List of ways in which cars are made cheaply or to wear after so much time or use

Maintenance/Repairs
81

This is a follow-up to my posting above #76 concerning “Small Auto Lots…”

On this evenings newscast the following story came out about another “small auto lot” being put on the Off-Limits List for military for shady business practices… There are four other small auto lots also on the list…

Perhaps one of the most egregious stories from this area was the “kidnapping” a sailor… The sailor contacted a salesperson who had advertised a car in the local paper. The salesperson said that the car had not yet been traded in but if he wanted to see it, they could offer him a very good deal. The sailor was stationed on board a ship in port and he told the salesperson that he got off at 4:00 PM, but had to be back on board by 11:00 PM. The salesperson picked the sailor up at the base gate and then took him to dinner and then drove him out to where the car was being stored (a storage facility about 40-miles away). The sailor was not impressed and told the salesperson he did not want the car. They left the storage area of the lot and the salesperson asked the sailor to check the gate to make sure it was locked and the as the sailor checked the gate, the salesman drove off, leaving the sailor at the lot, without transportation back to the base. Not only that, he did not even know where he was. That part of town had few business open at that time and he finally found one and called the Police to ask for help. He wanted proof in case he did not get back by check-in time. The Police drove him back to base in time, and the news stations carried the story but leaving someone without transportation is not kidnapping and since the salesperson was selling the car independently from the business, that auto lot did not get on the Off-Limits List.

But the sailor’s experience did serve as a cautionary tale for other service members…

82

It is kinda interesting seeing that cars for sale drop off at around 250,000 miles. My old 1997 F250 light duty came to me with 279,xxx miles on it 12 years ago. That number has never gone up as the odometer is broken. I have no idea how many were on it when I got it. I was to the point where the next time it needed new tires, I was thinking about ditching it. Then the pandemic happened. The new truck I bought to replace it was in the shop awaiting parts and this one could be fixed sooner while the other one had no timetable in sight. I went ahead and had it fixed with 2x new tires, new front end, new clutch kit due to failed slave cylinder, etc. Now that it is fixed I hope to get a few more years out of it but anything major might be a sign to move it along. There is still value to me as a beater work truck and it always starts. There are some signs it might be nearing the end of its life though but these 2 valve 4.6Ls run a long time. Basically the engine is showing signs of compression loss (it rolls when parked in gear but otherwise runs well). The rust is also significant but the manual transmission is smooth as silk and the 4WD still works. There is also value in knowing what has been done and how to deal with what is wrong in something like this. The shop told me it definitely had value during the pandemic and good luck finding one for less money than the repairs it needed. I doubt the value is decent now though.

As for car lots and such taking advantage of the military, I know this has been a problem around Ft. Leonard Wood, MO in the past. It is everything from check cashing loans, car title loans, and such. Somehow they seem to have cleaned up the area and many of the real bad offenders are now gone.

I have seen a few cars I liked at “buy here, pay here” lots in the past and pulled in to look. Basically the car is stupid overpriced to start with, they will not negotiate, and they require you use their financing. These places are complete rip-off and yet people still fall for the scam. Rent to own stores are the same thing. Just cheap overpriced crap with terrible payment terms…

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83

Yes! There was a chain of rent to own stores set up near military bases. They advertised in the base newspaper. I saw an advertisement for a stereo system with the monthly fee and months to payoff. Identical system was offered at the base exchange. The rent to own cost was more than double the exchange price.
Back to cars, I have never purchased a car on a buy here, pay here basis.

84

A lot of those no credit needed tote the note used car lots (at least years ago) made there money off repos of the cars sold… The down payment they asked for was what they had in the vehicle for the most part, so once you made your down payment, anything else was profit… So they hoped you would make about 1/2 (more or less) your payments then stop so they could repo and resell the same car a few times… I knew of lots that would sell the same car 3-4-5 times before not coming back or it was to trashed to sell again… lol
Yes they were all pretty sleazy people and I always tell people unless your life depends on it, stay a way from tote the note lots…

BTW some of the rent to own places have really good name brand furniture/appliances but sadly at 3 times the cost… No I don’t recommend renting house hold goods either… lol
Just making a point…

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85

The base exchange price is probably lower than the typical retail price and the rent to own is essentially a loan and the purchaser his paying interest. I agree with you that buying at the BE is a much better deal but if someone can’t afford the full price and wants it, they have little choice except to wait until they can afford it. Saving money isn’t some people’s forte though.

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86

As I used to say to my counselees, the ability to defer gratification is one of the signs of maturity. Unfortunately, we seem to have a lot of adults nowadays who have not yet reached true maturity.

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87

And from the Stanford Marshmallow Study and similar studies that followed confirmed that this one trait is an excellent predictor of success in life! Financially and otherwise.

