I know that I am not a "regular" person.
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| No, I'm not talking about this! |
At least when it comes to cars.
This also impacts my thinking on the kind of older cars that I buy.
This has real repercussions when I decide to sell one of my cars. I don't often choose cars that have a broad appeal, which can make it hard to find the right customer when it's time to move a car along.
What do I mean by a "regular" person?
To most people, cars are appliances, they like them when they are new, they take them for granted after a time, then they ignore them when they are older, at least until trouble rears it's head.
They do not fuss over and constantly monitor the condition of their machine.
Even the constant checks that should be routinely done: Oil and coolant levels, battery condition, tire pressure and tread life. Not to mention the condition of the brakes.
I've known people that have let the oil level in the engine drop by two or three quarts or more!
They only realized that there was a problem when the oil light came on, or the engine started knocking!
Or they had a flat tire because the tire had worn down to the cords on the inside of the tread.
Or, and I know that you've heard cars that emit a metallic screech every time that they apply the brakes, because the pads are worn down to the metal! (Mea Culpa! I know that I let that happen once!)
If you start out with a new car, you don't need to do much, just take it to the dealer while it's under warranty.
The problem arises with older cars. I mean the kind of cars that I own and drive, anywhere from 10-30 years old.
Because all old cars have their "issues," and you have just bought a subscription!
Because old cars burn and leak oil.
They often leak coolant. Or gasoline.
Old drum brake systems often leak brake fluid from leaky wheel cylinders.
Tires can be old, and already worn quite a bit, besides misalignment that results from component wear and causes tires to wear unevenly.
Batteries get crusty, low on water, and the cables get corroded.
And, the cars have been subjected to repairs that have kept them on the road, but are not always "factory authorized." Hello Mickey Mouse!
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| We all know who this guy is, A good guy, but not too great as a mechanic! |
Darn Straight!
Catastrophe is averted only by constant vigilance. It requires quite a bit of involvement by the owner or driver.
Usually it's not too big a burden.
Check the oil level with every fill up, or at least every couple of weeks, depending on mileage driven. While you're under the hood, check the coolant and master cylinder levels. It's easy with modern cars with translucent reservoirs. Take a glance at the top of the battery, look at the belts, look for obvious leaks or weeps from hoses and connectors.
Take a quick look under the car after it's been parked for a time. Notice anything dripping on the pavement. On an old car with drum brakes, look at the brake backing plates for signs of leakage. Check out the tires while you're down there.
You can avoid a lot of headaches, problems, and "unexpected breakdowns" by doing this.
Even an older, worn out car can provide relatively reliable service if the driver keeps an eye on it's condition.
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| Keeping your eyes open will save you money and headaches! Image from the back of a dollar bill. |
There are a lot of drivers who don't want to keep their eyes open, or due to their ignorance or indifference they will also ignore their cars needs. Many just don't want to be bothered. I don't blame them, and as long as they can afford a new, or nearly new car, or if they will take their car into a mechanic for regular servicing and maintenance, they won't have to.
Somebody has to keep an eye on these things.
The problems arise when regular people buy cheap old used cars and ignore them. I know that you can only buy what you can afford, but low buck buyers can't afford expensive breakdowns either. They can and will, suffer all kinds of annoying and expensive, and even potentially dangerous breakdowns. Often ruining the engine or other components needlessly, because they did not monitor the constantly changing condition of these systems.
People like me anticipate these problems and try to head them off.
I had an old truck that used a quart of oil every 50 miles! It wasn't leaking a lot, or burning clouds of oil, (that I could see, where did all that oil go?) and I only became aware of this when the oil pressure light came on a couple of days after I bought it. I checked the level and found it to be three quarts low!
After that, I kept a constant watch on the oil level, as well as kept a couple of quarts in the cab at all times. The oil pressure was also pretty low, I ended up changing the oil pump and using straight 60 weight oil whenever it was available.
The seller had advertised, and told me that the truck "needed a new engine, Why? I asked, and he replied, because it was all worn out!" Truth in advertising, that! Still, I used the truck constantly for a few years, and never suffered a breakdown. I even took it on a 250 mile round trip to Santa Rosa, where I had to add five quarts of oil throughout the trip!
If I hadn't constantly monitored it's condition, I would have burned up that motor in short order.
When I sold that truck I told the buyer all about it's problems. I included the good motor that I'd gone to Santa Rosa to fetch, as well as selling it at a bargain basement price. The buyer was a friend and coworker and I didn't want him to think that I'd pulled a fast one on him. I also didn't want to hear any complaints, especially, valid complaints about the truck!
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| If only I had the extra room to keep it! |
I got to thinking about this subject because I currently have my Riviera advertised for sale on CraigsList. My Wife thinks that the car might sell to a person that is just looking for an old car for transportation. Especially since the car is offered at a low price with very low mileage. I don't think so. I think that it will probably sell to a buyer looking for a "special" type to car. It might appeal to a low buck car enthusiast that wants a special car to drive, and take to Cars and Coffee events.
So far there hasn't been much interest, so I dropped the price from 3,900 to 3,200 dollars hoping to catch someone's eye. I may have to drop it even lower until I can catch the eyes of a "flipper," someone who thinks that they can buy it cheap enough to resell it at a profit.
I'm hoping that it might also catch the eye of a buyer who is not a regular person, someone like me.
The "regular" people will be looking at all the Toyota Camrys, Honda Civics and Accords, Lexus Es 300s, or any other "normal" used car that is being offered at a similar price point. And there a lot of those listed on CL.
Only time will tell.
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I recently re-listed the Riviera at 2,800. That seemed to do the trick. I was immediately contacted by a very interested young man that wanted to see the car as soon as possible.
We arranged to meet and he took a good look at the Riv and a test drive. He liked what he saw, and he made an offer. He was prepared to buy the car right then, as he had driven down with a buddy of his. He offered me 2,000 dollars. He seemed to really want the car, a point in his favor. So I agreed.
I was happy to sell the car, freeing up a parking spot, and I hope that he enjoys the car and has good luck with it.
I guess that I'm a terrible businessman. I sold the car for almost half as much as I was asking for originally. And I thought that it was a fair price. I sold it for less than I paid for it. So much for older cars appreciating in value! Not to mention the over 1,000 dollars I had spent on improving it while I owned it, I even had to have it smogged again that morning, as it had run past the 90 day limit for transfer. That cost me another 100 bucks! However I knew that it would make the sale much easier, which it did.
Oh well, I don't do this car thing for the money, or the glory (?). I do it for the fun.
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