Anyone have a car that won't Die?

[wn1998]

I purchased our 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited (4.0L 4wd) in July of 2005 for $4500. It had 98K on the clock and a little rust on the hood and the back tailgate.

Fast forward 10 years (currently has 209K) and that little beater jeep is still running like a champ. The rust has grown to be quite noticeable but it doesn't really bother me. It seems as though every 2-3 months I have a small $100-$300 repair, last month it was the radiator and hoses.

I have said for the last 2-3 years I will "Drive it until it dies" but the [censored] thing just won't die....

My wife thinks the jeep is an "eyesore" and wants me to trade it in but even when that time comes, I'm not sure if I want a "new car" or maybe just acquire a used car similar to the jeep (6-7K car with 100k)

I have no issues driving this, sure a new car would be great but I love not having a car payment! I'm 35, make good money and love that I don't need to think twice about adding guac at Chipotle!!!!

Am I the only one?

 

[OneEyeJack]

If you are happy with a beater that you can afford that's paid for and you don't immediately go into debt buying a new vehicle you're exposing yourself to being investigated by the Senate committee on un-American and subversive activities.

You have obviously ignored the marketing that explains the proper lifestyle and have not learned the lesson that you cannot be happy unless you're spending yourself into debt. Why do you think they invented plastic credit cars?

 

[spasm3]

Put the money your would be spending on a car payment in your retirement account.Drive it as long as you are happy.
I drive a '93 ciera, looks terrible but runs great. No one in a hospital parking lot is careful. A new car would be full if dings, but strangely not one dent in this car, not many park near it!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I think you're doing the right thing now. I also like that the other vehicle is a base model Versa. You have your priorities right - drive cheap vehicles and save the money

 

[OneEyeJack]

The Honda in my sig. Purchased it new. It's my DD.

 

[supton]

Define die. A hundred a month in repairs is still cheap compared to a car payment, but not quite in the "reliable like a rock" category.

Run it until you are tired of it and can afford to move on. However you define "afford", none of our biz how you define that.

I patched up rust holes in my car, and ignored comments to the contrary. Got rid of the car when I thought its future repairs outweighed its utility to me. Ran it until it had lots of little things--perfect time to get rid of, with everything uniformly worn out.

 

[Red91]

I plan on keeping my Dakota. It isn't paid for yet, but will be in the near future. It has some very minor issues, but I love driving it and it's 4WD is unbeatable. It knocks down decent fuel economy and runs great. To the angst of many here, I bought it from a "buy here, pay here" lot we do a lot of work for at the shop. I needed a better vehicle at the time and it all worked out. I hope to be owning it in twenty, maybe even thirty years down the road.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I've had more than one. Of course I have also had very poor examples as well, but we sell them quickly and cut our losses.

My favorite? A 9000+ pound work van, GMC 3500 Savana. 6.0, loaded to the gills and used as a stationary power source for cleaning operations its entire life.

Sold with over 500k miles on the odo and no knocking, smoking, or oil usage. Nearly zero repair history, either.

They're not all that good...

 

[nyumski]

the toyota in my sig, even it is still new, i have long plan to use it lifetime till the last breath, since it use diesel engine, i hope it can last 20-30 years from now. best maintenance is a must coz it is my war car in my "battlefield"

 

[Donald]

Before I read this I would have assumed it would be a Camry you were going to talk about rather than a Jeep.

I would get the Jeep inspected for safety with respect the frame, etc.

Some of this depends whether my wife will be riding in the vehicle.

 

[Newreet]

As long as our vehicle needs have not changed and the reasons we bought a vehicle are still valid, then we should keep the vehicle.

I believe that any vehicle will last virtually forever as long as we always follow the maintenance schedule at the back of the owner's manual and repair/replace things as they fail.

Over time metals start rusting, plastics become brittle and more likely to break when disturbed, and replacement parts may become harder to locate. Over time new vehicles tend to get better and better. These things can make it harder to justify keeping an older vehicle.

I also believe that when we hear somebody bad-mouth a vehicle they owned in the past, there is a story behind it they are not sharing. Examples would be they were not following the maintenance schedule, they were ignoring repairs, they had unrealistic expectations, and so on. But when we hear somebody bad-mouth a vehicle they never even owned, they are just envious or jealous or mean.

 

[cashmoney]

A good friend of mine was a traveling salesman. He bought a used 96 ES300 in 2005 with 80k miles on it and drove it for 9 years until last fall. It had 410,000 miles on it when he sold it for $1000 and it was running fine and using no oil. Never had any motor work on the V6 and only had 1 new timing belt put on it at apprx 150k miles. At appox 300k he felt it was not worth the expense of another timing belt so he just kept driving it.

 

[hansj3]

My zj is a tank. 282k and even thee body looks good. Its got some water leaks and electrical gremlins though

We just put down my girlfriends old forester approx 370k (speedo went out for a while while she was driving around in another state for school)

The rear strut arm bushngs were shot, but still there, and the reman'd water pump died somehow. I could have done the pump again, but whoever did the belt before we got it stripped half of the bolts and I had to get creative.... drove that thing nearly buried in the red the whole way to the junkyard. It was emotional for both of us just because of how reliable it was and how long we had it

 

[Chris142]

I killed my scouts body but its engine lives on. I pulled the 1975,345 out of a wreck in picapart and put it in mine around 1995.drove the wheels off it.scrapped the body and put the 345 into a friends scout about 2007. It's still going in its 3rd scout

 

[Darren270]

Two that I've mentioned before, a '71 Plymouth Road Runner and my daily driver, a '97 Dodge Ram 1500.

My parents bought the Road Runner new in 1971. No major mechanical repairs since they bought it other than a new radiator and the usual stuff (batteries, alternators, fan belts). It has over 400k mile on the odometer and it still starts up and runs like a champ.

My Dodge Ram is basically the same story. Other than minor stuff, such as U-joints, alternator, etc. I've had zero problems with it. Heck, 18 years old and still has its original starter!

My dad had a '79 Volvo 240 that he put over 400k mile on. By the time he finally junked it, none of the interior or dashboard lights worked. None of the gauges worked and the compression was so bad that you had to keep the pedal floored just to go about 45-50 mph. Still, it never failed to start and just kept chuggin' along.

 

[Bud]

My truck is 10 years old, not quite 90,000 miles, and nary a problem in the 10 years I have owned it. Every once in a while I get the urge for a new vehicle and I go out on a Sunday to take a look at what is on the car lots. It never fails that I look for an hour or so, then take a look at my truck and think man that thing sure looks good. Then I go back home.

 

[Leo99]

When I had my Cherokee, it went to car heaven at 190k miles due to a real main seal. All the rubber parts in it were deteriorating one by one and it wasn't the high speed cruiser that I needed to commute to work.

At the time, most of what I read about them had them lasting to 225k miles before people decided to move on and replace instead of repair them.

I find it somewhat humorous that people with less than 200k or 300k miles on their vehicles think their vehicle are outliers and "just won't die".

 

[Subdued]

yeah i have 2 cars like this

my lowest mileage vehicle is also the highest maintenance. Go figure.

 

[Inspecktor]

If it runs good, keep on driving! No car payments add up to a lot of cash in pocket.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Darren270
Two that I've mentioned before, a '71 Plymouth Road Runner and my daily driver, a '97 Dodge Ram 1500.

My parents bought the Road Runner new in 1971. No major mechanical repairs since they bought it other than a new radiator and the usual stuff (batteries, alternators, fan belts). It has over 400k mile on the odometer and it still starts up and runs like a champ.


Which engine in the Runner? 383?