anyone get frustrated maintaining your "fleet"?

[mizzou]

I feel like every time I fix one of my cars, the other one goes to crap. They are both paid off and not worth alot, but they both serve a fine purpose for me

97' SL2 saturn DOHC, nice peppy city car
02' 1500 chevy 5.3l V8 4x4 , nice utility truck and very comfy


Finally have my Saturn working, now my freaking chevy won't start, problem w/either just dirty battery terminals or of course something much more expensive to replace.... at least there are viable junkyard options for this POS!!

gahhh, i really need a garage for these don't I?

 

[jlee]

lmao, garage would be nice...wish I had one!

'91 MR2 - usually great, out for paint now
'05 tundra - never had a problem, for sale
'04 Subaru - due for t-belt service (just purchased, knew that ahead of time)
'00 SV650 - usually ok, but regulator died last year and stranded me
'91 MR2 #2 - needs engine (bought as-is)

Usually I have one that's pretty much guaranteed to work, but the MR2 has gone down a few times for suspension rebuild, gasket replacement, etc..so I know the feeling. At least you have one working though!

 

[mizzou]

lmao, garage would be nice...wish I had one!

'91 MR2 - usually great, out for paint now
'05 tundra - never had a problem, for sale
'04 Subaru - due for t-belt service (just purchased, knew that ahead of time)
'00 SV650 - usually ok, but regulator died last year and stranded me
'91 MR2 #2 - needs engine (bought as-is)

Usually I have one that's pretty much guaranteed to work, but the MR2 has gone down a few times for suspension rebuild, gasket replacement, etc..so I know the feeling. At least you have one working though!

Suppose I should mention that i also have a 06' Honda Civic, but it's my wifes baby and of course it gets to sit in our 1 tiny car garage lol

so I never think that one counts =)

 

[T2urtle]

my fleet isn't bad.

05 G35x 50k - no problems, needs summer tires
98 maxima 120k -just did brakes all around, needs CV axle
96 camry 130k - just did brakes,axle, VC gasket. Has minor oil leak
03 lancer 60k - just did t-belt and tuneup. SHOULD need nothing but this has been the worst of the 4 cars to date.


all cars have general maintenance done roughly on time or on my time. all 4 are DD and have a 98% start up since owned. Normally one will go down and one might need work so i do both repairs at the same time.

 

[CraigRT]

A little. It's pretty much just the 14 year old Saturn. (just got new clutch/used trans)
the Nissan requires fairly little attention.

 

[StageLeft]

Yep pretty much hate it and it's why I replaced my Maxima with a Prius a few months ago. The Maxima was by no means an unreliable car but it had 135k and my minivan has 90k and between the two I was spending a little more time on things than I wanted. This isn't a slight really against them (as they've not been problem prone for the miles on them), but still I work every day and have enough other projects going on that coming home and fixing, for example, brakes just isn't fun anymore. So now I maintain one car only

 

[angry hampster]

'03 Volkswagen and 1983 Harley Davidson. Yeah, maintenance is frequent and irritating.

 

[shortylickens]

Yeah I dont mind the Murcielago or the Enzo but that fucking McLaren is just way too much trouble, and I hardly ever take the Noble and Pagani out to drive anymore, and I still dont like the color of my Saleen so that will need to get tossed in a landfill as well.

I FUCKING HATE YOU RICH ANANDTECHERS!
DIE!!!!

Seriously though, at this point I cant even imagine a world in which I own two cars. I could have imagined it back in 06 or 07. It wouldnt have happened then either, but I could imagine it.

 

[CraigRT]

Yeah I dont mind the Murcielago or the Enzo but that fucking McLaren is just way too much trouble, and I hardly ever take the Noble and Pagani out to drive anymore, and I still dont like the color of my Saleen so that will need to get tossed in a landfill as well.

I FUCKING HATE YOU RICH ANANDTECHERS!
DIE!!!!

Seriously though, at this point I cant even imagine a world in which I own two cars. I could have imagined it back in 06 or 07. It wouldnt have happened then either, but I could imagine it.

You can own 2 cars, just don't shoot for the stars
I've owned my 96 Satty for a while, paid $800 for her.. Been a good car considering what I paid.

 

[CRXican]

both of mine need tires, I have a set waiting to go on the Evo but I'm holding off on the Miata because I want wheels too

 

[Greenman]

It gets old fast. My pickup just cruised through 175k and it's starting to use some oil. It also needs ball joints. I may have to buy a new one in the next year or so.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Blech.

Did some minor R&R on my 97 Subaru wagon (pushing 240K) for my fiancee to DD.

Cleaning up her 2000 Nissan Altima to sell. Needed oil pan & valve cover gaskets and next is cleaning, claying & buffing.

My 06 Legacy GT. Where to start. Did most of the 60K service, still have coolant & diff fluid to do. Changed clutch. Intercooler hose decided to leak about a dozen times over the next couple weeks; I think I've finally got it cinched down properly.

I also need to replace an exhaust gasket that was torn up from the clutch job, de-glaze the rotors to hopefully solve brake shuddering, replace a wheel stud that doesn't thread properly, finish the 60K service, install a set of sway bars, get new tires mounted on stock wheels, clean up & sell my 18's, install full stereo, re-wire the stock high beams and fix a CCFL "halo" ring in the passenger's side headlight.

Yeah, it gets old. I was making good progress until a ridiculous heat wave hit South FL and it never got below 80 with high humidity. Mid-day was 100+ heat index. Ugh.

