Anyone else STILL drive a POS rusted out really old car?

[artist]

So far PERSONALLY I've never spent MORE than $500 on a vehicle. I do have a really old Chevy (gift from dad which originally was grandpa's) and that COULD be all pimped out, but it still IS an old car (though not any rust). Actually, when I get gas for the old Chevy, often guys come up to me and try to buy it. I have to tell them it's not for sale. DH did buy a van BEFORE we were married. But like I said, I PERSONALLY have never spent more than $600 on a vehicle.

Aside from the van DH had before we were married and the Chevy that could be pimped out, we also own a POS pick-up truck. It has run okay in the past, but at the moment it's not. It's rusty, you can't open the passenger door, the key slot for the driver door wants to come loose, the driver window won't roll up or down, and right now IF you dare drive the thing after just a mile it will overheat. It has difficulty going from slow to fast when you push your foot way down on the peddle. (Some of these problems are things DH probably has the ability to fix.) It's only luxury is that it happens to be 4 wheel drive (good as we live on a hill and somewhere that it snows) and it has a CD player that we put in ourselves.

My dad, someone who seriously in the past has always driven cars that were duct taped together did tell me recently he thinks maybe it's time I figure out a way to get a "better" car. I am starting to agree but can't until I have more income I guess. (And I hate the idea of taking out a loan for a car, but I suppose that's what most people do.)

[jbenny75]

We have a POS that DH drives to work and it's also our dog car. It's really disgusting and I don't know how he stands it. It's stinky, with no a/c or radio (and he drives about 45 min. to work). I refuse to drive it. I guess DH puts up with it b/c his main vehicle is a Dodge pickup and with the price of gas, that thing hasn't left the garage much lately.

It's a 1993 Honda Accord.

[Ki Ki Marcus]

Tee hee. why am I not surprised at who started this thread?? :D

Okay, sweetie, I'm still driving my 1989, Mazda 323, 4 door sedan. To hear more about The Old Hag (AKA That Cantakerous B*tch) please read here: Driving in circles (http://www.kikimarcus.com/?p=51)

As an update to that story. DH just got the car inspected today. She passed but just. She needs 2 new rear tires and her CV joints are broken. All in all, anwhere from $500 to $700 worth of repair. And that doesn't even deal with her overheating in the summer.

On the plus side, our other car is a 2004 Toyota Camry SE, V6. Her name is Pretty Car. And she is.

:)

[silvergrey]

I'm so gonna win this contest! DH drives a 1985 Lincoln Continental. Stylin', huh? ;)

http://silvergrey.photosite.com/~photos/tn/1780_348.ts1155612653706.jpg

http://silvergrey.photosite.com/~photos/tn/1781_348.ts1155612688015.jpg

[Ki Ki Marcus]

Yep! You win!!!

[thedoorchick]

Not so fast, missy! :D My DH drives a truck that's almost as old as he is. A 1978 Ford.

My car is a 2002 Kia Spectra, so not old and rusty, but IMO a POS. We were in an accident a couple of years ago and I'm very lucky I wasn't seriously hurt, because that car isn't any more solid than a Coke can.

[solongtogo]

My car is a 2002 Kia Spectra, so not old and rusty, but IMO a POS. We were in an accident a couple of years ago and I'm very lucky I wasn't seriously hurt, because that car isn't any more solid than a Coke can.


I have a kia as well...that thing is the biggest piece of crap in all of history.

[Asha]

my car isn't old, but it is pretty banged up. i was involved in two accidents in which the people who hit me ran off, so i haven't been able to get the the hole in my bumper or the rather large dent on my door fixed. its not worth it to me to spend a few thousand dollars to get those fixed. in addition, there are numerous scratches and small dents on the front and back bc of all the bad parallel parkers here.

[STLwed]

My DH still drives a 1980 Oldsmobile Delta 88 everyday.

http://images1.snapfish.com/347888%3A3%3A%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D3243%3E%3A38%3E2%3B8%3E WSNRCG%3D323274%3C6%3A483%3Anu0mrj

That's it with my 1992 Saturn that I drove until Jan 1 of this year, now I have a new corolla. Yes, we drive cars until they run into the ground, and yes the 1992 saturn was in worse shape than the 1980 oldsmobile - it had almost double the miles on it.

Oh, and DH is the third generation of his family to drive that car - his grandfather originally bought it - his last car. DH has been driving it for about 8 years now.

Liz

[greenbunny]

DH drives a 93 Ford wagon, and he has rebuilt just about everything on it. The last thing he did for July inspection was the brakes and shoes, pull the wheel and regap the plugs, and rewire the brakelights for the third time.

Before that, he was driving a 78 Plymouth sedan, I forget the model. He had to keep jugs of water in the trunk because he'd overheat it on the 4-mile trip to my house. He also duct-taped all the hoses because they kept popping off.

