Author Topic: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car  (Read 404104 times)

daverobev

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #450 on: June 01, 2017, 05:54:22 PM »

The main problem with old cars (at least in northern Illinois) is rust.  Get something built decently, and without rust (or minor rust that you fix right away), take care of it, and no reason it can't run forever.  My Volvo had only two very small spots of rust when I got it, and I fixed them easily before winter came to make them bigger.

How exactly did you fix the rust? Is this something I can do myself, or do I have to take it to a shop? Bodywork is really expensive.

I've purposely avoided buying Mazdas because every Mazda in the city (Ottawa, ON) has rust in the exact same spots.

Mazda 3s have serious paint/metal quality issues. Up here, just don't bother.

IMHO, Krown or otherwise coat your car once a year, and don't worry about it. Cars last ~15 years here. That's it. If you get more, great, but chances are there will be enough corrosion *somewhere* that it just won't be worth doing anything about at that point.

paddedhat

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #451 on: June 01, 2017, 06:00:34 PM »
We have decided to keep our 2001 Ford E350 15 passenger van even though we aren't hauling most of our large family around in it anymore, just the four youngest. It is great because it has tons of cargo space when you remove rows of seats. We have fit 6 bikes in there plus coolers etc. It's wonderful. We were considering downsizing but it's long since paid for and costs very little in maintenance. Driving it till the wheels fall off!

Google "million mile Ford van". This guy drove all over North America as a delivery driver. He ran the van hard, and did a lot of sketchy maintenance, (once went 55K between oil changes)  and it still ran well for  1.1 million miles. It might be a few decades until you wear yours out.

COEE

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #452 on: June 01, 2017, 06:15:36 PM »
I've got a '97 Jeep Cherokee.  That thing has 233k miles on it.  I got in it today to use it since one of the other cars was dead.  It cranked and went like it had 80k on it.  Amazing vehicle.

1967mama

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #453 on: June 01, 2017, 07:54:55 PM »
Thanks paddedhat!

That's awesome!

BTDretire

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #454 on: June 02, 2017, 03:55:14 PM »
I feel like a bit of a loser here :-), my 97 Toyota T-100 isn't as old as many here,
and it just recently went over 100K miles. I paid $11k in the year 2000,
so put 67K miles on it in 17 years.
  We also have an $8,000, 2005 Avalon with 86K miles on it. Have had it
7 years.

bigalsmith101

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #455 on: June 02, 2017, 04:23:15 PM »
This weekend, my wife and I are flying to DC on Saturday morning (tomorrow) for a friends wedding. (Of course we're burning Southwest Airline miles). Wedding is on Sunday. We were intending to stay in the DC area until Wednesday and fly home, but instead, I cancelled our return tickets (no penalty for cancelled flights up to 10 minutes prior to the flight), and we're buying a 1997 Honda Civic 2dr coupe from it's original owner, for $1k, and we're driving the thing home to Seattle over the course of 4 days.

It currently has 295k miles. Bring it on.

Well, we bought the car, and drove it home this week from DC to Seattle, from Monday-Thursday. 2950 miles. It averaged 40.5mpg the entire trip home, with a high of 45mpg, and a low of 35mpg. Incredible little car!

It had 290k miles on it when we bought it, and it now has over 293k.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #456 on: June 03, 2017, 08:12:54 AM »
We have decided to keep our 2001 Ford E350 15 passenger van even though we aren't hauling most of our large family around in it anymore, just the four youngest. It is great because it has tons of cargo space when you remove rows of seats. We have fit 6 bikes in there plus coolers etc. It's wonderful. We were considering downsizing but it's long since paid for and costs very little in maintenance. Driving it till the wheels fall off!
Have you had to replace any/many spark plugs?  I have a brother with a '01 E350, and they've had to bore out/helicoil several spark plugs at $250 apiece as they blow.

the_fella

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #457 on: June 03, 2017, 11:21:06 AM »
I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE 2.2L that has a bit over 226k miles. I do the vast majority of the maintenance myself, but I just had surgery and am not allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs for a month, so I won't be able to do much work on it for a bit. :/

I installed new front struts (already had new rear struts) and sway bar links last week. Been working very well. Naturally, I found a coupon code for the sway bar links, getting both for $44 and change at advance auto.

My mother has a 1997 Ford Escort base model with around 132k miles. I bought it for her about a year ago for $600, and it has been a surprisingly good car. Haha. It runs, which is all we can really ask of it. When Ford said "base model", they weren't messing around; this car doesn't even have a rear defrost or tape player. Lol.

farmecologist

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #458 on: June 06, 2017, 01:41:33 PM »

The main problem with old cars (at least in northern Illinois) is rust.  Get something built decently, and without rust (or minor rust that you fix right away), take care of it, and no reason it can't run forever.  My Volvo had only two very small spots of rust when I got it, and I fixed them easily before winter came to make them bigger.

