I'm in Minnesota, I've had cars well over twenty years old. They weren't nice but they were reliable that's why they're twenty years old instead of breaking down at five or ten
Shit I had a Hyundai Tucson 09 that I sold to my mechanic when I finally got a newer vehicle. That thing has 340k in on it. It's still going now as a loaner vehicle.
Oh. I'm American. I always forget everyone else does it different lol well... here's to hoping! Lol I need it to make it the rest of the way through college haha
I was quoted $8000 for a new engine. The car was worth $4000, and I only had to spend $1000 to buy it and get it road worthy. Plus the car had several other issues besides the engine.
Gambling on replacing an engine that may or may not have significantly extended the life of the car before something else broke was not something I was interested in.
It's like having a cat that's like 20 years old. No matter what age you got it, you love it and frankly love it even more because it's lived in and has character and the fact it's even still going is impressive by itself
Wanna know the worst thing you can do for a car in the rust belt?
Garage it.
The constant freeze thaw cycles are what kill cars. Frozen dirty salty crap being stuck to it all winter does fuck-all. Rinse really good with fresh water once it warms up. Don't park under trees and make sure stuff like sunroof and cowl drains don't get clogged.
Hi, pardon my ignorance, M. Butt farts, but when you say garage it, do you mean keep it in the garage without driving for long periods of time, or just keeping it in the garage overnight? Why does keeping it in the garage overnight make it more susceptible to freeze/thaw cycles than keeping it outside? I'm assuming that the freeze /thaw cycles hurt the car's body structure, in the way people in the comments are referring to the salt doing.
I mean don't move the car from frigid temps into non-frigid temps. An attached garage, even if not climate controlled, will be significantly warmer than the outside temp. As that salty slush warms, it slowly penetrates everything and just hangs there.
That's when corrosion is happening. Like, when chemical processes are rapidly occuring.
If you're not wealthy enough to own a car that you don't drive in the winter, then you're not wealthy enough to garage it. IMO. Leave it outside, wash thoroughly after winter weather is done.
I'm in ohio and the cars in my household are 24, 18, and 15 years old. No rust issues.
Attached garages that will warm closer to the ambient temp of the house, or get above freezing anyway. If you have a garage that isn't heated you definitely should put it there just so you don't have to clear it off.
They're just talking about repeatedly getting it down to below freezing and then back up again. Every bit of slush, snow, or ice on your car is going to have road salt in it, but if you never let that thaw the salt will stay mostly trapped there and won't rust your shizz as much
Oh see it's super cold there during the winter, salt doesn't work in certain temperatures. In the rust belt you get this mix of cold at night that it snows, but it gets warmer during the day with not much snow so they salt the roads and then it melts into this nice mix of salt and slush during the day that soaks the underside of your car with salt and sludge.
If you are further north it's usually too cold for salt where warmer states where it doesn't snow a lot use salt a lot during the winter.
Yeah...every car ive owned except two are from Ohio. Went from driving mid 90s Blazers/Jimmys to mid 00s Buick old lady boats.
The old lady boats are nice because generally they are like my current daily. Bought in 04 brand new and the woman who bought it was the only one who drove it. Only put on like 73k miles in 21 years
Respectfully, it’s all great to hear you have had those vehicles, but I’d prefer if you named the vehicles, and the maintenance that was required ($ or hours worked wise)
As someone who has only bought used,it is absolutely luck of the draw.
I have never been able to acquire a vehicle that didn’t need serious support to last twenty years (even if this used vehicle was driving every single year during that time until i bought it)
I have a 2001 Tacoma with over 200k miles. I'm in the DMV area. I understand your sentiment but it's not crazy to build a reliable vehicle.
I've replaced the exhaust pipe twice. Spark plugs, oil changes. The most expensive thing I had to have done was the rack and pinion and I suspect that was, because when I was a teenager, I thought it was funny to roll the steering back and forth like an idiot.
Truck has been smashed twice by deer with cosmetic damage. Second time was nearly totaled by insurance, down to the dollar but we skirted by.
My 3 year old son might be driving this truck 13 years from now, the way things are going, and the only thing stopping that from happening is, it's not a diesel and gasoline might not exist.
