Ok, 1 year update time. Gotta say, the year has gone fast and it still feels like a new (to me) car. Lots of things I still want to do to it and definitely see myself keeping it for a while longer. Original plan was to go to 300,000 and re-evaluate. I think I'll stick to that plan. I don't see myself adding any crazy mods as I still haven’t really tested what it can do in stock form.
The purpose of this post (and thread) was to show what my experience has been like with a higher milage cruiser, specifically in terms of cost. This is a weird experiment by me to see what the operating costs are of this vehicle and compare it to buying a new car and facing steep depreciation. We all see plenty of posts from folks looking to get into a 100 and saying something like ..."I know these can go 500,00+ without issue" etc. I hope my journey can show that "without issue" is a relative term. Engine and transmission, sure, no issue. But there is always going to be something else that you may need to fix, depending on what you want to put up with.
Here's what I did this last 12 months on the mechanical side. I’ve done various little other cosmetic things, etc. I’ll exclude those.
12/16
Purchased - 2004 LC, 241,xxx mi. $10,500
Baselining; $1,468, fluids, front shocks and CV's
2/17
Tires; Cooper AT3 $1,105.68
3/17
Steering rack bushings + install $354
Alignment $89
Torsion bar adjust $45
7/17
T-Belt, Water Pump, heater T's $1,197.10
10/17
Battery; $140
Total Maint. Cost $4,398.78
Mileage - 252,xxx
Again, this is just my experience. You could spend less if you do the work yourself.
So first year expenses were pretty high, but I wanted the peace of mind. The coming years expenses should be far less. Tires, TBelt service were a good chunk of it.
Keeping an eye on the Cruiser market, I do think my purchase price was a tad high and if I would have held out longer or traveled, I could have got one with more of the maintenance done already.
On tap for the next 12 months;
-Chase down the new squeak in the front suspension.
-New steering wheel? Maybe wood one from
eBay.
-Rear shocks + some new bushings.
