Hello! I'm new here..

[Guest Spy]

Hi, my name is Spyros, I'm Greek, recently moved to Los Angeles and I'm interested in buying a classic car. I'd love to get to know you and get involved in the community.

The oldest car I've owned was a 1984 Volvo 240 and I loved it. It was totaled by someone running a red light. Soon after moving to LA I got a decent job, and bought myself a 2012 Hyundai Sonata but lately I've been lusting after classic cars. With my new Sonata, I have a hefty monthly car payment, then an unbelievable insurance rate for full coverage on it. The cost is very daunting and it already needs quite a bit of maintenance. Unlike my older cars that I could work on myself, I'm scared to get my hands dirty with a 2012 vehicle. Not to mention with all these newer cars, I can't help but feel like I'm driving in a soda can.

Anyways, I'm considering getting rid of the new car and investing in a classic daily driver. Any recommendations on something that comes cheap and drive-able? I plan on restoring the car while I use it. Found a nice 1962 AMC Rambler (in Red below) in my price range. What do you think?

[Guest AlCapone]

Welcome to our group. If it is going to be a hobby car and a daily driver it must be dependable. Hobby cars can sit for a month while you hunt parts but not so when you depend on the car to drive to work and everyday use. A good idea is to post several pictures of the vehicle ( outside, inside, motor and underside ) on this site and let the experts ( not me ) on the site give opinions. They are very knowledgable and they love helping new people ! So after you find the dream car have it totally inspected mechanically to make sure it is reliable. At the same time have it professionally appraised by a reputable appraisal company. I would not have it appraised by a company recommended by the seller of course !

Good luck and welcome to Los Angeles and our group !

Wayne

[Fleek]

Hi, welcome to the old car world. Everything Al said is true. The only thing I might add is if it is to be your main transportation, I would lean toward a vehicle made Ford, Chrysler, or GM simply because of the ready access of most parts for those cars. Other companies made excellent cars too, but may be harder to find replacement parts for them. If it is to be your main transportation, I would look in to the ease of finding needed parts to keep it rolling without long waits for parts. The AMC looks good and they made great cars, but I am not too sure how easy it will be to maintain. Good luck to you in your search. That is half the fun.

[MarrsCars]

Hi! Welcome and good on you for considering a fun old car as your daily driver, it makes every day special! How far is your drive to work and how many days a week? Being LA, I should probably ask how long does it take you to get to work rather than how far. Also consider the roads you will be using, will this be a freeway cruiser or mainly through town? I lived in LA for many years prior so know that you also need a car that can sit in stopped traffic in 80-90+ degree weather regularly without overheating. Those would be some of my geographically-specific bits of advice added to what was already said.

Also, see what clubs or groups are active for whatever car you're considering and if they are having a meet-up anytime soon go and speak to owners of the cars and get their first hand impressions of what it's like to drive such a car in that town and find out what shop does their work and how convenient it is to you for those (hopefully rare) times you will need to have it hauled in. It happens to even the best old cars as components age, so you must always be prepared to be stranded somewhere. Make sure you have excellent roadside service, even double or triple down like I do. I have roadside through my mobile phone provider, through my insurance, AAA, and two local tow guys on call so I can always get a flatbed as quickly as possible. Also, of course you won;t have nav or iPod hookup but you can always use bluetooth speakers so you don't have to cut into your "new" old car and use your iPhone for the rest. Fuel consumption would also likely increase so factor that into the cost. Finally, check insurance before you buy the car, and if you can either keep the Hyundai or even buy something very cheap but modern to have normal insurance on, then you could qualify for collectors insurance through Hagerty or one of those specialists at a very low rate and for agreed value, you might be surprised how cheap this can be if your mileage isn't too wild.

