If I’m in a car going 60 mph and the brakes go out, it’s a little more serious. I’m going to tackle an oil change in April to start slowly though.
”

I felt the same way about my brakes until I did my first car brake job last fall. Once I put your hands on them, pulled them apart, cleaned and regreases the caliper slide pins, and plunked new pads in the calipers all the mystery was gone. Really they aren’t much more complicated than bike brakes, just bigger.

If your brakes suddenly fail at speed it will probably be because your master cylinder catastrophically fails in both chambers at once (unlikely) or you blow both sides of your brake lines at once (equally unlikely). Neither of which would have anything to do with the fact that you were the one to work on your brakes!

“HI, have a seat and a cup of coffee.” “Let me talk to my manager.” “We sure do want to put you in one today”. “How can I earn your business today?” “You will be amazed at what we can give you for your old car!” “If I can just get your drivers license and home phone number–”

Head for the door poste haste!!!!!

A reason to purchase a new vehicle can be valid.

I purchased a new 1993 GMC 1/2 Ton Truck, 350CID Auto Trans in May of 93. I purchased that truck with the intention of driving it as long as I needed a truck. I am still driving it today. I have taken excellent care of it, and it is immaculate as of today. I often like saying that the truck has saved me at least $50,000.00 as I have not bought two (2) new trucks in the meantime.

This principle of course does not work for someone who trades every five or so years. In that case, one is on the money losing treadmill forever. Also the care given is insufficient to make them last.

It should be recognized that sometimes those considerations outweigh the depreciation and initial purchase hassle. More often they don’t.

Again, the quality of this information is dependent on the car you drive and the online community that supports it.

If I’m in a car going 60 mph and the brakes go out, it’s a little more serious. I’m going to tackle an oil change in April to start slowly though.

To support the above statement:

Life of a new car: Lasts only as long as it takes to purchase it and drive it home. The “30″ mile and “30″ minute rule.

Cost of new car: MSRP less dickering with a dealer. At least 40% more than a comparable used car that is maybe only 20K miles/1 year older.

A “new car” is but a “used car” waiting to happen. If you buy the new car, hurry home with it all shiny and spiffy, so you can park it in your driveway, thus allowing the next door neighbors to see it, and Sally Mae will comment to her hubby Frank “Look Frank!! The Wriggles have got a new SUV!” Sally Mae does not realize at this time that the Wriggles have stepped into a noose that will collapse their cash flow for maybe 72 months. Frank will tarry inside the house until he “must” come out and confront the Wriggles and “view” the new ride. After this event and one or two trips to a Wally World parking lot, the Wriggles “new” SUV is now “used and abused” but the sales contract has swollen to greater than the value of the ride.

SO is it to be “Payments of $550.00 a month, under warranty, and underwater?
OR
Paid for and reasonable cost effective maintenance?

I would buy the one or two year old clean and well maintained car from an individual, or a dealer you could trust (if that were possible)
or a buyer’s agent through an auction.

The Muir book makes an effort to teach you how improvise certain repairs with out buying specialzied expensive tools that would only be used once.

One suggestion for Jacob might be to buy a classic car. Zero depreciation. Old cars are typically simpler to repair and have a wealth of information on the internet on how to repair them. Gas mileage is the only negative. For long trips I would just rent a car.

Also newer Japanese sports cars have a “tuner” community with great online how tos. I was able to find a complete how to with pictures on how to replace the timing belt on girl friends Mitsubishi Eclipse online. The how to filled in a lot of gaps from the factory service manual.

I have had good luck with the factory and Haynes manual togethor for most cars. With both manuals I can figure things out.

Haynes manuals are better than Chilton, but still leave a lot to be desired.

Sadly something like biketutor isn’t available for most cars. I wish it was. I have thought about making videos of my repairs and starting a web site.

1) buy a reliable model with low gas mileage
2) buy it already ten years old, after having it inspected by a mechanic
3) pay cash for it
4) do not get collision insurance
5) keep it until the repairs would cost more than getting another ten-year-old car would cost (I expect to keep my cars at least ten years–on my last car, this didn’t happen until someone crashed into it)
6) buy a common model with easy-to-find (cheap) parts
7) change the fluids regularly and bring it into the mechanic for an “annual physical” before long trips
use a mechanic who understands and goes with my priorities: a) a quality repair, b) at low cost. I care very little about a quick turnaround since I take a bus to work and I care nothing at all about having new or dealer parts if other parts work just as well.
9) drive it gently – no sudden stops or starts
10) don’t drive it much–I take a bus to work and walk any place within a couple of miles of where I am
11) don’t spend money on fixes that are cosmetic only
12) don’t pay for convenient parking if free parking is walking distance away
13) take defensive driving for the discount

I’m also planning to build a carport so I can park it in the shade and protect it from hail.

I could also save money by making friends only with people who live near me or near public transportation, but I don’t want to! I could also refuse to try restaurants or anything else that is not near me or public transportation, but I don’t want to. I just make sure that I’m near public transportation, near other good stuff, and centrally located.

I will tell you how i learned about car repair and maintenance. My first every car cost me $500 i pulled it all apart and put it back together again with the help of some friends. To be honest it was a crap car, and it had a hard life over the 18 months i had it before it self immolated. But in that time i broke and had to fix or replace most of the car (through my lack of care for the car itself)That proccess exposed me to every part of the cars mechanics and electronics.
So today i have a wealth of bush mechanic knowledge on how a car runs how to fix and maintain it and what to do when it goes pear shaped.
I can even listen to cars as they drive by and tell you what is wrong with them by the sounds they make.
My suggestion to you is if you really want to learn about cars go work in a wreckers yard.

Enjoy
Ademac

Most car maintenance, especially with electronic fuel injection, boils down to bleeding the brakes, changing the brakes, changing the fluids & filters regularly, keeping the fluid levels up, replacing bulbs & wiring, and replacing belts. Checking the timing is fine, but a car built in the past 30 years isn’t going to lose timing and likely doesn’t have points/condensor to replace. Timing belt replacement is probably the most difficult chore, but doesn’t approach rocket science unless you’ve got a quad cam V12…

I also bought it for 700 and it is now worth over 5k… Not all cars are horrible investments, only conservatively 97%.

You can save money by buying an older car, but it’s a complex equation– the fuel economy is generally poorer than modern models, and there are limits to how low you can get your insurance costs to go, regardless of the car you’re insuring. Also, the maintenance costs may be higher even if you do much of the maintenance yourself.

If you can build a bike you can build a car. Obviously they are a little more complicated but doable.

I always found the factory manuals to be the best investment (except for old beetles).

Also I believe today’s laws require manufacturers to allow access to all their factory information (for a nominal fee).

The challenge comes not from the technology but from the special tools that are sometimes required.