Yup everything is built as a computer now. Engineered to not even being allowed to mechanically alter them yourself. Merc just made a jeep you can't even open the hood.
Shes partly right. Leave out the Bluetooth and the backup camera. I have Bluetooth and an aux cable. Guess which has better sound quality, is louder and easier to use.
Recently rented a Toyota Corolla. Stupid thing has a huge display smack dabbing middle of console. Can't tune your own radio, can't use buttons as has none. Fucking disgusting waste of a car. Oh and if it's REALLY REALLY HOT like gets here in South it shits the bed turns off ac and does nothing. Shit shit product.
That's when you bring the 'pane. All my old (carburated) trucks are running propane. Its the poor man's fuel injection conversion... Bolt on a mixer from an old school bus and it starts every time, no choke, no ether etc.
I'm considering doing one of the fuel injection conversions just for fun. Well that and propane is still $0.55/L, and I keep 1000 gallons sitting beside my shop.
It's currently cheaper to drive my 1978 F-350 460 tilt deck than my modern truck
The steering racks on Tacomas/4runners of that vintage seem to go out like crazy. I killed two on the same vehicle, indicating there's some deeper issue.
I bought a 2011 Tacoma right when COVID was starting. Then I've worked from home ever since so I barely drive it.
I know I should sell it and I need the money but also I'm pretty sure it will last 20 more years. We do need a 4x4 (or AWD) and we do need 2 cars and I use the bed often.
the problem is people don't understand a reliable car may still need 1k-2k maintenance a year in parts when things break. it's just that 2k is so much cheaper than a 600/mo payment
My 16 year old prius has very minimal rust underneath here in wisconsin. I doubt my brand new truck sees 16 years without the rocker panels rusting through.
Batteries in older prius are generally good for 20-25 years.
Only two things kill hybrid batteries.... time and neglect. They need to be cycled. I'd rather buy a 2015 prius with 100k miles than one with 5k miles. I mean, I can replace or rebuild the traction battery in the one with 5k.... but I know damn well the one with 100k miles is probably going to be in good condition.
Everything else around that battery, except for the head gasket, is pretty much worry free on a gen 3 prius. The head gasket is a somewhat cheap fix from my local mechanic and after that its a worry free car for a long fucking time. Some people never even see the head gasket fail.
Usually it's ~50mpg. A little lower in the Montana winters, 40-45mpg. Awhile back I looked up an article on how to see if your battery is still going strong and I remember it had all the indications that it was. Only thing I've replaced besides brakes is the 12v battery.
It does have the 2010-15 Prius oil consumption issue. But I've had it for 7 years and I just top it off every couple of gas fills and it's been fine.
Aren't rocker panels on most new trucks aluminum or is that only Ford that did that? Midwest is the only place I've seen a truck 20 years old fold in half like a taco though
Best advice it to get an undercoating - ideally oil-based fluid film. Anything rubberish or waxish will fail. I drive a 2008 Element, they are notorious for rusting out many miles too soon. So the $300 for a good undercoating makes sense. It works, every yearly inspection I ask to go under the lift and yeah no rust.
In western PA, most of the "salt" on state highways is actully fracking brine. Worse for a car than salt.
I was actually gonna take my waste oil from left over oil changes and soak the shit out if the bottom of my truck. Also pump it through the weep holes in the doors.
Ah cool, If I had the space I'd get an air compressor and spray it in myself. That what my shop does. I only take it in to the unedercoater every few years and usually they just do underbody touch ups, doors and tailgate for like $50 total.
Just saw the new Prius Whoo weeee let me tell you that is a head turner car! Almost had me wanting to run to dealer to trade in Ol Reliable for that beaut.
The whole fucking globe has rain and much rain areas but for some reason it's only in the USA that cars can't survive more than 6 years and anything built before 2020 is allegedly a piece of shit death trap that will kill your entire family for breathing wrong. Go figure.
It's not the rain that's an issue. It's the salt on the road that makes driving noy a complete shit show that's causing cars to rust out. And that happens in every place, North America or northern Europe that has terrible winters.
Meanwhile go to Central and South America to see 20,30 + year old cars still on road. Let's not even talk about Cuba with it's 80 years old cars. Hell, I have customers who still have their great great great grandparents Model Ts.
