Old car VS new car

[C Body Bob]

Just curious to know if you guys think the newer cars (2008-2014) are better than the classic from say (1965-1972) I personaly think the newer cars are. I work for many of the area's new car dealers & get to drive all kinds of plastic. The cars of today offer so much. The styling is worse or at least has not stood the test of time. Dont get me wrong I absolutely love the steel from the old days. Those were indeed cars!!! I'm just saying that after the 70's, 80's, 90's and early 2000's cars today are finely living up to their prices & hype. Just my opinion ofcourse. So what do you folks think. No wrong answers. Just curious what you think. Oh & yes I suppose we can include light trucks (pick ups) in this descusion.

 

[Marian]

Serious? Newer cars offer nothing compared to the classy cars. How does one even compare? How many of the 2014's will be around in 50 years? Guess time will tell. I won't care...I'll be dead. Humpf.

 

[patrick66]

Bob, new cars have a purpose - to provide transportation needs to people who do not want, nor wish to own old cars. Not everyone (thankfully) likes old cars and trucks. One big advantage to a new vehicle is a warranty - an a pretty damn good one, too! The disadvantages are - they are NOT designed in any way to be worked on by the owner. Not even so much as a damn oil change on many of them. Plus, a basic car with few options is going to cost $15K. I can buy a pretty damn nice old car or truck for that and have change in my pocket.

I rented a '12 Nissan Sentra to drive on a trip to Colorado recently, and put 2,450 miles on it. Got 37 mpg for a trip average, too! Pretty impressive, but would I go buy a new Sentra? No. When I need to do a road trip, I'll happily spend $300 to rent someone elses car and put the wear and tear on IT and not my vehicles. The new cars are good for what they are designed to do - haul people around. Will people restore 2014 Mustangs and Challengers forty years from now? The answer is "yes", but they'd better be very well-versed in today's electronics, because with an average of eight separate computers in new vehicles, there is a LOT to go wrong. You think finding a working LeanBurn computer is bad? At least, a guy can easily work around a failed LB and bypass it. Nothing in today's cars is designed to be bypassed, or even repaired! Most warranty work is remove the old and replace with new. No "repair" work is done.

So, yes, I'll continue to drive my 28-year-old Ford wagon on a daily basis. And at $3.75/gallon @ 17 mpg, I'm still spending FAR less than the guy who just bought a 2014 Whatever, with his high car payment, insurance, 35 mpg, and overall cost-per-mile. Oh, and the eight to 20 airbags to spontaneously deploy, and then total an otherwise-undamaged vehicle. Pass.

And, there is NO way I can justify spending $40K on a Mustang, Challenger, or a Camaro (and that is not even the top-end cars!), nor the same on a mid-level half-ton gas pickup. Insanity rules these days.

 

[rexus31]

I guess I might be in the minority here, but neither of my old cars can hold a candle to my 2012 Charger R/T. I get 23mpg on the highway, ice cold A/C, heated/ventilated seats, power everything, NAV, kick *** stereo AND 370hp and 390 fl lbs of torque. I drive a lot for a living (around 2K miles per month) and couldn't image driving around in one of my restored cars or a nice unrestored car from the '60's or '70's on a daily basis. To each their own, but I'll stick with my daily driver for daily driving. The classics are cool to cruise around in for pleasure driving but aren't cut out for the type of daily driving I do.

 

[70NPORT]

What happens when the battery of a modern car is removed/totally disconnected? & What happens when the battery of a classic car is removed/totally disconnected?

 

[MrMoparCHP]

New cars are made to sell features and safety, this largely started in the 80's when the auto industry started catering more to the women buyers. Prior to that it was all about style and power not about cup holders and "manicure friendly door handles", (for real).


Alan

 

[Stormer]

I wouldn't trade my 09 Challenger (metric) for a fleet of 70 Hemi Cudas.

 

[Fratzog]

We are comparing apples and oranges. My daily driver 07 Charger is a great commuter car. I wouldn't dream of taking it to a cruise night.

 

[commando1]

I never give a thought about jumping into my F-150 anytime, anywhere, for anything.
Can't say that about the others.

Posted via Topify on Android

 

[rexus31]

The collector cars are just that, collector cars meant to be driven for pleasure cruises. If you think old cars are better daily drivers than new cars you are either stubborn, or don't have the means to afford a new car. I couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind would choose my '64 GTO or by '65 'vert as a daily driver over the '12 Charger R/T for my job.

 

[Bryan]

Newer cars are much more reliable, last longer and require much less routine maintenance......... but they totally lack personality and identity. They are nothing more than drab, plastic, soul less generic appliances. I'm sure our old cars would look at a modern car the same way we would look at a zombie.............. "sure, it's animated, but there ain't nothing in there".....

 

[saforwardlook]

My newest car is a 1997 Chrysler Concorde and it is so much fun to drive, always starts and runs and very little maintenance, and the a/c still has not required a recharge. It is comfortable, handles amazingly and to me looks great. I can relate to the car in every way and to me it does have personality. For everyday driving, it can't be beat. But getting in my old cars is satisfying too, but in very different ways, and they always need something attended to it seems. With the Concorde, I don't worry about anything.

