Patman
Staff member
I'm hoping to keep my Corvette forever. I'm 48 years old, so to keep it 40-50 years doesn't seem like such a stretch when I occasionally see guys with 60s and 70s Vettes that they bought new and still own.
Keeping/Repairing/Modding older Cars
- Thread starter Al
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WRX are the new Civic / Integra. All the cool teens are driving them Initial D style.
Integra (RS, automatic) owner here, and yes, I was throwing bad money to keep the car road worthy. I should have ignored the axle boot cracks and junk the car when the 2nd head gasket blew, now I sunk about $3k in it I better drive another 40k out of it and make it pass 300k, to get my money worth.
Integra (RS, automatic) owner here, and yes, I was throwing bad money to keep the car road worthy. I should have ignored the axle boot cracks and junk the car when the 2nd head gasket blew, now I sunk about $3k in it I better drive another 40k out of it and make it pass 300k, to get my money worth.
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Out of 5 vehicles I own, the most recent is a 2006.
The most driven ones are 2005 (Echo) and 2004 (wife's Sienna)
We had to put some money on the 2004, which was expected as it's 14 years old after all, but it's still much cheaper than payments on new(er) vehicles and parts are still available. No mods here.
The most driven ones are 2005 (Echo) and 2004 (wife's Sienna)
We had to put some money on the 2004, which was expected as it's 14 years old after all, but it's still much cheaper than payments on new(er) vehicles and parts are still available. No mods here.
Broo,
What did you have to do to the Sienna? Have an 05 Matrix here that's getting a few things done to it tomorrow. Had Valvoline synthetic brake flush done last week for $50 after a $20 off coupon. Pedal feels much better.
What did you have to do to the Sienna? Have an 05 Matrix here that's getting a few things done to it tomorrow. Had Valvoline synthetic brake flush done last week for $50 after a $20 off coupon. Pedal feels much better.
The newest vehicle I own is my 2004 Golf. The car has zero rust as it was oil sprayed yearly (even though VW said it would void the rust warranty, who cares?), and has had the common Mk4 issues like control arm bushings, coolant temp sensor, various electrical switches, water pump, abs sensors, cooling fans. It was my brother's car previously. VW suggests 15k km intervals on synthetic but that's too long for me so I do it at 7k or so. But it is starting to need more repairs, the shocks in the back are getting loose, and I've changed 3/4 wheel bearings, and can hear the last one starting to howl. I do all work myself so it is only parts invested. I suspect it could easily last another 10 years. It's a 2.0 with a 5 speed and the clutch is probably the next big ticket item. All in all it is still cheaper than buying a new car, and the only new car that interests me right now is the Golf R. The only "mods" I've done to it are a set of the vw long beach wheels and some BFI stage 1 motor mounts as the stock ones are so soft.
I modded my Pathfinder but it is setup for overland camping trips. But it is way cheaper and easier to fix than any Subaru lol. The Nissan 3.0/3.3 engine is bulletproof.
I modded my Pathfinder but it is setup for overland camping trips. But it is way cheaper and easier to fix than any Subaru lol. The Nissan 3.0/3.3 engine is bulletproof.
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I am way off the average since my newest vehicle is a 1991! I rarely leave anything alone and have modded probably 90% of the vehicles I have owned. It helps that I live where cars don't rust of course.
No mods here, beyond aftermarket replacement parts. The '06 Kia Sportage is the "senior citizen" of my mini-fleet. 185xxx miles, ice cold A/C, peeling clear on the hood, peeling leather on the steering wheel, loses a little coolant (smell it but never see it, been doing it for years). It was gifted to us as a teenager beater, when my parents, who bought it new, got such awful trade in offers that they decided it wasn't worth trading in.
Only real quirk is that an HVAC blower motor relay/resister got hot and melted the huge plastic connector to the wire harness. I replaced the resister and blower motor with new Hyundai/Kia parts and just crimped on spade connectors instead of trying to scrounge up the proper connector from a pick-n-pull. About once a year the wires to the resister melt and it quits working. I cut the wires back a smidge, crimp on new connectors and we're good-to-go for another year. I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time chasing an electrical gremlin like that if I can spend 15 minutes once a year doing a jack leg repair. Better yet, I still carry full coverage on it, so if it gets hot enough to start a proper fire and kill the car, so be it.
Only real quirk is that an HVAC blower motor relay/resister got hot and melted the huge plastic connector to the wire harness. I replaced the resister and blower motor with new Hyundai/Kia parts and just crimped on spade connectors instead of trying to scrounge up the proper connector from a pick-n-pull. About once a year the wires to the resister melt and it quits working. I cut the wires back a smidge, crimp on new connectors and we're good-to-go for another year. I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time chasing an electrical gremlin like that if I can spend 15 minutes once a year doing a jack leg repair. Better yet, I still carry full coverage on it, so if it gets hot enough to start a proper fire and kill the car, so be it.
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