Classic Car VS New Car

[jackfaire]

Living with my mom I am looking at extending that into the long term in order to have the kind of disposable income one has with two roommates.

I am planning on saving up to pay cash for a car. Trying to decide if I should get a newer car or if I should buy a classic car.

What would you do?

[Greenday]

If money wasn't an issue, I'd buy a Stingray Corvette. Or a Shelby Cobra. Or a 69' Dodge Charger. Or an early 70s Dodge Challenger...

Whoops. Getting carried away. Does that answer your question?

[protege]

LOL I'm more of an MGB guy myself...

Jack, right now, I have the best of both worlds. There's a '69 MGB GT in my garage...but my daily-driver is a 2007 Toyota Corolla. Of the two, the Corolla is the easiest to own--just jump in, and go. It's a nice car, but it's pretty boring. That is, it's no sports car! Very little driver involvement other than keeping it pointed in a straight line. The MG though, never fails to put a smile on one's face. Nothing I've driven can match it's appeal, especially in the twisty parts. After having mine back on the road nearly 2 years, I see why they sold in huge numbers, why so many are still around, and why many people remember them fondly.

Also notable, is that a new car is more of an 'appliance,' than a car. That is, if something goes wrong, I can't break out the tools and fix it. Many classics though, are easily fixed...once you understand how their systems work. Hell, many times you can *improve* on things as well. For example, up until recently, the MG still ran ignition points! The older system worked, so I didn't change it. That is, until the points closed up, and fried themselves. After some messing about, I felt it worthwhile to fit an electronic ignition instead.

Jack, also think about this--the older the car, the more maintenance it's going to require to work correctly. Sure, my sports car looks and runs great. But, it does need some small jobs. Not all of the parts were renewed when I was restoring it. Many things, mainly the suspension, were still good. Rather than replace them, those parts were cleaned up and reused. Eventually though, they'll have to be replaced--I've already made plans to rebuild the rear suspension over the upcoming winter.

[HYHYBT]

A car from the last, say, ten years will be more reliable as-is than anything from the 80's or older would be fully restored. Safer too; no air bags or antilock brakes in anything much older than 1990, and they improve them every few years; no, the fact that an old car has a lot more steel in it won't make up for that. And the older cars that are appealing are almost exclusively worse on gas mileage than newer ones; something to consider. Oh, and they're usually more comfortable as well.

On the other hand, you have... character. Which itself is a good thing, but to me, something to wait on unless and until you can have it as a second car, not one you have to rely on. My choice, if I could have any car I wanted, you'd never believe: a 1971 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, blue interior. Personal reasons. But even if I had one right now, and it were in brand-new condition, I'd drive my real car most of the time.

(I actually *do* have a hood ornament, piston and rod, timing gear, left rear interior door panel, and set of hubcaps from one. Even odder, except for the gear and the hood ornament, I don't know where they are!)

[Hobbs]

Nothing beats an '86 Corolla though, Protege. Or a classic RX-7...idk, the '8s look weird to me.

If I got a true classic car, I think I'd get something bulky, not a sporty car.

Newer cars...definitely a '99 WRX.

[Cassandra]

I would double check with DMV regulations. Here in NJ you can not put more than a few thousand miles on a classic car every year due to emissions. That's why alot of classic car nuts here only take them out on really nice weekends in the spring, summer, and early fall. The rest of the time it's a newer car. I would love to have a 57 Chevy Bel Aire convertable, but The money required to buy and maintain one is just too much.

[protege]

In PA, most classic-car owners get antique or classic plates. Both hit you up with annual mileage restrictions--IIRC 1,500 and 3,000 respectively. Both are exempt from emissions testing, but only antique is except from the safety check. One thing I like about those plates...is that you don't have to pay the $36.00 registration renewal fee every year. They never expire, and you only pay if you're transferring the title.

Also, because of the mileage caps, insurance for classics is usually less expensive versus a more modern vehicle. Right now, the cost of insuring my MG...for the entire year...is about an eighth of what the Corolla costs Of course that's because the MG isn't a daily-driver, and is kept on the driveway or garage. It's only seen snow once, mainly because my family's other car was wrecked. I try not to get road salt on it, since I'm not about let it get rusty again.