" Yes it has low miles, but the absolute worst thing you could do to a machine is ask it to sit and wait… It wreaks havoc on suspension springs, rubber also hates sitting around and waiting…every part of this vehicle doesnt want to sit around to be honest. "
Are you suggesting this car would last longer if it was driven 15,000 miles a year?
Twice a week I work on 2001-2006 cars with 10,000 to 20,000 miles on them for the airbag recall and maintenance, they are in excellent condition, no broken springs or failing rubber. My 1996 Stratus has been sitting in the desert sun for twenty years and the rubber is in good condition, I don’t know why driving it would make the rubber last longer.
Well @Nevada_545 you bring up an interesting point. However the first set of vehicles you mention to me…are much better engineered than the one in this post. I think many would agree this is true.
The 96’ Stratus in the desert ? Again…a different animal due to climate. I never said rubber lasts longer from driving either…the driving mention …that I mentioned…is to suss out any failures that were going to happen anyway…be it rubber or otherwise.
I suppose some clarification is needed for my statements…as there are of course exceptions. My mindset is definitely a product of my geographic location. I live in SE-PA. Its hot and wet in the summer…cold n nasty in the winter…and a parked car here? Does not do well…not well at all, I promise you that.
The reason I stated that I would take a vehicle with 50K on the clock…or as your example of 15K a year over one sitting ? I agree with both I suppose… NOT because it makes things last longer…but because it lets things fail and be replaced. Savvy? Of course use doesnt make things last longer…on the contrary…it weeds out what will or was going to fail ahead of you jumping into the thing…and experiencing the “Cascade of Failures” I mentioned.
Nobody else here knows or ever witnessed the “Cascade” effect? Really ? C’mon…youre pulling my leg right?
Perhaps climate has everything to do with my feelings? I dunno…since I lived between the burbs of Philly and the NJ Coast…Two particularly Despicable climates for Automobiles… Sure it could be worse…but not by much. Anyone in the desert care to comment? Does my theory lose validity because of that climate…I honestly dont know.
@“Honda Blackbird” , Re: your “cascade of failures” effect. (Sorry it took me so long to respond, by the way). YEAH. I experienced the “cascade of failures” in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. If only I could go back to that fateful day in 2008 and tell that lawyer to go ahead and include it in the auction. . . .
The same thing happened with my Mom’s Nissan after she gave up the keys. 19 1/2 year old car with 22,000 miles. . .
An acquaintance says a good way to acquire a good car cheap is to drive around the back roads in rural areas. Eventually you’ll see a car sitting alongside a driveway with one or more flat tires and covered with bird droppings. He says usually the situation is the owner died and the widow or widower just left the car to sit. He says he can more often than not strike a deal to buy the car for a few hundred bucks and come back with a dolly and tow it home and clean it up and have a “good” car. (I’m talking about cars that don’t even have For Sale signs on them, some people just know how to hustle like that. . . )
After my experience with the Jeep. . . . no way do I want a car like that. Writing this post makes me glad all over again that I bought a brand new car
Three grand upfront to make the thing roadworthy. All fluids, belts, hoses, water pump, CV joints / axles, cracked side mirror, and more. Followed by continual leaky seals and bearings and random electrical glitches, leaky sunroof, and more. Got stuck at night in the rain in a rural area after the ground wire to the fuel pump came loose from corrosion. I guess there’s a good reason why late model cars cost many many thou$ands of dollars!
@Triedaq , " Back in 1978, I bought a new Oldsmobile Cutlass. I sold the car in 2011 and the next owner got another year of service from the car."
So what ultimately happened with the Cutlass? Did the motor crap out? Accident? Or did the new owner sell it to parties unknown? Was it hard to part with after 33 years? Just curious. I currently face a similar situation with my Festiva that was my primary car for 21 years and now takes up space on my driveway.
ED; I’ve had several co-workers that purchased Grand Cherokee trade-ins for $1500 because they were reliable vehicles and enjoyed them. I understand you went through a “cascade of failures” with you old SUV during 7 years of ownership but this would have been no different if it were a one owner vehicle, someone must pay for the repairs. Owning old vehicles requires more maintenance than new vehicles but most people expect that.
