I hear ya... I''ve poured more money and time in the Mercs than I care to think about... I don''t even think I could break even selling it in a strong economy.. I bought an ''81 VW diesel about 2 years ago and feel it''s worth about twice as much...


The UAW and CEO''s need to come down a peg or three and get their priorities straight..Take a pay cut and stop worrying about what their stock is worth.. Build a quality product at a reasonable priceand the rest will follow...Maybe I''m wrong for thinking this but I like the fact that UAW employees are sweating over their job security...


I''d like to know what happened to fuel economy as well... GM touts it''s Aveo''s milage... Hmm 10 years ago they sold something called a Metro that blew the Aveo away, what happened? My 96 Grand Marquis can pull 27mpg (Full size full frame and a v8 engine!) Yet I hear several mention that their 2000 or so and newer get about 24 at best... What changed? I''ve heard claims that it''s related to stricter emission standards.. I can''t say that I can completely agree with that either.. If there''s more going in the tank, it''s gotta be going somewhere..


If I decide to buy another newer car againmaybe itwill be made in America (Honda or Toyota) Interestingly enough the only 2 vehicles I have that were made in the US are the Dodge and the VW..

 

I''''ve spent a good deal of money fixing my high mileage land yachts, but I''''d have to take the total spent on both of them (including purchase price) over the past 3 years now to even begin to get close to the one rice burner I''''ve owned. plus, the land yachts will take a hit and keep on goin. that ricer got totaled after a hit and run fender bender. drove it for another year until the head gaskets finally gave out at about 131K miles. I''''ve got about 180K on the crown vic and working around 106k on the MGM.

the main kicker for the money difference... I bought the land yachts outright. the ricer was financed (and a newer model).

I''''d rather have it paid off and fixing things as needed than to have payments and worry about it getting hit by a car like the ones I drive now.

oh yeah... and domestic parts are generally much cheaper than import parts.Edited by: slymer

 

slymer, for the most part agree with you, but what pi**es me off is the US auto exec''s have driven the big three into the ground.</span> We shouldn''t have to make a choice - my 2000 Sable ls Prem has a really nice all alum, dohc 24 valve engine. I love the sound of that thing.

What bothers me is this car is following the same pattern as my 1988 Sable. The was an issue with the intake manifold, and the fuel pump, I''m beginning to hear a slight rumble in the front pass side wheel bearing, just like my ''88. And it''s not just ford/merc. My 1985 and 1988 S-10 Blazers were the same. Fuel pump, flex plate, flex plate, ac, etc.

You''re right about the cost of buying parts for the Jap cars, but I have several friends that did nothing execpt oil and plug changes right up to 150k miles. Those things I described with my Blazer all started happening at 65k miles.

Back in the mid-1980''s my freinds scoffed at me for buying American but I said someone has to buy so they can rebuild and compete against the japs. Well, 20 yrs later that time has come and gone and now the big three are on their knees before congress.

 

Well Slymer, you have the last of the good ones!


Anyone ever notice how many 5 year old cars are starting to rust already! It''s like the 70''s all over again.. (Maybe disco will mak ea comeback soon) I had to have rust HOLES fixed in the rear wheel wells of the sable about 4 years ago...


I woudl tend to disagree that imports cost more than domestic parts anymore.. It''s pretty darned close.. This week in the shop, Alternator for a 2002 Nissan Altima $176 and it died at 163K.... Alternator for a 2003 Impala $173 died at 94K, and the Impala needs a new cat and egr valve too....Almost $400 just to buy the ball joints for an 07 Ram 3500! Yeah I know it''s a big truck but DAMN I shouldn;t be doing this at 44K..Starter for an 85 Mercedes Diesel $80 starter for a 91 Cherokee about $100 bucks more both died around 280K...


My 96 Grand Marquis I''m not displeased with it has done okay but I didn;t expect to be replacing a $300 intake manifold at 64K, AC evap and driver door hinges at 90K, and the alternator took a poo at 110K... I coudl go on and on.. But in some defense there are a few good ones... My brother in law''s 94 Tbird w/ a 4.6 is real close 300K..Brakes, tires, fluid changes, tune ups, and a water pump... IT does have the typical 4.6 valve seal problem and uses oil, but it runs like a top and still pulls 26mpg+ on the highway... I feelit has been a fast downhill decline for domestics since the mid 90''s.


