22nd Aug 2015, 13:54
Actually my grandson loves his classic 1977 Trans Am. I don't have to believe that older cars were built better, I know from experience. If yours was different (if you even owned cars from this era), that's just too bad.
22nd Aug 2015, 18:08
Well, I guess this whole website means nothing, seeing how all the reviews are based on personal experience.
22nd Aug 2015, 18:11
I could fill this review with great classics that you could easily rebuild at reasonable costs. Or drop in a new crate engine. The 100,000 could also be the odometer and/or value of the vehicle. Just rebuilt a 66 427 Corvette.
23rd Aug 2015, 11:12
Cars that I would describe as routine basic transportation today are mostly hideous shapes and designs. I drive them, but there's no wow factor. I have 2 cars on lifts and park 2 underneath. Opening the garage, seeing my older ones is the wow factor. The others sit outside in the year round elements. I don't even like taking the time to clean or wax them as I should. They are reliable and can take me to the mall or stores. If they get a shopping cart ding, dent or scratch, so be it. Use them, wear them out and buy another.
There are a few sharp cars today. My favorite looking new domestic car is the Challenger Hemi. Very faithful to the original design.
With imports you need to step outside and above this review category. The average middle class buyer has a very limited choice of bland bean shaped small cars and crossovers. The worst looking car in my opinion is the Prius. But the subcompacts and many others also. Unless buyers speak up, I suspect we will see more and more. It seems cars are designed from the inside out for more room inside. Then a wind tunnel dictates the shape. To me 23 MPG is a great target number which can be achieved and have a great design. Then adding in the fun factor with handling and performance. We just did a trip in a new Challenger Tremec manual trans achieving that on a long highway trip at 70 mph, running around 2000 RPM. Would like to see more cars with some sharp styling cues from the past with respectable economy. Versus driving a box or a cube.
23rd Aug 2015, 17:27
This is not correct. They are all interference engines. However, it's very rare to bend a valve. Usually a worn timing chain simply skips a tooth. This is not enough to bend a valve, but does shut down the engine or makes it run so poorly it's no longer driven.
However a total chain failure will bend some valves.
23rd Aug 2015, 17:46
I drive and love vintage cars. But new cars are better in every way, except for repairs, and a sense of owner involvement. Vintage cars generate interest because their simple design and appearance lend themselves to owner's repairs, restoration and customizing. It's affordable, interesting and fun to do. Modern cars are so complex, and all look the same, so they do not encourage any such interest.
I prefer the old cars, but do agree new cars are all way better, until they break.
24th Aug 2015, 01:03
With few exceptions, most middle class buyers have a buying choice equivalent to buying a toaster or an iron. They run and get you around with little to no fanfare or styling appeal.
1st Sep 2015, 17:24
Well really the main reason all those auto companies experienced business difficulties was not through any 'fault of their own'; rather, they were the victims of macroeconomic mismanagement. The economic model being imposed by virtually all governments since the Reagan era is an unworkable one, concentrating all of society's production in the hands of an elite so tiny they can't consume all of it. The automakers have traditionally been mass-marketers, and under the current economic plan there isn't much of a mass market.
1st Sep 2015, 23:56
Designing cars inside out and gas mileage isn't getting us sharp exterior styling. Then wind tunnels that try to increase mileage. So you drive a car shaped like a bean or football for maximum MPG numbers. If we didn't buy these hideous vehicles, they would not make them.
2nd Sep 2015, 10:14
The upside to buying very desirable classic cars is flipping them at a profit later, and having little or no financial outlay on a brand new car. Much of this is due to attention from companies like the Barrett Jackson Auctions.
I used to drive my older cars as daily drivers in the past. But then the greatly increased value and insurance limitations on their usage became a factor. Cars from the 60s and early 70s were very reliable in our family. Driven to work and everywhere well into the 80s. Then the value climbed and theft also became more of a concern. Most of our cars have been GM models.
