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I commuted to the Pentagon in a '79 F-250 from '81 until I retired in '01, racking up 235K. It had that great 300 cid 6-banger...about '95 it started knocking. Sounded like a diesel when it was idling, but it never blew up. Sold it to a guy that's still driving it and it's still knocking! LOL
It looked like hell, and those nuts on I-95 and I-395 didn't dare cut me off!
Non-daily driver...1967 Corvette Coupe (427-435hp)...my dad bought it new and I inherited it in '95. 22K original miles. I'll never sell it and will leave it to my son. It's been in a climate-controlled garage since new and has only been rained on a couple times in 43 years. I only drive it about 500 miles a year, in the middle of the night after the idiots have (hopefully) gone to bed.
Non-car: 1965 (last year of the panhead!) Harley FL police motorcycle I bought from the County police auction in '69 and restored over the next 10 years. She still has all her police gear and paint scheme/markings. She even still has the nightstick in the chrome tube on the rear, with the end ground down from those cops laying her over! LOL
I've kept 3 cars for 12 years each, bought each one new. Sold them off because I was tired of them. The van had the most mileage, 120k.
Still have the 96 Dakota I bought new,~ 75k miles. My son drives it now, down in Tucson at the U. When he graduates in the spring, we are getting rid of that POS and getting something else.
My hobby cars I keep longer. My 59 cad- 23 years, 41 cad- 21 years, 59 chevy pu- 17 years.
I generally buy cars that are a few years old (avg 3 years), drive them for 3-4 years and then get another used car. That way I'm still driving something that's relatively fresh and I get the pleasure of trying something new every 3 years.
Every car I've had has broken down within 6 months.
That wouldn't be from trying it out at your local dragstrip would it? BTW, I do like that drag strip, plenty of shutdown room and easy to get around it with great viewing of the track from the pits.
My 1988 300SEL is going on 17 years that I've owned it. Of course I bought it used with 80,000 miles on it and have had it for more than 16 years since. Its 23 years old this month. Recently, I added a 1990 560SEL (42K) identical in every respect except motor and assume it will be my last daily driver. I haven't started using it yet because it has never been driven in snow and I just couldn't bring myself to start it out there. So the 300SEL is still in service.
We bought a second-hand 1987 Saab (non-turbo) in 1990 and drove it for 16 years. It had almost 200,000-trouble-free (never a major problem) miles on it when we donated it to a charity. By that time it needed a new exhaust system and some other work. We have had two very reliable Subarus, but I still miss the unique character and simplicity of the Saab car.
That wouldn't be from trying it out at your local dragstrip would it? BTW, I do like that drag strip, plenty of shutdown room and easy to get around it with great viewing of the track from the pits.
No, I'm not interested in racing. Within 6 months, I'd get a transmission problem, or the head gasket would crack, or I'd get water in my oil.
No, I'm not interested in racing. Within 6 months, I'd get a transmission problem, or the head gasket would crack, or I'd get water in my oil.
What the heck are you doing to cars that tyouy break them so bad so fast? I don't even have that sort of luck with cars that are considered the least reliable on the planet ('70s and '80s British and Italian cars, like my Jags and Fiats).
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