Cars

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Cars

Service contracts are the the biggest scam around, don't waste your money on those things.

[bigmrg74]

Re: Cars

I'm also of the belief: drive until dead.

Yep, that's how I ended up getting the Malibu, because the old beater truck I had at the time, somewhere around 280,000 I want to say, broke a ball joint when I was up in Midland for a football game in 2006. Scary thing is that the week before that I had rented a car to drive up to Marquette to watch GVSU at NMU, and I believe Fairbanks was also in town that weekend, somebody would have to look it up for me. I didn't really trust that truck to make it up there and back, and as I sat there on the campus of Northwood fuming that I had taken that speed hump a little too fast, was thinking what a wise investment that rental was. I was going to rent an Aveo, as it was just the flat out cheapest they had and I was just driving myself, so I figured I would at least save some cash gas wise that way. But they didn't have any Aveo's, and they gave me a Cobalt. That's a fun little zippy car to drive. And it wasn't that bad in the snow either, as there was a yooper snow storm going thru right as I crossed over on the bridge.

Anyways, towed the truck off the campus there to a place it would be safe for a day, next day got a hold of a buddy of my brothers and took his truck and car trailer to rescue it. Did fix up the ball joint, but it was in need of new brakes as well as a few other things, and well, figured it was getting to be more than I really wanted to continue to pour money into. Ending up selling it to some kid in town cheep, and I think my brother said he saw the truck a few months back.


also, its official! rolled over 100,000. US-12 near US-23 is the spot.

[state of hockey]

We had Ford (cli)Tauruses. Horrible cars.

Not sure where you got your Tauruses then. Ours were unstoppable. The 89 we had just died earlier this year. The 91 a year before. Both could have been repaired relatively easily.

[LynahFan]

Re: Cars

Service contracts are the the biggest scam around, don't waste your money on those things.

Depends. I bought a used Camry with 29K on it from a dealer in Vermont. Since it was under 30K, it qualified for the extended warranty for $800 for 4 years or until it hit 100K. The kicker? The dealer was offering an incentive on his own (not an official Toyota policy at the time) that if you didn't have any warranty repairs done by the time it expired, you got your $800 back.

Best $800 I never spent.

[goldy_331]

Re: Cars

Depends. I bought a used Camry with 29K on it from a dealer in Vermont. Since it was under 30K, it qualified for the extended warranty for $800 for 4 years or until it hit 100K. The kicker? The dealer was offering an incentive on his own (not an official Toyota policy at the time) that if you didn't have any warranty repairs done by the time it expired, you got your $800 back.

Best $800 I never spent.

Well that's a no-brainer. A co-worker also bought an extended warranty from a dealer on his used Mercedes and that turned out to be a good del for him too since the repairs on that car were so dam expensive.

[Craig P.]

Re: Cars

I'm curious if those with high mileage vehicles bother to purchase some kind of coverage for after factory warranty has expired?

I'd never dream of it. It's guaranteed to be cheaper to not have some company skimming a profit off of spreading my maintenance costs out over a long period of time, and I have more than enough money in the bank to be able to handle any unexpected repairs (like, say, my distributor quitting this spring).

About the only thing to be said for any sort of extended coverage would be if you have a vehicle that's known to have a significant incidence of catastrophic issues over and above normal wear and tear, then maybe some insurance against that would be justifiable.

[Craig P.]

Re: Cars

If the motor blows up, a replacement can be dropped in for about $2k, aka- 8-12 months of car payments. Seems like a reasonable risk since car payments ended back in 2004.

I'd think you could get an engine for a tenth of that at a junkyard.

[Craig P.]

Re: Cars

I'm also of the belief: drive until dead.

If my car lasts another ten years (it's at 13 years and 120,000 miles now), I might cage it and race it.

But other than that, yeah, drive until dead.

It's going to have to have a LOT of maintenance issues to reach the point where it costs me more to maintain it than to replace it.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Cars

Depends. I bought a used Camry with 29K on it from a dealer in Vermont. Since it was under 30K, it qualified for the extended warranty for $800 for 4 years or until it hit 100K. The kicker? The dealer was offering an incentive on his own (not an official Toyota policy at the time) that if you didn't have any warranty repairs done by the time it expired, you got your $800 back.

Best $800 I never spent.

Yeah, when you can get the 800 back, it isn't a bad deal anymore. Basically you're covered for any huge problems, and as long as you cover any small stuff outside of the contract, you get the money back, so yeah, that is a no-brainer.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Cars

I'm also of the belief: drive until dead.

If I do this, I'm going to have this truck for a while. This engine has been known to go 1 million miles.

[brookyone]

Re: Cars

Cosmetics are one thing, when I say take care of a car I mean oil changes, scheduled maintenance etc. My 06 GMC is a pig pen but its been maintained mechanically. Sorry to hear about your Mustangs, that must of sucked but on the other hand they helped you out when you needed it. My 67 is a hardtop, factory 390, 4 speed, 9in locker. It was pretty rough but mechanically its all done, the body has been started but prep and paint are expensive!!!!