@ed frugal. Mrs. Triedaq went on a campaign to get rid of the car. The car was a,1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon coupe with the 4-4-2 trim package. However, it wasn’t a fast car–it had the 260 V-8 engine and the TMS 200 automatic transmission. Our neighbor’s son came back from military service in Iraq and needed transportation. I think that rust finally did the car in. I thought about restoring the car, but realized it would be a losing proposition. The reason I bought the car originally was the price. It sat on the dealer’s lot from April to mid October of 1978 when I bought the car. Apparently, the Salon fastback styling plus the 4-4-2 numbers on the sides turned off some buyers and the small V-8 and automatic transmission turned off buyers who wanted a real muscle car. I was glad that
someone was able to get more use from a car I didn’t need. Back in 1992, I let my son take the car to college, since the school was only 50 miles away. The following fall, he went on an internship program where the center was 400 miles away. Since it involved interstate driving, I put him in a newer car. He wasn’t happy to give up the Oldsmobile–he claimed that he and the old Oldsmobile understood each other. I once started to restore a,1948 Dodge. I had the motor running well, but the body and interior work was going to be expensive. I was driving the Dodge down the street and was offered $100 more than I paid for the Dodge. I sold it on the spot. To answer your question–no, I don’t miss the old Oldsmobile. I am at the point in my life where I am trying to cut back on the things I have around the house that I don’t really need.
Some cars grow on you. My wife really got to like her 1977 Dodge Colt (a Mitsubishi Lancer in disguise) and when it finally needed engine parts no longer available, she was reluctant to let it go. It was replaced with a Nissan Sentra, a much better car with more comfort, but it took quite a while for her to forget the Colt, which she nicknamed the “Pee Pot”.
Early in the life of the 1978 Oldsmobile, Mrs. Triedaq was doing research for her dissertation and drove the car to every county in the state. I think that put 35,000 miles on the car in that year. After she finished the degree, she took a job at a college 200 miles away and drove home week-end. After one year of commuting, she did get a job at the same institution where I was on the faculty. We also made several trips from Eastern Indiana out west. We got our money’s worth out of that Oldsmobile. After my son had it for a year, it became an “around town” car. I didn’t intend to keep it for 33 years when I bought it.
It’s been my experience as well. Both my own cars and that of my Dad’s. Sitting is h@ll on them. Now if you live in Nevada, it may not matter. But where they spread salt in the winter and it’s humid in the summer, they rust out way faster when they sit. Probably because they bask in the swill a bit longer. Anything unused and exposed to the elements seems to degrade at a faster rate. It’s true of humans too
I picked up a car that had been sitting a while. I don’t know how long but it burned oil pretty well. I put in some synthetic and drove it like it was stolen and the oil consumption went down dramatically so I suspect the rings were somewhat sticky from sitting so long.
Well, my Grand Cherokee was basically a 2-owner vehicle. The first owner had it 2 years, the second owner had it 9 1/2 years, then I got it, and I know for a fact it spent a good bit of its life “sitting”. To be fair, my mechanic later (much later) told me the Grand Cherokees are very trouble prone, he said the Wranglers are more reliable. He LOVES Grand Cherokees because his shop makes a lot of money repairing them, and they have a very loyal following, apparently.
But I disposed of a 1992 Chevy C1500 pickup truck with the 4.3 V-6 with 160,000 miles on it to acquire the 1996 Grand Cherokee with 57,000 miles on it. The guy I sold the Chevy to does lawn maintenance on the side, and he runs the hexx out of the truck every summer. Its still going today with about 240,000 miles on it, and he’s probably spent about a quarter of what I’ve spent on that Grand Cherokee. But I guess I’m drifting off topic now.
@Triedaq: I probably would have kept my Festiva 33 years had it not started falling apart. Funny thing is, going from the Festiva to the Mirage didn’t feel like much of a difference, BUT, going from the Mirage back to the Festiva; the Festiva rides like an 1800’s Conestoga Wagon, at BEST!
I’d probably put historic tags on the Festiva and keep it around for a backup but for the fact that it needs so much work. Why bother futzing around with an old jalopy when I’ve got a brand new car to drive? The open road is calling me! Lots of good (and bad) memories in that old car though. I’d like it to go to a good home. If I can drive it to the Madness gathering in October, I’ll probably offer it cheap to one of the real enthusiasts, with paying for me to rent a car to drive home as a stipulation.
I guess I get it, sometimes its time to rid yourself of the old so you can enjoy the new. 20 years from now I’ll have a lot of good and bad memories in my Mirage. I always enjoyed your stories of how you’d drive your Olds Cutlass to staff meetings and gatherings where you needed to “look poor”. Clever.
@Ed Frugal I also had an old rain coat that I wore. Lt. Columbo with his old Peugeot convertible and rain coat had nothing on me. Unfortunately, the tattered rain coat disappeared out of the closet while I was asleep. I always suspected Mrs. Triedaq, but she wouldn’t fess up.
