They sure don't make cars like they used to

So this morning I go out and hop in the pickup to head to work, turn the key and nothing/the engine turns over and over ,but will not fire. I give it some gas wait; try again, still won't fire. I call into work saying I'm going to be a bit late my truck won't start. My truck is a 1984 gmc and it has a couple of issues. So I grab the keys to my "other" car a 02 volkswagen Jetta (yes I own a jetta lol i know i know) battery is dead, wont turn over at all in this car I've had to replace the (engine,radiator fans,tons of electrical work,it's a nightmare,lemon) only option I have left is the Old girl (55 cadillac). Jump in her first turn of the key, fires right up and made it to work. How pathetic is that. I own two others cars that are much younger and My 54 year old car fires right up. God I love old tin

 

And if it doesn't start 99% of the time it's either the coil or fuel pump. Two things easy to diagnose and fix. Not some diode or other shit thing you can't see. Just sold wife's 55 Cad. Never let us down.

 

Fix them.
As for now get to work.

 

Yeah my 53 f100 starts so easy and nothing to it. Love my old flatty.

 

No they don't, my old Chevy pickup went around 250,000 miles before I parked it. Of course that was with an engine overhaul, rebuilt transmission, etc.
My "new" 96 pickup is right at 200,000 with nothing but oil changes and minor repairs.
I see lots of throw away late model beaters that are still going strong with 150,000 miles plus on them.
There are many of reasons to own an old car, low maintainance isn't one of them.
.0000002
Larry T

 

its punishment for owning a jetta!

 

yup...most pre 60s cars where in the junk yard at 60 or 70 thousand miles ...or the motors where rebuilt...
.

 

i think you're right. god is punishing me. anyone want to come over for a Jetta bonefire?

 

I've got a new book of matches...

 

"There are many of reasons to own an old car, low maintainance isn't one of them."

I'm of the same opinion. Most of us spend many hours and $$ making our hobby cars run and look good. I don't give my daily 10% of that attention and sometimes it comes to bite you in the ass. I give my daily an oil change and a bath because I have to, I love working on the '49.

 

Ok ill make you a great deal on a 02 jetta? it has leather. hmmm. I bet you'd be working on it more than you would you would your "old chevy pickup"

 

i'll bring dogs and marshmallows!!!
that's why you hear the saying "ole reliable" i guess.

 

get that jetta 'up for sale' a 3800 V6 bonneville, grand prix etc... will get you 30 mpg highway, smoke the tires, wont break nearly as easy as a VW & will eat that jetta for lunch!

as far as the pickup fix it. -- probably be the only time it lets you down.
yep old stuff is better but sometimes for everyday the comforts & accessories, heat, air & all that are priceless!

 

I dont think I have the heart to sell the P.O.S to anyone else. I'd rather just take a huge dump on the hood and send it back to the dealership with a nice letter

 

I prefer to repair my 1939 Ford once a week to driving ANY modern ho hum car
You know its true because I have been driving it every day for 16 years and 8 months

 

Perspective. Your "new" 84 truck is 25 years old, that is not new. Your 02 VW, well, that's probably just a pos, by what you have already replaced onm it.

We have an 04 PT Cruiser. Pretty much have done very little except drive it and a few oil changes along the way. Bought a 90 Dakota a couple years ago for parts, been driving it since then. Its got a great heater, runs and moves, gets 22mpg. Suppose since it still has the junk tires on it that were on it when I bought it, I really can't blame the truck for the flat tire. I've put almost $5,000 in the 50 over the past year or so. Its still a pita to start when its cold outside, and the heater, defroster, and wipers suck, but I'd rather drive it over the Dakota.

To my perspective, I'm happy they don't build them the way they used to. This way I have something reliable to drive to work so I can spend my time and money on something I'd rather drive. Gene

 

i think this should turn into a "i hate Volkswagens" thread.

 

i quit smoking ill bring my cartons of smokes.

 

they for sale? how much for shipping on those cartons you not using?

 

I used to be the authorized local repossessor for VW motor credit back in the day, and we used to pick 'em up all the time on a voluntary basis because they kept having to go back to the shop and finally the owner would call the finance company and tell them to come get it.
I would NEVER buy a VW product.

However, it is routine for us to impound 80's and 90's Honda Accords and they ALWAYS run. I've seen 'em with 300,000+ plus miles on 'em & they always fire right up.

My 98 4 runner has 207,000 on it and it's still chuggin' right along.

You just bought the wrong new car.

