Buying a 10+ year old car what could go wrong?

[MakersTeleMark]

They rust like crazy, otherwise anything else is real easy to fix. I had one in HS and it almost caught fire as the battery is under the rear seat, and the springs under the bench contacted the two terminals and the horsehair or whatever that seat was stuffed with ignited. Fun night.

What was her name?

[gravitylover]

@basinbeater - I test drove a couple of SRX AWD with the 3.6 over the last few days and really like the handling and overall feel but the pedal placement is weird. On two of them the brake pedal was so high I kept hooking my shoe under it and I have small feet. You really have to lift your foot high and backward towards you and it's very awkward. I don't know if the pedal height is adjustable and neither did the salespeople. The engine winds up nicely, the car gets out of its own way really well and the torque delivery seemed pretty linear but like most luxo rigs now the throttle mapping sucks. I really wanted to find a CTS AWD Wagon to drive but they're rare and disappear off dealer lots quickly.

[Ted Striker]

1970 VW Beetle

I had one in HS

I had a 69 in high school - but not in the back of the car.

Easy to work on. The heat exchangers can leak exhaust when they get too rusty. And the heat isn't great from them either. The combustion heater (if installed) is better. The defrost is is weak (I literally always had a windshield rag in the car). The clutch cable can/will break, but it's easy to shift without the clutch. The compression is low enough that you can get it moving with the starter in 1st.

Once I had that car sorted, it was generally reliable.

[XXX-er]

Yet they had some of the coolest planes ever...

Attachment 398825
Attachment 398826
Attachment 398827

I often wonder how the brits ever kept the chermans out of mother england, they could have sucessfully invaded it was so fucking close

Que God save the queen

[Timberridge]

What was her name?

I was driving and my friend was in the back with a HS exchange student from France (sorry I can't recall her name) I just remember her screaming something in French and seeing smoke. I pulled over and we pulled the whole smoking bench seat out of the car and onto some guy's lawn. Eventually it went out.

[MontuckyFried]

They rust like crazy, otherwise anything else is real easy to fix. I had one in HS and it almost caught fire as the battery is under the rear seat, and the springs under the bench contacted the two terminals and the horsehair or whatever that seat was stuffed with ignited. Fun night.

I had a 69 in high school - but not in the back of the car.

Easy to work on. The heat exchangers can leak exhaust when they get too rusty. And the heat isn't great from them either. The combustion heater (if installed) is better. The defrost is is weak (I literally always had a windshield rag in the car). The clutch cable can/will break, but it's easy to shift without the clutch. The compression is low enough that you can get it moving with the starter in 1st.

Once I had that car sorted, it was generally reliable.

Thanks for the insight. They seem like a lot of fun. Unfortunately seems the car's listing has disappeared overnight. I'm guessing it sold already but guy probably forgot to delete the post until I messaged him. Oh well. The search for beater #2 continues...

[Foggy_Goggles]

If somebody was looking for a towie truck project this could work

https://rockies.craigslist.org/cto/d...426885972.html

[gravitylover]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EDj6kCSznoMKUrke8
Solved the car for the wife problem but it's looking like I need one now too. How's that for shitty timing

[MontuckyFried]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EDj6kCSznoMKUrke8
Solved the car for the wife problem but it's looking like I need one now too. How's that for shitty timing

Oh sunnuva! I feel your pain. That's why we've been down to 1 elderly car for months now. Stay strong, brother. We'll find something... eventually...

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[liv2ski]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EDj6kCSznoMKUrke8
Solved the car for the wife problem but it's looking like I need one now too. How's that for shitty timing

What happened to your car?

[MontuckyFried]

What happened to your car?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the repairs needed on his Rover just got REALLY expensive.

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[gravitylover]

What happened to your car?

