When is an old car too old?

[slow&rusty]

I've been driving this 1979 thing a lot lately, it has old technology, it has old maintenance and it has old whatever you want to call it and I wouldn't trade a thing for it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nice E24! That’s a good example of a car that’s still usable on a daily basis.

[stomachmonkey]

My 55’ 190SL does not leave the garage.

Car looks great but let’s be honest, some of these classics are just not all that much fun to drive.

Plus it’s become to valuable to risk getting broadsided by some newly licensed teen who is texting while driving.

[Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

My 55’ 190SL does not leave the garage.

Car looks great but let’s be honest, some of these classics are just not all that much fun to drive.

Plus it’s become to valuable to risk getting broadsided by some newly licensed teen who is texting while driving.

I would drive it with insurance on a date...

My 911 is usually parked and my ML350 is my daily.

[Rusty Heap]

Cuba daily drivers.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

There are a lot of '50's, 60's and 70's cars in this area on the road on a nice weekend day.

I could not imagine daily driving one. A friend of mine owns the "Stovebolt" website for old GMC trucks (https://www.stovebolt.com/) and I used to drive with him in parades, etc. The old truck look cool but are not at all enjoyable, at least to me, to drive.

Thats good to hear. Just a bit north its so rare. I actually did see a 60's chevy pickup on the road yesterday, pretty cool beater look with a nice stance and rumble. I feel like such an old dude sometimes. So many car listings now highlight the phone integration, gps, screen size... all things I care nothing about. I like the idea of an 'old' pickup with enough suspension updates to make it fun to drive. When I've priced that out the $$'s dont make a lick of sense.

[unclebilly]

For me, life is busy and I am connected all of the time. I put on 40 - 50,000 miles per year in my various vehicles.

The unconnectedness of my older Porsches is charming but creates issues in needed to reconnect and call people back when I get to my destination(s).

I'm to the point, were I want a comfortable vehicle that is fun to drive. The older cars just arent quite as comfortable (comfort is more than just seats when you spend as much time in a car as I do).

My VW - that's the epitomy of no creature comforts and its super loud with the stinger exhaust and dual Kadron carbs.

[Seahawk]

I turned the corner in 1983. My 1972 BMW 2002 got me through HS and college and I loved it.

But, I was stashed at an A-6 Squadron in Virginia Beach (NAS Oceana) and about to head to flight school in Florida. The 2002 had no A/C, was tech-wise older than it's 11 years.

A lot changed with cars between 1972 and 1983. Remember vapor lock? 1983 doesn't either.

I am an Ensign at this point and hate debt - and there was no guarantee I'd make it through flight school and have a job. So, I sold the 2002 for a good price and bought a new 1983 Mazda GLC, four doors of love, my friends, and paid a little bit of cash so no loan.

It was an amazing car, better than anything I had ever owned to date. That was when I adopted the, "own something fun, DD something Japanese" mantra. Everything worked all the time.

Six years in San Diego, owned a home in Coronado, bought and sold 4 P-Cars, sold the GLC when I left.

Gaze in awe at the GLC, not mine:

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

I've been driving this 1979 thing a lot lately, it has old technology, it has old maintenance and it has old whatever you want to call it and I wouldn't trade a thing for it.

Luv that man - Euro bumpers too!

[oldE]

Originally Posted by seafeye

We never see ‘50’s cars on the road. Limited 60’s. And I live in Nascar country.
How long do you think before the 60’s 70’s 911’s are just too old to be driven regularly and before they have little charm left?

I can ask Lori Anne, an aquaitence who was daily driving a '24 Chrysler until two years ago.
She used two local mechanics to keep it going, one did the electrics, the other the mechanical side of things.
The car is currently for sale , so I guess there are limits.
Best
Les

[RWebb]

my neighbor still drives his Model A flathead, and a guy down the street still drives his model T

but not often

I still see a red 356 in the grocery lot now and then too

but this town is getting too big and congested to make a manual much fun esp. in an older car - luckily I can exit into 2 lane twisty roads in 3 miles going 3 different directions

But me, the feel of a 50s cat (356) is just too old. A well massaged 1960s design (911) works great even for all day trips. A new 911 is too competent to have much fun on the street ...

[sugarwood]

Wait until the next Diner Cruise Night. You will see all the muscle cars and their 70 year old owners driving them for 2 miles.

[dan79brooklyn]

I had a 1976 BMW 2002 as my only car 15 or so years ago. Luckily I lived in NYC at the time so it wasn’t used for commuting, but it broke down 3 or 4 times. Stranded me a few times and rusted a little on just a couple years. No AC and not much heat ( heater fan seized) maybe I had a lemon or it WAS too old.
The 79sc I got next was much more reliable and almost maintenance free.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

My 55’ 190SL does not leave the garage.

Car looks great but let’s be honest, some of these classics are just not all that much fun to drive.

Plus it’s become to valuable to risk getting broadsided by some newly licensed teen who is texting while driving.

I the orginal owner of my 1983 944. A manual steering car - its fun to drive on the highway, in the city not so much. I don't want it valleted, parallel parking is a PITA and I'm paranoid about the driving of others. Honestly, the older I am, the less I enjoy driving it. Its probably more me than the car.

[Steve F]

Our 2 VW bugs , 2 Porsche 912's and a Norton are all 50 years plus old

[vonsmog]

here are my two summertime daily drivers, while not super old, (84' and 85') they are fun to drive. I have taken the wagon cross country last year and is the car we use to go to the store the most!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by shadowjack1

I don't think American cars from the 60's, 70's and 80's were made to last. I think most of these cars are in the "Land fill".

Maybe so, but parts are super cheap.

I still daily drive my trusty ol 1986 El Camino. It is at 367,000 miles now. 99% of the time, when we go on a local errand, be it to get a prescription refilled, out to dinner, or to visit my MIL that lives 95 miles away, we take the El Camino. Only if we have another person or couple with us do we go in my wife's car, the 2017 Macan.

I commuted in my Elky for over 25 years, but now my commute is a 14 step walk down the hall to my home office.

If for some reason someone had some large object in California that I wanted, I would drive out and get it in the Elky. I trust it 100% to make any trip.

[pavulon]

With a few exceptions, 80's cars were overweight, under-powered, under-braked turds. Nostalgia is a weird thing. Significant rust is a deal breaker for me.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by pavulon

With a few exceptions, 80's cars were overweight, under-powered, under-braked turds. Nostalgia is a weird thing. Significant rust is a deal breaker for me.

Yep, some of the 1980s Corvettes were laughable. A 454 with heads that strangled it. And a bulid quality that was embarrassing. But it is really easy to swap the heads, and have a tire burning monster.

Most of the Japanese cars were underpowered and UGLY to boot. Now they are mostly just ugly and sin, but have lots of power.

About a year ago I replaced the front brake pads with GM Goodwrench brand original equipment pads, for $12. And yea, 12 bucks for both wheels, not each. And for the folks in the rust belt and salty roads, nothing is going to last long. When I was in Michigan a few years ago even cars that were a few years old had horrible rust if they were driven in the winter. We don't have that problem down here.

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by jcommin

I the orginal owner of my 1983 944. A manual steering car - its fun to drive on the highway, in the city not so much. I don't want it valleted, parallel parking is a PITA and I'm paranoid about the driving of others. Honestly, the older I am, the less I enjoy driving it. Its probably more me than the car.

It's not just you that feels that way. I would not DD my 83 944, manual trans/ manual steering car today, but I did until 2010. Everything is so much bigger now. I didn't feel safe the last time I drove it in traffic.