Norma's 1998 Mazda 626 just keeps running and gets pretty much ignored maintenance wise. Oh, it gets oil changes, tires and whatever else it needs when something fails but it has never had a real tuneup and at 181,000 KM (112,000 Miles) still had it's original timing belt.
So a few days ago we decided to give it a treat and sent it in. Changing the timing belt involves getting inside the engine so as long as he was in there it made sense to change a couple of other things as well so with a tuneup it turned into a pretty big job.
The mechanic called at noon to say it was ready to be picked up and the bill was $1,120 CAN ($830 US). It runs the same as it did before but now it will be good for another couple of hundred thousand kilometers. Norma likes it but it's not my favorite car I have owned, that title probably belongs to my first car, a 1959 Volvo 144, the old fastback model I bought in 1963. the year I graduated and got my first full time job. It was a rally car, fun to drive and indestructible!
Repairs do need to get done if we want to keep driving the vehicles
ReplyDeleteMy 1959 Volvo was one on my favourite cars as well, Loved the fast back style and yes it sure was fun to drive. But back then in the 60's I was buying and selling cars all the time.
Loved those old Volvos! We owned several of them in the early years until we switched to Japanese brands when the new Volvos got too expensive.
DeleteI loved my 59 , only Volvo I had, but like you said they got expensive.
DeleteMoney well spent on that tough car. You've extended its life by another 100,000 miles.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they stay dependable and the average maintenance costs stay down to $500 - $600 per year, we will keep driving the old Mazda and Honda!
DeleteAs you said Indestructible. That's the way cars were made back in the day. Unfortunately we've become a disposable society in order to keep the economy going.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
We have been very lucky with both our cars, things seldom go wrong with them.
DeleteI was thinking about that and realized back in the 60s and 70s most American cars were done by the time they got 100,000 miles. Now American cars can go much farther before they wear out. They still aren't as good as most Japanese but they are a lot better than they used to be.
DeleteInteresting comment Don! Yes, cars do last much longer now. I don't really know why.. better lubricants? better manufacturing methods (closer tolerances)? better materials?
DeleteBack in the day we started thinking about replacing cars at 50 - 60 thousand miles. Now that is considered "just broken in" and 150,000 is considered "low mileage".
In my high school, all the cool kids were driving the newly-debuted Ford Mustang, and the nerdy kids were driving VW bugs.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't change the timing belt every 5 yrs it's a gamble..If the belt goes the engine is toast..I have replaced 2 belts on 2 of my vehicles and asked to see the old belts. They looked as new..Dang!..$800...but if they had broken those 2 rides would be in the crusher,,$800x2......
ReplyDeleteI don't bet the ponies or gamble...Even with a 50-50 chance I've always picked the wrong 50%..
One is riding behind my Winnebago now, and I'm not worried, at least about the timing belt...
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