[Julss05]

I drive a 90 Firebird. Bought and paid for:D. I love how it handles and still has a lot of power for its age, but it is physically falling apart. The paint is peeling off, has rust spots, AC doesn't work, windows leak water in when it rains, a few dings from accidents, and has a bad oil leak I have to check on weekly. It really is on its last leg. I hate to get rid of it, grown attached, and like you, can't fathom the idea of making high insurance and car payments but with starting a family soon a 2-door sports car isn't going to cut it! As bad as it looks I've had people offer me money to sell it. I plan to sell to someone who hopefully wants to restore it to make it look pretty again:).

[~queen~]

I still drive my '93 Acura Legend Coupe. It's my baby! :)

[Kanga]

Dh does. We both drive cars into the ground. Right now we have a 2dr 92 honda civic hatchback and a 4dr 04 olds alero. And yes, hondas really DO run forever so if you're buying a new honda with intentions of running it til it dies, well I hope you're comfortable with that being 15-20 years. It has 178,000 miles on it, and that was a few months ago, no ac, a stero we put in ourselves, and no powersteering. The clear coat is peeling off, it has lots of cancer spots above the wheels, the tailight is busted out and the bumper is crooked. Honestly, if somebody dinged it, I wouldn't even notice because there's already so many dings and scratches on it. Apart from it being a total eyesore, I can't really say it's a POS, because we haven't had anything go wrong with it in 2 years and probably a total of about $500 in total repairs since dh bought it I think about 4-5 years ago (paid $550) The alero on the other hand has been in the shop 2x since March of 05 when we bought it for 3 different things. (not routine maintenance). It's under warranty until 100K so we have only paid $100 thus far, but if it was out of pocket, it would have been in the thousands. So if it still runs by 100K and continues it's trend, it's getting sold at 99K.

Dh really would like to buy a new car since his doesn't have air (his main complaint), and the miles are so high, but we just can't justify it. We have little savings, and can't afford nor want another loan and full coverage insurance so it stays. Before the kia (read below) we also had a 88 acord with 165K on it. This thing really was a POS, and had many problems, needed new ball bearings, shocks, rear brakes, the works. I can't remember what dh paid for it, but we sold it for $800 in the middle of the gas spike (when it first started). A girl bought it for her boyfriend who goes to college in Illinois and drives it back here (iowa) for summers and breaks. I still see it from time time around town and I can't believe it's still running, especially driven like it is.


I have a kia as well...that thing is the biggest piece of crap in all of history.
Isn't that the truth. I will never ever ever ever buy another Kia. Heck, I wouldn't even take one for free. I bought one and about 2 months after it needed a new tranny (at only 102k). A friend of ours fixed it, and 2 days later, there was an oil leak. It was raining that day so we knew that was our one and only chance, so we traded it for the alero. I'm sure they sent it to the junk yard for parts or scrap metal.

[isaacsmommy]

My 1996 Altima is a POS, no rust yet though. The only thing on my car that seems to work really well is the a/c.:rolleyes:

[silvergrey]

thedoorchick, you definitely win! :D


My DH still drives a 1980 Oldsmobile Delta 88 everyday...That's it with my 1992 Saturn that I drove until Jan 1 of this year, now I have a new corolla. Yes, we drive cars until they run into the ground, and yes the 1992 saturn was in worse shape than the 1980 oldsmobile - it had almost double the miles on it.

We're exactly the same way. In addition to DH's '85 Lincoln, I drove a 1991 Dodge until March, when it died and had to be hauled to the wrecking yard. I think the Lincoln misses its friend, b/c it has been steadily going downhill ever since. It's been at the mechanic for the last 3 weeks...we're determined for this car see us through our last two years of school!

[greenbunny]

I don't know if it's the same in other states, but here in PA after 25 years you can get a "classic car" plate and have slightly more lenient restrictions (inspection, emissions, etc.). DH was so mad that his Plymouth died a year and a half before he hit the big 25. He thought it would be hilarious to have a POS boat of a car with a classic plate. :rolleyes:

[EJH]

We have a 1997 Chevy Lumina. It was my grandfather's, he refused to sell it when it was time to stop driving, so shipped it to me in MA (from CA) a few months before he died.

When we got it in 2004, it had only 30K miles on it. It now has 60, amost 70K miles, it's a/c is on the fritz, and today it wouldn't start when DP got in. :rolleyes:

I'm hoping we'll get another couple of years out of it. We have a car payment for our family car, a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica, and I can't imagine having to scrape together another car payment.

DP drives it most days, since I do daycare drop off and pick up of DD, but boy does she hate it. I keep offering to switch cars but she's yet to take me up on it.