The Suburban Saga

I drive a Ford Focus. At one point, every tire on each of my wheels was popped at least 4 times.

gary g. davis

Hope you're dried out and have a functional vehicle by now. Sam LIsker is an amazingly helpful fellow when it comes to everything Colt. I imagine you are already familiar with him, but if not, he might be willing to help with the episode I'd like to see about the 1911, or any other Colt issue you may want to pursue. Good luck to you and your team.

I have a 1972 f250 my grandpa gave me when I got back from Iraq and out of the army. I love this truck and will never get rid of it

ThatManitobaGuy

Van's are great, if you're not the one working on them. lol

Richard Anderson

I'm sure you'll get all sorts of advice, but the biggest question I've got is "do you really need 4WD???" If you look at commercial fleets there is a reason they don't use SUVs. Simple drive trains with a minimum of bells and whistles is the way to go. For me, the need for cargo and passenger capacity....and ease of maintenance and durability is best answered by your basic 3/4 ton van. I personally prefer the E-250 (regrettable no longer made), but all the counterparts will serve as well. While getting a low mileage one (defined as under 150K) is often hard in the pure cargo or passenger configuration, older low mileage ones can be found in the guise of a conversion van, which many families bought and used for vacation and weekends, putting on very little mileage compared to commercial counterparts. Rip out the fold down bed in the back to create cargo room and keep the captain chairs for long distance comfort. They have the same tow capacity as their pickup truck counterparts, so extra cargo is easily hauled by a trailer.

Guido R.

Maybe you should consider getting an older car e.g. 1950's-60's without all the unnecessary technology: easier to fix...

Bruce Brodnax

FWD = cheaper to build, more expensive to maintain. Get an older 940 or 740 series RWD sedan & drive happy...

C&Rsenal

The replacement is why I had to revert. It's a mess. I like the Land Cruisers but boy is there a premium here.

David Gummo

I work as a mechanic, i spend so much of my life fixing things. I buy new vehicles with a warranty and let it be someone else's headache.

John R. Dorn

GMC - got mechanic coming! My service truck is a 2018 Chevy van new in 12/17. What a POS! Battery, starter, control modules and ignition switch have been replaced already. When it feels like it the battery will be completely drained in the mourning.

Minion

Know nothing of US produced car model qualities, but I have owned a number of Toyotas, and it took a bit of effort to kill every one of them. BTW, ~50% of the cost for my recent t shirt purchase was shipping. I'm cool with that; if you getting your wheels sorted makes things easier for you, Mr Beardy, I just consider that my patronage at work.

ThatManitobaGuy

That's rough. Although the upside to GM's of that vintage is that most parts are cheap and plentiful. Though apparently those EVO solenoids were so bad that GM actually had a TSB for replacing them. Unfortunately that means that in the future if it fails again, a reman'd pump may be the only option. Upside though it completely eliminates that part as per GM. But if you're ever looking for a different vehicle, don't discount Toyota. If you need a larger SUV, Land Cruisers are never a bad option they had solid front axles for years and the Sequoia is a full sized based off of the Tundra. They're not the most fuel efficient but for reliability it's hard to go wrong.

ThatManitobaGuy

Am mechanic, can confirm. All it takes to turn a 2 hour job into an 8 hour job is one broken bolt.

Chris Crowther

Sometimes I'm glad I don't drive. Not very often, but sometimes.

Buy a 1998 Volvo V70 and you are the man for years to come, they do need some maintenance but they never seriously fail on you.

Erik

Some lifetime observations: 1. Cars suck. 2. Car payments suck. 3. Being free of car payments is AWESOME. BUT. . .1 . Lack of reliable transportation is NOT an option. 2. ESPECIALLY when you're hauling guns around. 3. ESPECIALLY when it's part of your business. 4. The peace of mind that comes with KNOWING it's going to start and run is huge. 5. Paying the dealer what they ask to fix the damn thing while you're handling the stuff that makes your life go is usually a worthwhile investment. 6. The time working lost and hospital bill from the ulcer a POS car causes is probably more expensive. I think you're at the point where you have a fairly good idea of what the channel can support and call it a business expense. A new Toyota typically takes about a quarter million miles to kill with spotty maintenance in my experience - still not sure how long it takes now that I no longer go under the hood myself or defer things. Even if cars are your hobby, the '65 Mustang shouldn't be what you rely on when you've got an expectant wife or a demanding YouTube channel to look after.

C&Rsenal

The price difference is insane!

C&Rsenal

You know, I had not put them on my list but I'll keep an eye out now.

I don't just feel your pain, I live it. I too have spent a lifetime of: buy a $600 junker, drive till it dies or breaks a part I can't afford. take it to the junk yard, buy another junker, mix and repeat. It is THE most economical way. and I admire those who still live this way.. Be safe folks!

Been there more times than I'd like to admit. Beast bet for an upgrade: mid-2000's Toyota Sequoia. They run forever. That is what we replaced the 1994 Tahoe with

Lucas Hagg

My father is a car mechanic, Sodom's Touch comes about around once a week.

C&Rsenal

I can sincerely say firearms are the one area where I excel at bringing them back to life. If I had more time I'd go into machine tool education and take on Mark's job.

Sodom's touch is a fact of life for a lot of people, at least you have a soft touch with the guns