 

[C Body Bob]

I had a 95 Intrepid 3.5 very similar to your Concord. Those where good cars. My Intrepid was very reliable & fast. Better than V6 fast. It was faster than most V8 passenger cars of the day. Some police versions were out even. Handling was good for a family sedan. It was the first late model car I thought was on target & began to like newer cars again.

 

[tbm3fan]

For daily driving to work with the traffic around here it has to be a new car. What I look for is stop well, nimble, quick and can handle. Outright speed is not a requirement as much as quick. If I tried to take a 35 mph curve at 60 mph in one of my old cars they would have been launched into the bay. Around here people are always flitting about and for that it helps to have good brakes and nimble handling to get out of trouble. The Polara doesn't have that and would get me in trouble which is why it scares me to drive M-F during the day. Same goes for the F100 and the Mustang which both have drum brakes

 

[Catfish]

I love the old cars, much better driving experience in my opinion.....and more style. But if you can't appreciate modern technology, then you are behind. I have over 600 HP to the tires and get 24 MPG on the highway....very impressive, and very reliable.

 

[Edison]

I work for a rental car company so from 2004-2010 I drove every new car to come of from the American manufactures and many from Japan, Korea and Europe. I own a 2008 Honda Fit that I bought brand new. I can honestly say that "new" cars are pieces of junk. Stupid dummy sensors that break and cost an arm and a leg to fix, cramped engine bays where you can't reach anything, interiors that are 100% hard uncomfortable plastic. And all the "bells and whistles" just make for WORSE drivers. Seriously if you need your car to parallel park itself for you then you need to give up your license. I daily drive my Fit and just this week I had a replace a $70 fuel pressure sensor. It is located on the cylinder head and is key to activating the VTEC. It crapped out and then my car wouldn't rev over 3000 rpm or it would cut fuel off. It was a very slow drive home from work. It took me literally 30 seconds to replace it. I was very mad.

Working for the rental company, I realized "new" cars aren't as reliable as we think. I had many of them that came off the truck with 10 miles but with check engine lights on, no starts, bad alternators etc. And this was across all brands (but Chrysler from 04-08 was the worst offender, sorry guys!) The cars are CONSTANTLY being recalled and service is VERY expensive and good luck tracking it down if its a electrical issue.

I like my Fit and its been pretty good to me since I've kept up on maintenance (valve lash adjustment tomorrow) but if I could go back in time, I would have taken my $17000 car loan ($20K after finance!) and bought a used car with a blown motor and decent body for $1500, had a rebuilt and warrantied engine and transmission dropped in it for $5000 and took my extra $10k to my bank account. In essence it'd be a "new" car.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Ten years ago I chose to dump my 1999 Chrysler Sebring JXi and buy a 1967 Valiant. The main driving force for this was money.

The Sebring was getting to the point that it was going to start needing things, some of the required maintenance was going to be $1200. I had a speed sensor on the transmission go out and it was going to be $800 to replace a $30 sensor. I was lucky that at the time I was slim enough to contort myself into where it was and replace it blind, if it had ben the other speed sensor it would have been a different story. I never installed the power steering line and left the temporary repair and the amount of work just to get to it was prohibitive.

The basic reasoning was that the newer car may be less likely to need service but when it did I probably wouldn't be able to do it would probably not be cheep.
Compared to an older car more likely needing service and the cost of parts put together with the likelihood I could do the repair.

Even the annual expense not talking about repairs was going to be cheaper. Although the older car would not get as good of gas mileage it would be paid for, insurance cheaper as well as registration. This was also at a time where my barracuda was in my garage collecting dust unrestored as I didn't have money.

I don't think I could be where I am today had I stayed with the Sebring, don't get me wrong I LOVED that car but it was sucking me dry. Since then I finished the Barracuda, went to Europe, purchased two Polaras and my truck and have taken on another major restoration.


Bound to old cars and not looking back.


Alan

 

[rexus31]

I work for a rental car company so from 2004-2010 I drove every new car to come of from the American manufactures and many from Japan, Korea and Europe. I own a 2008 Honda Fit that I bought brand new. I can honestly say that "new" cars are pieces of junk. Stupid dummy sensors that break and cost an arm and a leg to fix, cramped engine bays where you can't reach anything, interiors that are 100% hard uncomfortable plastic. And all the "bells and whistles" just make for WORSE drivers. Seriously if you need your car to parallel park itself for you then you need to give up your license. I daily drive my Fit and just this week I had a replace a $70 fuel pressure sensor. It is located on the cylinder head and is key to activating the VTEC. It crapped out and then my car wouldn't rev over 3000 rpm or it would cut fuel off. It was a very slow drive home from work. It took me literally 30 seconds to replace it. I was very mad.

Working for the rental company, I realized "new" cars aren't as reliable as we think. I had many of them that came off the truck with 10 miles but with check engine lights on, no starts, bad alternators etc. And this was across all brands (but Chrysler from 04-08 was the worst offender, sorry guys!) The cars are CONSTANTLY being recalled and service is VERY expensive and good luck tracking it down if its a electrical issue.

