[NA] Help me choose a car.

[imQ]

Interesting, I'm getting the same demand (collision parts only, no mech). Guess that makes them a pretty sound platform.

Q: Is your place a salvage yard? Would I know it? Mine's Denton County Auto Salvage.

Howard Parts Distribution Center, part of Group 1 Auto. We sell the wholesale parts for everything they have in the OKC area. 32 parts salespeople, and about 12 million in (new) GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda/Acura, and Nissan parts. (With a smattering of Mercedes, Jag and Volvo tossed in.) We run trucks down your way every night, and if one of our outside salesmen haven't been by, tell me, and I'll have the boss shoot them all.
Bet we probably share some customers here and there.

 

[AggieMike88]

Howard Parts Distribution Center, part of Group 1 Auto. We sell the wholesale parts for everything they have in the OKC area. 32 parts salespeople, and about 12 million in (new) GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda/Acura, and Nissan parts. (With a smattering of Mercedes, Jag and Volvo tossed in.) We run trucks down your way every night, and if one of our outside salesmen haven't been by, tell me, and I'll have the boss shoot them all.
Bet we probably share some customers here and there.

Nope. Haven't talked to nary a one of your folk. But if'n your prices are decent, I would have need to add you to my resource list.

On occasion we need to add a new OEM item to an assembly we are selling (such as a front clip). And since I take the philosophical route that I'm here to solve a customer's problem (they need the part), I occasionally give up my big profit on a recycled part for a very small profit on a new part if I've committed to supplying said part and then discover that what I was planning to send won't pass the quality standards. And saying "Sorry, I no longer have and won't supply" is gonna put them behind the cycle time eight ball in a big way.

So perhaps I've provided a reason for you to fly down to Denton? Meet up for eats, talk some parts, take a lap or two around DTO's pattern....

 

[tonycondon]

Nah Tony, you really want a Mercedes 300D. They will tow nicely run on straight veggie oil, and you can't destroy them

yea maybe when Uhl is ready to sell the one he got from Adam's uncle.

 

[tonycondon]

We have a 2001 Silverado V-6 Auto Trans with a flat bed that we've clocked over 450k on. We make a DTO-FTW-DAL triangle daily with some runs to Wichita Falls and Sherman/Denison. You betcha we do regular preventative Mx to it. But it goes to prove the design and longevity if you take care of them.

To many folks treat their cars like disposable lighters.

my dad had a 1989 full size 2WD chevy pickup with the V6 and 400 transmission on it. he used it for delivering pizzas. probably among the worst kind of driving you can do. in town, 16 yr old drivers, trying to get places fast. it had 100K when he bought it and the engine blew the first night. put a new one it and ran it another 100K until the transmission blew. put a new transmission on it and a 70' tall tree fell over in a big storm and landed right on top of the truck.

chris' old truck doesnt do too bad although i might look into what it would take to get new rings in it. a nice cloud of blue smoke blows out every time i start it and it goes through about a quart of oil every 1000 miles. not too bad but it definitely feels soft in the power department. doubt it would pass a compression check might just look at what it would cost to put a new engine it. don't live in salt-land anymore and the frame and body is in really good shape.

 

[Trapper John]

If you're just getting a puff of blue smoke at startup, it's probably valve seals. If it smokes under load, then it's probably rings.

 

[CJones]

chris' old truck doesnt do too bad although i might look into what it would take to get new rings in it. a nice cloud of blue smoke blows out every time i start it and it goes through about a quart of oil every 1000 miles. not too bad but it definitely feels soft in the power department. doubt it would pass a compression check might just look at what it would cost to put a new engine it. don't live in salt-land anymore and the frame and body is in really good shape.

Interesting. You must be driving it hard - try to keep it out of the ditches and it'll last longer.

That engine was partially rebuilt at around 90k miles. The main rear bearing went out and scarred the crankshaft so they had to replace both the crank and bearing. Then the replacement crank broke in half going down the road at 60mph. It was a good shop, so they made their supplier pay for 3 new pistons and honing of a couple of cylinders and a true 'new' crank.

It has been used to pull trailers, haul wood, etc. etc. throughout its life, so it hasn't been an 'easy' 250,000 miles. The body and frame have held up well, though - despite 10+ years in the salt belt.

Your power problem is probably because you patched that hole in the exhaust - it had homemade powerflow exhaust on it before.

 

[tonycondon]

the truck has never been in a ditch.

i wouldnt say its a power problem it just seems that it should accelerate a bit faster. i guess its about what i would expect on an engine that old. i'm willing to trade horsepower for fixing that damn hole in the exhaust that was making me go deaf.

 

[CJones]

the truck has never been in a ditch.

i wouldnt say its a power problem it just seems that it should accelerate a bit faster. i guess its about what i would expect on an engine that old. i'm willing to trade horsepower for fixing that damn hole in the exhaust that was making me go deaf.

Might also want to check the timing on it. A few years ago, the distributor would slip a little and it would be a dog out of the hole. I had to adjust the timing a couple of degrees every few months for about a year, then it found a spot that it liked and I never had to touch it again. It might have twisted out again.

Also, I've heard that SeaFoam does wonders for old dogs like that. I haven't ever tried it, though.

 

[tonycondon]

good point. i set the timing when i was chasing gremlins last summer and replaced the distributor cap. maybe its time to check it again.

 

[mikea]

That is pretty common in urban areas that use Town Cars in taxi service. The things are tanks that last forever.

But, it's not hip, hence their low resale value and popularity.

That, and getting 12MPG gets old after a while.

I was actually thinking of getting one for a while and even looked at an old Mercury Marquis until my sanity returned.

I do need something has lotsa room on the inside. I got a Sable wagon and it doesn't quite cut it.

 

[weilke]

I do need something has lotsa room on the inside. I got a Sable wagon and it doesn't quite cut it.

It's a shame that nobody makes real station wagons anymore. All you can get are SUVs , crossovers and minivans.

 

[Ted]

If you're just getting a puff of blue smoke at startup, it's probably valve seals. If it smokes under load, then it's probably rings.

I was thinking that as well. Changing the valve seals isn't such a bad job, but it's also not something that I'd bother doing if I could avoid it. A compression check on that truck shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes, and will tell you which one it actually needs.

As to the power, I find that fuel and timing are the typical problems of low power. Oh, and the fact that you're missing 2 cylinders.

 

[Ted]

That, and getting 12MPG gets old after a while.

Where have you seen them get 12 mpg? Even in city driving I got close to 20 with mine, although that wasn't NYC driving. My Town Car consistently got 25 mpg on the highway, typically going around 80 mph or so.

My Excursion gets 13-15 mpg on the highway (worse in the winter, better in the summer). I typically get about 11-12 mpg in my daily driving cycle, but that's primarily highway.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Everyone that I have talked to that has a Ford Fusion seems to be pretty happy.

You could try sitting in one. I was OK in the back seat but I am only 6'. If I recall correctly, I didn't have to push the front seat all the way back when I drove one.

Dunno what the prices are running right now.

(On the way back from a meeting just now I got to listen to a cow orker go on and on about how great their Fusion is, gets better than sticker mileage, etc.)