Have an old car? You're not alone. Vehicle age hits record

Add me to the list... newest vehicle in my Mopar fleet is a 2008 Sebring Limited retractable hardtop bought in 2012 and with 82K is lowest mileage, as well. It is garaged winters, when my 2002 Concorde Limited w/110K takes over...owned that one since 2004. We bought a 2007 Jeep Commander Limited (w/Hemi & factory tow package) in 2016 (for $10,500) with 92K to use as a tow vehicle for our camper...hauled us to Gulf Shores, AL just fine last winter. As with everyone else, new cars just seem to be priced more than I care to invest, so the original article definitely applies to me, too!

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I buy Buick Park Avenues '95 to '01 with low miles. I pay no more than 3500. I do my own wrenching but not much goes wrong. My latest buy is a '08 Lucerne for 6000.
 
A deer took out my red 06 Ridgeline, that I bought back and rebuilt. It was bitter when I watched it drive away a few months ago Recently picked up another 06 Ridgeline DD with over 200k on it, seems this one has had less than stellar maintenance as the quarters are bubbling up. Im contemplating going south to get a 14. Still haven't jumped into a second gen 15-19 to see the difference between the two. The second gen have a tried and true drivetrain unlike the crv / hrvs that went to CVT trans and oil dilution turbo 1.5s.
 
newest is missus '04 xc70. paid $650 for it 4 years ago. 279k on it now and not a spec of rust, interior's solid, ice cold air, cruises at 90, snow's a joke. great car.
 
Bought in 2001 w 33k, has 157k now. As long as it doesn't rust out or get wrecked I'll own it. Needs an accumulator for AC.
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Wifey's car.

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Newest I’ve ever owned is my ‘03 1500 4x4. Have had it for 10 years now. Been a decent truck. It has had it’s share of rust problems due to northern winters. I’ve done a cab and bed swap on her to keep her going. The paint is no longer perfect, but it’s a truck. Who cares? The 4.7 has also been rebuilt due to over heating... (big surprise! LOL) the little 4.7 gets a lot of hate, but I really can’t ***** too much about it. Been a good little engine other wise. Just need to keep up on oil changes/maintenance.

This was the day it came home.

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How it currently sits

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Last year I traded backwards for the ‘96 2500. Had to do a bit of work to it as well, but should out live the ‘03! It’s been a great truck! Only thing I worry about is the tranny. It’s been rebuilt once, but dodge trannies of this era are not known for their reliability by far.

First bought

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Currently

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I toyed with selling the ‘03, but luckily I didn’t. Sabrina has taken over it the last few weeks due to the caravelle giving us fits. She put some new tires on it, and it has become her new driver.

I lust over getting something new, but then see the prices. There is nothing out there worth the money to me... Sure I could sell the fleet I currently have, and get something new, but where’s the fun in that?
 
My daily driver isn't too old. It's been a good car for having a Fiat engine. 2013 dodge Dodge dart. 188000 miles. Stock clutch still. Can't wait to upgrade to a charger or Challenger though this thing has saved me countless dollars in gas for the past 4 years now!!
I bought a 2013 dart 2.0 non turbo new and i have 197k on it only thing that i've replaced is oil, spark plugs, and tires
 
Last year I traded backwards for the ‘96 2500. Had to do a bit of work to it as well, but should out live the ‘03! It’s been a great truck! Only thing I worry about is the tranny. It’s been rebuilt once, but dodge trannies of this era are not known for their reliability by far.
The 1994-96 12-valve CTD is a fantastic engine which will last forever with proper care. I loved my '94. I sold it to my brother and he's still driving it.

The biggest problem is the torque converter lockup, which is weak. That's what ultimately went in my 1994 CTD with 47RH, at somewhere around 400,000km (248,000mi). Hopefully when yours was overhauled they installed a more heavy duty torque converter with 2 or 3 clutch packs.

The 1994-95 had the 47RH transmission. 1996 was the first year for the 47RE. Not sure if there were other problems specific to the 47RE, but I don't believe there were many differences. They didn't switch from a kickdown cable connected to the valvebody to the stepper motor under ECU control until later years when the engine went throttle-by-wire. I think that started in 2003 with the HPCR engines.

