Depends which Corvette vs. BMW part, usually. If you're talking about NOS or new parts in general, Corvette parts are much cheaper. Used parts will lean towards a BMW more because they aren't limited production vehicles. I actually did an average price comparison on the autotrader of Camaros vs. BMWs of all models and the average price of a camaro (in my example i used '81 through '89) was higher than the average price of a BMW. We found the true reason for this isn't because of class or anything like that, it's because when BMWs wear out they're not worth fixing. If something breaks on an old Camaro parts for it are cheap and it's inexpensively fixed.

As for the Plymouth Duster, I actually saw one of those for sale on the collector car trader! That was actually another consideration of mine because those are actually super cool cars. One of my original first car considerations was actually a Dodge Dart with a slant 6 because of the fact that they're neat looking and the engine runs forever.

As for why I posted this here. I like to hear the stories and opinions of the regulars who post here. They generally are the most helpful of all and I respect them because of that.

Side note, when vicodin wears off you sure as hell KNOW it. OMG woke up at like 5am and was in excrutiating pain. Snatched a couple of vicodin and in a few minutes I was back to sleeping like a baby with no worries.

 

Uh oh...I smell dependancy problems...

 

Double

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1958-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1956-...QQcmdZViewItem

 

LoL Isettas don't count! Besides, you can't actually drive those in San Diego!

You can't get from one part of town to another without getting on the freeway. Plus, I don't want to be associated with Urkel as far as car choices.

 

How about early '90's Buick Roadmaster? They come with LT1 Chevy motors (cheap hop up parts) and have a timeless shape, are reasonable ($3,000 up) ride like a fully loaded land yatch (smooth and comfy), and best of all can be used to carry parts!

 

Two words...MO PED

 

I drove a 71 Cutlass as my first car for 14 from 87-91 and it was dead reliable. Olds 350, turbo 350, I sold it with well over 200000 on it and it was still running just as good, the body was just going away. I'd never have sold it if the body were in good shape. Also, it had highway gears, 2500 rpm at 75 and right at 20 mpg on the highway with a quadrajet carb.

 

You could always ride the short bus...

 

As per Kalway's '75 & older limit (smog-exempt) ... I actually like the pinto idea ... or a vega. You can still find either cheap ... they get decent mileage ... same vintage toyota or datsun probably better car. Actually, a Datsun 510 from that era are quick, fun & handle well ... has IRS ..."po' boys' beemer". NONE of those gonna be comfortable ... 'specially if you're nursing back/neck probs.

If you wanna go big, comfort & class ... hard to beat a early 70's Eldorado.

 

Pinto go *boom* - there were some kids killed a few years ago near St. Louis who were driving an old Maverick (Pinto platform)...they got rear ended and the gas tank went up.

 

Crown Vics and Grand Marquis had the same problem about 5-10 years ago.

 

Granted ... some cars are safer than others ... the pinto, vic, C10 etc fires got lotsa attention ... but other offenders just didn't find their way into the attorneys' webs & mass media's playlist. So, before you go casting aspersions on this or that ... you might wish to also reflect on our vaunted C3's safety.

Also, IIRC ... pinto & maverick did not share same platform. Probably shared some parts & pieces (like most do across a mfg's line) ... but not a shared platform.

Kal got creamed on a bike in SoCal ... if compared over 100K miles & about 7 yrs, I suggest pinto would be safer than any motorcycle. It's not clear to me ... how much of a role safety plays in Kal's choice of DD.

 

I think I actually changed my scope of preferred DD, now. While I was thinking a smog exempt tank would be good, at first, now I'm thinking something towards the late 90's and early 2000's might be a better choice. With the probable back problems I'm going to have later in life I may not be able to get under the hood and wrench much. So now I'm considering possibly a 1995 - 1999 Buick Riviera (heard nothing but good reviews about them and they've got a 240hp 3.8L V6 supercharged ) or a 2000/2001 Cadillac Deville. That's when they changed the body on the Deville and I KNOW it'll be comfortable and has the sweet Northstar V8, I'd get an extended warranty on it so I don't have to worry about the damn computer crap going out on me. Those are the last years of the Riviera and EVERY review I've read on it said it was one of the best cars they'd owned and it doesn't look all that bad, from the front. It's a Buick so it'll be pretty tough and Buicks are generally really comfy anyways. One of the other things I like about the Riviera is that they're 2 doors, I'm not a fan of 4 door cars because I'm not a chaffeur.

So now we're shifting from old to new. Lets see what y'all say now.

 

Northstar is expensive to work on in many ways ... very tight fit in bay ... hard to R&R motor ... also, starter is deep in valley beneath intake .. lotsa other issues ... no bs.