How exactly did you fix the rust? Is this something I can do myself, or do I have to take it to a shop? Bodywork is really expensive.

I've purposely avoided buying Mazdas because every Mazda in the city (Ottawa, ON) has rust in the exact same spots.

Mazda 3s have serious paint/metal quality issues. Up here, just don't bother.

IMHO, Krown or otherwise coat your car once a year, and don't worry about it. Cars last ~15 years here. That's it. If you get more, great, but chances are there will be enough corrosion *somewhere* that it just won't be worth doing anything about at that point.

I agree!  The rust problem turned us off to Mazda..they are notorious for rust.  We have had three of them and ALL of them rusted prematurely.  We will never buy another one until they get the rust problem sorted out.   We have never had rust problems with any of our other vehicles ( Toyota and Hyundai ).

I will admit that Mazda makes some very durable and long lasting engines...and are generally very mechanically sound.  So if you can get past the rust...then you will most likely have a vehicle that will last a long time.  However, most people don't like to drive 'rust buckets' around these days.   We did retain our 2004 Mazda MPV minivan as our 'hauling' and 'winter beater' vehicle even though it has loads of rust.  I can't say we treat it very well either and it is still going strong at around 170K miles.




sequoia

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #459 on: June 07, 2017, 07:10:30 AM »
1998 Land Cruiser 225K miles - wife's can go anywhere tank :)
2002 SC430 180K miles - mine

None gets good gas mileage, but we do not drive much.

Lenify

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #460 on: June 09, 2017, 12:10:19 AM »
I really am enjoying the ads for a 2017 model extended blah blah truck on this post.

Anyway, my jetta tdi has 215k and runs like new. 42mpg lifetime avg.

SubL stache

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #461 on: June 11, 2017, 10:20:23 PM »
Our family fleet:

1999 Jeep Wrangler - 165k miles, given to me on my 16th birthday (15 yrs ago), drive on nice weather days.  Doors and windows are permanently off - wife won't let me sell it but its a fun drive.

2005 Trailblazer - 175k miles, this is my daily driver.

2004 Nissan Armada - 140k miles, wife's daily driver.

Big vehicles and poor gas mileage, not very mustachian, but I pay cash, buy used, and drive them a long time.

KBecks

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #462 on: June 12, 2017, 07:52:01 AM »
I get newer car fever about every thee months.  And I'm realizing that it's not because I want a newer car so bad, but I like the idea of finding an amazing deal on an upgrade.

But, there are not many amazing deals out there, and the current 1997 Honda Odyssey is doing just fine.  It needs a little bit of tweaking and I should get it fixed up asap so I'm not annoyed by it.

Anyway, it's just shy of 150,000 miles and I'm keeping it.

I need to repeat my script of why I drive a paid for car -- so we can pay off our house faster, so we can save for my kids' college, so we can go out to eat once in a while and take a nice vacation, etc.,  so we can update our home, so my husband can retire sooner --  many things higher on the list than owning an expensive newer car.

aroberson77

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #463 on: June 13, 2017, 07:16:45 AM »
I get newer car fever about every thee months.  And I'm realizing that it's not because I want a newer car so bad, but I like the idea of finding an amazing deal on an upgrade.

But, there are not many amazing deals out there, and the current 1997 Honda Odyssey is doing just fine.  It needs a little bit of tweaking and I should get it fixed up asap so I'm not annoyed by it.

Anyway, it's just shy of 150,000 miles and I'm keeping it.

I need to repeat my script of why I drive a paid for car -- so we can pay off our house faster, so we can save for my kids' college, so we can go out to eat once in a while and take a nice vacation, etc.,  so we can update our home, so my husband can retire sooner --  many things higher on the list than owning an expensive newer car.

How have you only put 150k miles on that car in 20 years???  That thing should be good for another 20 years at the rate you are driving it!!

I have a an 04 Chevy Avalanche with 231k, need to replace the tailshaft seal this week.
Wife drives a 10 Rav4 with 81k on it, been great so far

Bosco4789

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #464 on: June 13, 2017, 07:25:15 AM »
1999 Acura TL with 365,000!

paddedhat

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #465 on: June 13, 2017, 02:36:23 PM »

How have you only put 150k miles on that car in 20 years???  That thing should be good for another 20 years at the rate you are driving it!!

