So the car was bid up twice to over $5000. All I need to know. Way different than a listing with no bids or a high BIN price.
My brother also owned a Volare`. Same deal. Very unreliable. He bought it new. After warranty ran out the starter died. I replaced it. Then about 6 months later it died again. Then another 6 months later it died again. After talking to a friend who worked on a lot of these vehicles, he suggested I pull the tranny and check the flywheel. Sure enough the flywheel was out-of-round. First and only vehicle Iāve ever seen that had an out of round flywheel.
The Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen had the makings of a successful product. The slant 6 engine and the 318 V8 had been around a long time and had good reliability records until these engines were put in the Volare and Aspen. The Torque Flight transmission had a good record for reliability. The Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart that preceded the Volare and Aspen had good reliability records. The Volare and Aspen were roomy and had good luggage space in the trunk. They should have been great cars, but something went wrong with the quality control.
The Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch, while better than the Volare and Aspen were no gems either.
I looked at the Plymouth Volare and Ford Granada and also the Ford Fairmont. After test driving these cars, I bought an Oldsmobile Cutlass. This was in 1978. I drove the Cutlass 33 years and 240,000 miles. I think.I made the right decision back then.
A Dodge Aries is not a Volare or Aspen but carry on.
The guy I knew who owned a Volare claimed that he came very close to being crushed by 18 wheelers when his nearly-new car stalled on the entrance ramp to the Interstateāon more than one occasion. Ironically, that car was the replacement for an Austin Marina that suffered a broken crankshaft on two occasions. After the second crankshaft failure, he decided that he needed a more substantial, more reliable car andāunfortunatelyāhe bought a Volare.
Ever since WWII Chrysler has had QC problems. Buyers were drawn to the ā57, but quality control was lacking. Though I would still like to have a number of different Chrysler products from 57-61, I like fins!
First car was a ā60 Dart with a 318, my last was an ā84 Rampage, that was traded in on a T-Bird. Between the quality of the T-Bird and better treatment from Ford dealerships, that was it.
He must have had to take a hard left turn to get on the highway. That was one of their many faults. Sticky Carb Float. Hard left would push the float up and stick there, thus preventing gas from going into the bowl. Happened to my brothers car. Every left turn and the vehicle started to stall out. I went to buy a rebuild kit, but I was able to buy a rebuilt carb the same price as the kit. Never seen that before. And they wanted something like $200 for the core (which at the time was $150 more then any other carb core).
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I had t heard that one but did have trouble with a later model and the choke temp sensor. Hard to talk about a great company just destructing over time. I think they were operating on credit cards for years with suppliers refusing to ship parts without payment. At any rate I just canāt help talking about the haunted 78 Voltaire my folks bought. Total engine disassembly for oil burning. Transmission went out on a trip in Montana and 80 mile tow for a new one under warranty. Leaky ac, and flat tires for some reason. Finally traded at the Plymouth dealer and when they came out the tire was flat again. Iām sure there were more problems they didnāt tell me about or I forgot. No one wants to admit buying a bad car. You can change your name but something was definitely wrong with that company.
While I donāt agree with your idea of collectible, I am on the side of all those who say it depends on your situation. Do you like the car? Do you expect to enjoy working on/driving it? Do you have space for it, especially dry space? I think there were some good suggestions for avoiding some of the cost, especially of insurance, on an additional vehicle.
You are kind of on your own on this one. This is a corollary to the rule that you never tell anyone what you paid for a used car because there will always be someone that will rain on your parade and say you paid too much. The only person you have to satisfy on this one is yourself (unless there is an unspoken spouse in the picture).
I doubt if anyone will say he paid too much for this vehicle at 300.00 .
For $300 if you got the space id just buy it if you are concerned with upkeep or whatever if you got it in a dry place then it will be ok with starting and driving it around every once in a while. You could also later sell it if you find its not worth it.
The OPās bought it already.
As the owner of an extra vehicle, Iād opt not to take it. The negatives outweigh the positives unless the car really steals your heart. If it were a classic like a '63 split-window Corvette or a car like that maybe, but an '80s Dodge economy sedan isnāt really a collectible nor is it a joy to drive like an old first-gen Miata for example. No offense intended to Dodge fans.Volvoās flip idea is worth considering.
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You have to remember that bcohen has ideas of collector and muscle vehicles that donāt match the general consensus. After all he spent time and money on a Daewoo Lanos .
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there you go. now itās a collector car 
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Doesnāt āfitā in my car collection.
photo from internet
I am still spending time and money to keep this car in good working order and reliable. And so far, that investment has paid off handsomely. If the average monthly car payment is more than $550, and I have owned the car for 4 years with a purchase price of $1800, and probably spent about $2500 on maintenance and repairs, this car has literally saved me $22k in loan payments over that time.
Each month that I drive the car, thatās another $400+ going back into my pocket, month after month after month. Can you recommend any other investment with that kind of ROI? A good dividend stock only pays 3%-4% per year.
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Another General Dollar Lee.
Need to weld the door shut!
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Hmm, interesting.I would say the opposite. I am a mechanic, so I may have a different view. But I have had an extra car or two, well, since I was 19. I have never found there to be any negatives to having an extra car, only positives.
Would you care to share what you consider to be negative about having an extra car?
A car of that value is impractical for most people. It must be kept in a secure building, should have ample insurance and theft precautions are necessary. I wouldnāt be comfortable with that car parked in the employee parking lot for 9 hours a day.
I can park my Dodge in the street, driveway or back yard. My cars only require liability insurance. My cars are not a theft target in a parking lot and the door dings and sun damage is something I can live with.
The best person to sell the car to would be himself, he is the one who wants the car. If he were to sell the car, how much should he budget for a replacement in equal condition?
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