Who daily drives old stuff by CHOICE??

mguthrie

**# 1 Fan**OHIO STATE**
I just picked up another f-250 with the 7.3. It’s a 99 model 2wd crew cab. It will be a backup work truck. My suburban needs a tranny.
 

Whit90

Senior Member
Ive got an 02 f250 7.3 with almost 240,000 miles on it. I did daily drive it, but ive been working from home for the last year, so I dont drive as much. Ill drive it until it costs me more to fix it than its worth.
 

7 point

Senior Member
04 f150 5.4 79k and a 98 tacoma 4wd 4cyl 222k the ford is my daily driver the Tacoma is my weekend bounce around truck
 

MCBUCK

Senior Member
08 Grand Cherokee w 219k
Gave my 18’ F160 to the wife cause I was slamming the miles.
 
'04 Z-71 but it ain't a daily driver any more. Which is probably why it's only got 130K miles on it. And no, it ain't for sale as I plan on being buried in it...
 

Waddams

Senior Member
03 Nissan Frontier, Crew Cab, 2WD, 178k miles. Think it might need a new ignition switch, and I just had the starter, coil, distributor, spark plugs, and wires replaced. But it's paid for, insurance is cheap, and has been a good truck. Windows, locks, seats - all manual. I like the idea that the less bells and whistles, the less stuff that can break.
 

ol bob

Senior Member
06 Nissan Frontier 200k miles plan on it being the last truck I own.
 

Beagler

Senior Member
I drive a 2001 Silverado 71.000 miles I also have a 2012 sonic with 54.000 miles. I’ve looked at new one and just can’t see paying what they want.
 

mguthrie

**# 1 Fan**OHIO STATE**
I drive a 2001 Silverado 71.000 miles I also have a 2012 sonic with 54.000 miles. I’ve looked at new one and just can’t see paying what they want.
With the super low miles on those I wouldn’t be concerned at all with a new vehicle. Those Chevy 5.3 from that era are the best engines around.
 

Robust Redhorse

Senior Member
I can't resist this one...



No one in my household has ever had a new car.

The most reliable things (less than 10 years and 200,000 miles) go to my wife and daughter.

Me (by choice) and my son (by age and $) drive the really old stuff.

I my daily driver is 18 years old, and so is his.

Right now, what everyone drives is pretty solid, but I have driven things so old and marginal, that every commute could have easily turned into an adventure.

I think I really do, on some level, like the "challenge" of driving older vehicles.





I also think I have saved a bunch of money in interest on car payments over the last 40 years. (The only money I ever borrowed for a car was was $2000 from the local bank in 1983 to buy an FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser (wish I still had that thing!)

The money I saved on car payments has been spent on a whole bunch of boats, outdoor gear, hunting and fishing trips, vacations, interesting projects, etc.)


One day, I might wise-up and buy a new 4x4 pick-up or SUV when I start getting stressed about doing roadside repairs or having to call the occasional tow truck. But, as long as I can keep the plates spinning, I'm sticking with what I do.
 

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
I do. I have 99 problems, but a car note isn’t one.

I understand the appeal of a new car and sometimes a family needs one vehicle that has no reliability issues. So my wife drives a vehicle we bought new.

I on the other hand cannot justify going into more debt and spending over $10k in interest on a new car or whatever it comes out to at the end of the lone. I’d much rather be putting that money to work for me vs dumping it into a depreciating asset.

My first two cars are worth less than $5,000 combined.

They are:

1992 Mercury Grand Marquis - I love the Grand Marquis and the Crown Vic. It’s like driving a couch and you get a nice V8.

Grand Marquis are usually owned by older folks who took care of them.

People get out of your way if they see a Crown Vic because they think you’re the police.

My Grand Marquis was Gold/Champaign colored. I called her Dorothy (after the Golden Girls).

1998 Ford Explore - Still driving this baby. God willing it’ll last another two years. It has 225k miles on it. I had to replace the transmission for $3k. If you average out that $3K over a couple years, I’ve had come out ahead of buying a new car (payments + insurance). I want to get her to 250k miles. I call her Dora (Dora the Explora). The back is cool because you get the equivalent of a Ranger bed with a cover.

Don’t know what I’ll get next. Would love to talk to you guys and get your opinions on good used vehicles and trust worthy dealers. I’m a computer programmer. I know very little about cars.
 

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
1997 Dodge Ram 2500 cummings

Family member has one. He used it as a work truck. He did not baby it. It’s still ticking just fine.

Everyone I’ve met that’s owned one speaks very highly of this model.
 

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
01 silverado 2500 4wd, I work on late model vehicles daily, I won't own one ! They've continued to over-complicate, over-computerize every aspect of todays vehicles, which only leads to problems with electrical circuits, connections, grounds, etc,, drivetrains are designed to get the most fuel mileage possible, which the majority of the time means it is NOT going to be durable, or last very long without having to have major repairs, for example just rebuilt the trans in a 2017 silverado with only 90k on the clock, seeing a lot of them not making it to 100k before needing a major rebuild.

I won't own stuff I can't depend on

To your point about vehicles being over-complicated now:

I remember when the guy who fixed your car was called a ‘mechanic’ not a ‘tech’.
 

transfixer

Senior Member
To your point about vehicles being over-complicated now:

I remember when the guy who fixed your car was called a ‘mechanic’ not a ‘tech’.

Yes, in all fairness though, now with the stuff we have to know in order to work on these vehicles, we're a lot more "technical" than we used to be, my laptop sits on top of my toolbox,, and its not there for social media,, its where I have all my tech resources,,, and access to Alldata , and Corporate technical information .
 

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
Yes, in all fairness though, now with the stuff we have to know in order to work on these vehicles, we're a lot more "technical" than we used to be, my laptop sits on top of my toolbox,, and its not there for social media,, its where I have all my tech resources,,, and access to Alldata , and Corporate technical information .

Makes sense.
 

Concrete Pete

Senior Member
Nowadays I not only rebuild transmissions, but reprogram the software in some of them, to make them more durable than the manufacturer intended

Overall has the extra software helped?

I can see where emission and fuel economy standards tie the manufacturer’s hands in some cases.

Like you said earlier, it seems like all these new cars are having major problems well before they should be.
 

Katalee

Senior Member
2000 GMC pickup with 135,000 miles. Regular Cab and 2 wheel drive. 1998 Chevy 4x4 extended cab 250,000 miles, for hunting and work.
 
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