[Shotimes] who can help me?

[Dave Garber]

Good points as they relate directly to my good luck with my SHO's. All
of them were well cared for, one owner cars (the 94 was a multi-owner
car, but well maintained).


Dave Garber

 

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Ron Porter
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 11:38 AM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: [Shotimes] who can help me?

The key thing is, you better your odds with a new car. Plus, if you keep
it for 3-5-7-10 years, you will also have a much better "used" car, as
you know the maintenance history, and it's amazing how regular care and
daily driving can keep an old car "young".

Ron Porter

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Dave Garber
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 10:04 AM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: [Shotimes] who can help me?

Well, IMHO, 'dependable' is a relative term. If I buy a brand new car, I
demand that it be dependable in every sense of the word. When I pay the
premium that comes with 'new'; high bank payments, higher insurance
payments, I don't want to be spending a dime on repairs beyond normal
wear items (brakes, tires, oil changes, etc).

Fact is, no matter what you own, you pay. Either in payments, or
repairs.
I've owned SHO's of varying mileage/condition for the last 7.5 years.
None of them have left me stranded or caused me concern over their
ability to get me from point a, to point b and back again. I drive my
191k 94 every day. It IS my daily driver as my fianci' is using the 99
as HER daily driver.
Neither has left me or her stranded and I fully expect that to continue.
Most all of the wear items have been replaced on the 94. About the only
thing left that could leave me stranded is an engine/tranny failure.
This is very unlikely, but even if BOTH engine and tranny blew sky-high,
I could replace BOTH for well under 2k dollars. That's still cheaper
than buying another one, and WAY cheaper than a new car.

I own the 94. No payments, cheap insurance. Right now, that works for me
as a daily driver. A new car isn't on the priority list at this point
and I don't see a need for one for 'dependability' purposes. The notion
that you 'need' a new car for dependable daily driving is false. Folks
may WANT a new car for this, but there is no NEED. Hell, my uncle drove
a POS Dodge Omni that had close to 300k on it for years. That turd got
him around dependably for years. His current car is little better. It
also gets him around dependably. A lot of that is maintenance. Keep up
with your car, and it'll be as dependable as it can be. That means
fixing something BEFORE it breaks (most items give warning before going
south. Sometimes people like to push it, and that's when they get
stranded), and performing normal routine maintenance regularly.

Bottom line is, IMO, you don't have to have a 'new' car to get around
daily with dependability. Some folks prefer it, hell most of us would
prefer it for various reasons. But it's not necessary.


Dave Garber