I have a an 04 Chevy Avalanche with 231k, need to replace the tailshaft seal this week.
Wife drives a 10 Rav4 with 81k on it, been great so far

Before you replace that seal, grab a flashlight and take a good look at the center of the yoke of the tailshaft.  I was about to have the seal replaced on my 2002 Silverado and I saw that there was some old silicone smeared in the center of the tailshaft yoke, which appeared wet. For some unbelievably stupid reason, GM made the part with a bore hole straight through the center of the part, then used a mini tin freeze plug to seal it up. Once the seal is compromised, it starts leaking fluid.  When I dropped it off for repair, my mechanic thought I was full of shit about all this. He called later, told me he had never seen such a thing, but I was 100% correct.  Next he announces that GM wants $287 for the part. I told him to clean it with brake clean and fill it with JB Weld, which was $280 less.  Now maybe GM got over being stupid and decided to stop creating needless leaks by 2004, so this may not apply, but it's worth checking, since it looks just like a seal leak, but it's not. 

KBecks

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #466 on: June 14, 2017, 09:54:53 AM »
I get newer car fever about every thee months.  And I'm realizing that it's not because I want a newer car so bad, but I like the idea of finding an amazing deal on an upgrade.

But, there are not many amazing deals out there, and the current 1997 Honda Odyssey is doing just fine.  It needs a little bit of tweaking and I should get it fixed up asap so I'm not annoyed by it.

Anyway, it's just shy of 150,000 miles and I'm keeping it.

I need to repeat my script of why I drive a paid for car -- so we can pay off our house faster, so we can save for my kids' college, so we can go out to eat once in a while and take a nice vacation, etc.,  so we can update our home, so my husband can retire sooner --  many things higher on the list than owning an expensive newer car.

How have you only put 150k miles on that car in 20 years???  That thing should be good for another 20 years at the rate you are driving it!!

I have a an 04 Chevy Avalanche with 231k, need to replace the tailshaft seal this week.
Wife drives a 10 Rav4 with 81k on it, been great so far

Sorry, 2007!  Doh!  I'm getting my decades mixed up. 

aroberson77

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #467 on: June 14, 2017, 01:37:41 PM »
Before you replace that seal, grab a flashlight and take a good look at the center of the yoke of the tailshaft.  I was about to have the seal replaced on my 2002 Silverado and I saw that there was some old silicone smeared in the center of the tailshaft yoke, which appeared wet. For some unbelievably stupid reason, GM made the part with a bore hole straight through the center of the part, then used a mini tin freeze plug to seal it up. Once the seal is compromised, it starts leaking fluid.  When I dropped it off for repair, my mechanic thought I was full of shit about all this. He called later, told me he had never seen such a thing, but I was 100% correct.  Next he announces that GM wants $287 for the part. I told him to clean it with brake clean and fill it with JB Weld, which was $280 less.  Now maybe GM got over being stupid and decided to stop creating needless leaks by 2004, so this may not apply, but it's worth checking, since it looks just like a seal leak, but it's not.

Thanks for the tip!!  I will definitely check out the yoke first.  tailshaft seals suck.

tweezers

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #468 on: June 15, 2017, 01:45:59 PM »
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback, ~163K miles.  My 8 year old talks about how she'll drive the white car when she's old enough (our other car, 2008 Fit, is purple).  Yes, you probably will.  :)

Scortius

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #469 on: June 20, 2017, 03:00:58 PM »
2001 Toyota Corolla.  Bought used in 2005 with 20k miles.  Today I'm happy to report that it only has 58k miles on it, including a drive halfway across the country and a few multi-state road trips.  Walking and biking are the best car maintenance 'hacks' available.

JLee

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #470 on: June 20, 2017, 05:10:31 PM »
I changed my oil yesterday...at 184,809 miles. Ticking right along like it's brand new.

ereamrod

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #471 on: June 25, 2017, 12:08:09 AM »
My 2009 chevy aveo (bought brand new in college  for 10k- 5 speed manual, crank windows, NO power ANYTHING and no a/c) just clicked to 100,000!  My brother asked me when I'm going to get a nicer car to reflect  that I'm an educated working professional, I just laughed.  Isn't that what the "Umass" sticker on the back is for?

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #472 on: June 25, 2017, 12:17:48 PM »
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback, ~163K miles.  My 8 year old talks about how she'll drive the white car when she's old enough (our other car, 2008 Fit, is purple).  Yes, you probably will.  :)
I used to have a '94 Civic.  I loved that car, and was sad when we had to let it go :(. Manual everything, easy to maintain, and fun to drive.