Being in the garage busines here in Central Pa I used to bank on not seeing most cars for major repairs till they were at least 8-10 years old excluding some that get alot of miles fast..I would say in the last 5 or so years I have to keep thediag machinery and repair manuals updated to at least 3 years behind the current model year... And sometimes that still isn''t enough...The ratio of domestics to imports in this area (which is slowly changing) is about 4:1.. And still the majority of import work I do are those one''s that have gone 150K with no work, and they''re usually just here for maintenence...

 

the imports I had were the one I compared to, a Suzuki Esteem (actually a nice car, if you can keep people from hitting it), and the one I didn''t even mention, an Acura Legend. The Legend was an awesome car. the only problem was it was black with a non-working AC, power steering pump was dying (well over $200 for that part alone), brake pads were expensive, tires were expensive, just near everything was expensive for that car. And yes, the parts were the same price with Honda stamped on them instead of Acura. That was the car I traded for the Crown Vic. Managed to get about a grand for it in that condition and with 285K miles on it. The Suzuki parts weren''t as bad, but were about half again as pricey as Ford parts.

In the end, I probably spend a little more on gas, but without a car payment, and just taking care of things that break/wear out, I''ve averaged about $300/month without having to carry full coverage insurance. And that includes transmission rebuilds on both cars.

 

I guess it''s kinda luck of the draw.. Alot of part pricing seems to be based on how common it is... If it''s something used on thousands of cars for years and years it''ll tend to be cheaper..


For instance the Jeep starter I had mentioned was only used for 10 years on the 4.0L onlywhereas the Mercedes starter was used on every diesel mercedes for 20 or so years...


I still like my old junk... It does take more gas on some of them, but no payments and cheap insurance is nice... I''m really thinking of going back to my rule of no cars newer than me..

 

heh... interesting rule, I don''t think I could do that, but I definitely wouldn''t mind buying something that had no working drive train just to swap out something nice in it... end up with a $4000-6000 tab on the vehicle and parts and have something that will run real well for a long time. Sure beats the hell out of financing something for $20K+ over 5 years and having to carry full insurance coverage.

 

Not to mention what you have to pay to keep the darned thing running....


I kinda which I woudl have held on to my ''75 Gran Torino.. Power everything and A/C (that all worked! Torino 1, Sable 0) The quarters and fenders were getting prettyrusty (I''m not much of a body man) not to mention the springs and bushings in the suspension were all about shot, and a few other knick nacks here and there needed attention..Hindsight being 20/20 I would have had about the same amount in getting the Torino back to it''s prime that I have in keeping the Sable running...


AS much as I''m not a fan of VW''s I bought an non running 81 Rabbit diesel for $100about a year ago... Probably sunk about $1500 in it, rebuilt engine and trans, suspension all replaced, new clutch, etc.. Other than the need for a paint job some day it''s practically a new car.. And after this summer it paid for itself twice over at 50mpg on diesel and 46mpg on veggie oil.. Probably could have sold it for twice what I had in it back in the summer...

 

I drove one of those VWs Rabbits a few years way back when. The company I worked for had a fleet of them and they were fun to drive. After awhile I began to feel guilty because it could take so much abuse on a daily basis.

The thing is that was totally cheap to buy those things and it was really cheap to drive. It sat about two inches off the ground so even though it had lousy performance tires and the suspension sucked pretty bad, it handled Ok in spite of itself.
Edited by: nrlanni

 

I love the thing for zipping around town.. Easy to park too.. Granted it will not corner at 70mph but then again it''''s a 52 hp diesel, it takes a while to hit 70...


People look at me wierd when I tell them what I dumped into it (till this past summer)I figured while I was in the process I was going to address anything that can and may go wrong. So far I''''ve rolled 50K on it and only had the alternator take a crap (original. didn''t think about that).. The PO did nothing but routine maintence till the head gasket blew at 280K


I''m thinking the only thing wierd is I actuallyconsidered replacing the trans in the Sable when it finally does die completely..Edited by: maxfax3