Your mistaken to think that car care doesn't also mean the attention to scheduled maintenance to me. Oil changes every 3000 miles with Mobil 1, Cooling system gets flushed every other fall. Rear ends always get full synthetic fluids changed at approx. 30,000 mile intervals. Used to be this was not recommended until 100,000 miles but that was mainly for fear of leaks after cracking, then resealing the pumpkin. That's no longer necessary as you can completely flush out old gear lube and refill without removing the cover...so I do it more frequently. Hobby cars...any car that sits for longer periods can have condensation occur in the rear end and basically your gear lube can be contaminated with water...hence the more frequent fluid changes. Transmission fluid / filters every 30,000 for autos. Manuals get synthetic every 50,000 or so. Pretty much I go with severe duty schedule on everything. Check the brakes every time tires are rotated...every other oil change. Air filters inspected regularly and replaced...car's gotta breath. De-carbon the throttle body every other oil change...makes a huge difference in performance. Plugs, wires etc. Check tire inflation weekly. That's not everything I see to regularly...but quite a bit of it.

Not the big repair bills that I'm afraid of. Well, I am actually afraid of them but I do purchase service contracts for most vehicles, so only deductibles worry me. They are not a waste of money or scam as someone stated...as long as you buy one from reputable companies that honor them. There are shysters out there for sure. Dealerships will have a thorough knowledge of contract companies that don't honor contract provisions. If you buy one from the auto manufacturers, the provisions list very specifically each component the contract covers, and they'll honor the contract for any covered component. I part with the cars because and when I've had my fun with them and something else catches my eye. That's the only reason. I'd certainly like to be able to keep them all. That's not possible.

Yes, the resto hobby is an expensive one. They usually take longer than initially planned. I've done the entire interior in the Fox body Stang I'm working on. It's straight as an arrow and not a spec of rust so I put new carpet in. repainted all the interior panels, all upholstery is new. Door panels, new seat belts...all to original condition. That's one of the best things when it comes to Mustangs. Their popularity means you can still get virtually every part you could ever need for a restoration. Huge quality repro aftermarket and large number of original equipment parts still available. Paint is next for me too. About six grand for a good quality repaint. No body work...sheet metal is perfect without one ding. The paint is heavily chipped and oxidized though. Not building a show car but as close to factory new condition I can get...it'll be a driver. After paint...new convertible top, motor and hardware. New weatherstripping throughout.

[brookyone]

Re: Cars

About the only thing to be said for any sort of extended coverage would be if you have a vehicle that's known to have a significant incidence of catastrophic issues over and above normal wear and tear, then maybe some insurance against that would be justifiable.

Service contracts don't cover wear items. The purpose is to cover major components. Some more expensive "Cadillac" coverage contracts cover nearly everything. It's most definitely not guaranteed to be more financially sound to forgo buying one when a covered repair could be three grand or more out of pocket if you don't have one vs. the cost of the contract. They're like any insurance. Your betting you use it if you buy it, the company is betting you don't. Trust me, expensive mechanical repairs are not uncommon...even if few here have had the misfortune of needing a major car repair.

[walrus]

Re: Cars

Your mistaken to think that car care doesn't also mean the attention to scheduled maintenance to me. Oil changes every 3000 miles with Mobil 1, Cooling system gets flushed every other fall. Rear ends always get full synthetic fluids changed at approx. 30,000 mile intervals. Used to be this was not recommended until 100,000 miles but that was mainly for fear of leaks after cracking, then resealing the pumpkin. That's no longer necessary as you can completely flush out old gear lube and refill without removing the cover...so I do it more frequently.

I think you're wasting your money doing these things if you are going to trade when it hits 50,000 or so. You treat your cars like you are going to keep them to 200,000. I'll bet I could take most any new car, drive it 50,000 without ever doing anything but put gas in it and keeping the oil full. I wouldn't do that but...

Playing with hobby cars is generally a money pit, you have to like it. Unless you find the right cars you're generally going to have more in them then they are worth. I think drivers are the only way to go. Build it stock or the way you want but enjoy it on the road once you are done.

[Craig P.]

Re: Cars

Service contracts don't cover wear items. The purpose is to cover major components. Some more expensive "Cadillac" coverage contracts cover nearly everything. It's most definitely not guaranteed to be more financially sound to forgo buying one when a covered repair could be three grand or more out of pocket if you don't have one vs. the cost of the contract. They're like any insurance. Your betting you use it if you buy it, the company is betting you don't.

The company isn't betting that you don't. They're betting that in aggregate, they spend less on repairs than they take in on premiums.

If the probability of major failures is near zero or near one, then the way that they get to that point is either a) charging you for something you're not going to use or b) charging you more than it would cost you to finance the repairs yourself. It's the middle ground where it's more unpredictable that it may make sense for you to go to the company for insurance.

If I have a repair that would cost $3k, then it'll be time to think about getting a new car.

[alfablue]

Re: Cars

If I have a repair that would cost $3k, then it'll be time to think about getting a new car.

I find it funny that people say that.

Like my Miata, for instance. Lets go on that theoretical engine failure. yes, i could easily find a powertrain from a junk yard, but for the sake of a point...

I bet a dealer would charge me somewhere around $3k for the work. And my car, in it's current state is worth $2-3k. This after making payments that ended 6 years ago.

Since cars are not investments in value, but more investments in transportation, what is wrong in putting $3k into a car? Whatever the value? If that buys me even two more years of driving, that's somewhere around $4k in monthy payments for a new car that I won't do. And if it get's me 5-6 years that the rest of the car will get me, that's an entire new car that I don't need to buy.

Assuming the rest of the car is in good shape, there's nothing wrong with putting money in it.

I know I *want* a new car, but i also think that I would save a lot of money in the long run by even putting expensive repairs into a decent car- that I already own.

For brookyone- if you would rather give your money to OEM's instead of taking advantage of your investment in reliability- it's your money. But you sure treat cars as if they've not made any improvements in reliability since 1950 or so.