There's a coolant hose with 4 ends that runs under the supercharger. It's too big a job to do in the driveway in January and shops want what it would cost to get another car to replace it. It doesn't make sense to dig that far into the top of the motor and not change a bunch of stuff that should be done at 100k (it has 150) so this could easily run $4-5k. I'm trying to decide if I should get a beater and leave it until the spring, get a parts truck and suck it up and do it myself in January (and hate the decision for years to come) or pay someone to do a huge, expensive job on a project truck that became my daily that still needs more work. I'm leaning towards a beater Honda or something and a parts truck. Another option is to get a cheap high mileage XC60 for a daily so that after I get mine running again I have a parts car when the one we just got for my wife needs something. Yup, I'm all over the map

[MontuckyFried]

There's a coolant hose with 4 ends that runs under the supercharger. It's too big a job to do in the driveway in January and shops want what it would cost to get another car to replace it. It doesn't make sense to dig that far into the top of the motor and not change a bunch of stuff that should be done at 100k (it has 150) so this could easily run $4-5k. I'm trying to decide if I should get a beater and leave it until the spring, get a parts truck and suck it up and do it myself in January (and hate the decision for years to come) or pay someone to do a huge, expensive job on a project truck that became my daily that still needs more work. I'm leaning towards a beater Honda or something and a parts truck. Another option is to get a cheap high mileage XC60 for a daily so that after I get mine running again I have a parts car when the one we just got for my wife needs something. Yup, I'm all over the map

Frustrating position to be in. Since you seem to like your Rover, if I were you, I'd go with your option of putting it off til spring so you can DIY it all, and getting a cheap but running beater to get you by til then. Good thing about a beater is that you can usually get 100% of your money back and then some when you're done with it. YMMV of course.

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[Touring_Sedan]

There's a coolant hose with 4 ends that runs under the supercharger. It's too big a job to do in the driveway in January and shops want what it would cost to get another car to replace it. It doesn't make sense to dig that far into the top of the motor and not change a bunch of stuff that should be done at 100k (it has 150) so this could easily run $4-5k. I'm trying to decide if I should get a beater and leave it until the spring, get a parts truck and suck it up and do it myself in January (and hate the decision for years to come) or pay someone to do a huge, expensive job on a project truck that became my daily that still needs more work. I'm leaning towards a beater Honda or something and a parts truck. Another option is to get a cheap high mileage XC60 for a daily so that after I get mine running again I have a parts car when the one we just got for my wife needs something. Yup, I'm all over the map

I shudder to think about all the little brittle plastic bits that will inevitably break when you DIY.

[Rideski]

Sounds like renting a garage for a month would be logical. Things less brittle above 50f or so.

[Touring_Sedan]

Sounds like renting a garage for a month would be logical. Things less brittle above 50f or so.

It's British and has over 150K on the clock. Trust me, temperature has nothing to do with it at this point. I'm pretty sure my Land Rover is more zip tie than factory attachment points.

[liv2ski]

Fuck, I guess Gravity Lover just answered the question posed originally. Do you have a friend that can lend you a heated garage spot for a month? One of the UT mags should be able to help you out.

[El Chupacabra]

There's a coolant hose with 4 ends that runs under the supercharger. It's too big a job to do in the driveway in January and shops want what it would cost to get another car to replace it. It doesn't make sense to dig that far into the top of the motor and not change a bunch of stuff that should be done at 100k (it has 150) so this could easily run $4-5k. I'm trying to decide if I should get a beater and leave it until the spring, get a parts truck and suck it up and do it myself in January (and hate the decision for years to come) or pay someone to do a huge, expensive job on a project truck that became my daily that still needs more work. I'm leaning towards a beater Honda or something and a parts truck. Another option is to get a cheap high mileage XC60 for a daily so that after I get mine running again I have a parts car when the one we just got for my wife needs something. Yup, I'm all over the map

Time to pour in two bottles of Bar's Leaks and see what happens?

[gravitylover]

Haha Bars Leak keeps entering my thoughts... Ooh I love brittle plastic bits and zip ties A garage that doesn't get used in the winter is a tough thing to come by. I had a funny thought related to that, if I rent a place to run my biz out of I could rent one of the old service stations that closed and have my own shop.

@liv2ski UT doesn't work too well when you live in NY

[liv2ski]

O, sorry GL. Not sure why my addled brain thought you were in UT. Anyways, I wish you luck in easily resolving your conundrum.

[jono]

He's not in Utah, either.

[Todd Zander]

I think hes upstate?

[MontuckyFried]

Looking forward to GL's Rover TR in the wrenching thread when he gets to it. It's bout to get real.

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[jono]

I think hes upstate?

Conundrum's in Idaho. So maybe?

[Rideski]

What's Basinbeaters day rate?
Might be worth a trip to UT.

Edit- not to disparage any of the other wrenches here, just wanted to make a UT joke.