I'm sure by the time the summer is over you will be completely
sick and tired of car related posts, but that is the place we find ourselves in
these days. I have both a car and a
truck. My car is my daily driver and I use it to go back and forth to work
most days as well as for errands and road trips. My car is really nice and I really do
appreciate it, but my true love is my truck.
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| Pretty low miles for her age |
I bought my Nissan XE pick up brand new in 1997 and it was my very
first new vehicle purchase. Up until
then I'd always had used vehicles. This
one was the last truck for that year left on the lot and they had it on
clearance, priced lower that the two year old used truck I'd originally come to
the dealership to take a look at. It didn't
take a rocket scientist to convince me that this was a much better investment
of my money. I test drove it and was
smitten right away. We've been together
ever since.
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| Trucks are so handy! |
For the past 22 years we've gone camping, pulled a Scamp trailer, taken a few road trips,
made countless trips to and from Home Depot, hauled a large variety of stuff in
the back, helped people move and done all that other stuff people with trucks
tend to do. I usually drive her to work
once a week and she is typically my weekend runner.
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| The carpet is still in amazing shape |
After 22 years of devoted service it is time to put some extra
love and attention into her. I've got a
few spots where I'm losing paint so I'll be doing some body work before the
summer ends. Over the 4th of July
weekend I did the annual maintenance I like to do. I changed the oil and filter (which has been
done every 3000 miles like clockwork) and topped up all the fluids. The air filter wasn't very dirty so I
vacuumed it well and put it back in place.
I also cleaned the engine along with the underside of the hood.
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| Upholstery is in great condition as well |
When we detailed the cars
last week my truck got a complete interior clean and I shampooed the carpet and
upholstery. I used a razor blade and Goo
Gone to remove a few sun damaged stickers from the windows. Then they were washed inside with my favorite
Sprayway window cleaner. The exterior of
the truck got a good bath as well. In my
opinion nothing is nicer than a squeaky clean vehicle.
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| Before |
There are a few seals that have begun to leak so I'll be looking
at replacing those as well as some other routine maintenance. That pretty much comes with the
territory. Do I feel like I shouldn't
waste the money or time on repairs to a truck this old? I absolutely do not! This is my truck!
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| After - all squeaky clean! |
To be honest, I haven't needed to spend much money on maintaining
this vehicle over the years so it seems reasonable to me that at some point I'd
need to pay for some repairs. Up until
now I've done repairs and maintenance as needed. Replacing belts, batteries, flushing the
radiator, replacing U-joint boots, things like that. If something breaks or wears out, I fix it.
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| Good routine maintenance is essential |
Routine maintenance, like oil changes, seriously prolongs the life
of a vehicle and I am really big about that.
I make sure all of our vehicles receive regular routine maintenance. Because of that my sweet little truck is
still a solid and dependable vehicle.
How long have you ever had a car or truck? Do you keep your vehicles a good long time or
do you routinely trade them in and replace them?
I have a Toyota Corolla that I bought new 12 years ago, and it is still going strong. It has about 75,000 miles on it. My husband has a Toyota truck (small version), which is 2 years older than mine and has about the same mileage. (It helps that he takes the bus to work in our large metro area.)
ReplyDeleteAlso,my husband does all maintenance on our vehicles--oil changes, belts, brake jobs, body work etc. That has saved us a ton during our many years of marriage. We both plan to have these vehicles 10 more years at least, we hope!
We have always been very conservative with our car purchases. Our first vehicle cost $500, our 2nd was also $500, and the third one was $800. (This was over 17 years) We then bought our first new vehicle, a van that was great for our family of 6. We take care of them like you do and drive them until the wheels fall off!
Isabella
I think that is wonderful. So many people don't take care of their vehicles and then wonder why they don't hold up. I always say if you take care of your car it will take care of you.
DeleteNice work on the maintenance! We have a 20 year old Lexus SUV (just drove from the bay area to the Oregon coast & back, two years in a row). We do maintain it well, and it's still an awesome vehicle.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Good for you. I'm sure you'll still have it for a long time to come.
DeleteWe just donated our 18 yr. old Nissan XTerra (to Make a Wish foundation) because it wouldn't pass the smog test anymore. Our mechanic tried his best to get it to pass by replacing sensors and such, but to no avail. It's amazing to think though that there are many people who would have cycled through two or three new cars in the time we kept our one car (the "buy a new car every 5 years treadmill ... and with a loan!) It's satisfying to know we've saved tens of thousands of dollars by keeping our vehicles until they absolutely die :)
ReplyDeleteD.
Good for you! I'm fine with running a vehicle until the wheels fall off. LOL
DeleteI bought a new car and drove it seven years and had 70K miles on it when we traded it in.
ReplyDeleteBy myself in 2002 I bought a 2000 car with 36K miles and drove it for 17 years until a guy hit me and totaled it. I think it had 250K miles on it. I was sad to see it go because it was a well-maintained car and was still shiny in the picture after the wreck.
I am 72 and suspect the car I just bought will be my last car. Today, I had Michelin Defender tires put on it, a 2008 Impala.
You get a lot of mileage out of your automobiles too. I think that is wonderful. I hope your Impala last you a good long time as well. Enjoy!
DeleteI drove my last car for 17 years. Sold it w/102k miles on it. Meanwhile, I put that old car payment into savings once it was paid off. Bought my dream car with cash. It should last the rest of my life!
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic! Congratulations on your dream car!!
DeleteI love my 2007 honda civic like you love your little truck. I have a brand new car in the garage, for when we need to be fancy....lol. But my everyday ride is my little civic.
ReplyDeleteI like my new car too, but I prefer the older vehicles. My daughter's little Scion tugs at my heart a bit too. Now I want one! LOL
DeleteNice truck! And wow, you bought it back when windows still rolled up by hand!
ReplyDeleteI once took my nephew for a ride in a pre-electronic vehicle, and he had no idea how to make the window go down! He marveled at the hand crank!
Focus: I have a 12-year-old Odyssey that onl has 104K miles on it. Hoping to have it for many more years!
It irritated my aunt to no end that she couldn't get a new car with hand roll windows. Too many bells and whistles on the new stuff for her liking.
DeleteI usually keep cars until I suspect major things are about to start breaking. With some cars it's been as low as 120,000 miles others closer to 200,000. Due to a long commute to work, I put on about 23,000 miles a year, get the oil changed every 5000 miles since my driving is 90% paved highway. And the other filters and maintenance are done regularly also. I've bought a couple of new cars, but I think I'll stick with buying used with less than 20,000 miles on them if possible.
ReplyDeleteYour diligence regarding maintenance is why you can get so many years of use out of your cars. Good job!
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