Guide2003

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #473 on: June 25, 2017, 12:26:01 PM »
2001 Tacoma with 235,000 miles. Unfortunately I'm emotionally attached to old Nala and can't trade her I for something more practical for this stage of life. Haven't had to do much maintenance to her so that helps, but the 16-17 miles per gallon is hard to swallow. I put less than 2500 miles on it per year now though, so it's not effecting the budget too much. I qualified to get the frame replaced under their extended rust warranty a few years ago and that made me much more committed to keeping her.

tweezers

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #474 on: June 26, 2017, 09:14:56 AM »
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback, ~163K miles.  My 8 year old talks about how she'll drive the white car when she's old enough (our other car, 2008 Fit, is purple).  Yes, you probably will.  :)
I used to have a '94 Civic.  I loved that car, and was sad when we had to let it go :(. Manual everything, easy to maintain, and fun to drive.

Yup...manual everything on ours too.  It's also got the clamshell hatch so it fits a ton of stuff.  Apparently it's also a teenage boy dream car because in the past 18 months we've had three different 16ish year olds knock on our door asking if we wanted to sell it.    :)

paddedhat

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #475 on: June 26, 2017, 10:04:30 AM »
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback, ~163K miles.  My 8 year old talks about how she'll drive the white car when she's old enough (our other car, 2008 Fit, is purple).  Yes, you probably will.  :)
I used to have a '94 Civic.  I loved that car, and was sad when we had to let it go :(. Manual everything, easy to maintain, and fun to drive.

Yup...manual everything on ours too.  It's also got the clamshell hatch so it fits a ton of stuff.  Apparently it's also a teenage boy dream car because in the past 18 months we've had three different 16ish year olds knock on our door asking if we wanted to sell it.    :)

BIL had an old Acura that fits that description. It was abandoned in the back yard, worth it's weight in scrap, with a warped head an a bazillion miles, but it was a  teen boy magnet. He finally let it go to a local kid who had made it his life's mission to be the new owner.

Salvo

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #476 on: June 30, 2017, 09:18:51 PM »
Not super old, but I just snagged a 2003 Lexus IS300 w/175k and drives perfectly for $1500 or about half of KBB's poor condition!  It is a salvage vehicle, but happened in 2011 and was back on the road that year and registered/driven every year since.  It isn't the most economical at ~25-30mpg, and does take premium gas, but the motor is a Toyota 2JZGE, essentially a non-turbo Supra and is known for racking up mileage with minimal maintenance.  It also is a Lexus, so the driving experience is fantastic; quiet, comfortable, responsive.  I got into cars around 2005, so this is practically new to me!  I'm torn between daily driving it and selling my 95 Civic LX, or selling it for a good profit (would have no problem getting $4000) and just stay with the econobox Civic... too many cars in the driveway now (4), fiance is not too happy!

JLee

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #477 on: July 13, 2017, 01:33:07 PM »
Not super old, but I just snagged a 2003 Lexus IS300 w/175k and drives perfectly for $1500 or about half of KBB's poor condition!  It is a salvage vehicle, but happened in 2011 and was back on the road that year and registered/driven every year since.  It isn't the most economical at ~25-30mpg, and does take premium gas, but the motor is a Toyota 2JZGE, essentially a non-turbo Supra and is known for racking up mileage with minimal maintenance.  It also is a Lexus, so the driving experience is fantastic; quiet, comfortable, responsive.  I got into cars around 2005, so this is practically new to me!  I'm torn between daily driving it and selling my 95 Civic LX, or selling it for a good profit (would have no problem getting $4000) and just stay with the econobox Civic... too many cars in the driveway now (4), fiance is not too happy!

I would keep the IS. No question.

sequoia

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #478 on: July 14, 2017, 08:56:43 AM »
Not super old, but I just snagged a 2003 Lexus IS300 w/175k and drives perfectly for $1500 or about half of KBB's poor condition!  It is a salvage vehicle, but happened in 2011 and was back on the road that year and registered/driven every year since.  It isn't the most economical at ~25-30mpg, and does take premium gas, but the motor is a Toyota 2JZGE, essentially a non-turbo Supra and is known for racking up mileage with minimal maintenance.  It also is a Lexus, so the driving experience is fantastic; quiet, comfortable, responsive.  I got into cars around 2005, so this is practically new to me!  I'm torn between daily driving it and selling my 95 Civic LX, or selling it for a good profit (would have no problem getting $4000) and just stay with the econobox Civic... too many cars in the driveway now (4), fiance is not too happy!

Oh wow nice. I searched for IS300 last year. I could not find one that is in good shape and has reasonable price. I ended up with SC430.

I would keep the IS, but I do enjoy driving. It is my cheap therapy haha.

As you can tell, the driving experience is totally different between Civic with front wheel drive vs IS in rear wheel drive, not to mention the luxury feel, quiet etc.