 

[skyking]

Yes, I'm still replacing worn out stuff on my tow vehicle. I need a new steering box and shaft for my truck, that is $700 in parts.

 

[JulesMaximus]

2003 Nissan Maxima
2006 Lexus IS250
2008 Suzuki SV650

The Lexus is my wife's car so whenever it needs service she just takes it to the dealership and gets a free loaner car. This car goes through tires like mad though...we're on the third set with barely 60,000 miles on the car.

The Maxima is mine and I am the original owner so all service has been done per the owner's manual. It has almost 90,000 miles on it and it has been a good car with relatively few problems.

I also bought the bike new and it has 12,000 trouble free miles on it already. I'm on the third set of tires too.

 

[T2urtle]

Seriously though, at this point I cant even imagine a world in which I own two cars. I could have imagined it back in 06 or 07. It wouldnt have happened then either, but I could imagine it.

its not all that bad. helpful in some cases. doesn't cost a arm and leg. In most cases its cheaper or close to.

assume you have one nice car 1-2 years old. full coverage obviously, drive 9 month in good weather. pick up a $1000 beater for the winter, just pick up liability, drop the nice car to garage insurance, cuts down about half. Dont risk getting rusty car, dumb drivers in snow. less wear and tear.

Another big plus is, the beater you can just use it to transport anything dirty and not worry about damages to trim and etc. All the cars in my "fleet" is driven daily for the most part all interchangeable.

 

[Zargon]

2008 saturn astra(wifes car)
93 grand cherokee 4wd v8
06 yamaha R6v
93 yamaha FZR 600

my wifes car is always due for an oil change and tire rotation at the worst times.....

my jeep needs lots of things, shocks/springs all around, oil pan gasket leak fixed, but at 177K, and some rust(its a 93) im slow to do much to it as it could die whenever

the R6 is only worked on to upgrade something, and my FZR needs so much its insane, but im halfway through a fell redo minus frame and motor.

it would be easy peasy if my house didnt want so much attention

 

[BurnItDwn]

My "fleet" consists of an 08 forester, which has no problems and needs no work.

Otherwise I have a pair of yamaha phazers (480cc).
One of them needs carb cleaned, has electrical issues (no lights!), and no brakes .. but starts on the 1st pull
One of them works fine

 

[hanoverphist]

my truck is at the stage of needing some serious updating, 186k miles on it. my cadillac is needing some interior love and a paint job, as well as new tires. my bike is a mess, sitting out back with no seat and flat tires. i was going to put new rims/ tires on the cadillac this summer, but my truck took precedence for tires. guess ill put some on the cadi in a few months.

it doesnt really bother me to have to maintain 3 old, getting worn out vehicles. as long as i have the cash to do it, which i rarely do.

 

[angry hampster]

2003 Nissan Maxima
2006 Lexus IS250
2008 Suzuki SV650

The Lexus is my wife's car so whenever it needs service she just takes it to the dealership and gets a free loaner car. This car goes through tires like mad though...we're on the third set with barely 60,000 miles on the car.

The Maxima is mine and I am the original owner so all service has been done per the owner's manual. It has almost 90,000 miles on it and it has been a good car with relatively few problems.

I also bought the bike new and it has 12,000 trouble free miles on it already. I'm on the third set of tires too.

Do you DD the bike, or is it just a weekend/evening cruiser? I DD'd my Harley last year and am kicking myself for it this year.

 

[Zargon]

Do you DD the bike, or is it just a weekend/evening cruiser? I DD'd my Harley last year and am kicking myself for it this year.

why?

harley break on ya?


juuuuuuuuuuust kidding

 

[rancherlee]

02' Mercury Mountaineer V8, loves to eat COP units and wheel bearings. Keep a spare COP in the glove box and the wheel bearings are easy enough to change where ever they go bad.

83' Ford Bronco, 300-6 and a 4 speed, 315,000 miles on it and my dad bought it new. So far its needed a fuel pump, alternator, 1 set of ball joints, and a fuel tank (rusted out)........... who says 80's american made vehicles were junk, this one has a VERY SMALL repair list.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

No fleet. 98 Cavalier (102k), 06 Lincoln LS (29k).
Extremely nice having >= 2 cars when one needs servicing / downtime.

 

[mizzou]

just wrenched out my starter getting ready to bench test....wow, these things aren't cheap...even rebuilt 8|

 

[angry hampster]

just wrenched out my starter getting ready to bench test....wow, these things aren't cheap...even rebuilt 8|

What car?

 

[slashbinslashbash]

OMG Yes! I made the decision about 6 months ago to sell my nice 2008 truck and buy cheap, older used cars that I would work on myself. What a wonderful experience that has been.

Intake manifold gasket on the '96 Suburban, now needs fuel pump (not to mention work on the A/C and radio before it's really drivable here in Texas)
Cracked head on '99 Saturn
Oil spew in '97 Saturn
'91 S-15 Jimmy (recently obtained from my parents -- was my high school DD) dies at idle -- replaced rotor, cap, wires, plugs

I'm getting tired of all this crap and I'm just going to take the Jimmy to a mechanic and pay them to fix it. I'm going to replace the fuel pump in the Suburban and then sell it before something else goes bad. I'm going to finish up the head replacement on the '99 Saturn and pray that nothing else goes wrong with it. The '97 Saturn will be driven until it dies, and then we'll sell it and buy another late 90's Saturn with <100k.