last new car was 2003 and I still have it. Since then, good used cars direct from owners, paid with cash, and maintained/repaired by myself.

    I joke that I am the custodian of a fleet of aging vehicles. Seven registered cars in the family, two of them as spares in the event one or two DDs need repairs (it has happened). All in, for less than the cost of one monthly payment on a new car. My garage is outfitted to handle most repairs and maintenance, and the internet finds me diagnostic help and parts at better prices & availability than the stores. I can't do it forever, but for now, the system works.
     
  15. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    I think this is the key to frugality with modern cars. Let someone else take the big depreciation hit, and buy it when it's cheap but still has a lot of life left in it. Modern cars are pretty darn economical when they're between 100k and 200k miles on the clock. Before that, they depreciate a lot, and also cost a lot to insure and register (although this depends on where you live, etc). After that, they get unreliable, and they have a whole bunch of crazy things that are expensive/PITA to fix.

    The other thing about old cars is the gas mileage. I guess you might be able to get decent mileage out of some of them, but mine always seem to be in the 7-12 mpg range, while the modern cars are more in the 18-30 range. How this affects you depends on how many miles you drive, but you can spend a lot on gas if you take a long trip or two or three every year, or have a long daily commute, in something old.
     
  16. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    30 years ago I took out a loan to get a 2 year old truck,if I could get a 2 year old truck for the same money I might do it again but they are 3 times more expensive and a house payment is enough.
     
    Ron Funkhouser likes this.
  17. I daily a loaded Toyota 4Runner. I like having something to daily that I don't have to think about too often, is comfortable, and is good in bad weather. Old cars are just a hobby. Cars in general, I like more than just old stuff. I've been fortunate in life and while we're far from rich, the wife and I are comfortable. We probably spend too much, but if all the other men in my family are an indication, I won't live long enough to really worry about retirement money. Maybe I'll live to regret saying that, who knows. She'll make out with the insurance though!! Can't take it with you I suppose.
     
    Tri-power37 likes this.
  18. fordcoupeguy
    Joined: Apr 26, 2014
    Posts: 172

    fordcoupeguy
    Member

    A new car is the worst investment you can make. For me,I like the 70s and 80s cars because of the smooth ride. I have a bad back and you just cant get the ride out of the newer smaller cars.
     
  19. Beanscoot
    Joined: May 14, 2008
    Posts: 3,053

    Beanscoot
    Member

    This is what the USA looked like before they invented Urban Sprawl:

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    You just can't drive an old car year 'round in Wisconsin, the road salt is brutal. My $300 beater looks like a powdered donut and the body work is popping off like scabs from a burn victim. I've put 50K miles on it already though, that kind of return on investment would be tough to beat. Even 3-4K for a late model used car seems like a ton to me. That $300 car has A/C and power everything and is quite comfortable, spending anything beyond that just feels like showing off.

    Really though, if you're willing to keep up with the constant maintenance, old everything is the frugal way to live. Old houses and buildings, furniture and appliances, even computers and clothes. Buy them second-hand when they've depreciated and make them last as long as possible.
     
    mnjeff, Tri-power37 and rusty valley like this.
  21. But again it depends on what you have to use your car for. If you have to call on customers in you car rolling up in a clapped out $300 piece of shit is not the first impression you would want to make and you better "show off" more than that. It's like going to a business meeting in your sweats.

    Sent from my SM-G950W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    Speedy Canuck likes this.
  22. Finn Jensen
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 675

    Finn Jensen
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I've got one too, model year 2002. I bought it in 2002 and have put 248K miles on it since. It is extremely dependable with only very minor repair issues over the last 18 years. I have been using it to pull my old Ford (Avatar) on a 16' open trailer to drag strips around the midwest, and it has done well for being V-6 powered. But I'm now on the hunt for a vintage pickup truck with ample horsepower to pull more comfortably at higher speeds over long distances.
     