LessIsLess

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #479 on: July 14, 2017, 01:52:12 PM »
I have an old Honda that's slowly leaking transmission fluid & coolant.  It's challenging to identify the source of the leaks, so the way I'm dealing with the issue is to keep replenishing.  Once a week for the coolant and every 2 weeks for the transmission.  My cost is about $20/yr for coolant and $40/yr for transmission fluid.  If it gets worse, I'll have to fix it.  Has anyone used a "seal leak" fluid to stop the leak on your honda?

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #480 on: July 14, 2017, 02:02:35 PM »
I have an old Honda that's slowly leaking transmission fluid & coolant.  It's challenging to identify the source of the leaks, so the way I'm dealing with the issue is to keep replenishing.  Once a week for the coolant and every 2 weeks for the transmission.  My cost is about $20/yr for coolant and $40/yr for transmission fluid.  If it gets worse, I'll have to fix it.  Has anyone used a "seal leak" fluid to stop the leak on your honda?
What kind of Honda?  $60/year isn't that bad.  Especially since you won't need to do a full system flush or drain/refill every 30,000 miles! :P

marielle

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #481 on: July 14, 2017, 02:06:07 PM »
I have an old Honda that's slowly leaking transmission fluid & coolant.  It's challenging to identify the source of the leaks, so the way I'm dealing with the issue is to keep replenishing.  Once a week for the coolant and every 2 weeks for the transmission.  My cost is about $20/yr for coolant and $40/yr for transmission fluid.  If it gets worse, I'll have to fix it.  Has anyone used a "seal leak" fluid to stop the leak on your honda?

Use a UV-glow fluid additive and you should be able to find the leaks! It's cheap.

LessIsLess

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #482 on: July 14, 2017, 03:57:14 PM »
What kind of Honda?  $60/year isn't that bad.  Especially since you won't need to do a full system flush or drain/refill every 30,000 miles! :P

It's a 15 year old Honda Accord.  It drives great but the clear coat paint started wearing out a few years ago, and I haven't gotten around to doing anything about it.  I'll see if I can race it across the 20-year finish line.

Regarding the U GLOW additive, I'll have to check it out. 

sequoia

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #483 on: July 14, 2017, 04:15:14 PM »
I have an old Honda that's slowly leaking transmission fluid & coolant.  It's challenging to identify the source of the leaks, so the way I'm dealing with the issue is to keep replenishing.  Once a week for the coolant and every 2 weeks for the transmission.  My cost is about $20/yr for coolant and $40/yr for transmission fluid.  If it gets worse, I'll have to fix it.  Has anyone used a "seal leak" fluid to stop the leak on your honda?

I have never use any seal leak on any car, and would never use it. From my understanding, these could potentially clog up the coolant or tranny system in the car which will be a lot more than $60 to fix.

A lot of time leaks are due to gaskets that shrinks due to age, or some of the bolts have become loose. I would start by tightening any bolts you can find to spec, and see if that helps. When I bought my land cruiser, some of the bolts that hold the valve cover was so loose I can un-screw it by hand. Not surprised that it has oil leaks down the side of the engine :)


zolotiyeruki

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #484 on: July 14, 2017, 09:44:53 PM »
I have an old Honda that's slowly leaking transmission fluid & coolant.  It's challenging to identify the source of the leaks, so the way I'm dealing with the issue is to keep replenishing.  Once a week for the coolant and every 2 weeks for the transmission.  My cost is about $20/yr for coolant and $40/yr for transmission fluid.  If it gets worse, I'll have to fix it.  Has anyone used a "seal leak" fluid to stop the leak on your honda?

I have never use any seal leak on any car, and would never use it. From my understanding, these could potentially clog up the coolant or tranny system in the car which will be a lot more than $60 to fix.
^^^ This.  Rubber and silicone are super cheap and usually easy to replace.

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #485 on: July 15, 2017, 07:21:27 AM »
Probably not on the same level as some of you guys, but my wife and I are sitting at 300K+ on our two vehicles!
My truck, 2006 chevy pickup.... 208K
My wife's 2008 trailblazer..... 103K


I am trying to take each another 5-7 years :D

BiochemicalDJ

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #486 on: July 19, 2017, 07:45:30 AM »
A little late to the party, but I just inherited my very first car from my grandmother- a 1999 Chevrolet Metro with 54K miles on it. That sounds practically new, but we're in Canada, so it's serious rust belt territory. Some rust spots on the rocker panels I've got to deal with that have full penetration (poked my finger through accidentally when checking it out.) Someone convinced her to use grease undercoating at some point, so the unibody is in surprisingly good shape.

No power steering. No A/C. No radio or sound of any kind.

Just the sound of the engine going 'BWAAAAA' on the highway as it hits top gear (Third gear.)

