Your car's life expectancy.

[Tux]

So y'all brag about how fast/shiny/new your respective cars is while I plod along in my 1972 VW.
Most of you have overtaken me at one time or another (cept for uno and velocity drivers that cant seem to keep up, but that's a different story)

Now I got to ask you this, do you think your car will still be "alive" in another 35 years? I know I'll still be driving my Variant then. Love that old car to bits.

So you in your shiny new car.. Think you can keep up sonnyboy? :D

[VanZan]

How many km on the clock?

[aadil]

We're all slaves to corporations. New cars, clothes, cellphones, houses, etc etc etc. It doesn't end.

Credit is the program keeping the Matrix running i.e. keeping us in check/control

Good for you for appreciating your old jaloppie. I doubt any car built today would last 15 years let alone 36.

[Pitbull]

All my cars I buy for keeps.

I will never sell my cars, keep them in good order, always have a reliable new car and the mess around with the older ones. I even gave away a Golf1 to a mate at work :o as he had transport problems. I love older cars and love working on them. I want another project car now just don't know which. Saw a Mustang Fast back body for sale ;) (But R 60k :eek:)

Maybe a nice 1400 champ :cool:

Just the body, all rusted and nothing else in it.... I love a car in that condition :p

[cerebus]

I'm expecting to get 10+ years on mine, and it's already 21 years old.

[Picard]

My Corolla is already 11 years old. I expect it to make it to 20. It has 167 000km - halfway to the moon..

[Juggy]

My GTi is 12 years old and in good nick. I swore i'd keep it forever.

I'm going to give it to my kid one day when he/she's 18.

[1nsane!]

I drive a Hyundai Accent 1.5 '96 model. 175 000 on the clocks, still going strong. Uses a bit more oil than 5 years ago, but never left me on the side of the highway or anything, i even tow my other car with it no problem. :cool::cool:

[Skeptik]

Cars are like TVs, the more you pay for them, the longer they last.

[Jason_Bad]

My GTi is 12 years old and in good nick. I swore i'd keep it forever.

I'm going to give it to my kid one day when he/she's 18.

Lucky kids!!

[orin76]

Cars are like TVs, the more you pay for them, the longer they last.

That's becoming less true with every new car generation.

[Paul_S]

Now I got to ask you this, do you think your car will still be "alive" in another 35 years? I know I'll still be driving my Variant then. Love that old car to bits.

Ah the good old Variants ...
I earn enough money to buy a new car in the R150-250K bracket or a second hand car but instead I'm busy rebuilding a 1974 VW Beetle for a daily driver.
I just love the simplicity and low operating costs of bugs. They're easy and cheap to maintain myself.

I really don't like modern cars. They're full of plastic that deteriorates in the sun and develop rattles and squeaks after a few years of use. Plus they're expensive to maintain. The only thing they have in their favour is lower fuel consumption and extra safety features (crumple zones + air bags) neither of which I consider a necessity.

I've done the maths and it's still a lot cheaper to run and maintain an old car like a Beetle in the long run even with the higher fuel consumption (8.4 liters/100km).
The insurance alone on a R200k car is more than the monthly maintenance on a bug and that's before you're outside of the motor plan and stuff starts breaking.

Anyway it's fun driving old classics on the road especially if you do up the engine a bit and leave all the boy racers in their shiney GTIs and STs in the dust. ;)

[supersunbird]

My 2001 Uno is close to being paid off now (got it in 2004). Its got 145 000km on it. I'll keep it for my to work and back car. I might buy a Ford Bantam or maybe the new Ikon or somethign else next year for logn trips. While my car isnt in top shape any more, its easy to get it into shape again. Lots of spares around, a new nice shiny bumper only costs R350 lol.

[Piepalook]

Ah the good old Variants ...
I earn enough money to buy a new car in the R150-250K bracket or a second hand car but instead I'm busy rebuilding a 1974 VW Beetle for a daily driver.
I just love the simplicity and low operating costs of bugs. They're easy and cheap to maintain myself.

I really don't like modern cars. They're full of plastic that deteriorates in the sun and develop rattles and squeaks after a few years of use. Plus they're expensive to maintain. The only thing they have in their favour is lower fuel consumption and extra safety features (crumple zones + air bags) neither of which I consider a necessity.

I've done the maths and it's still a lot cheaper to run and maintain an old car like a Beetle in the long run even with the higher fuel consumption (8.4 liters/100km).
The insurance alone on a R200k car is more than the monthly maintenance on a bug and that's before you're outside of the motor plan and stuff starts breaking.

Anyway it's fun driving old classics on the road especially if you do up the engine a bit and leave all the boy racers in their shiney GTIs and STs in the dust. ;)

I got a 1969 Beetle 1600.Not economical at all (if you compare it to new cars.)
Instead of paying a monthly instalment i can now afford to put petrol in.
And still have money left over.
It is a great car.
Cost me R 25 000 to fix, but is like new now.
Happy motoring!

[Stokstert]

1990 Jetta CSi 135 000 km , like new. At the low rate I drive these days it will last another 30 years.

[Claymore]

I really don't like modern cars. They're full of plastic that deteriorates in the sun and develop rattles and squeaks after a few years of use. Plus they're expensive to maintain. The only thing they have in their favour is lower fuel consumption and extra safety features (crumple zones + air bags) neither of which I consider a necessity.

Eh? Cars from 15 to 30 years ago rattled and faded in the sun. Look at an old (1970s/1980s) Audi or VW Golf to see what I mean. More modern materials are remarkably more durable, and rattles are far less common. Expense of maintenance depends on the car, but I haven't found my Ford Mondeo expensive to maintain; it's certainly far cheaper to maintain then my 1980 Jag or Cressida, 1992 Golf or 1990 Sapphire ever were.


I've done the maths and it's still a lot cheaper to run and maintain an old car like a Beetle in the long run even with the higher fuel consumption (8.4 liters/100km).

That may be so, but what do you lose out on? Aircon, decent safety features, power steering, a whole heap of comfort features, and better reliability.