Ammo for no electric cars

In all seriousness, that was a very good video.

I'm struggling with the thought of needing to buy a new(er) vehicle this year. We had thought about it last year, but the market dipped and our investments dropped, and then we had some unexpected expenses, so the Mercury (which is still running well) stayed in service. But while knowing that an 11 year old car is sitting in the driveway as our primary transportation is OK, sitting next to an 11 year old truck, it's still an aging piece of machinery that isn't going to magically get more reliable every year.

The thought of having to look at electric or hybrid cars just doesn't do it now, but I also wonder what after this next car, what the following one will be.

My brother, on the other hand, has embraced the technology, having bought their second Prius (first one got crashed) and his oldest son (high end IT guy married to a doctor) drives a Tesla.

Our newest vehicle is 14 years old and my dd is 15.
 
Our newest vehicle is 14 years old and my dd is 15.
Well, I used to drive older cars too... and I was younger and stayed closer to home.

Now... Well... The cars are more sophisticated (obviously)... Then there's that whole getting older thing... I can still change a tire, but geez, I'm really at a mechanic's mercy if something breaks out on the road.

And then there's just the fact that the market has been good to me this past year. We caught up and passed just like my financial guy said we would. I don't have a fancy big house or furniture. Don't owe a lot of money. Got my pensions and SS coming in along with savings. Just have a couple old cars that I paid for long ago. Maybe it's time that my butt was on some nicer leather.
 
Never thought for one minute my entire life that I'd see governments world wide would start banning ICE vehicles.
****, even 10 years ago.
:wtf:
Apparently in Canada, a big percentage of new cars will have to be EV by 2035
 
I haven't asked any tesla owners about how long they keep them before getting a new one.

There is a Tesla that is used as a taxi in Vegas that maintains a running log online. I'll have to find it again. The last time I looked I think the car had low 200K on it and was on it's 5th battery pack, one being a short lived dud. Sounds like some awfully expensive, wasteful and environmentally harmful vehicle to me. Not to mention all of the coal being burned. Or maybe that one is straight hydro-electric.

Edit: This doesn't seem to be the same car I was talking about, but it is similar
Tesla Model X with extreme mileage racked up $29,000 in repair/maintenance and that's good - Electrek
 
Last edited:
roads-have-carsworld-has-idiots-23.jpg
 
I won't buy a Tesla .....but I'm impressed with the performance!

I can't wait to see what kind of EV beast the SRT Team delivers in the future. Maybe an SRT EV in my fleet while I'm still on the GREEN side of the earth. LOL

Screenshot_20210221-081446_Chrome.jpg
 
I'm really at a mechanic's mercy if something breaks out on the road
This is a problem with newer cars. Simple stuff like water pump, fuel pump, thermostat, radiator have become so involved your a night or two in a hotel before continuing on.
Some cars where they are using the older tech (timing belt days) now back on chain because of variable valve timing the water pump has moved inside crankcase (exposed to engine oil). PITA to get to plus contamination of the engine oil when it pops. Getting all that straight on the road with a random mechanic is a crap shoot. Fuel pump on a Asian car would take about 20 min in a auto parts parking lot. Domestic I think they would frown on you dropping the tank in their parking lot.
I could definitely change a fuel pump on a big block Chrysler in the parking lot.
 
My son works at a truck stop/ gas station. Last year they removed the tall standing propane tanks where you could recharge your bbq tank...now it's an exchange.
They installed 3 charging stations in place of the propane.
Interesting stories my son has told me:
1) Teslas software prevents "supercharging" at these pumps;
2) We are just coming our of a cold snap here...same cold snap that reached down to Texas...but up here in Canada, they are expected and normal in Feb. During the -38 temps some one pulled up with 15% charge left. Left the heater on while charging...car was using more energy heating than it was receiving from the charge, so the charge kept dropping. He was angry and complained to my son at the till. My son's reply- Get a tow.

Electric cars don't work in this weather.

And I pulled away in my 1989 318 Chrysler...
 
This is a problem with newer cars. Simple stuff like water pump, fuel pump, thermostat, radiator have become so involved your a night or two in a hotel before continuing on.

That and all of the unwanted electronic gizmo crap to die before the car does is what will keep me away from these newer vehicles.
 
This is a problem with newer cars. Simple stuff like water pump, fuel pump, thermostat, radiator have become so involved your a night or two in a hotel before continuing on.
Some cars where they are using the older tech (timing belt days) now back on chain because of variable valve timing the water pump has moved inside crankcase (exposed to engine oil). PITA to get to plus contamination of the engine oil when it pops. Getting all that straight on the road with a random mechanic is a crap shoot. Fuel pump on a Asian car would take about 20 min in a auto parts parking lot. Domestic I think they would frown on you dropping the tank in their parking lot.
I could definitely change a fuel pump on a big block Chrysler in the parking lot.
I don't think there's much of anything I couldn't do on a big block Chrysler in a parking lot if I really had to. Might not be able to drop the crank, but I know if I had the right tools with me, I could pull a piston.

New cars? I'm lucky if I can change the oil.

There is a few things (mechanical) that I can still wrench on with my Mercury, but once it hits the electronics, I'm done... It will be worse with a new car, but that's just the way it is.

The Mercury is aging... and I know it. It would be a fantastic second car but as a primary DD, it's probably time to think about replacing it... But I also came to the conclusion this morning, after looking at what the ice dams are doing to the roof, that a new roof might trump replacing the Mercury....
 
This is a problem with newer cars. Simple stuff like water pump, fuel pump, thermostat, radiator have become so involved your a night or two in a hotel before continuing on.
Some cars where they are using the older tech (timing belt days) now back on chain because of variable valve timing the water pump has moved inside crankcase (exposed to engine oil). PITA to get to plus contamination of the engine oil when it pops. Getting all that straight on the road with a random mechanic is a crap shoot. Fuel pump on a Asian car would take about 20 min in a auto parts parking lot. Domestic I think they would frown on you dropping the tank in their parking lot.
I could definitely change a fuel pump on a big block Chrysler in the parking lot.

Even at the Dodge dealer.....no parts on hand that I need except an air cleaner wing nut. Wait a minute...none of my metric cars have an air cleaner wing nut.

Anyways, the dealer literally doesn't have any parts on hand for my Redeye. I asked about wear parts like rotors and pads and I'm told it will take a couple of months to get those parts. I have the 6 piston Brembo's and 2 piece 14.5" rotors. Rotors are $1200 each and a set of pads is $500-$600 a set. That is not a typo. Calipers are $700 each.

No problem.....I knew that parts were expensive before I bought the car. I don't drive like a madman (most of the time) so it's not like I have to replace worn out parts once a year.
 
My mantra now:
Buy new with 10 year warranty.
Repeat (if there is one).

Is there mileage on that? 10 years is like 175k for us?

@1978 NYB ,Rock Auto has rotors for $676 plus shipping. Calipers are hard to tell, they list calipers for Hellcat, which I believe are 6 piston, but I have no way of knowing if they are same or not. They lump all the supercharged cars together.
 
Last edited:
Is there mileage on that? 10 years is like 175k for us?

@1978 NYB ,Rock Auto has rotors for $676 plus shipping. Calipers are hard to tell, they list calipers for Hellcat, which I believe are 6 piston, but I have no way of knowing if they are same or not. They lump all the supercharged cars together.

I'm not 100% sure those are the 2 piece replacement rotors. I would have to call and make sure they will work.

I did find another set of performance rotors.

Screenshot_20210221-202616_Chrome.jpg
 
Back
Top