When I got it, the brake lines were almost rusted out (miracle I drove it ~400 miles home!) but I'm learning a LOT by working on this thing. So far I've replaced the brake hoses all around, front brake lines (paid a guy to do the back- they went up and around the fuel tank, which spooked me.) automatic transmission fluid, ATF filter and pan gasket, and my first oil change.

Next up is timing belt, water pump, coolant flush (probably not done for 18 years!) and replace all available radiator hoses and thermostat (just in case.)

So far all maintenance together (and a multitude of Kijiji tool purchases) has hit about $1800 CAD, which is approximately $200 USD. (I kid.) I'm looking at it as more of an education piece than a true investment, as the systems are *very* simple. Yes, I know I could hit Kijiji and find some 2007 beauties for ~$2k. That's not the point :p

marielle

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #487 on: July 19, 2017, 07:57:21 AM »
A little late to the party, but I just inherited my very first car from my grandmother- a 1999 Chevrolet Metro with 54K miles on it. That sounds practically new, but we're in Canada, so it's serious rust belt territory. Some rust spots on the rocker panels I've got to deal with that have full penetration (poked my finger through accidentally when checking it out.) Someone convinced her to use grease undercoating at some point, so the unibody is in surprisingly good shape.

No power steering. No A/C. No radio or sound of any kind.

Just the sound of the engine going 'BWAAAAA' on the highway as it hits top gear (Third gear.)

When I got it, the brake lines were almost rusted out (miracle I drove it ~400 miles home!) but I'm learning a LOT by working on this thing. So far I've replaced the brake hoses all around, front brake lines (paid a guy to do the back- they went up and around the fuel tank, which spooked me.) automatic transmission fluid, ATF filter and pan gasket, and my first oil change.

Next up is timing belt, water pump, coolant flush (probably not done for 18 years!) and replace all available radiator hoses and thermostat (just in case.)

So far all maintenance together (and a multitude of Kijiji tool purchases) has hit about $1800 CAD, which is approximately $200 USD. (I kid.) I'm looking at it as more of an education piece than a true investment, as the systems are *very* simple. Yes, I know I could hit Kijiji and find some 2007 beauties for ~$2k. That's not the point :p

I just looked up this car...it gets 41/47 MPG city/highway. Wow!

I like driving old cars for the same reason too, anytime something goes wrong I get to learn. Mine is only a 2003 though, and not too many things have gone wrong. Mainly the usual maintenance items. I almost wish I had two beater cars, so I could constantly work on one of them and not worry about having something to drive.

If the engine is in great shape (which it should be), you'll have a almost new car with GREAT gas mileage by the time you're done!

sequoia

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #488 on: July 19, 2017, 08:13:39 AM »
A little late to the party, but I just inherited my very first car from my grandmother- a 1999 Chevrolet Metro with 54K miles on it. That sounds practically new, but we're in Canada, so it's serious rust belt territory. Some rust spots on the rocker panels I've got to deal with that have full penetration (poked my finger through accidentally when checking it out.) Someone convinced her to use grease undercoating at some point, so the unibody is in surprisingly good shape.

That is awesome. I know it say Chevy, but pretty sure originally it is a Japanese car (as oppose to car originally made by Chevy), so it should be pretty reliable even it is a 1999.

I am like you, I enjoy tinkering/working on our cars. I always like learning something new.

ketchup

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #489 on: July 19, 2017, 08:58:16 AM »
A little late to the party, but I just inherited my very first car from my grandmother- a 1999 Chevrolet Metro with 54K miles on it. That sounds practically new, but we're in Canada, so it's serious rust belt territory. Some rust spots on the rocker panels I've got to deal with that have full penetration (poked my finger through accidentally when checking it out.) Someone convinced her to use grease undercoating at some point, so the unibody is in surprisingly good shape.

No power steering. No A/C. No radio or sound of any kind.

Just the sound of the engine going 'BWAAAAA' on the highway as it hits top gear (Third gear.)

When I got it, the brake lines were almost rusted out (miracle I drove it ~400 miles home!) but I'm learning a LOT by working on this thing. So far I've replaced the brake hoses all around, front brake lines (paid a guy to do the back- they went up and around the fuel tank, which spooked me.) automatic transmission fluid, ATF filter and pan gasket, and my first oil change.

Next up is timing belt, water pump, coolant flush (probably not done for 18 years!) and replace all available radiator hoses and thermostat (just in case.)

