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)

[anthony]

Ultimately, it's these concerns that have driven me to only have "old" cars. I don't want to have to ever fix a 20 year old ABS system.

If you bought a new car today with ABS and all the modern features why would you care whether you could service it 20 years from now? You're not going to own it 20 years from now.

ABS is just another technology. It can't be any harder to learn than D-jet.

I find working on newer cars to be a pleasure. My 1994 Jetta was my first new car purchase. I'm still driving it (140K) because it's been so rock solid reliable and maintenance free. I never though I'd keep it this long but it looks like it will last another 5 years or so.

The only problem I've really had on it is that the check engine light started coming on and the car was running rough. I jumpered the OBD jack as explained in the Bentley manual and the fault codes blinked out on the dash display. The result was a bad cam position sensor. A quick trip to the dealer and 20 minutes of my time and the car was perfect again. Could you imagine if the D-jet computer could tell us what's wrong?