From my 1994 CTD experience, if the trans starts going in and out of lockup at steady speed on the highway, the problem is the TPS, not the transmission. Also, the TPS has brass eyelets in the TPS body where it bolts to the bracket on the engine. If you knock those out, it makes the mounting holes bigger. Then you can rotate the TPS to fine-tune the speed where it shifts into 4th gear and when the lockup happens, to suit your driving style.

Adjust the bands and do fluid and filter changes with ATF+4 as per the service schedule. Do not skip on adjusting the bands. When towing, start out in 1st gear, let your foot off the throttle, upshift manually to the next gear, then get back on the throttle. Don't just push the tow/haul button and let the trans shift automatically.

If your truck shudders/lugs after the lockup engages until it picks up RPM, you probably need to replace the overflow valve on your injection pump. This shuddering can also cause driveline problems such as lockup slipping and eventual failure if not corrected.
LarryB's 1 417 413 047 Overflow Valve for Dodge Cummins w/Bosch P7100 94-98.5 - Dodge Fuel System Parts - Dodge Cummins Diesel LarryB's
 
I lust over getting something new, but then see the prices. There is nothing out there worth the money to me... Sure I could sell the fleet I currently have, and get something new, but where’s the fun in that?

My thoughts exactly.:thumbsup:
 
My fleet consists of an '83 Plymouth GT Scamp Pickup. Everything new or rebuilt with many modz. 1000 miles since the coming out party two yearz ago. HP haz been bumped from 85 factory HP to turbo'd + intercooled something ah bit over 210 HP. And at 2250lbs GVW I keep the windowz up to keep the drag down and the bugz out of my grinning pie hole, 'cuz it does fly. And an '87 LeBaron GTC Coupe W/ 82,XXX original miles, everything works and needs nothing. MY D.D. Iz a '2000 Dodge Grand Caravan that haz 73'XXX milez on the clock and suits the family needz just fine, so from now on I will covet new iron vicariously and in my fantasies. Jer
 
So my daily drivers consist of my 2004 Ford Focus manual which is an amazing car now at 167,000 miles. Along came the 1991 Mazda 626 that a old classmate passed on to me when he no longer needed it. Manual at 198,000 miles. Last is my father's 2004 Le Sabre at 44,000 miles. Given my previous history with cars and with how well these cars have behaved and how low their miles are I suspect they can last me till I'm 90. No new cars for me.

Already someone has begged me to sell him the Le Sabre. Not gonna happen especially being a lowball flipper. When looking at cars last year a Ford sales manager asked if I was trading in the Focus for a Fusion? No, I was just looking at the Fusion. He then asked if he could buy the Focus? Ah, no...
 
The 1994-96 12-valve CTD is a fantastic engine which will last forever with proper care. I loved my '94. I sold it to my brother and he's still driving it.

The biggest problem is the torque converter lockup, which is weak. That's what ultimately went in my 1994 CTD with 47RH, at somewhere around 400,000km (248,000mi). Hopefully when yours was overhauled they installed a more heavy duty torque converter with 2 or 3 clutch packs.

The 1994-95 had the 47RH transmission. 1996 was the first year for the 47RE. Not sure if there were other problems specific to the 47RE, but I don't believe there were many differences. They didn't switch from a kickdown cable connected to the valvebody to the stepper motor under ECU control until later years when the engine went throttle-by-wire. I think that started in 2003 with the HPCR engines.

From my 1994 CTD experience, if the trans starts going in and out of lockup at steady speed on the highway, the problem is the TPS, not the transmission. Also, the TPS has brass eyelets in the TPS body where it bolts to the bracket on the engine. If you knock those out, it makes the mounting holes bigger. Then you can rotate the TPS to fine-tune the speed where it shifts into 4th gear and when the lockup happens, to suit your driving style.