JUst a side note to possibly help your present situation, but shouldn't a 2012 Sonata have a 5-yr/60,000 miles basic warranty and 10/100,000 drivetrain warranty? Make sure you are not paying for anything covered by the warranty, it should have transferred with your ownership so long as the mileage hasn't been exceeded. Maybe you're only talking about non-warranty general maintenance, but it still helps to read your warranty booklet carefully so you don't go out of pocket. If you mistakenly paid for something that should have been covered ask how to request reimbursement based on your invoice, it may be possible.

[Guest Spy]

Being LA, I should probably ask how long does it take you to get to work rather than how far. Also consider the roads you will be using, will this be a freeway cruiser or mainly through town? I lived in LA for many years prior so know that you also need a car that can sit in stopped traffic in 80-90+ degree weather regularly without overheating.

Thanks for the feedback! To be honest, I am pretty rough on my cars. I average about 20,000 miles a year between work, school, and road trips. My job is just about 12 miles away, that's a 30 minute drive in the morning and a 50 minute drive home. I know common sense would say "Well in that case, stay away from a 50 year old car." But in my experience, that 1984 Volvo was the most reliable car I've ever owned (I took it from Houston, TX to Long Island, NY and back again three times.. with no oil change.... and the coolant tank was empty the whole time). So I'm sure that with an educated choice of classic car, and proper maintenance, I could find a car that will handle my lifestyle.

I do have roadside assistance through AAA, my insurance company, and my credit card. So that's a plus! I've never had trouble getting a tow although hopefully I won't need it too often. Speaking of phone connectivity, what year do you start finding cassette players in American cars? If I have a cassette player I can use one of those cassette-to-phone connectors and I'd be very happy. That's what I used in my Volvo.

Unfortunately I can only have one car, I just sold off my 2nd car because it's too much of a hassle trying to get parking here in LA. I've heard classic cars can still be much cheaper to insure, though. I'm not looking for a muscle car, I'd prefer a sporty sedan from the 60's. Or just about any sedan from the 50's.

[edit] One other question regarding the fuel economy: I don't want to ruin the authenticity of a classic car, but I've heard that converting to fuel injection can really help with the economy. Any thoughts on this, how much does the conversion generally cost? How difficult to do it myself?

Edited May 1, 2014 by Spy (see edit history)

[Guest AlCapone]

Waynebe careful on the insurance issue. In most cases classic car insurance will not allow to and from work !

[Buffalowed Bill]

What MarsCars said, cars like you are considering are not as long lived as a new car. At 20000 miles a year your car will not last very long, a rebuild can be expensive and leave you without transportation for awhile. People do use older cars for transportation but generally have multiple cars to make it work for them.

[MarrsCars]

Thanks for the feedback! To be honest, I am pretty rough on my cars. I average about 20,000 miles a year between work, school, and road trips. My job is just about 12 miles away, that's a 30 minute drive in the morning and a 50 minute drive home. I know common sense would say "Well in that case, stay away from a 50 year old car." But in my experience, that 1984 Volvo was the most reliable car I've ever owned (I took it from Houston, TX to Long Island, NY and back again three times.. with no oil change.... and the coolant tank was empty the whole time). So I'm sure that with an educated choice of classic car, and proper maintenance, I could find a car that will handle my lifestyle.

I do have roadside assistance through AAA, my insurance company, and my credit card. So that's a plus! I've never had trouble getting a tow although hopefully I won't need it too often. Speaking of phone connectivity, what year do you start finding cassette players in American cars? If I have a cassette player I can use one of those cassette-to-phone connectors and I'd be very happy. That's what I used in my Volvo.

Unfortunately I can only have one car, I just sold off my 2nd car because it's too much of a hassle trying to get parking here in LA. I've heard classic cars can still be much cheaper to insure, though. I'm not looking for a muscle car, I'd prefer a sporty sedan from the 60's. Or just about any sedan from the 50's.

[edit] One other question regarding the fuel economy: I don't want to ruin the authenticity of a classic car, but I've heard that converting to fuel injection can really help with the economy. Any thoughts on this, how much does the conversion generally cost? How difficult to do it myself?

