At 08:45 AM 3/2/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Keith,
>
>I think most people after they have bought an old car have second doubts,
>regardless of the amount paid, especially after what you thought was a
>perfect example begins to have problems.
I have to agree on that. When I paid $3500 for my black 68 LeBaron
recently, I was wondering if I paid too much. I loved the straight body
and the leather interior that was in very nice shape given the age of the
car, but my eye would always go to the damaged rear right tail light
assembly, the right grill fender extension and the broken B-pillar plastic
cover in the inside. And I was thinking, man I paid too much for this
car. Now, I managed to replace all these for not too much money (mostly
thanks to people in IML). I was also concerned a bit about the lack of
performance of the car in the state I got it, but after a tinkered with it
a bit, I got it to perform above my original expectations. I was
concerned about the steering wheel sicking and some serious power steering
leaks that seemed to require substantial work that I did not feel like
doing. But a bit of "liquid wrench" penetrating oil in the steering
column, two new O-rings on the gear box outlet, and a can of "stop leak"
from the autopart store seemed to have solved these problems. Yes, I have
seen 68's go for a lot less $, but it seems that I now have a reliable car
that handles, performs, and rides real nice, which I will probably keep a
long time to supplement my 68 sedan as daily transportation. True, cars
are not good investments if you expect to make money by selling them, but
the fact that I do not have to purchase a modern car (where I would have to
pay $20K or more for a little plastic motorized skateboard that will loose
half its value in 3 years) is an investment by itself...
D^2
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