Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-08-2016, 10:00 AM
 
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,348,939 times
Reputation: 12186

Advertisements

Not all older cars are equally unreliable. I've driven many older Toyotas and they rarely need a repair. The older GM products I've owned need a $500 repair every other month. I prefer not to keep a car that's more than 10 years old for safety reasons.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-08-2016, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,013 posts, read 6,600,115 times
Reputation: 7036
What are the safety reasons specifically that everyone talks about? People keep mentioning them being unsafe, but no one is indicating what makes them unsafe... they weren't unsafe when they were new with the equipment on them, so how did that change?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Iowa
3,316 posts, read 4,101,624 times
Reputation: 4611
I don't drive very many miles per year, so if I bought newer cars I would lose a lot of money in depreciation. Ideally, I want depreciation loss to be almost nothing. I buy old cars, and look for models that have/had good reputation for reliability. I research the car by looking on forums to see what problems a particular model may be prone to. Then I ask the seller if they have service papers for any known problems, and want to see routine maintenance records. If they don't have any I won't buy it, and I won't buy any model that has known problems with engine, transmission or electrical gremlins. I can fudge on the body a little, but look for more important things like newer tires, newer battery, struts recently replaced, quiet exhaust and read about any issue with cat converter on that particular model, I check for leaks (I crawl underneath or take it to a shop and look carefully, I hate leaks. I check the radiator to see if it's crusty and had stop leak added. I reject any funny noises from engine (ticks, knocks ect) I check oil dipstick for foam (head gasket problems), smell the transmission fluid and note if it has a burnt smell. I expect the car to drive straight, and while test driving at slow speed I will turn steering wheel back and forth sharply and listen for any clicks or noise from the front end that shouldn't be there. I check exhaust for blue/black smoke, check for working AC that blows COLD air. I look in the trunk under the carpet to see if it's rusting out. I look at PS fluid to see if it's regular or thick (Lucas PS stop leak fluid). Check to see if engine is "skippy" from any possible motor mount problems. Also try do stay under 12 years old and less than 120K miles if budget allows.

I usually look at a half dozen cars before I find one that suits me, and if I missed something major that gives any sign of impending doom, I sell that sucker fast (at a small loss if necessary) and look for another car. Get rid of a lemon while it still runs so you can get a fair amount of your money back for next purchase.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 10:50 AM
 
Location: Floribama
18,929 posts, read 43,261,108 times
Reputation: 18732
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nlambert View Post
What are the safety reasons specifically that everyone talks about? People keep mentioning them being unsafe, but no one is indicating what makes them unsafe... they weren't unsafe when they were new with the equipment on them, so how did that change?
Probably because they don't have a dozen airbags, adaptive cruise control or lane assist. People nowadays are such babies. Smh
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 11:10 AM
 
Location: Keosauqua, Iowa
9,612 posts, read 21,151,276 times
Reputation: 13662
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nlambert View Post
What are the safety reasons specifically that everyone talks about? People keep mentioning them being unsafe, but no one is indicating what makes them unsafe... they weren't unsafe when they were new with the equipment on them, so how did that change?
It's the old "I don't know how we survived" cliche. Some people believe that the fact that you can now get a car with 17 airbags retroactively makes cars with no airbags inherently unsafe.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Pikesville, MD
2,983 posts, read 3,052,241 times
Reputation: 4552
Quote:
Originally Posted by duster1979 View Post
It's the old "I don't know how we survived" cliche. Some people believe that the fact that you can now get a car with 17 airbags retroactively makes cars with no airbags inherently unsafe.

Except cars 10-15 years old are 2000-2005 models and usually had airbags, too. Mine is 15 years old and has airbags in the steering wheel, front dash, A pillars, side curtains and seats. Even in recent accidents in the real world with SUVs (as a few fellow 7 series owners have had lately) they have proven to be quite safe to be in. So that worry is overblown, too.


Yeah, I don't get the blanket statement that cars 10-15 years old these days are beaters. Most in the 2001-2006 range are fairly decent cars, especially if they were higher end cars to start with.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 12:06 PM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,013 posts, read 6,600,115 times
Reputation: 7036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiffer E38 View Post
Except cars 10-15 years old are 2000-2005 models and usually had airbags, too. Mine is 15 years old and has airbags in the steering wheel, front dash, A pillars, side curtains and seats. Even in recent accidents in the real world with SUVs (as a few fellow 7 series owners have had lately) they have proven to be quite safe to be in. So that worry is overblown, too.


Yeah, I don't get the blanket statement that cars 10-15 years old these days are beaters. Most in the 2001-2006 range are fairly decent cars, especially if they were higher end cars to start with.


Yep.


Airbags became mandatory for any vehicle built after September 1, 1998. And they all have seatbelts too. I don't get the issue here.


You don't need lane assist, backup cameras, etc... to be safe. You need to learn how to drive and watch your surroundings.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 12:56 PM
 
58 posts, read 57,220 times
Reputation: 38
I could drive a "beater" for the rest of my life.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 01:32 PM
 
33,387 posts, read 34,643,076 times
Reputation: 20027
Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover View Post
Probably because they don't have a dozen airbags, adaptive cruise control or lane assist. People nowadays are such babies. Smh
or abs, traction control, and any other electronic "baby sitters" that modern cars have today. heaven forbid someone should actually have to *glup* DRIVE their cars.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2016, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Pikesville, MD
2,983 posts, read 3,052,241 times
Reputation: 4552
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm View Post
or abs, traction control, and any other electronic "baby sitters" that modern cars have today. heaven forbid someone should actually have to *glup* DRIVE their cars.


I don't count ABS as a baby sitter. It's reduced stopping distances even over expert modulation during threshold braking, especially in inclement conditions. And allows slowing the car safely/rapidly in corners without upsetting it, a boon for racing, especially for slalom racing.


But again, according to the OP, beaters are cars 5-15 years old, and most cars made in that timeframe have ABS and many have traction control, so acting like they are less safe than new cars is silly.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top