quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I read somewhere recently that the average age of vehicles on the road is 11 years…so most are older than 2017 models.

Nothing that lies more than statistics.
4 brand new cars, and 1 70's muscle car.
Average age 10 years.

Data is easily skewed.

The older low tech cars didn't have 100 moduals controling every aspect through circuit boards and programing or high pressure DI.
The last of the Keep it simple stupid.

My wife's 2012 Mazda CX9 has been a fantastic car . If it blew up tomorrow I couldn't complain . We replaced the brake booster a few years ago . A few other very minor things that didn't amount to anything .

quote:

Originally posted by Nismo:
Maybe a better statistic would be why they were towed.

What Nismo said!

I am entering my thirty-third year as an automotive towing service owner and would have to wonder why vehicles are towed?!

My rough estimation would be from the ones we tow:

35% would be from law enforcement/next list rotation from accidents and impounds

35% would be private tows from owners who have inoperable vehicles or have bought an older or newer vehicle which needs transporting

15% because people think they can park anywhere and on anyone else's property

15% could be anything from repossessions, evictions, abandoned, and you wouldn't believe what all else


It is not a bad business and one I fell into while working crashes and accidents for a police department years ago. You catch hell form the imbeciles and ignorant who think we rake in thousands of dollars but we are heavily regulated, permitted out the ass, and our commercial insurance is insane!

quote:

Originally posted by goingbroke:

It is not a bad business and one I fell into while working crashes and accidents for a police department years ago. You catch hell form the imbeciles and ignorant who think we rake in thousands of dollars but we are heavily regulated, permitted out the ass, and our commercial insurance is insane!

I've got 2 parking spots that "belong" to me in my lease at a medium (large for our town) mixed retail/prof. office building. It was negotiated as a part of our lease agreement. Only one other tenant in the building has similar clauses. I paid a couple hundred dollars to have signs made, which declare to the world which 2 spaces "belong" to me. I haven't been able to park in one of my spots in over a year. When it started happening regularly, of course right following an ownership change in the building, I inquired about having people towed. The owner said she had to call the police, notify them of how long they had been there, prove she made an "effort" to notify and request the driver to move their vehicle...and THEN, she could have them towed, at her expense (building owner). We've had similar problems enforcing the handicap parking spaces. It's an act of congress to get them ticketed, and our local LE said they won't authorize or initiate the tow.

People suck. I know who it is...and she's a bitch, who does it on purpose.


To the OP topic... my recent acquisition is an '89 YJ. It's become my new favorite vehicle to drive. I'm working on the nutter bypass, weber carb conversion, and HEI distributor upgrade...and it'll be void of the few "computers" it came with. As for our other vehicles, both are now 9 years old...and I watch the "new" versions broke down and in for constant repair. We're going to keep taking care of what we have. My YJ has nearly 1/4 million miles on it. Vehicles manufactured over the past 3 years are nearly all complete junk. For a variety of reasons.

quote:

Originally posted by Calif Phil:
Should of asked him what year his tow truck was.

As I found it particularly neat and clean ,both inside and out, I did ask him.

The international he had that day was an "2021".

Next week they are getting three new 2024's

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:

I've got 2 parking spots that "belong" to me in my lease at a medium (large for our town) mixed retail/prof. office building. It was negotiated as a part of our lease agreement . . . I haven't been able to park in one of my spots in over a year. I know who it is . . . and she's a bitch, who does it on purpose.

I had a similar situation, somebody parking in my reserved slot at work. Filally solved the problem by parking behind him, blocking him in.

When the building receptionist called to tell me that the miscreant was whining that he could not get his car out, I told her that I was on a critical conference call and would be out there as soon as I could get there. Couple hours later, I went out, and we had a "literacy" lesson, in which the offender was taught to read the "Reserved" sign. Problem solved.

In my soon to be former business and workplace, I'd guess 80% of vehicles I work on are 10 years old or older, some even from the last century. My own car is nearly 15 years old.

As for the Buick "3800" V6, I can attest to its "bulletproof-ness." It does have some weak points - it tends to be an oil leaker, and plastic cooling system parts and intake plenums are nettlesome. Generally easy to work on, too. The rear bank/firewall side spark plugs aren't fun (there is a work-around for this on some car models) and neither is the power steering pump.

I am glad someone else noticed the oil "thing".

Mine has used a 1/3 qt. Of oil ever since I got it.

But it leaves no oil spots anywhere. Three others have said the same thing.

I assumed it was burning it ( the oil).


We Buick people talk to each other , seems like we are a friendly bunch.
It's not a group or club , total strangers just say howdy and how many miles?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:

I've got 2 parking spots that "belong" to me in my lease at a medium (large for our town) mixed retail/prof. office building. It was negotiated as a part of our lease agreement . . . I haven't been able to park in one of my spots in over a year. I know who it is . . . and she's a bitch, who does it on purpose.

I had a similar situation, somebody parking in my reserved slot at work. Filally solved the problem by parking behind him, blocking him in.

When the building receptionist called to tell me that the miscreant was whining that he could not get his car out, I told her that I was on a critical conference call and would be out there as soon as I could get there. Couple hours later, I went out, and we had a "literacy" lesson, in which the offender was taught to read the "Reserved" sign. Problem solved.

I did that back in early fall of last year. One of the reasons why the two spots are reserved is that our hours are unpredictable, and often run long into the night. If we're busy, overnight even. To facilitate snow removal and parking lot cleanup...we came up with the designated spots. Of course, they're both visible from my office desk and targetable from my window opening without risk of worry over the backstop.

There are two primary offenders, that day it was one of the dental offices assistants. I let her sit in her car in her scrubs for a good half hour wondering what to do before going out and giving a lesson in what the sign means. Since the building has changed hands...her and her friend are emboldened.

My next move is to park in old Murky's spot, it enrages their aides. I'll be sure to let them know that the new owner and management doesn't enforce reserved parking anymore. I know its in their contract. That method worked for me in the past with the old owner. Perhaps it is time to test it with the new one.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Seems people love to make car payments. Just gets 'em all giddy once a month...

Either that or they feel like they have to have something new every year?

Perhaps there are other reasons, such as better safety features on newer vehicles or the fact that new cars usually don’t break down. I’ve got a new vehicle (2023) that’s paid for and I always have one newer vehicle with one older (2019). I don’t have time anymore to be working on my vehicles so I stopped driving old ones.