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88

If you are referring to the The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) or as the Air Force personnel refer to it, "the Base Exchange. " or as Army personnel refer to it, “the Post Exchange” and there is the Navy Exchange (NEX), or as the Navy personnel refer to it, “the Exchange”; I am sorry, I do not agree with your assessment, not in this area, Hampton Roads, Virginia. Where I live between Langley AFB and Fort Eustis and only 10-miles from the Norfolk Naval Air Station.

The “Exchanges” (all of them…) are trying to stay “relevant” in this day and age of mega-stores and on-line shopping…

When I was first assigned to Langley in the early '70s, all stores in the whole state of Virginia were closed on Sundays due to the Blue Laws and those exchanges were hopping… Now, during the day, there are usually more associates in the store than customers and there are not that many associates…

Now, the Exchanges are Langley and Eustis only have the self-check out lines and one living, breathing cashier on duty during the weekday and the self-checkout lines only accept the Military Star Credit Card… otherwise they would probably not even have a real cashiers on duty…

The only real advantage to the exchange is they will price match most everything and they do not charge sales tax…

Just yesterday, I was shopping for Dash Cams and AAFES lists only two models and both models are much cheaper at Best Buy with no special deals or sales…

I have written to Chief Master Sergeant Kevin Osby, the Senior Enlisted Advisor, Army & Air Force Exchange Service, on numerous occasions as I am also Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) and I had hoped that my 30-plus years on active duty might have some sway. But, it’s not to be, perhaps he too is just trying to keep his job… I believe that if the various Exchange Systems cannot turn the trend around, Congress will look more seriously at them as “Low-Hanging Fruit” ripe for the picking to reduce costs and eliminate this benefit…

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89

Those were the days before BX, Px, and NEX accepted credit cards, now the exchange has their own CC.
I no longer bother with the BX, I find their prices no longer competitive, even liquor prices. The commissary probably is still worthwhile. When my wife was alive we would go to the commissary about once a month to stock up. The 30 mile round trip is just not worth it for me, plus I now have a Walmart 0.7 miles away. VA sent me to an appointment near an NEX, again I found prices to not be competitive.

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90

Wally to Ward, after getting some life lessons from his father:

“Gee, Dad, I guess there’s something wrong with just about everything.”

                                   - - - "Leave It To Beaver" ca. 1962
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91

Congratulations!
I would not touch any of those things with a 10-foot pole. Maybe because neither I nor the numerous owners whose vehicles I inspected over the years are not nearly as lucky as you.
Buy a lottery ticket!

92

Great example of why it is so very critical to maintain your older vehicles and keep them as a backup for unexpected emergencies. If I hadn’t still had my 50 year old truck, well maintained in good condition, during the pandemic, I’d have had no good way to even obtain basic necessities like food for 3 1/2 years. My old truck definitely saved my bacon.

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93

It isn’t luck. It is proper maintenance. And maybe these cars are better than you think they are…

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94

Recently sold a 15 year old Lincoln MKX, had zero problems throughout its life, except for one engine cooling fan. Still driving a 12 year old MKZ, it’s had minor repairs through the years, no more than the '96 Lexus ES300 it replaced.

95

The truck has had its AC replaced and the rear axle rebuilt ( my fault, didn’t notice a small leak), and the transfer case rear housing replaced in 150K miles.

Anything else was minor or maintenance. The engine, trans and transfer case are all in good shape. You see Avalanches for sale with well over 100K in great shape every day even though they haven’t been made in years.

96

I spent nearly 20 years of my life doing automotive mechanical inspections so in this case, it’s not about “thinking” even though I don’t mind doing that but rather about KNOWING. I have a huge database of cases I personally worked with so I have STATISTICAL reasons to say what I say rather than “I know a guy who has never opened the hood of his 1973 ford!” urban legend.

97

You inspected cars that had problems, correct? Hardly a ‘statistical’ sample of the general population of cars.

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98

I never bought much except gifts at the ox but seems to me they were contract run for profit. No point getting into retail pricing discussions but ya gotta try real hard and the stars llined up to beat mass merchandising prices.

99

Escaping California emissions testing? :slight_smile: How much have the offered you to have the truck crushed?

At least Texas stops at 25 years, so if you want a testing exempt vehicle you can still drive one with a catalytic converter!

I believe that is the same as the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. 2013 was a redesign. The 2010-2012 I’m familiar with had a lot of problems. The front suspension springs break. The electric power steering failed on a lot of them. Hood release cable froze up. Window regulator and door handle broke. 160k miles. Belt tensioner may have seized and bent and the belt came off. Upper engine mounts shot. Inner tie rod boots rub against body and rub a hole though to leak water in.

Does your car have the internal water pump? I wonder how the quality has changed with the 2013 redesign.

100

Truck is emissions testing exempt b/c of its age, but that’s wasn’t reason I kept it all these years. I need a truck every once in a while to haul stuff. But the emissions issue has become a very important reason to keep it on the road now in the Covid era! … lol …

The agency that offers to pay the owner to get older cars off the road doesn’t seem interested in the truck for some reason. They constantly are offering to pay for my Corolla. Anybody think that’s gonna happen? … lol …