That new info helps a great deal. A few more observations based on what you said: If being "rough on my cars" is evidenced by the example that followed, three cross country trips on one oil change and no coolant, then old car ownership may not be the right fit for you. If you still really want an old car, and I support that, you will have to either make yourself become more involved with the maintenance or simply hire a shop to do this all for you, but old cars are more fun when you can do some basic work especially when you get stranded because you can diagnose and fix yourself sometimes, especially simple stuff like a coolant hose, spark plug, distributor cap, etc.

Older engines won't last as long as modern spec engines, so if you started with a newly rebuilt engine with 0-miles within 5-years you would likely need some major services such as timing chain, seals, quite possibly head work ($$$), and suspension ($$). Any old car you buy, unless the subject of a total restoration, will still probably need some immediate work that was either hidden or just due from wear and age. Rubber lines, hoses, suspension bits, etc., all come under this category. You don't really buy an old car for fuel economy simply because gas was basically free back when they were built. I'm exaggerating but inflation adjusted it was FAR cheaper until the mid 2000's so fuel economy was simply not a factor. I have no idea about replacing a carb with fuel injection but some of the 60's top level cars have a mechanical fuel injection, and slightly later cars have electronic injection, they were ahead of the curve, others can comment on American cars. FI isn't necessarily cheaper to maintain either, just slightly better economy and more reliable. In fact, probably more costly, I've spent $500 on adjustments to my MFI when I first got my car just to get it running right.

You will likely need standard policy insurance for the mileage you run, like what you already have, but the cost should be lower than what you're paying now. Cassettes were an 80's thing. My experience is largely Euro cars but even 60's Beckers can be sent back to them to have you factory original fitted with an Aux out on the rear to accept an iPod/iPhone connection, many of my friends in the clubs do this. An old car may have had it's stereo upgraded in the 80's/90's however.

I feel the need to hit this one point again, any older car and definitely anything from the 60's back, will require you to check the fluids regularly, some will say weekly but I check mine every time I walk out for a drive. It only takes 5-minutes to check oil, trans fluid, power steering, brake fluid and coolant. All old cars leak so the need to check them often is not being overly worried, but there to prevent you ruining an engine or something else costly and leaving you stuck.

If you are unwilling, or otherwise not capable, to do any of this, there is only one clear choice for your vintage car, the unstoppable Mercedes-Benz W123 chassis and only with a Diesel engine. Probably a 240d or 300d and there are sedan, wagon and pillarless coupe versions of this car. They are reasonably plentiful and are hard to kill even if you try. You can do veggie oil conversion for fuel if you are so inclined. Look for a Turbo Diesel for better "ooomph" or plan your merges 1/4-mile ahead of time. I also think a big Chrylser 300 or similar from the 60's would be a nice daily car but all have specific weak points or concerns so once you find the make and model you think you want to buy, do what I said already and talk to owners and on brand/model specific forums for buying guides and what problems to look for.

[Guest AlCapone]

Marrscars: I totally agree with your perspective ! The new information suggests to me also that his maintenance habits would not support the due diligence required with a classic or antique daily driver. I am out of here !

Wayne

[Fleek]

Agreed, an older car needs lots of care. The description of his driving habits and lack of care indicate that an older vehicle would not last very long. He would be better served to stick to his 2012 model unless he plans to make major changes to his driving and upkeep habits. I wish him well, but I see nothing to add to this conversation that he would consider beneficial.

[whtbaron]

If that old Rambler is in his price range, and he's looking for an older car, why not do it? It's built as tough as anything of the era, is relatively easy to work on and fairly economical to operate. It's a car...they were built to drive and he's going to drive it. It's not like a rare Pierce Arrow or something. I say grab an old car and have some fun with it. No computers and it will teach you a thing or 2 about mechanics.