jimh_1962

You know its kind of ironic. I can get into my 62 corvette and pretty much guarantee it will start and drive without any problems every time. This is not the case with some of our newer cars...

Two days ago, my wife gets into her 2011 german made vehicle. She told me its started really rough with lots of noise then died. Instantly, I knew something bad happened. Sure enough catastrophic damage in the engine. The valves banged against the pistons. No warning lights beforehand. It had fresh oil... Engine was destroyed within in seconds of the start up since it is an interference engine.

Still corvette drives...

About two years ago my transmission broke in my 2008 silverado while she was driving in another city. It required rebuilding the transmission.

Still corvette drives...

Three weeks ago, the fuse block and BCM went out in the same truck. Three door actuators (non-driver doors) all needed to be replaced. Driver door works fine but gets more use go figure.

Still corvette drives...

Last week, the transmission pump broke in my son's hand-me-down 2004 saab. The car is not worth that much as a whole but worth more in parts. He is gonna part it out.

Still corvette drives...

Getting the idea here? The corvette still drives!

Does anyone want a 2011 german mechanic special?

Then again no worries there are more important things going on in the world than this kind of stuff. I just have to make sure not let my wife drive my corvette!

Mikado463

did you forget to replace the timing belt in the Audi ?

cv67

Agree..breakdowns in our german and late model GM stuff is sudden and expensive;never once had a points or HEI carbd car let me down they were DDs back then. Even solid lifter LT'1s dont know why so many are afraid to drive them

Easy Rhino

Seems to me that a significant difference between old and news cars is the differing maintenance models.

The C2 requires the 3,000 mile lube, 3,000 mile oil change, checking and setting dwell/points gap, etc, as a matter of course. When they do fail, it's usually a cheap part, and an easy replacement.

The C6 (as one example) requires an annual oil change and checkup. When something fails it is usually an expensive part with a difficult replacement.

One example: C2 from wheel bearings can last a long time, and are cheap and easy to replace. C6 sealed wheel bearings cannot be maintained and when require replacement are expensive.

Recently I replaced the starter on the C2 (non-date matching, of course) for about $50 exchange and it was a two bolt-two beer job.

The wife's German car had its starter go out at about 60,000 miles, and it cost just under $800 to get it replaced - the intake had to be completely removed. That car getting totaled in a flood event was the best car I ever had.

mrtexas

Try running some Japanese cars. I've driven them upwards of 1,000k miles with no failures whatsover.

Frankie the Fink

I agree. Had both a C1 and C2 and I was towed ONCE -- a learning experience on not getting the old oil filter canister gasket removed completely before an oil change. No damage and completely my fault. 10 years of driving and 5,000 miles/annually.

With some proper maintenance they are just small block Chevy's akin to the Impalas and Bel Airs that traversed Route 66 and carried grandma and the kids to the grocery store daily...

Unreliability myth = lazy owner.

Easy Rhino

I hate to say it, but we recently bought our intended "retirement" cars, both of them Japanese, due to non-stop problems with highly rated European and American cars. Of course I'm keeping the C2.

I have family, friends, and acquaintances who have driven Japanese cars for well over 250,000 miles with NO repairs, just wear and maintenance items. I simply could not get any American or German cars to make it to 50-60,000 miles before they became unreliable. Add to it that I am OCD about all maintenance and it didn't seem to help them.

Bill Pilon

I have had my 60 Vette for 37 years and have driven it between GA and NY several times with no breakdowns, in all the years I have only had car trouble on the trips twice and it was with a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham both times electronic problems.

The Vette is a daily driver and is still reliable and fun to drive, never failed to start.

Bill

biggd

Do you put as many miles on the Corvette as your every day drivers, probably not? If you had to depend on that old car to get you to work every day in extreme hot or cold weather and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic I would bet it would have problems. That being said I'm not a big fan of German cars. Like others have said here, Asian cars generally run trouble free for hundreds of thousands of miles. Just sayin!

