Posted on 02/18/2023 1:33:13 PM PST by CFW
I drove bugs for 15 years. Looking back I can’t believe I drove such miserable pieces of junk for that long. I got to be quite proficient at pulling VW engines. And don’t get me started on the pathetic 6 volt electrics and the lack of heat during the winter. You just have to love using an ice scraper on the interior windshield in order to see. And this was in the Pacific Northwest, where winters are not very cold.
*Used* car prices?
Grandpa Biden says we should spend at least 70k or more on EVs.
My brother, in the Air Force at the time, bought a brand new 1970 Maverick for a few dollars over $2,000.
Only options he got were larger 6 cylinder engine (V8s were not yet offered in the Maverick) a radio, and larger tires. And a heater (Bought in Florida).
No A/C.
3 Speed manual. Rubber floor covering (not carpet) and not even a glove box, just a shelf like dealie.
Back windows did not roll down, but you could flip them open a crack for ventilation.
I’m in the same spot. Used to be when the transmission went, it was time to sell. Now I’m contemplating replacing it in my 2012 vehicle after having shopped online for cars. Unreal prices for used and new.
The best cure for inflation is more inflation.
One of my kids is looking at that right now. A few months ago, his parked pickup was destroyed by a drunk. He doesn’t drive his car much (he’s a OTR trucker) so he bought an old beater from a friend.
Last weekend it decided to catch fire on the highway. Now he’s trying to find something.
His bank account is pretty flush but he can’t find anything in his range within a couple hours of home.
On the flip side, my daughter just sold her car for exactly what she paid for it two years before.
You are probably right. I bought a new Chevy spark in 2017 for $16k. Traded it in for a new Trax. Dealer gave me $13,500 trade in for the 5.5 year old Spark with parking lot paint damage!
Did you attend Biden school of economics?
2014 Honda Accord.
Timing chain (apparently a common problem), associated services (plus a trans flush) and all 4 wheels for wheel bearings.
Labor was just under half. I could have done all the work if I had accommodations.
Before last week, the most I’ve ever spent at a shop was $1200 for a trans rebuild.
I’ll never buy another Honda, even though the car has never broken down (the ‘repairs’ were preventative, given audible symptoms of failure).
Every time DH takes our 2012 Acura in for regular service, the guys in the garage want to buy it. We’re holding one to it like grim death.
“I’m old enough to remember new VW Beetles priced at $1999.”
In 1971 we bought a brand new AMC Hornet for exactly that much. Drove it up the Alcan Highway the next month, and for 10 more years in AK..
“it is supply and demand”
Cash For Clunkers = low supply red.
No
Higher prices eventually result in demand destruction.
My first car was a 1966 bug, bought in 1974 for $600. I drove that for 5 years, then a 1968 bus for another 5 years, then a 1969 bus for 8 years. I’d like to have an old VW again, but I can’t afford one.
Never paid over $1500 for a vehicle until I had to buy a new pickup for work in 2004.
Would love to drive that car. Sweet!
I guess the new Trax I bought last November will be my last car purchase.
Obama’s move with Gm also BANKRUPTED many of the vendors who supplied GM.
I bought a brand new Pontiac station wagon in Feb 1965.
Put OVER 444,000 miles on it.
Cost $3434 out the door with taxes & registration.
You only got 10 years on a transmission???
I have a 1979 Buick station wagon with ORIGINAL transmission. Vehicle has over 221,000 miles.
Wow, I don’t know about that shop bill. I looked up 2014 Accord timing chain replacement, L-4, based on 2021 figures... I see charges from mid $600s to $1200. Timing belts are a little less. Wheel bearings all around I see $800 or less.
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