Adjust the bands and do fluid and filter changes with ATF+4 as per the service schedule. Do not skip on adjusting the bands. When towing, start out in 1st gear, let your foot off the throttle, upshift manually to the next gear, then get back on the throttle. Don't just push the tow/haul button and let the trans shift automatically.

If your truck shudders/lugs after the lockup engages until it picks up RPM, you probably need to replace the overflow valve on your injection pump. This shuddering can also cause driveline problems such as lockup slipping and eventual failure if not corrected.
LarryB's 1 417 413 047 Overflow Valve for Dodge Cummins w/Bosch P7100 94-98.5 - Dodge Fuel System Parts - Dodge Cummins Diesel LarryB's

It really is a great truck. I’d love to get my hands on a 47RH trans for the dually we converted, and do away with the 518 trans. The 4.10 gears in the dually need to be swapped out badly as well. She is more of a tractor then a truck! The VE pumped motor in the dually is pretty much in stock form still, compared to the ‘96. It’s amazing what a few hours of tweeking will do to these trucks. They are a different animal afterwards.

Yes luckily they did install an upgraded billet converter in the trans of the ‘96 when over hauled. However while doing a trans service, and adjustment last year, it looks like she is coming up on the end of its life. Idk how long ago it was overhauled, but it is still functioning properly, with no problems. I don’t beat it, but I can be pretty mean to it as well. She has gone through a couple boosted 4x4 launches and still standing. I also have a lock up switch installed, that I don’t shy away from....

From my understanding one of the big killers of these trannys is the factory line pressure. It’s set up way too soft for the smooth unnoticeable shifts. We bumped the line pressure up quite a bit on this one.

Also did the “free” upgrades to the pump, along with some 5k springs, and fuel plate removed. Truck will get its big test next week, hauling the car up to Carlisle. Fingers crossed we are good. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be, but she is pushing 25 years old. You never know...
 
From my understanding one of the big killers of these trannys is the factory line pressure. It’s set up way too soft for the smooth unnoticeable shifts. We bumped the line pressure up quite a bit on this one.

Quite likely. I didn't do much towing with mine, and when I did I always let off the gas and shifted manually so it was not under load when shifting. You can't directly control the 3-4 shift and lockup, but you can force it by getting off the throttle when you want it to upshift.

Fingers crossed we are good. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be, but she is pushing 25 years old. You never know...
That was one of the reasons I sold mine. I had it Krown-oil sprayed every fall so there was very little undercarriage rust despite being driven year-round through the winter road salt. Some strange and unforeseeable things started breaking that told me it was becoming unreliable and more likely to leave me stranded: transmission, ignition switch, fuel trans and brake lines... not rotted out but rub-through holes at the brackets, one of the rear leaf spring shackles rotted out. Soon after my brother got it, one of the front shock mounts rotted out.

The breather tube in mine plugged-up also, even though I changed the oil religiously. That caused the crankcase to pressurize and it started dripping oil from the dipstick tube onto the injection pump. The oil separator cleanout access is behind the injection pump, which I wasn't about to remove. The same engine is used in tractors from IH/CAT but they have use dual valvecover with a breather in it. I bought one of those from the farm implement dealer instead. Here is a link to someone else's install with part numbers. He has 2 installed but you only need 1.
12v Valve Cover Breather - Dodge Diesel - Diesel Truck Resource Forums

Another common problem with these as they age is cracks in the rubber fuel lines which cause air leaks. That is a big problem for diesels and difficult to diagnose. I never had that problem while I owned the '94 but I expect to hear about it from my brother eventually. My father-in-law knows a guy who traded-in a CTD because he was racking-up huge towing and mechanic bills trying to track down a mysterious no-start and poor running problem. I'm pretty sure that's what his problem was, but I never got to look at his truck.

BTW, the Bosch P7100 pump used in the 2nd gen Cummins 12-valve is a great pump and overbuilt for that size engine, but the ULSD fuel they sell now doesn't have adequate lubricity for it. You should use an additive at every fillup. I use Power Service in the silver bottle. Stanadyne is also a well-known brand. Some guys mix in 2-cycle oil instead.
 
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