Literally drove an 02 Accord until about 3 years ago that was clean and had no rust despitebeing in the rust belt. Its now at school with a buddy's son who needed a cheap reliable car. Just run it through the car wash with underbody option a couple times a year to get the salt off.
thats what i was going to say. most of the folks who end up with major rust issues also never wash their cars in the winter. its not that expensive nor difficult to wash the car a few times a month to keep it running longer.
Plenty of ex mining Hiluxs and Landcruisers in Australias far north (very humid, and they cop abuse) with over 500k kilometers on the clock.
Its not in the best interest of most car manufactures to make reliable vehicles. They want you to upgrade after every generation so they make more money.
live in MN. 2005 toyota camry with over 400k miles. Car has been in Minnesota it's entire life, all structural components are still in good shape. Also it gets driven a shit ton in the winter if the snow is lower than the front bumper I take it. Anything over 8 inches on the road I'll take one of my trucks.
I’ve had 5 vehicles from 2007 they all die around little after 500,000km with a transmission swap around 350,000km. I drive a Honda odyssey from 2007 with 430,000km on it now. Less tech better mechanics, and shit you can work on when something simple breaks
Had a mitsubishi outlander that lasted 19 years that we just got rid of and I live in the semi-salt belt in Kentucky. Some can last that long if they're treated well. For the last 7 years it served as the "take the dogs out/camping/shorter trip" vehicle. It was getting just a little too unsafe to be on the road so we finally had to take her to the junkyard and put her to rest. Logged a hell of a lot of miles in that thing and it'd been paid off forever ago.
I ask this in earnest, is it that bad if you have a garage? especially if you have a insulated wall spigot to rinse off after a sunny melt day? Obvious garage must be graded to drain by design. I know all of these things exist due to relatives and some do these things, some don't. It feels like a relatively simple ask for the cost/benefit ratio if it's worth it. (obviously the question already demands small town land or big city money)
its possible in the salt belt people just dont want to spend the money undercoating their car or the time to wash it regularly in the winter. so the salt sits for 3-5 months a year slowly eating the metal.
A few months ago I just bought a 2009 grand caravan with 70,000 miles from Florida back to Michigan. I had to replace the entire suspension but it should last us a while given there's no rust.
This is the take-home message. We shouldn't have to drive 20-50 year-old vehicles to get the simplicity we used to have. We should be able to walk onto the car lot and drive off with a vehicle that has no power steering, windows and door locks if that's what we want. Heater and a radio. AC optional.
Unfortunately the government mandates dictate any new vehicles must have (insert long list of safety standards). There is absolutely no way you could sell as car with 1960 - 2000 technology and have it be legal
But backup cameras are, as are side curtain airbags, just last year they added driver monitoring standard. So any 2026 and up is going to baby sit you.
Still crying over my Toyota Paseo that I gifted to my brother in '05. Had 120k miles at the time. He drove that thing into the ground at I think 400k. Simple engine but had everything you could want : ac, sunroof, radio. He used to even put his calves in the back seat. Wish I could have it back w it's true sip sips of had. Great MPG. 😭
I want such a car, especially smthg like a volvo or other good car. I love old cars, that are also still efficiently running, with no problems popping up, every few months, as in my 10yo Chevy cruze, that I just sold a few mo ago. I
i have an 06 camry and i love it. no way to play music in the car other than the radio and cd player, though (i use neither, so i just play it straight outta my phone). there's no aux or even cassette player. that's kind of the only issue i've ever experienced with this 20-year-old ever.
There is a company that sells a Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the back of the stereo. I put one in my old 99 Lexus es300. Added Bluetooth audio to the OEM stereo.
Get a Bluetooth to fm transmitter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. The other option is a CarPlay screen with fm transmitter. I have one in my 06 Yaris, and works a treat.
Driving a 2013 spark that I have to keep the rear windows up by jamming rolled up cardboard in them. Not buying a new car. These MFers have lost their mind. A basic work truck is 50k. Fuck all the way off.
