Or a more modern version... 
Posted on 08/31/2007 10:27:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly $31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles.
In its annual national auto survey, the magazine found 6,769 readers who had logged more than 200,000 miles on their cars. Their cars included a 1990 Lexus LS400 with 332,000 miles and a 1994 Ford Ranger pick-up that had gone 488,000 miles.
Consumer Reports calls the Honda Civic a "Good bet" to make it to 200,000 miles.
Calculating the costs involved in buying a new Honda Civic EX every five years for 15 years - including depreciation, taxes, fees and insurance - the magazine estimated it would cost $20,500 more than it would have cost to simply maintain one car for the same period.
Added to that, the magazine factored in $10,300 in interest that could have been earned on that money, assuming a five percent interest rate and a three percent inflation rate, over that time.
The magazine found similar savings with other models.
To have much hope of making it to 200,000 miles, a car has to be well maintained, of course. The magazine recommends several steps to help your car see it through.
Follow the maintenance guide in your owner's manual and make needed repairs promptly.
Use only the recommended types of fluids, including oil and transmission fluids.
Check under the hood regularly. Listen for strange sounds, sniff for odd smells and look for fraying or bulges in pipes or belts. Also, get a vehicle service manual. They're available at most auto parts stores or your dealership.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Spoilers, leather, sunroof, loaded. And sport seats/transmission/suspension, BBS wheels - everything. My wife’s cousin had a 535 E28 from the same year(87). After I was hit (and I didn’t even have a hint of a scratch, car didn’t fare so well) I bought it from the insurance company for him - parts and such.
A friend of mine had the cruise set at 115 once. Uphill, downhill, just stayed at 115. I would love to know how fast that car might have been. Taking clover leafs at 55+mph and the car just loved it.
Way to go, now you made me miss the car. And I was doing so well in my Volvo...
I’m driving a 1995 Honda Accord with 200,000 miles on it. I wonder how long that will last?
That 535is has at least a 150 mph capability if it is serviced properly. With a few minor modifications is can be as fast as the factory M5, despite having just the single cam. A turbocharger from a 7 series will work, but be careful to have a good block.
My M5 has a slightly modified engine and will peg the 180 mph on the speedometer. I lose the fast acceleration at about 160-165. From 50 or 60 in second gear to 150 in fifth, it is blindingly fast. Not a drag racing car at all.
Bilstein shocks and a Supersprint exaust is a must. 7 series upgrades for the brakes and steering. Yokohama tires are good in dry weather, not in rain.
The 535i and 535is are a bargain if you can find one that is running well and has no rust. Even a 528e is a good find if there is little or no rust. I like the older ones with the chrome door handles.
Sounds rather like my 1980 Pontiac Pheonix. I bought the car new and the manual transmission failed at about 34,000 miles. Other than that and the lousy paint job and bad sheet metal on the trunk lid it was a good car. It got great mileage, had good power for the time and I drove it 126,000 miles and sold it to a friend who gave it to his daughter to drive to college, it made it through three or four Iowa winters and was still going strong according to him when she went to work and bought something newer. It had the iron four cylinder engine, I don’t think the six cylinders held up that well.
And you're NOT given the "opportunity" NOT to have those things.
And if I am EVER confronted with a car that talks to me, I will, by damn, find and cut its speaker wires.
Agreed, my 2000 Ford Explorer just turned 120,000 and other that routine maintance, its been in the shop 3 times for a brake switch, a switch on the fuel injection system ($21.00 plus labor) and a broken stablizer bar bolt (20.00).
So much for the American Cars are junk theory. Eight years and going strong. Hope I get another car before the Lord calls me home.
It depends on the car. Some do, some don't. You just got to shop around till you find one that has the new features you want without those you don't.
And of course, it depends on your priorities. To some people, the new features really enhance their driving enjoyment. To others, they don't. It's all very subjective.
You know, it's not such a bad thing. My new car doesn't, but my old Datsun 280ZX did. And she did it in a sexy female voice. She'd say, "Lights are on" if I left my lights on. "Parking brake is on" if I forgot to take it off when I started moving. "Right door is open!" with a sense of urgency if my idiot passenger failed to shut the door before I started moving. And of course, there was the "fuel level is low" when she got down to less than an eighth of a tank.
I thought it was kind of cute. I even miss it a little.
that is terrific.
Very cool. My wife still has the car she got when she graduated from high school...31 years ago (doesn't currently run, though).
I bought a 1992 mazda pickup with 148,000 miles on it in 2001 for $1400. It’s been a trusty backup vehicle for a long time now and approaching 200,000miles. A month after I bought it, it got dented by hail and the insurance company sent me a $1200 check. It still runs strong and has never had anything but the clutch and U-joints worked on. It is starting to get rusty though. I’ve got my money’s worth.
Who the heck pays 70 bucks for a flashlight?
Or a more modern version...
100,000 on a 2004 Kia Rio, not one dollar spent on anything other than oil change and replacement tires!
You’re missing a measuring tape and pen and paper and a small digital camera. I carry a sony DSC-T100 8.1 megapixel. It’s only slightly larger than a razor phone.
For a pen I recommend the all-stainless Parker “Jotter” with Penatia brand ink refills. They are both cheaper than Parker brand and better quality.
That isn’t my EDC, I took it off the net. Here is a link for flashlights if you want to replace that mini mag, or you can simply upgrade to an LED mini mag.
My EDC is a Fenix LOD CE (I highly reccommend it for anyone), a Spyderco Ladybug, a Spyderco Civilian, a minibic, an extra lithium AAA battery, cell phone, any old pen, a P38, usually my Photon Proton single AA light, and when I am in a state where my CCL is valid, sometimes my old Glock 17.
My priority is that when "I" drive the car, "I" make the decisions. The trend today is to take more and more driving decisions away from the driver and putting them into hard code on the cars computer(s). Someday the fool engineers are going to realize that some people don't want that, and put an OVERRIDE command on that crap.
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