If you have seen this page before, please read the update at the bottom of the page.
I have yet to figure out why people like old clocks and want them repaired, but they must have the newest cars. Buying an old vehicle in good condition and having it repaired is much less costly than buying a new one: a new vehicle depreciates at an average rate of 20% per year for the first ten years or so. This means that if you buy a new car for $20,000, the first year of ownership will cost you $4000, the second year $3,200, plus the interst you pay on the loan, (very few people pay cash for a new car), and the sales tax on the purchase (here it is 6% for vehicles). For the cost of the first year's depreciation, you could buy a good vintage vehicle, and not have to make payments for five or six years. It is smarter to invest your money in mortgage payments, because your house goes up in value (more often than not), rather than car payments, since your car goes down in value (always).
After considering the issue of cost, the second issue to consider is durability. While the new vehicles are designed to require less maintenance, they often cost two to three times more to repair than pre-computerised vehicles (made before 1980) because of the high cost of parts and labor (more complicated engines require more time to repair). The cost of repair soon exceeds the value of the vehicle, so you trade it in for a new one. An older vehicle that is simple to repair can be driven for many years.
A good example of a vintage vehicle is my 1975 Chevy 3/4 ton truck. I bought it in 2004 for $2,800 and spent about $1000 in repairs and maintenance and new tires. Parts for trucks with small block 350 V8 engines are plentiful and very cheap (compared to the cost of parts for vehicles made after around 1985). This truck is built like a tank and would seriously damage any new Hummer or SUV that decides to collide with it. A well-built yet easy-to-repair vehicle that is almost infinitely repairable could last for several more decades, particularly in central Texas, since they do not use salt on the roads in the winter months here.
Once you have a good vintage vehicle, you need good sources for parts, such as the LMCtruck catalog and Hemmings Motor News, though most parts are readily available from local parts suppliers like Van's Auto Parts and Auto Zone, and a good mechanic.
My mechanic is Joel Crutcher. He is a mobile mechanic: he locates the parts I need, drives to my home, and repairs my vehicle. Service does not get any better than that! For serious repairs, he repairs vehicles at his home near Bastrop, Texas (on Rt 71 between Austin and Houston). If you live in the Austin, Texas area or if you can bring your vehicle to him, you can't beat the service and his hourly rate is extremely reasonable. His specialty is vintage vehicles from the 1950's and 60's, from Falcons and Comets to Corvettes and GTOs, but he is happy to work on newer vehicles (even vehicles from the 1990's) and older vehicles (such as your Ford Model T). You can reach Joel at (512) 576-7505 (cel).
Joel has also worked on my motorcycles. I have several vintage motorcycles, a Honda C70 and XL125s from 1982, that needed restoration, new chains and tires. For my 1994 Harley Davidson Sportster XLH 1200, Joel installed replacement fenders, gas tank, luggage rack, oil cooler, and seat that I had found on Ebay.
Update: Anyone interested in buying an old car or truck should look up its repair records in the pages below. These pages from old Consumer Reports issues are discoloured and deteriorating, but the information is worth preserving. The repair history provides clues as to the vehicle's reliability, even decades later. The data shows that most vehicles had all kinds of reliability problems, which is still true today, so it makes sense to choose carefully. Another issue to consider is that most European vehicles use parts that are now difficult to find and expensive. Most luxury cars have very complicated electronics that are difficult to repair and have reliability problems after 25 years or more, so a simpler car will be easier to maintain. Here are some examples of some great vintage vehicles.
1983 - 78
1977 - 72
1973 - 70
1971 - 68
1968 - 63
BMW 320i 1982 1983
Buick Century 1971 1975
Chevy Chevelle 1974 - 1976
Chevy Monte Carlo 1973
Buick Electra 225 1979
Buick LeSabre 1974
Chevy Nova V8 1970
Chevy Camaro 1970 1971
Ford LTD Custom Galaxie 1972 1976
Ford pickup trucks 6 cyl 1970 - 1973
Ford Thunderbird 1973
Lincoln Continental 1973 - 1976
Mercedes Benz Diesel 1970 - 73
Mercury Marquis 1972 - 1977
Oldsmobile Cutlass 1970 1972 1976
Oldsmobile 88 98 1972 1978
Pontiac Catalina 1975 - 1977
Porsche 911 1972 1973
Toyota Celica Supra 1980 - 1983
most Toyota and Honda models
Volvo 1800 1973
Volvo 240 DL 1978
Links Page