I like my Fit and its been pretty good to me since I've kept up on maintenance (valve lash adjustment tomorrow) but if I could go back in time, I would have taken my $17000 car loan ($20K after finance!) and bought a used car with a blown motor and decent body for $1500, had a rebuilt and warrantied engine and transmission dropped in it for $5000 and took my extra $10k to my bank account. In essence it'd be a "new" car.

I suppose it all depends on which new car you choose to buy. Nothing against you personally, but given the choice of a new Honda, the Fit wouldn't even make the list. Nor would any of the other manufacturer's entry level economy compact. My daughter leases a '13 Civic 4 door. Pretty cool little car with power everything, Bluetooth and a backup cam. It feels well built and I doubt she will have any mechanical issues in the time she has it. It all depends on how much you drive too. If I drove 10 miles to work every day, I'd have no problem driving the Goat or the 300. But, I drive around 120-150 miles per day and would be miserable if I had to do it in one of my classics. My car is my office and I want it to be very comfortable and have all the creature comforts only a modern car can provide. If you drove as much as I do and say you would do it in an old car, I want what you're smoking.

 

[Edison]

I suppose it all depends on which new car you choose to buy. Nothing against you personally, but given the choice of a new Honda, the Fit wouldn't even make the list. Nor would any of the other manufacturer's entry level economy compact. My daughter leases a '13 Civic 4 door. Pretty cool little car with power everything, Bluetooth and a backup cam. It feels well built and I doubt she will have any mechanical issues in the time she has it. It all depends on how much you drive too. If I drove 10 miles to work every day, I'd have no problem driving the Goat or the 300. But, I drive around 120-150 miles per day and would be miserable if I had to do it in one of my classics. My car is my office and I want it to be very comfortable and have all the creature comforts only a modern car can provide. If you drove as much as I do and say you would do it in an old car, I want what you're smoking.

I bought my Fit brand new in 2008 with 13 miles on it. I didn't even know how to drive a stick at the time. But that said, it'd be the only Honda I would buy currently as they are all ugly pigs. I did go through several 88-91 Civics since then. As a daily driver (I commute through city traffic to work, about 40 minutes on average) I should have just bought an early 90's car. I didn't even know how to change my own oil back then. Since then, I've done engine swaps, ECU wiring, and just about any maintenance outside of head gasket that my Civic needed. I only bought new because my logic at the time was "I'm tired of putting repair money into my car! I could just buy a new one with all this repair money!" and I think a lot of people who don't know how to wrench think that. And then as soon as they pay the car off, it needs repairs so you're really just slaving away at work to put money in an automakers pocket endlessly like that.

I still have my 91 Civic 5 speed, my auto 08 Fit and now my 66 Newport. I drive the Newport at least 4 days a week, drive the Fit to work and the Civic is just sitting as a back up (needs a new dizzy I think as sometimes it has a random misfire really bad even after new rotor, cap, plugs and wires). But man, every time I get in someone else's "new" car now I hate it. Just hate being surrounded by the cheap plastic, hearing all the beeps and buzzes at every little thing, lights for sensors that people should be doing them damn selves. Even my GF learned to check her fluids and tire pressure at ever fill up now thanks to me helping her learn to wrench! Gotta pass on what others have taught me

That's not to say that there aren't any new cars I would love to have. Honda S2000, Mustang GT, Charger SRT 8 are all new cars I would happily drive. But for me, looking at the price tag makes me think "what kind of car could I BUILD for this money?" And maybe working in the rental car industry (I'm in IT now though) has burnt me out on new cars faster than it should have.

 

[Edison]

Ten years ago I chose to dump my 1999 Chrysler Sebring JXi and buy a 1967 Valiant. The main driving force for this was money.

The Sebring was getting to the point that it was going to start needing things, some of the required maintenance was going to be $1200. I had a speed sensor on the transmission go out and it was going to be $800 to replace a $30 sensor. I was lucky that at the time I was slim enough to contort myself into where it was and replace it blind, if it had ben the other speed sensor it would have been a different story. I never installed the power steering line and left the temporary repair and the amount of work just to get to it was prohibitive.

The basic reasoning was that the newer car may be less likely to need service but when it did I probably wouldn't be able to do it would probably not be cheep.
Compared to an older car more likely needing service and the cost of parts put together with the likelihood I could do the repair.

Even the annual expense not talking about repairs was going to be cheaper. Although the older car would not get as good of gas mileage it would be paid for, insurance cheaper as well as registration. This was also at a time where my barracuda was in my garage collecting dust unrestored as I didn't have money.

I don't think I could be where I am today had I stayed with the Sebring, don't get me wrong I LOVED that car but it was sucking me dry. Since then I finished the Barracuda, went to Europe, purchased two Polaras and my truck and have taken on another major restoration.


Bound to old cars and not looking back.


Alan

BOOM you nailed it brother! All cars need maintenance, but with older cars the juice is worth the squeeze!