    Mr. Sinister likes this.
  23. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    "Vintage pickup" and "more comfortable" seem to be mutually exclusive terms. Good luck in your search.
     
    dana barlow likes this.
  24. The old car versus new car as a DD debate has always intrigued me. Lots of guys talk about buying cheap old cars with wracked up miles, putting some more miles on them, and not caring less. However, nobody ever really mentions what their yearly milage is, how far their commute is, or whether they can afford to miss a day of work if their clunker lets them down.
    Myself, I average about 22,000 miles (35,000 kms) a year. I also live in a rust belt climate where -4F is common in the winter, and +90F is common in the summer.
    I work in the finance industry, self employed. Unfortunately, in the finance world at least, many individuals directly correlate the image you present with their trust in you and your ability to do the job. Showing up late or dripping oil stains in the driveway of a clients house are not options in my world. Missing a day of work because my car broke down has a direct impact on my income.
    I'd love to daily drive an old vehicle. In the past, I have (albeit always with the backup of a modern regular car available if needed). Yes, to an extent there is a cycle of needing to work more to cover the payment of a modern daily driver. However, lifestyle and necessity is an important factor in the decision. Lost earnings as a result of breakdowns and repairs would significantly offset the cost difference between modern and old in my world.
     
    Truckdoctor Andy and K13 like this.
  25. Something to chew on,

    Being 40, I'm in the "old enough to know better, but still to young to care" mode. My wife's 15 Explorer is paid off, my 16 F-150 is almost paid off, and we literally max out every retirement/savings account we can. When the truck is paid off, I'll only have the house. No credit cards, car payments, nothing except the rebuild of the T-Bucket.

    With that being said, I have learned that I will never have the patience and talent to build a car like most of you do. What I have done, is put myself in a financial position to finance some toys. I'm fine with financing a badass HAMB era car, but the same principles apply. Low interest rate, and the ability to pay it off early with no penalties. Just got to get the wife to buy off on the idea, and then its clear sailing:)

    Mike
     
    6-bangertim and Ron Funkhouser like this.
  26. That and my time is worth something to me. I am not to spend my evenings and weekends keeping a piece of shit car on the road to save a few bucks.
     
  27. Mike, I'm only speaking for myself. No one loves old cars more than I do. But being married, and your wanting a HAMB friendly old car as a daily driver. I wouldn't borrow money for one. If you can make a payment. Just make it to yourself. Look for a car that has long history with it's owner. Not one that just being fliped. Keep in mind older cars do need to be worked on more often. I would try to keep it as a hobby first. Then if you find that's working. Try useing it as a daily driver. If that works for ya, then great. I try to keep my wife happy. Just say'en what works for me. Ron.......
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2020
    Squablow likes this.
  28. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    I have to be frugal with everything in my life.
     
    dana barlow likes this.
  29. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    I don't have to be, but I am anyways. Old habits die hard.
     
    6-bangertim, dana barlow and Baumi like this.
  30. dana barlow
    Joined: May 30, 2006
    Posts: 5,115

    dana barlow
    Member
    from Miami Fla.
    1. Y-blocks

    I've never owned a new car,at 77 now ,it's not likely I ever will an have no want for one!.
    My first ever car with AC,was a wreck given to me from my Aunt,it was 10 year old car she crashed, Lincoln M4,low miles very clean,but right front fender and RF-door was bad off{ replaced them and had the car painted by "Johnny & Mack by the RR Track" in 1969,for $29.99 Hunter Green< there lowist paint job was $19.99 at the time,but salesman said no way"It's too big for the lowist job!.
    Wife got to drive it in style for next 12 years,before too many things started going wrong an found her another cool old car=she always got the best of our three old used cars. One of those being my high school hot rod ,I kepted too.
    Got the most years out of a Study 2dr hardtop { always loved that one,low an cool sporty aero looking with a V8 that would not brake,no matter how hard I beat the crap out of{ all the rest were Ford or Mercury wagons as tow cars for my racing.
     
    6-bangertim likes this.

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