Frankie the Fink

Uh! What do you think people did with them 50 years ago
This car (original 289) was driven between Chesapeake, Va and Leonardtown Md. (197 miles one way) every weekend for two years in the late 90s. Never a single issue. And auto-crossed every couple of months during the same period

AZDoug

Reading the 1933 Chevy owners manual (not the service manual), It covers:

That you change a tire, not tire and wheel, on the side of the road using the supplied tire irons,a nd either install a new tube and/or tire,and remount the tire on the rim. They didn't say anything about pumping up the tire with a hand pump, i guess they figure you are smart enough to figure that part out.

You can either add alcohol, or ethylene glycol to your radiator if it is going to be below freezing, and

if you plan on driving the car when it is less than 10* F out, instead of running 5 qts of 20 wt in the crankcase, you should run 4 qts of 20 wt and one qt of kerosene.

How to adjust the carb.

How to care for and adjust the steering gear, and change brake shoes, and adjust the front wheel bearing play and repack the bearings.

How to check battery fluid specific gravity.

Oh, yeah, the 5:1 compression ratio motor has an easily adjustable timing wheel on the dizzy; if you are running crappy 60 octane gas, you set the time wheel at 0, and you can advance it up to 9 more degrees if you use 80 octane Ethyl.

things have changed a bit since then. Then, you needed to be a mechanic to drive the car, now, most people wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do other than call a tow truck,.

Even checking teh oil is a foreign concept now, as modern cars don't leak and don't burn oil, so nobody checks the oil , they just take it in every 6000 miles or so.

Doug

Easy Rhino

Some of my more recent cars didn't even have oil dipsticks, only an electronic way to check oil level, if you even bothered with that.

As my C6 doesn't use any oil between 5,000 mile oil changes, I check it only as a confidence item.

biggd

I never had an old car that went more than 100,000 miles without needing quite a bit of work to keep it going yet I've driven quite a few Toyota Camrys with well over 200,000 miles with just general maintenance. Enough with the "good old days". They weren't that good. I've been servicing cars for over 45 years and the cars today are light years better. It's not even close!

Frankie the Fink

I agree - you can't drive an old car with NFL (No Frontal Lobes), you have to do the work required of them in the day... If you do, there is no reason they won't go for years and years.

I've done one complete engine rebuild on classic cars in 40 years - a 63 Comet 260ci - that a prior owner had ragged out.

GTOguy

As a professional auto technician, two big red flags were "German" and "Saab". German cars tend to need a tow when it rains and crap out at about 150k miles, and Saab's were never viable cars. Both types are best leased by Dentists and Lawyers, and turned in at the end of the lease. For car folks, they should be avoided unless you like tinkering and are sharp with electrical systems. As for the newer GM stuff, like Ford or Chrysler, it's hit and miss. Early, crude vehicles like our Corvettes, properly maintained, are not only reliable, but rebuildable time and again, too. Try that with a 7-computer, airbag equipped, plastic interior wonder.

AkrHack

I like to appearance and features of many of the German makes. I just don't like the appearance and features enough for me to be willing to put up with the lack of reliability that plaque German cars.

Frankie the Fink

What ? You don't like the Volkswagons just because they cheated on emission testing (and got caught) ?

Or perhaps the massive airbag recall on a dozen makes that shoots shrapnel in your face when they go off ?

tuxnharley

1,000k? As in 1,000,000 miles? As in one million miles? Really?

I have driven/owned several american cars with V8s to 250,000 miles or so. Havent seen my friends with european cars match that.....

Frankie the Fink

My sister's 1971 Pontiac went 250,000 miles....I put in a timing chain at about 1/2 that amount. That's it. The body rusted away finally around the perfectly fine mechanicals.

biggd

The biggest difference today is that your average backyard mechanic can't repair cars today as we did back before computers. Even if you got stuck you could usually get the car going with a screwdriver down the carburetor to hold the choke open or a hammer to rap on the starter motor. You can't do that today. If you break down it needs to be towed unless it's a flat tire.
Even general repairs like brakes need a diagnostic computer to push back the electric E-brake to install pads.
The older crowd that hasn't kept up with computer diagnostics find it difficult to admit that todays cars are much better. I'm 63 and have been working on cars all my life and I still struggle to keep up but I know enough to admit that the good old days weren't really that good when it comes to cars.
I enjoy driving my 67 Coupe but I really enjoy driving my 2011 Chevy Silverado LTZ P/U.