The interesting thing was the amount of notes placed on our older cars' windshields asking if we ever wished to sell. I have yet to ever see this with our new daily drivers. The only thing I have ever seen under my current car's windshield is a parking ticket. Not an offer to ever buy it. In my mind a disposable car, reliable, and I anticipate immediate value drops. And later til the next comes along. There are some exceptions to this as future collectibles. But you will be hard pressed to find a middle America current car to do so. In the 60s a middle class buyer could buy a car such as a new Camaro convertible (not even an SS) and sell today for several times its new price. It may take up some garage space. I don't see that gain ever happening with my wife's new Mazda 6 for example.
Lastly, when something goes wrong with newer cars, it can be very expensive to diagnose and repair. Sensors and complexity make many new cars hard to work in. Even with YouTube how to videos etc, it isn't like the simplicity of older cars. I have 2 large roll tool boxes loaded with tools. And still don't have everything to work on late models. I especially hate working on modern front wheel drives. Must be easier to get rid of them and start over with a new one.
3rd Sep 2015, 00:58
The people who left notes on your windshield certainly would not have done so if they knew you were a flipper. Rather they thought, or more accurately, vainly hoped, that you were somebody who just considered it to be an ordinary old car whom they could buy from for a song. Like, uh, you did when you got it.
If they wanted to pay reseller level prices, they didn't need to go around leaving notes on windshields. They only had to look in the classifieds or Auto Trader (then) or Craigslist (now).
3rd Sep 2015, 15:15
They didn't have Craigslist or eBay in the 80s and 90s. And you need to consider who is buying, and it's not always lowball, dirt cheap as the main factor. You are also dealing at a emotional level with many with a passion for nicely restored automobiles. You also have time as a factor, in that buying and turning them over a few years or even 10, it's still a flip. I don't think that is a negative.
Many people buy a model and enjoy it, and want a different one in their garages. Many people I know have added lifts in their garage. Buy a kit for under 2k, and bolt it together. We raised the attic space in our garage after we bought our new place. Cost us 800 for reframing and drywall for one side.
If you find a dream car and it's done up exactly the way you like, buy it. I have stuck a For Sale sign on my cars lately at a cruise night. You may get all cash or a trade up or down with it. Buy nice cars if you can and stick with popular models vs orphans. Even if it seems more expensive, I have found it's almost always less than doing restorations yourself.
If you have factory build sheets and documentation, it's a plus. So is matching numbers for the purist. Or restification as I like, which improves braking, handling etc, but can be removed back to stock. You can turn on TV or attend an auction like Barrett Jackson. And people don't care if it's flipped. If done right and very desirable, and it's documented as well, it's worth a shot. If I sell, it's got the documentation, and even at no reserve I feel it will not bottom out.
Actually we are all only caretakers of nice classics for a while. Some of my friends part with them due to age or health issues. Most being sold higher than when they were acquired. Or passed to their family.
Some sites you bid on is an issue for me personally. Photos always look great, and when a car is shipped, issues can be uncovered. It does not happen all the time, but I have seen and heard of it. Some brokers consign or own cars, and flip as well. Being on the East Coast, it's hard to find rust free examples. Many of my friends have purchased cars with a brief return policy. But you pay shipping. It was 600 from Missouri on one.
Lastly, you must realize that car dealerships selling used cars for example are flippers. If you didn't know, you know now. They buy at auctions, trade etc and resell. Sometimes you just are not going to find a car that appeals strictly to you locally. If it's a classic or sports car for example, be prepared to ante up. My criteria on mine is a manual trans with air conditioning. Power steering and brakes from the factory. And I have owned a number of convertibles, preparing to spend more than coupes. If nothing else, be careful if price only is your consideration. Start doing body work and paying for show quality paint, and let us know. I always tell people to save and wait for a really good one vs a project. I've done a few with my son. A lot of hard work almost every weekend. When done, it's not given away. It may take some time, even some years, but it is a way to step up to the next one. When you start getting into high level cars, it's just a matter of keeping them nice and easier maintenance. Buy a bubble if you can to store them. Good luck.
21st Aug 2015, 23:35
Sorry, but anonymous comments backed up by nothing but claimed personal experience "mean nothing".
You go right on ahead believing that the cars built 30-40 years ago were the last good cars, infinitely better than anything built since. In 2045, your grandson will no doubt feel the same way about circa 2000-2015 vehicles.