So far all maintenance together (and a multitude of Kijiji tool purchases) has hit about $1800 CAD, which is approximately $200 USD. (I kid.) I'm looking at it as more of an education piece than a true investment, as the systems are *very* simple. Yes, I know I could hit Kijiji and find some 2007 beauties for ~$2k. That's not the point :p
I drove one of these little guys for a few years.  I have a friend who still has one.  My 1999 got 45MPG all day, and only down to 40MPG even when it had pretty low compression near the end.  I had a 1988 Chevy Sprint back in the day too, and that one got me 53-57MPG, but I crunched that one into the back of a Jeep. :(

They're great cars.  Very very simple to maintain, as everything is small/cheap, and there are so few features that very little can break.  No power steering, and it's very much not needed.  Timing belt and water pump is literally a half hour job once you get the timing cover off.  Spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor are about 10 minutes.  Even new tires are like $230 installed (but they wear tires very slowly since they're so light; I put about 35,000 miles on a new set and there was barely any wear when I finally dumped the car).

Rust is usually what kills them.  In particular the front control arm mounts.  Keep an eye on those, and if they're solid you're good to go.  If they're a little questionable, find someone that knows their way around a welder.  If they break, your wheels will fall off at high speeds when you hit a bump and you're gonna have a bad time.

Mine threw a rod at around 182K miles, but rust would have eaten it after about another year anyway.  My friend with one has around 170,000 on his and it runs like a top (somehow it can manage the 80mph Texas highways just fine, although it is the four-cylinder; mine was the three-cylinder).

BiochemicalDJ

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #490 on: July 19, 2017, 11:53:41 AM »
Rust is usually what kills them.  In particular the front control arm mounts.  Keep an eye on those, and if they're solid you're good to go.  If they're a little questionable, find someone that knows their way around a welder.  If they break, your wheels will fall off at high speeds when you hit a bump and you're gonna have a bad time.

Mine threw a rod at around 182K miles, but rust would have eaten it after about another year anyway.  My friend with one has around 170,000 on his and it runs like a top (somehow it can manage the 80mph Texas highways just fine, although it is the four-cylinder; mine was the three-cylinder).

Mine is actually also the four cylinder- Who knew my Grandma would have sprung for all those extra horses? So it's MPG isn't as crazy as everyone else's with the 3 cylinder. Averaging about 35 MPG highway, 28MPG city. I too can manage 80 MPH on the highway no problem at all. The speedometer stops at 80MPH, though, so I'd never know if I was going faster. Wouldn't really want to- That thing's got a pretty angry roar at that speed.

Note- All prices below in CAD.

Thanks for the tip about the control arm mounts. As for the rest, looking at the prices on Rock Auto just blow my mind- it's like "Why would I EVER let something break on me, when I can replace it for like $50?" (Axles? $50 each. Exhaust pipe? $300 including catalytic converter + muffler. The list goes on.)

My biggest threat right now is it keeps throwing an EVAP error- P0455, major leak detected. That's the kind of leak you could get from a faulty gas cap, and considering I had to pull this one off with a pipe wrench (it was seized to the filler- How does that even HAPPEN?) so I'm going to look into changing a few cheap parts first before asking someone to smoke test it.

It just sucks that everything is cheap except for the gas tank and filler tube. To put it into perspective, I can replace every front suspension component for $200 CAD altogether, but it would cost me $500 CAD for a gas tank and a filler pipe... :(

Already checked junk yards in my area, but no dice. It was not a common car around my neck of the woods.

« Last Edit: July 19, 2017, 12:02:12 PM by BiochemicalDJ »

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #491 on: July 19, 2017, 12:47:26 PM »
I'm really impressed with your ability to fix these various things on your car.
I was happy just to learn how to change the oil and filter on my Prius.

ketchup

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #492 on: July 19, 2017, 12:57:43 PM »
Rust is usually what kills them.  In particular the front control arm mounts.  Keep an eye on those, and if they're solid you're good to go.  If they're a little questionable, find someone that knows their way around a welder.  If they break, your wheels will fall off at high speeds when you hit a bump and you're gonna have a bad time.

Mine threw a rod at around 182K miles, but rust would have eaten it after about another year anyway.  My friend with one has around 170,000 on his and it runs like a top (somehow it can manage the 80mph Texas highways just fine, although it is the four-cylinder; mine was the three-cylinder).

Mine is actually also the four cylinder- Who knew my Grandma would have sprung for all those extra horses? So it's MPG isn't as crazy as everyone else's with the 3 cylinder. Averaging about 35 MPG highway, 28MPG city. I too can manage 80 MPH on the highway no problem at all. The speedometer stops at 80MPH, though, so I'd never know if I was going faster. Wouldn't really want to- That thing's got a pretty angry roar at that speed.

Note- All prices below in CAD.

Thanks for the tip about the control arm mounts. As for the rest, looking at the prices on Rock Auto just blow my mind- it's like "Why would I EVER let something break on me, when I can replace it for like $50?" (Axles? $50 each. Exhaust pipe? $300 including catalytic converter + muffler. The list goes on.)