Steer clear of SC or TC ... expensive to repair/replace. Stock 3.8LV6 has plenty of TQ.

Go for a buick or olds w/ 3.8L V6 pushrod motor. IMO (& many others)Best motor GM's come out with in many years. I had a fwd cutlass with it ... great car ... comfy ... responsive ... troublefree ... good mileage to boot.

 

I vote for the N/A 3800 too. A buddy of mine used to have a Riviera, and he had a lot of problems costing lots of time and money. On the other hand a great6 friend still drives an '01 Impala. Cushy, smooth, FAST, comfortable and easy to work on. It also comes with the 3.8, same as a Monte Carlo would. I vote for either of those.

 

How about a Lincoln Mark VIII? 290 American V8 horsepower.

 

It's ironic that we not only take out the MarkVIII fans, but when a back up is needed we drive the car too?

 

I'm still kinda ifft when it comes to Fords. My mom and stepdad have Fords (2000 F-150 and 2002 Mustang V6 vert) and I'm rather unimpressed with either of em. They haven't had any major issues, but they're just really boring and have no guts. The Mark VIII would have ***** at least but it's a '99 and a blue oval at heart. I'd have to hear some unbiased previous owner feedback on em before I'd consider em. I'd also like to know the gas mileage. Fords get craptastic mileage usually. My mom's V6 mustang gets the same mileage as my vette and my stepdad's F-150 with a V6 gets 12mpg (but it's lifted and has 4.11 gears).

Thanks for the feedback regarding the caddy and riviera, though. I've heard good and bad things about the northstar. I think the engine is cool as hell but I know what you mean when it comes to repairs on it, they really suck. Everything I read on the Riviera was good stuff and many said it was hassle free and went over 200k miles w/o a single problem. The user reviews on autos.msn.com for it was a 9.9 so it can't be too bad. I'm rather wary of forced induction, too, but I figured the 3.8L is pretty invincible with only 240hp and an SC.

 

You are selling yourself short if you plan on $4000 or so and thinking it has to be pre-75 unless the sole reason is the smog issue.

Lots of cheap '80s and '90s cars for under $4000 that will drive forever at a 2 mile commute.

Classy? That's another thing.

• Old Chevy vans. Buy them cheap, usually $2000, and run forever. Paint the outside with craziness, **** the inside, and recreate the '70s. The extra is that it will tow your Corvette / race car and you will race faster as a result.
• Neon. - Yeah, it is a Mopar, but an early 5 speed Neon is a go kart with a body. The engineers knew that competing heads up with Corolla and others would make them lose, so they opted to be a racer. It is no slight chance Chrysler had the Neon ACR SSC road racing program. 35 mpg isn't an issue on a 2 mile commute, but think where you can go for $10.
• El Camino - there are the big ones '73 to '76 and the little ones '78 to mid '80s. They can look good done right.
• Mid 70s-early 80s Camaro - prices are climbing, rust is nasty, so look closely and buy soon. It could sell for more than you paid when you decide to.
• Mid '70s or mid '80s Corvettes - Hey, $4000 will get you one.

 

Well my interest has shifted quite a bit. It all mostly depends on how well my finances end up after the whole settlement is done. My possibilities lie in how much money/debt I have when all is said and done. If my debt is clear and I have some change in the bank I may go for a 2007 Chevy Impala or Malibu, Pontiac G6, Buick LaCrosse, or Saturn Aura. They all look very comfortable and are in the same price range. They also have pretty much the same engines (3.5L V6, 3.8L V6, 3.6L V6, 3.9L V6) depending on the submodel.

I have a few biased opinions towards Chrysler and Ford. Fords are the blue oval and their cars really don't excite me much. Even the mustang bores me to death. Chryslers get horrid gas mileage, for their class, and I really don't trust their drivetrains because everyone I've known that's had one has had problems in one way or another with them. (My dad's CJ, my dad's grand cherokee, my aunt's grand cherokee, my friend's pick-up, and some other friend's that had them) Just a lot of bad experiences that were semi-personal. They've also usually got the least power in their class and usually cost a lot more, too. Being that they merged with Benz I really don't trust them any further than I can throw them. If I get a 2007 GM product at least I know I have a 100k powertrain warranty and I know firsthand that the powertrain WON'T die on me any time soon. The miscellaneous little interior features I'm not too worried about because I've never heard from anyone with a newer gm telling me that stuff broke. I had a teacher with a newer Buick that had ALL of the options and she said she loved the car to death because everything always worked. My girlfriend's '04 Focus is already having issues with interior stuff like the stereo and the automatic locks going bad on her.

So yeah, I'm biased towards GM stuff, but now is the perfect time to be.