 

you are right about that. never again. I was b/n a rock and a hard place. I'm thinking about doing a voluntary repossesion and have them come pick it up

 

True. An over the road salesman that does business at the Chevy/Buick dealership where I work has owned several 3800 powered Buicks over the past 15 years, and he ran them all up to 300,000 miles without incident.

 

That shows who you concentrate on the most!

 

so you don't do proper preventative maintenance on your vehicles and that somehow reflects on the original build quality? i have a 2003 1.8t jetta and it's a great car. hauls ass, gets great mileage, killer sound system, and it's always been reliable. probably one of the best cars i've ever owned.

i've heard of lots of people replacing the motors in their vw's. 99% of the time it's because they don't change the timing belt when they're supposed to and when it lets go they say something along the lines of how vw's are a piece of shit even though they didn't take the time to maintain their cars.

and btw mid 80's anything domestic are giant pieces of shit.

 

are you really going to sit here and arguing with me about volkswagen's being good cars?
lol.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/vw_jetta.html

 

sure why not? i've owned many aircooled and watercooled vw's and they've all been great cars. before i moved back to california from colorado i had a '91 gti that was my daily driver/autocross/road course/drag car. i swapped in a crossflow 8 port 2.0l from a '98 jetta and added a t3/t4 turbo. i more than doubled the stock horsepower rating with about 12 psi of boost. so i had about 250hp in a 2200 lb car. it ran low 13's at bandimere (that would be 12's at a track closer to sea level), smoked evo's and m3's on the road course, and i always finished in the top 5 of my autocross class. i also drove it back and forth to work everyday. my gti was the best non-4x4 snow car i've ever owned.

oh and i never did anything to the bottom end of the turbo motor. it was totally bone stock and i never once had any issues. the best part about the gti was that i had less than $3000 in the whole car. this actually used to piss me off because my thrown together beater gti was faster than my nice new jetta.

vw's are great cars if you take care of them like you're supposed to. if you had to replace a motor i'll go so far as guessing that you probably didn't change the timing belt and it probably let go and you probably fucked up all the valves since it isn't a clearance motor.

 

In my opinion, it may or may not be the inhererant relaiblity, but when a vintage car breaks, most people with basic skills can fix it. When my Suburban breaks, sometimes even ASE techs can't fix it. Here's an example: by the time my '97 Suburban (it's loaded BTW) had 90K miles on the odometer, it had been on a roll-back three times. Twice for a trans and once for a fuel pump. The first trans went at 47,000 miles and it had never towed anything. The shop that rebuilt it, did it to GM specs and it lasted 13 months. The second shop was run by a rodder and he rebuilt it with a TransGo kit and it works MUCH better. The thing now has 142,000 on it and has had the rear A/C replaced, two alternators, a water pump, a heater hose, three batteries, a steering speed sensor, the driver's side power seat, the two transmissions, and the fuel pump, wiper motor, intake gasket and a A/C bypass manifold replaced. I was able to do very little of these repairs. GM builds overly complex vehicles in my opinion, and since I cannot afford a new car, all my vehicles need to last. I have tried for years to get my wife to let me build a nice '68-'72 Malibu wagon for a daily driver. My plan is to use a two door wagon, install a carbed small block, 4 spd muncie, larger wheels (17-18), drop it a touch (still needs to be comfy and cannot scrape) then install nice interior and stereo. This type of car would not only be a breeze to keep running well, it would get better mileage than the 'burb and it's resale value would increase. She can't see the finished car in her head, so thus far she's refused. I may have to put my foot down the next time that Suburban needs repairs, though.

 

hey zoo i'd say that a majority of the repairs to your burb are fairly standard items. water pumps, hoses, batteries, wiper motor, and the fuel pump are all expendable items imo. those items could have easily died in your late model burb or in a 67 burb.

now the other stuff is a royal pain in the ass but that's what you have to deal with when you want comfort and convenience.

good idea on the malibu wagon. i'm actually doing something similar with a truck. i have a '71 f-100 short bed that's currently receiving a 5.0 ho motor and aod trans from a '91 mustang. so i'll have a nice old truck with a super reliable efi motor that'll start on the first turn of the key, have no cold start issues, and get great fuel economy.

 

maybe your car isn't a lemon but the other 99.9 % are; it's documentated cases against VW too. Horrible customer service. horrible cars.

 

VW's are great cars; if you like spending $400.00 on parts everytime they break and don't mind waiting 2 weeks to get them in. My experience with them is that no matter how they are maintained, they will break, and its always something stupid that renders them broken. Thats what you get when each sensor on your car has a sensor to monitor the sensor.