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Another Car Rant

posted 8 years ago by drunkbear
6 replies | jump to latest

I am having the worst 'car summer' of my life, this year. My beloved 1989 Chevy Caprice has needed a total lock replacement, transmission rebuild, guesswork tune-up (it's too old for the code readers, so they had to just throw parts into it until something worked), TWICE on the wiper/washer motor, rebuilding the fuse box after a 5-year-old bodge job finally gave out - and that is the SHORT version of my Litany Of Woes. It's cost me $3500 U.S. so far, this summer.

But I LOVE that car. I just want it to run RIGHT. I bought it from the original owner in February of 2012 for $2500.00, then had to drop another $2000.00 on it; mostly the $1300.00 when the a/c gave out. Since then, it only needed an occasional oil change and one thermostat. It was custom-ordered from the factory with EVERY SINGLE OPTION they offered. There probably weren't more than 2 dozen cars like mine EVER MADE.

In the last four months, though, EVERYTHING has gone wrong, from horn to headlights. Literally. And the horn STILL ain't right; one of the seashells isn't working.

I get people offering to buy it about once a month, usually when I stop at gas stations. Once, when I was going 75 mph on an interstate and this guy in a pickup truck rolled down his window and shouted a query at me. Take me back in time six months, and I would've sold the bloody thing for $2500.00. Now, I've got so much money invested in repairs that I'd have to get TWICE what it's worth, just to break even.

The phrase 'good money after bad' has been coming up in conversations with my friends and family, recently. I just want this car to work properly, so I can go on driving it.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] dksix 8 years ago

You are complaining about buying a car that was 20+ years old. Did you not think that things need to be replaced due to age?

--And the car can have codes and serial data read. It just operates on a different system (Pre-ODB II).

[–] dangus 8 years ago

Buy a parts car, shop manuals, and a set of tools. Or marry a mechanic.

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

I am prepared-for and accepting-of the fact that old parts will wear out. But ALL AT ONCE?! I've always driven old cars; I love old cars. This is the 8th Caprice that I've had. I had to fix the others, now and then. This one went trouble-free for over four years, then EVERYTHING broke. THAT's the frustrating part. Since May, the car has spent more time in the shop than in my driveway.

Thank the Road Gods that I kept the '83 Caprice as a backup plan. A/C broken, but everything else works.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] dksix 8 years ago

Old cars are similar to old people. Once you have to start tinkering and replacing parts the older parts can't keep up with the newer parts.

Yes, all the parts and components can go bad at relatively the same time.

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

I used to carry a mechanic in the trunk; two of them suffocated and the third stole my floor jack.

It just ain't cost-effective.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] medievil3791 8 years ago

Having the same problem with an 18 year old Honda, it's creeping up on 200,000 miles.
Still runs good but in the last year I've had to put more money into it to keep it running than what it's worth.

It books at around $2100 and I've put about $2500 into it and it still needs more done to it.
But I had a friend tell me once its the joys of vehicle ownership.