who used/uses old cars?

[jefhatfield]

...not refurbished/restored classics, but plain old cars

when i was a teen, i received a 1974 datsun 610 sedan in 1980 and had it until 1990 so before i sold it, it was sixteen years old and shot to heck

my next car was a 1984 nissan maxima station wagon which i got in 1990 and kept until 1997 and when i traded it in, it was thirteen years old and needed some engine work, body work for rust, and electrical work (on power windows) but was still a decent car

so in 1997, i got a 1984 volvo dl station wagon which i still have in 2005 and the car is now twenty-one years old and still running fine in every way and is in way better shape at its advanced age than either car i previously owned and i can see it making it another five years if i take care of it but after that, it would need an engine rebuild and a complete overhaul of the electrical system

my wife has a very low miles 1986 mazda 626 sedan and that nineteen year old car is in great condition and will easily make it to the twenty-five year mark and possibly to the thirty year mark before it would need any engine rebuild

...

in the end, i wonder if either two decade old car can make it to the forty year mark and become classic cars in their own right?

[PlaceofDis]

i used to work for a repair shop, they had a 1939 Roadmaster there, it was not restored, and had original engine and everything, the brakeline was dead and it was LOUD as heck. the interior was shot to crap too, the owner always planned on restoring it though. had a chance to drive it a bit around the lot once, hard as hell too because it was a column stick shift....ugg

i used to drive a 1987 crown victoria that i got rid of two years ago due to problems with the battery.... i know drive a 1995 Toyota Tercel that only has about 60,000 miles on the engine, 120,000 on the car itself due to the previous owner ruining it by not checking the oil. this car will last me a very long time i can see and is great for most things, only compliant is that it gets really hot in there and isn't great for long trips

[EJBasile]

I am a very big car person- but I'm a gadgets person so I always like to buy cars the latest and greatest technology.

My dad has an original '65 or '67 Shelby Cobra (navy blue). I absolutly adore that car. Shelby Cobras are my favorite old car. My father is leaving it to me when he passes so some day I'll have that beauty of a car. Although all the new technology in new cars attracts me, I still love the classic design of old cars.

So no I'm not a collector but one day I will have a nice old Shelby Cobra.

[joepunk]

I used to drive a 1990 Toyota Camry (sp?) until after several unknown and sudden breakdowns where it would all of a sudden just stop running and after several attempts it would start backup. That fun ended around 2003. I took up driving it regulary to Community College as it was decided that my mother sould not be driving due to her brain tumor/cancer, unless it was an emergency. The car was originally my grandparents as they traded a very nice VW camper for it. The Toyota had well over 220k miles on it due to my grandparents driving to Seattle from Everett just for vet appointments.

The car I drive now is a 1986 BMW 325es (?). My first summer school at Western, some jerk kids bent the antennae.

Oh, and the camery was once stolen when my family and I were at a Pearl Jam concert in Seattle.