Owning only classic cars, another ancillary to Quennie's thread Options

[jonwatts]

The budget thread got me thinking, would (or do) any of you own only classic cars as an alternative to having a mix of new and old? I'm not talking about just you, but would you let your wife and kids run errands or commute 30 minutes to work daily in a 30+ year old car if it was restored or a well maintained survivor?

Would the maintenance be cheaper than car / lease payments? (I think yes)

Can they be as reliable as today's cars? (I think yes again)

Can they be as safe? (twice the metal but half the safety features, tough call)

Can they meet your needs? (grocery hauler, team bus, tow vehicle)

I (and my wife) could definitely see losing the volvo for something with a lot of style and cheaper to boot. But I think if it left her stranded more than 3-4 times a year it would be a deal breaker. She's a teacher so showing up to work a few hours late doesn't cut it.

For example purposes only:
(IMG:http://i19.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/92/aa/7d_1_b.JPG)

[kdfoust]

Hey Jon;

Lose the Volvo, they suck anyway. Be selective, and buy whatever classic you want. My wife and I have been driving "classic" cars for years. It's all a matter of buying the best example of whatever model has caught your eye. Right now we are in a '84 and '90 vehicles (not counting the 914 which is a toy car for me), hardly old but definately classics. I've noticed that we tend to cycle between very old cars (30-40 years old) and later model (10-15 year old). Right now we are in the later model cycle.

From a financial standpoint a nice old car in the $5-$10k range will cost less than any new car no matter what happens. Here's a link that show the true cost to own for a Volve S60. You can plug in other cars just for fun. In a nut shell the cost of a new car will be, over the first 5 years of ownership, pretty equal to or even greater than (if you choose poorly) the cash price of the car new.

If you're really worried about reliability first find a good local independant mechanic and figure out what he likes to work on and buy one of those. I've found that if your mechanic loves your car "things" go a lot smoother.

In terms of reliability you may also wish to consider that you can pick up a car from Enterprise or the like (even have it delivered to your home) to sub in for the times when the classic will be down for a day or more. You could do this more often than you've probably got tolerance for and still be $$$$ ahead.

From a safety standpoint most old cars leave something to be desired. Most cars be retrofitted with 3 point belts quite easily. My basic view is that I don't like lightwieght old cars for daily drivers. I also prefer high end old cars (Mercedes for example) because they were typically 10 years ahead of lesser makers in terms of safety features. In any case you've got to manage those risks on your own.

You really need to be honest with yourself in considering what you use your cars for without excessively wieghting the boundary conditions (once a year drive to the inlaws in FL or whatever).

Have fun,
Kevin