| I'll add myself to the list of those who say "don't sweat it too much". Cars are so much more reliable today than they used to be that it's actually hurting car sales. New cars aren't selling because older cars are lasting so much longer. Used cars are demanding premium prices because they are still in good condition. I remember when 100,000 miles was exceptional; now I'm driving a '95 Bonneville with 327,000 km (just over 200,000 miles) on the clock and ONLY THREE TUNEUPS! It still starts when it's been "cold soaked" at 20 or 30 below overnight, still gets mileage as good as when it was new, and still is capable of burying the needle. The oil pressure was starting to drop a bit at hot idle but a simple switch from 5W30 to 10W30 cured that. By the time I'll be replacing it they probably won't be making them any longer (I can already see the G6 becoming their "big" model).
We have the Japanese auto industry to thank for that kind of reliability... Toyota and Honda most particularly. They forced North American makers into building better cars. I only wish someone would find a way to make a rubber door weatherstrip that wouldn't slowly shrink and pull away at the corners!!!! After all, man has been in space.
(horrible image.... Boeing 747 flying over the Atlantic Ocean with air whistling through a gap in the door where the seal pulled away....UGH!) |