Anyone here own a 20+ years and older vehicle? How difficult do you find parts and servicing?

[JustSomeGuy73]

For some of the more mainstream cars, and more popular cars, it's a bit easier to get parts (and probably service, if you don't work on the car yourself). Maybe I should just get something really common and mainstream, but older (so I get that cool retro vibe) like a 1989 Chevy Caprice. It's domestic, boxy and hideous looking (but that's the fun of it!), there were a ton of them on the road, and just about any mechanic should be able to work on it and get parts. The only downside is that it would not be very fuel efficient. Or, I could play it really safe and just make sure I buy a really popular model that's less than 10 years old, preferably one that gets good fuel economy.

I don't want to have to rely on luck finding parts in junk yards, on eBay or ordering from overseas (which usually ends up being expensive). When I had my 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser Diesel, the alternator died. It was too badly damaged for a rebuild. At the time, I could not find a used one ANYWHERE worldwide! Someone suggested rigging up a Chevy alternator but it would need an electric motor to turn the oil pump - it was a very unique set up, the alternator turned the oil pump too. After I priced out what it would cost for someone to rig this up, it was almost the same cost as getting a brand new correct alternator from Toyota. The local dealer had to special order it from Japan. It took a long time to arrive, and cost over $400 with tax, plus I had to pay a mechanic to install it. Experiences like this take the fun out of owing a nice, old unique vehicle.

[73-79 ford fan]

For what its worth, I have a sister graduating from college this weekend just a bit over 500 miles away and my parents took my 1979 Ford f250 to go get her and it has performed flawlessly on the trip up so far. Some of us do depend on vehicles several decades old.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by 73-79 ford fan

For what its worth, ... Some of us do depend on vehicles several decades old.

Vehicles and other stuff 20+ yrs old Most from 1960-80 and used daily;
Bosch Kitchen mixer '76 (used EVERYDAY)
Sewing Machine (1971)
Waffle Iron (1914)
Milling machine (1984)
Lathe
Motorcycles (7) '72- '76
Tractor, 1984 (& 1952)
Bulldozer, 1974
Trackhoe, 1988
Bobcat, 1989
Cummins Dodge Truck '93
....

Many, Many (many) VW diesels... Hey, they were only $35, EZ to collect and use (very very VERY cheap to fix... $2 hoses and belts, $8 ball joints $12 water pumps). Some of my VW diesel pickups were $100, one was $300 I could sell my whole fleet and not get enough dough for a new car

[JustSomeGuy73]

Thats great! I always like hearing about people using old vehicles and household items, and I like doing so myself. They don't make them like they used to! Some things were built better back then, other things are built better today. As for older vehicles, I'm willing to bet that there's at least some routine maintenance and at least some minor repairs that need to be done from time to time. I've never had an older vehicle that didn't require that. Most of my older vehicles usually required regular, major repairs. It just got to the point where I could be spending $500 a month on repairs. And for that price, I could be driving a brand new, reliable car that's under warranty, so if anything does go wrong, it's covered. Unfortunately I'm not mechanically inclined, so I can't fix much of anything. But I think for people who are mechanically inclined it makes total sense to drive an older vehicle, especially if parts are cheap and you supply the labor for free. It doesn't make sense for me. I can't do the labor, and I tend to like oddball cars that require expensive, hard-to-find parts.

But, I do get lucky sometimes... like in 2008 when I had a 22 year old 1986 Volkswagen Jetta diesel with 700,000 kms on it (438,000 miles). I bought it for $800 to use as a beater and for a part time delivery job. Never put a cent into it except for diesel fuel, oil changes, and a set of used tires from the junk yard. I had to sell it quickly when I was moving across the country, and quickly sold it for $400. Apparently the guy who bought it is still driving it. The only reason I bought it was because I figured if it's gone that far, it should be good for a bit more. It looked like cr@p, but it ran. I would have driven it across the country, but I could only drive one car, and I decided to take my 2 year old Toyota Matrix with me instead.