Ed: That is interesting about the Grand Cherokee. I always thought that the ones with the 4.0L were pretty solid and reliable, even if a Chrysler. The newer ones with the 3.7L were duds if you ask me. Lots of issues with lots of things. I have asked a couple mechanics around here what their favorite and least favorite car brand is. The response was something like “Chrysler and Chrysler.” It is their favorite because it brings them LOTS of business but their least favorite because they would never own one.
Ed: Where are you located? My GF used to own a Festiva and always looks longingly at them when she sees one going down the road. What would you want for this car? It could be a project. What is all wrong with it?
The 4.3L GM motor is a real tank. I have one and can’t be happier with an engine. So far the spider injector has continued to function but will plan to replace this if the intake ever has to come off for good measure as this is a known weak link.
I would have to say I agree with all the opinions here about the Acclaim. Unless you really want this car, I would look at something else. It might be mildly collectible to someone. I knew a guy who bought an old Pinto and fixed it up and wouldn’t have anything else. If you want a better car to drive around, I would look for something else.
I think basically everyone is in agreement that the price of this vehicle is a No Go…
Put it thisa way… Would you rather buy this 95 Acclaim for $2500… OR would you have purchased either of the vehicles I just bought recently? Hell, you could have gotten BOTH of the vehicles below…for LESS than that one 95’ Acclaim…
The first is an 03’ Jaguar X Type-AWD-5sp Manual. 132K Purchased for $900 sold for $4000
The second (purchased yesterday) is an 04’ Ford Exploder XLT. 95K Purchased for $1000
Basically I am just pointing out that there are better buys out there, you just need to poke around a bit.
LOL… I wasn’t thinking about bragging @db4690 …but I guess there was some going on there. But really…there are better buys out there. Those above are just examples within the last few months. I see deals like this pass by all the time. If I had more space I would look like a used car lot !
Its not hard to find the “deals”, so there’s no need to “Brag” really. I think they are available to all of us…if we just look. Its a bit of Luck and a bit of Elbow Grease. The Jaguar was too nice for me, so I sold it. But the Exploder? I will keep and use as a Utility vehicle, because I need one…I’ve been down to 1 vehicle for a while now and that’s not a good thing for me and what I do…I miss my old 5 speed, 2 door Exploder Sport almost daily. So…there’s the new one. The Explorer found me really…
Primarily I wanted to show that there are better holes to throw money into… But yes, sadly there is a part of me that is proud of the deals I’ve secured, oh well, I too am human. I wasn’t trying to be an outright “Braggard” though.
At work, when I fill out parts request forms, or charge out parts . . .
Parts get charged out to Explorer and Toreass
There is no such thing as Explorer and Taurus
I’ve been doing it for years, and nobody has ever questioned me
BTW . . . I thought it was “braggart” . . . or is that how Thor would have spelled it?
I mentioned Thor because a few days ago, you used the word “nay” . . . and the only other times I’ve seen that used is in the comic books from long ago, and perhaps in some really old english literature
@cwatkin ; I am on the east coast, in the great megalopolis north of Washington D.C. and south of Harrisburg, PA. My Grand Cherokee has the 5.3L V-8 engine. The engine has been solid, its stuff connected to the engine, seals, bearings, pulleys etc that have failed, plus electrical glitches, and the all important body integrity issues that caused me to throw in the towel. I’d take a hundred bucks for the Festiva with a promise not to send it to the crusher. It has a lot of issues, and now most of the clearcoat has peeled off. Part of the issue is some parts are difficult / impossible to come by, like “rear brake backing plates” for example. Good luck finding a new set of those, and most of the ones on junkyard specimens are just as rusted out as the ones on my car.
@“Honda Blackbird” ; hey, that’s cool. Some people just seem to have a knack for finding deals like that, like the acquaintance of mine I mentioned on the preceding page. I’d LOVE to find a deal like that $1000 Explorer. As I have mentioned, my next vehicle purchase I intend to be a good workhorse pickup truck or similar to use as a tow vehicle, and I have no intention of buying a $60,000 F-150. Maybe I won’t ever get that truck, or the boat I intend to tow with said truck. Maybe I’ll just talk about it ad nauseum until I die. Sorry. I’ve had a difficult day today.
People skills, connections has always been my Achilles heel, and now that I am in the job market, this shortcoming has become glaringly obvious.
Well, I suppose I can look poor enough with my new Mitsubishi. Its such a plain and nondescript little car. I notice many of these little cars look very similar. Nissan Versa hatchback, Chevy Spark, even that Honda Fit, they’re all little wedge-shaped little mini-station wagon-looking cars. The folks who are always goo-goo eyed over the latest BMW or Escalade or Lexus can’t tell one from another and don’t give them a second look, they just assume you can’t afford a ‘better’ car because otherwise you’d buy one. (oh excuse me, these days, rent lease one).
