Fix old Car or buy new car

Hello,

I have a 1994 Camaro with 150,000 miles

The camaro has had no problems in its 10 year life. I'm debating the
merits of fixing the camaro. It need brakes (ABS is inoperative),
shocks, probably struts, the heater is gone, this winter there has
been the faint smell of antifreeze in the cabin (though no leakage
underneath the car). The engine probably could use a tune up. I've
never changed the clutch or timing chain, which might have to be
replaced at some point.

I'm commuting 80 miles a day.

I've reached a crossroads of sorts, fix the old Camaro, or take the
money and apply it to a new inexpensive car (i.e. Ford Focus or
something like it).

Any comments are welcome.

Thanks

f

Dude, if you are driving 80 miles a day, trade that thing in and get a more
fuel efficient car!!!!


"furanomycin" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello,
>
> I have a 1994 Camaro with 150,000 miles
>
> The camaro has had no problems in its 10 year life. I'm debating the
> merits of fixing the camaro. It need brakes (ABS is inoperative),
> shocks, probably struts, the heater is gone, this winter there has
> been the faint smell of antifreeze in the cabin (though no leakage
> underneath the car). The engine probably could use a tune up. I've
> never changed the clutch or timing chain, which might have to be
> replaced at some point.
>
> I'm commuting 80 miles a day.
>
> I've reached a crossroads of sorts, fix the old Camaro, or take the
> money and apply it to a new inexpensive car (i.e. Ford Focus or
> something like it).
>
> Any comments are welcome.
>
> Thanks
>
> f

On 10 Mar 2004, furanomycin wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I have a 1994 Camaro with 150,000 miles
>
> The camaro has had no problems in its 10 year life. I'm debating the
> merits of fixing the camaro. It need brakes (ABS is inoperative),
> shocks, probably struts, the heater is gone, this winter there has
> been the faint smell of antifreeze in the cabin (though no leakage
> underneath the car). The engine probably could use a tune up. I've
> never changed the clutch or timing chain, which might have to be
> replaced at some point.

The rest of the paragraph seems to belie the first sentence... In any case
I was in a similar situation to yours twice (87 Toyota, 120000 mi, 95
Mercury 72000 mi) and in both cases in the not so long run (~1 year) it
became clear that buying a new car would have been cheaper. That's what I
eventually wound up doing after flushing a bunch of money down the hole.

I'd look at the Sentra 2.5S or SE-R if you want a cheap car whose lack of
torque won't be *too* dissapointing after a Camaro. I got a 2004 2.5S
Automatic for under $15,000 including taxes, fees, etc. Most inexpensive
cars are going to make you a sad camper if you like big torquey engines
but the Sentra doesn't dissapoint me despite coming from a Cougar which is
a heavier car with more torque than most imports - somewhat like the
Camaro. I wouldn't buy a Focus after my experience with Mercury or my
friend's experience with his Contour. Some other cheap cars which
claim speed require you to rev the hell out of them (which many
people like - it's just not very camaro like). You're SOL if you want a
cheap car with T-Tops or agressive styling on par with a Camaro though.

Of course YMMV.

Dave

Roger Blake wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:17:23 -0500, Veronica Thomas > wrote:
>
>>Dude, if you are driving 80 miles a day, trade that thing in and get a more
>>fuel efficient car!!!!
>
>
> Young imbecile.
>
> If you are driving 80 miles a day, you want a comfortable, powerful
> car to do it in. Gas mileage is no more than a secondary consideration
> unless funds are very tight.
>

I think it depends on how old you are too. Ten or twenty years ago I
would have gone for the smaller car for fuel ecomony (if I was paying
for the gas personally). Now I would trade off economy for more comfort.

Dave wrote in rec.autos.misc

>
>
> Roger Blake wrote:
>> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:17:23 -0500, Veronica Thomas
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>Dude, if you are driving 80 miles a day, trade that thing in and get a
>>>more fuel efficient car!!!!
>>
>>
>> Young imbecile.
>>
>> If you are driving 80 miles a day, you want a comfortable, powerful
>> car to do it in. Gas mileage is no more than a secondary consideration
>> unless funds are very tight.
>>
>
> I think it depends on how old you are too. Ten or twenty years ago I
> would have gone for the smaller car for fuel ecomony (if I was paying
> for the gas personally). Now I would trade off economy for more comfort.

Yep, and the trade off isn't necessarily all that much. I have an 88
Buick Park Avenue and get over 30mpg on the road. Around town it sucks.
But for long commutes it would be very comfortable, and get decent mileage.

--
Dick #1349
Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.
To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
~~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977
Home Page: dickcr.iwarp.com
email: