At what age do you stop meticulous maintenance?
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Usually around 170K miles I worry less about maintenance and just happy if it starts.
At that point I'm looking to get a new vehicle and put old car on Craigslist, or give to relative for a high school car.
At that point I'm looking to get a new vehicle and put old car on Craigslist, or give to relative for a high school car.
"At what age do you stop meticulous maintenance?" Never.
Example, 84 Civic wagon 445K+ miles, original owner, Southern California no rust, never seen snow. My coffin will fit nicely in the back. 10 gallons of gasoline, a trench in the ground and a match and I'm done.
If your car is not worth the maintenance then sell it or junk it. Better yet give it to someone that could really use it. Rust and other damage aside if it's not worth driving it's your fault or you just don't enjoy driving it and why keep something that brings you not joy to drive? We spend too much time in a vehicle not to enjoy it and the joy of driving can be had in something much less than a "super-car".
Example, 84 Civic wagon 445K+ miles, original owner, Southern California no rust, never seen snow. My coffin will fit nicely in the back. 10 gallons of gasoline, a trench in the ground and a match and I'm done.
If your car is not worth the maintenance then sell it or junk it. Better yet give it to someone that could really use it. Rust and other damage aside if it's not worth driving it's your fault or you just don't enjoy driving it and why keep something that brings you not joy to drive? We spend too much time in a vehicle not to enjoy it and the joy of driving can be had in something much less than a "super-car".
I guess that would depend on whether on not you plan to keep the vehicle for a while longer. I still change the oil/ATF/coolant at regular intervals on my 2002 Tacoma and by 2003 Santa Fe that I've had forever. Both have over 200K miles, but I plan to keep them both in service for more years. Heck, I even just did the timing belt (again) on the Santa Fe.
I plan to drive my Tacoma indefinitely. I plan for my son to drive the Santa Fe until he's out of college in 3.5 years. At that point, he can do whatever he wants to do with it.
If I were ready to trade them in at the first issue, I would probably not bother with maintenance. With 2 kids in college, I need them to last.
I plan to drive my Tacoma indefinitely. I plan for my son to drive the Santa Fe until he's out of college in 3.5 years. At that point, he can do whatever he wants to do with it.
If I were ready to trade them in at the first issue, I would probably not bother with maintenance. With 2 kids in college, I need them to last.
Properly maintaining our vehicles is just sort of wired into my DNA. I don't want my wife broke down by the side of the road due to me slacking off on keeping the car in good shape. I also kind of enjoy spending a couple hours on the weekend doing things on the cars, especially now that spring is here. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to fix and maintain them.
My riding mower is about 15 yrs old and the push mower is maybe 20. But they both still run well. Cost of keeping them going is pretty minimal, compared to what new ones are going for down at Lowe's. I have the same attitude towards cars.
My riding mower is about 15 yrs old and the push mower is maybe 20. But they both still run well. Cost of keeping them going is pretty minimal, compared to what new ones are going for down at Lowe's. I have the same attitude towards cars.
I've said earlier I am pretty meticulous about repairs. My step son on the other hand doesn't do basic repairs on any brand new car he gets until it breaks down and he tosses a fit about it costing him money. Strange logic.
My brother in law doesn't understand the concept of preventative maintenance. He thinks my vehicles must not be very good because I often am doing something or checking something on them.
He basically just waits for something to break, and then cusses the manufacturer or dealer/mechanic who last worked on it. This guy could tear up an anvil, he's so hard on machinery.
The notion of replacing or correcting something before it completely fails is a foreign concept to him. Another in law blew an engine on a new Honda, which is pretty hard to do, by never changing the oil for like 50,000 miles, or something ridiculous. Of course, she blamed Honda.
He basically just waits for something to break, and then cusses the manufacturer or dealer/mechanic who last worked on it. This guy could tear up an anvil, he's so hard on machinery.
The notion of replacing or correcting something before it completely fails is a foreign concept to him. Another in law blew an engine on a new Honda, which is pretty hard to do, by never changing the oil for like 50,000 miles, or something ridiculous. Of course, she blamed Honda.
Never. Not in my nature to ever cut corners.
When I sell the car.
Response to OneEyeJack post:
Got a real kick from your post. I drive a 23 year old Mercury that I maintain myself. Only 133k and still looks sharp and drives and suits my needs very well. I am 68 and still enjoy just driving my car like you say.
My philosophy is that the previous owners spent money preserving this car and now it's my turn to reap the benefits of their labour and investment especially since I bought the car cheap. This of course includes good maintenance but I get real satisfaction maintaining a vehicle that old. There is something intangible here. It's a nice feeling. Nice feelings and satisfaction are part of what makes life worth living, at least for a car guy.
When I encounter late model cars on my travels, I get this quiet inner chuckle knowing that their ride is probably direct injection, maybe turbo and has a good chance of developing engine problems due to this so-called advanced technology. The oil companies are also playing keep-up trying to combat the effects of bad engineering.
I recall the many horror stories about owners of new cars fighting with dealers and mnftrs to fix engine design flaws for which there is no fix. I think the manufacturers are struggling to meet emissions and fuel economy standards and have shot themselves in the foot with DI. I am quite happy with port injection. I understand that some mftrs are adding secondary port injection to their DI motors to clean the intake valves, combustion chambers and spark plugs. That tells me that engine technology is verging on out of control and to invest in a new vehicle at this stage is risky.
Got a real kick from your post. I drive a 23 year old Mercury that I maintain myself. Only 133k and still looks sharp and drives and suits my needs very well. I am 68 and still enjoy just driving my car like you say.
My philosophy is that the previous owners spent money preserving this car and now it's my turn to reap the benefits of their labour and investment especially since I bought the car cheap. This of course includes good maintenance but I get real satisfaction maintaining a vehicle that old. There is something intangible here. It's a nice feeling. Nice feelings and satisfaction are part of what makes life worth living, at least for a car guy.
When I encounter late model cars on my travels, I get this quiet inner chuckle knowing that their ride is probably direct injection, maybe turbo and has a good chance of developing engine problems due to this so-called advanced technology. The oil companies are also playing keep-up trying to combat the effects of bad engineering.
I recall the many horror stories about owners of new cars fighting with dealers and mnftrs to fix engine design flaws for which there is no fix. I think the manufacturers are struggling to meet emissions and fuel economy standards and have shot themselves in the foot with DI. I am quite happy with port injection. I understand that some mftrs are adding secondary port injection to their DI motors to clean the intake valves, combustion chambers and spark plugs. That tells me that engine technology is verging on out of control and to invest in a new vehicle at this stage is risky.
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Originally Posted By: bumpasmerc
When I encounter late model cars on my travels, I get this quiet inner chuckle knowing that their ride is probably direct injection, maybe turbo and has a good chance of developing engine problems due to this so-called advanced technology. The oil companies are also playing keep-up trying to combat the effects of bad engineering.
For you maybe, but for me it's a quiet inner pain, as I continue my search for a pristine mid-nineties MGM.
But hope springs eternal.
When I encounter late model cars on my travels, I get this quiet inner chuckle knowing that their ride is probably direct injection, maybe turbo and has a good chance of developing engine problems due to this so-called advanced technology. The oil companies are also playing keep-up trying to combat the effects of bad engineering.
For you maybe, but for me it's a quiet inner pain, as I continue my search for a pristine mid-nineties MGM.
But hope springs eternal.
I don't know when to stop doing routine maintenance. I suppose if lots of things went wrong at the same time, but they never do.
I just freshened the cylinder head. The last one lasted 440k miles, so I should be good for a while.
I just freshened the cylinder head. The last one lasted 440k miles, so I should be good for a while.
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