My biggest threat right now is it keeps throwing an EVAP error- P0455, major leak detected. That's the kind of leak you could get from a faulty gas cap, and considering I had to pull this one off with a pipe wrench (it was seized to the filler- How does that even HAPPEN?) so I'm going to look into changing a few cheap parts first before asking someone to smoke test it.

It just sucks that everything is cheap except for the gas tank and filler tube. To put it into perspective, I can replace every front suspension component for $200 CAD altogether, but it would cost me $500 CAD for a gas tank and a filler pipe... :(

Already checked junk yards in my area, but no dice. It was not a common car around my neck of the woods.
Oof, that's an annoying problem.  I never had to fight an evap code on mine, but I did on my old '96 Volvo one time and that was a real bitch to locate.  Good luck.  I don't think it's usually the tank itself, more likely the filler neck or a weird little line somewhere.

BiochemicalDJ

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #493 on: July 19, 2017, 01:47:15 PM »
I'm really impressed with your ability to fix these various things on your car.
I was happy just to learn how to change the oil and filter on my Prius.

Before receiving this car as a gift on June 3, 2017, I knew enough to change oil and replace brake pads on a '90 accord, and the brake pads info I got out of a Chilton manual. My dad had bought me a big socket set from Canadian Tire when it was 75% off (aka- paid close to what it was worth.) And I stole his used torque wrenches. (Well, borrowed, but... yeah.)

Then, I discovered the magic of my local library, and it's free subscription to AllData. Punched in my VIN, and they gave me the entire technician's manual for every possible thing I could need to do to my car.

Cross referenced the repairs described against YouTube for that practical, down-home touch.

Discovered that the dewey decimal code for auto repair is 629.24.

Read three chapters in a book called 'Automotive Fundamentals' from the year 2000 (fresh info for the age of my car!) and can now tell you the difference between a crankshaft, camshaft, and a half-shaft, as well as an in-depth discourse on why the bits of the engine are there, and where to expect them in almost any car (45-ish pages?).

If I do my own work on the car, assuming I'm literally 1/4 the speed of a professional technician, I still will be paid $34 an hour, and I'll have that incredibly satisfying feeling about knowing exactly where my car is at, from a maintenance perspective.

Like MMM says- Just think to yourself "Many people have done this in the past. Many people will continue to do this in the future. Many of them have none of the advantages that I have right now.

« Last Edit: July 19, 2017, 01:51:08 PM by BiochemicalDJ »

SailorGirl

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #494 on: July 22, 2017, 06:30:43 AM »
1987 Toyota RV that is also my home. ~90,000 miles on it and still going strong. 

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #495 on: July 23, 2017, 01:50:29 PM »
140k on 5.5 years old. er...nothing to brag about :(
it is like $25k in gas alone. ~5.5usd/gallon (RICH EUROPE)
but I would not like to sell, as I trust the car..
Also, I would hate to buy brand new one, as people round here are dumb, they kick out their door,damaging my paint, SOMETIME EVEN TWICE IN A ROW (same minute, same car, they pulled backwards and hit it again, if I would catch them...), so I take a car like consumables.. I wish I do not need one :)

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #496 on: July 24, 2017, 01:56:40 PM »
I have a 1992 Honda Civic Si 1.6L that has a bit over 155k miles. Not that much mileage, but the body is clean for a Quebec car (harsh winters with salty roads).

I plan on keeping the car for another 5 years (total of seven years) for an average of 700$/year including buy price,yearly maintenance and repairs and a 0$ re-sale value (should still have a little value then). I do the vast majority of the maintenance and repairs myself.

AKS74U

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #497 on: July 26, 2017, 11:50:33 AM »
1999 toyota tacoma 2wd based model

bought it 3yrs ago with 33,000 mi

cost $4,000 and helping a friend move

daverobev

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #498 on: July 26, 2017, 01:16:57 PM »
I have a 1992 Honda Civic Si 1.6L that has a bit over 155k miles. Not that much mileage, but the body is clean for a Quebec car (harsh winters with salty roads).

I plan on keeping the car for another 5 years (total of seven years) for an average of 700$/year including buy price,yearly maintenance and repairs and a 0$ re-sale value (should still have a little value then). I do the vast majority of the maintenance and repairs myself.

Good job - Quebec (and Ontario... the bit near QC) kills cars pretty quickly.

sequoia

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #499 on: July 26, 2017, 03:39:17 PM »
For anyone who live in area with salt in the winter, look up Fluid Film. I take a few min in the fall and spray liberally under our Land Cruiser. imo it works very well for the price ~10/spray can. There are other means to prevent rusts, including hiring professional to spray under the car, but so far I find this is the best bang for the buck for me.