I drive a 24yr old Honda 1.6 EFI Auto 100km daily. 240km on clock. Consistantly 7.2l/100km. Uses no oil on 10k changes. Worth nothing. If I bought a new car today, chances are I would gain nothing. In fact most are thirstier unless you go Diesel which, if it goes wrong, is $$$$. Sure all the safety gadgets are a plus but other than that. What are your views on older vehicles.
morrisman1,
May 19, 6:33pm
might do the job, but new cars do the job so much better. More comfortable, better equipped, safer, quieter.
msigg,
May 19, 6:42pm
Yea a modern 1.6 will get those l/km and a bit more comfort and safety features, apart from that you will worry about a newer car getting dents from supermarket carparks etc, if your happy with your old one just keep it going ,save the money and spent it on something else like a overseas trip or home appliances, with your old bomb there no depreciation either so your on to a winner.
mugenb20b,
May 19, 6:53pm
My views on older vehicles! The only issue I have is that I want my wife and kids to be in a safe and reliable vehicle. Our older car, a 17 year old Honda is fantastic and does the job, and we kept it as a spare vehicle. But, it doesn't have the safety features of a more modern car, hence why we bought a late model Hyundai (well, late model to us, we are not made of money), something that's on par with others on the road. In 5 years time, I'll sell the Honda and make our "new" car the spare and upgrade again.
beart0y,
May 19, 6:53pm
This was bought in 94 as an Import and intended as a work hack,In that time it has cost the following: New CV boots, Radiator recore, Trans rebuild at 150k. (T/washer failed but plates were perfect) Normal cam belts, Radiator & heater hoses. Lower front balljoints.Still on same pads and get 70-80km out of cheapie Chinese tyres, All OE items work perfectly and may be slightly noisier than new models but so what.
cowboy110,
May 19, 6:58pm
Don't even bank on the diesel saving you money.Licencing costs (from what I can see)Private petrol $287 for 12 months vs private non petrol (diesel) $417 for 12 months.PLUS road user charges.Not sure diesel is necessarily the way to go.If you're happy with your 24 year old Honda that is serving you well and it's only a form of transport from A to B.don't fix what ain't broke.
pebbles61,
May 19, 7:03pm
I have an older car, not too flash on the gas, but what I use in gas I make up for on rego cost (only $120 a year as opposed to $300) and dirt cheap spares.
petal_91,
May 19, 7:07pm
I know it feels all self righteous to be driving an old vehicle, but in reality your car is a death trap in a crash. Modern safety feastures like ABS brakes and ESP will also help you avoid a crash. It also lacks modern emissions controls like a catalytic converter so is emitting more noxious fumes than a modern vehicle.
franc123,
May 19, 7:08pm
A car that has served you well for a long time and you know whats been done to it and when,.and how its been driven is ALWAY's an asset, you would be better off driving it until something major dies, if it ever does.As a general rule Hondas of that era died of auto trans failure or rust., if its not suffering from the latter by now it probably won't as long as its not outside all the time.Keep up the maintenance of course.Its all too easy tospend well into five figures on another used car and end up with a lemon.
gunhand,
May 19, 7:11pm
Yes at certain speeds safety equipment keeps people alive in crashes that may well have killed them. And they survive with sometimes horrific injuries etc that cost the country millions a year to treat and rehabilitate, ya gotta wonder a.
jkm,
May 19, 7:17pm
Have a 92 VP commodore and its much more enjoyable to drive than the 2005 Mondeo I have for work.
robotnik,
May 19, 7:41pm
And the VP is an SS is it! Not really a good comparison if it is.
pebbles61,
May 19, 7:43pm
Sure cars may be 'safer' now, but it was the standard of the day and it's still fone today.
Anyways I don't need the "death trap" BS, I get enough of that from the F-ing government about my bike.
edangus,
May 19, 7:43pm
My 16 yr old 740 says nah not even mate. Its safer than all my other vehicles.
40wav,
May 19, 7:52pm
But it does make it that bit sweeter if it is.
rob_man,
May 19, 8:00pm
Even so, you're still doing the "green" thing by keeping your old car in service and not causing a new one to be built. The eco footprint of building another car from scratch is worth many years of your slightly less green older vehicle's slightly higher emissions. Then there's the eco footprint of the extra work you have to do to pay for a new car that didn't even need to be built. Stop buying the marketing dream they sell.
johnf_456,
May 19, 8:02pm
At the end of the day all the safety features can not save you if a sub standard driver is the one driving it! As for the environment its better to run a older car into the ground then re produce a new one from scratch every few years to keep up with the "cool crowd"
foxdonut,
May 19, 8:05pm
Sounds like my old Accord, except at 380k it still had the same clutch from factory and no gearbox issues ever. Probably the best car I'll ever own.
Nothing wrong with driving an old shitter, as long as you remember that its an old car and give it more time to stop, pull into traffic, and stick the limits of the car.
I'd still rather drive new cars these days though. To me if its more than 4 years old there's no point buying it and you're better off saving till you can get a new one or making do with something less expensive but still new.
franc123,
May 19, 8:12pm
You only have to go visit a scrap dealer and the amount of quite tidy and often undamaged vehicles there is ridiculous. Why is it there! Oh the cambelt broke and bent the valves, something in the trans broke, oh the plates have gone dead! OK some repairs might be uneconomic but its still waste in my book. And people moan about how expensive replacement cars are.
neville48,
May 19, 8:17pm
The old car is the way to go, drive it into the dirt and get yur full value out of it, its as safe as you drive it on the road and catalytic converters are a myth when most of our running is short trips around town ,to the shops, school etc, they are bull-puckey and cause inefficient running therefore more emmisions when they soot up, just drive it till it drops.
purple666,
May 19, 8:50pm
5 years back I had a fleet of vehicles that cost me less than the money my mate lost when he sold his 2 or 3 year old Holden he had owned since new. The fleet - 2 x 1930's cars 1 x 1969 classic 1 x 3.5 tonne covered in truck and a skyline, sure one of the 30's cars wasn't road legal but was still road drivable. So give me older vehicles any day.
thejazzpianoma,
May 19, 8:52pm
There is not really any point in driving something that old. Not when you can get a car half the age with reasonable km's for much the same money. That economy is nothing to write home about either, I have newer cars that are far more efficient.
Aside from comfort, better features, lower km's and less age on the vehicle the difference in safety is monumental.
People forget, old cars were not so bad when they were crashing into other old cars. But crash that Honda into a modern safer vehicle (even a small one) and the Honda bears more than its fair share of the force from the collision. Thats because the newer vehicles tend to be heavier and a lot more rigid (we are talking overall not just the crumple zones).
Don't get me wrong, I loved those 80's Honda's they were the Bee's Knee's back in the day IMO (Kiwi new ones that is, the pop up headlight Jap imports were rubbish). But, they have had their day in the sun.
pebbles61,
May 19, 8:56pm
Most classic owners don't own them for the money factor of course, it's for the love of the cars. Number of km's, owners are meaningless. As for safety, well you only live once, might as well drive something you like. Sure for the people who only see a car or bike as A to B will go for the jappa econo-box etc, but sod that!
scoobeey,
May 19, 9:00pm
safety blah blah hell you might not have the money to upgrade !
johnf_456,
May 19, 9:03pm
Live life to its potential, you can't stay wrapped up cotton wool your whole live! Live it!
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