I’ve got my 06 Corolla! No idea the number of miles on it because the odometer for that years model stops 299,999. We always joke that it doesn’t need oil and gas is a suggestion. Haha
My wife drives a ‘98. She’s given rides to co-workers who had never seen manual door locks or window cranks. About weekly, she’ll come out of a shop to find a note tucked under the wiper: “If you ever want to sell this, I’ll pay cash.”
Still driving my '74 Ford Maverick Grabber (2nd owner. My father was the first and gave her to me on my 16th birthday in 1980 with 16,000 miles on her)! Only a few 'modern' additions to her over the decades: Modern AC that doesn't require a license to work on. Radio with CD player. Modern(ish) front seats (adjustable, powered, buckets from a 2000 Mustang and seatbelts) and, of course, some electrical modifications for more modern crap.
The original 302 V8 just would not die! The C4 (3 speed, automatic) transmission is just as tough! Plus, if anything goes wrong with her, there's nothing I can't fix myself. She's been rebuilt once...after 180,000 miles, then that engine lasted ANOTHER 150,000 miles with the transmission rebuilt once at 225,000). Three years ago, she got the 'holy grail' of 302's installed...an unused, original crated, 1969 Boss 302 (and, yes, I paid a pretty penny for that engine.) and a new C4 transmission.
Plus, I can still get every single part that I'd ever need to fix her.
I'm driving an '02 base model Tacoma that's given me 24 years of total reliability. Still crankin' those windows. Earlier this year was its first time in the shop, for work I couldn't do in my own garage.
Still have my 06 canyon that needs some work (working on it), but will drive er till the wheels fall off. I'm not buying a new vehicle. Over priced shit wrapped in tin foil, placed a cpu in it, AI surveilance, put on a frame that's made of bottom of the barrel material, and sold at the highest price possible.
'05 Ranger with rolldown windows and manual transmission here. Was kept in near perfect condition before I bought it a few years back, and has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever had since.
But I know it won't last forever and I'll eventually have to make the decision to get a different vehicle rather than pouring money into maintaining it.
When that time comes, all I want is a small truck (tbh the Ranger is on the bigger side of what I want), with AC in summer and heat in winter, to get me and sometimes a modest load of cargo from A to B. That's all. But they don't make them anymore, at least nowhere that's available to me.
Same here with my 02 MR2, sure, it was exhibited at a dealership for the majority of its life until it was purchased in 16 and then sold to me but it's mint and drives like a dream. Only 37k kilometers on the odo.
No sensors. No touchscreens, no subscriptions, no assistances other than ABS. Pure raw driving.
Buy for life, drive til ded. I've had three new cars in my 55 years. Still have two of them. Modern (this millennium) cars are pretty cheap per mile when loved to death.
My husband is driving a 2003 F150 that my Dad bought. My grandfather drove it after his death, my husband got it next. Just hoping it doesn't get passed to anyone else. Hopefully he will outlast the truck.
I've always wondered why there aren't any companies that simply design a car and just.. never change it. There is fundamentally no reason why the vast majority of the crap on a camry actually needs to change each year. And if the 1997-2027 corollas all had the same parts, the parts would be dirt cheap. And working on them would be easy as hell.
I miss my 01 camry. She'd probly still be running if my ex hadn't done a barrel roll in it.
So here's my beef with this concept when it comes to insurance companies. If I still have collision and other replacement features on my insurance policy, they only give me what they think the value of the car is if it gets totaled.
I disagree on what they consider the value to be, because I had a running car before. I really don't want a check, I want a replacement car that's an equivalent of the one I had. The pittance they're giving me doesn't purchase even a bad running car these days.
My 2005 Hyundai Tucson threw a rod at 317000 miles. I loved that SUV. Its responsiveness was absolutely amazing, despite it being the loudest 4 cylinder known to man. It did 105mph at least, so it could hold its own on the interstate. 11 out of a 10 scale. And it had wonderful working power windows and the AC was COLD!
My daily driver is an off the frame restored 1968 Ford F-100 with electronic fuel injection (holly sniper), disk front powered brakes, power steering, and all LED lighting. So…still driving an old vehicle, but still getting thank-you cards from OPEC and the oil industry.
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u/Vanstrucker2222 9h ago
Still driving my 03 Toyota with roll down windows. I’ve had her 21 years ✨✨