[quote=spdrun] . . . I much preferred the glassy, airy look of 80s and 90s cars.[/quote]
Me too. And they’re MUCH more “streamlined” looking. They don’t have 1.5 to 3 ft of their trunks cut off and a portion of the trunk shoved under the back seat resulting in less interior room for MORE $$$$, like the post-2000 sedans are built. This is true for nearly all makes and models.
One of the main problems with the interior of vehicles of this era which are still on the road is LED failure in the dash. However these problems can be fixed, either with piecemeal aftermarket parts or simply dropping a new (rebuilt) console into the dash (if most or all of the necessary gauges in the electronic dash went out).
Believe it or not, a HUGE cottage industry exists for older vehicle parts, both hard parts and all manner of interior and exterior (body) parts. If an owner of an older-vehicle subscribes to online databases nationwide, it doesn’t take too long at all for almost anything their vehicle needs to become available for purchase and shipping … even something small but annoying like a stretched out seatbelt or one with a broken clip! Most salvaged or rebuilt hard parts have a 90-day or more guarantee and used/rebuilt engines/transmissions usually have a one-year guarantee. Most electronic parts out of major wrecking yards have been bench-tested prior to advertising for sale and have a 90-day guarantee.
I recently scored a 20-year-old trunk-mounted CD changer made by Pioneer for Toyota in excellent condition which was OEM for my vehicle on e-bay for $60. I had it installed by Progressive in SD and it is so awesome to have my music again! I didn’t have to pay for rewiring or destroy my vehicle’s factory dash and I can now play my platters on the road again 🙂
I haven’t been able to successfully find a way to play mp3s inside my car. Three different brands of audiocassette adapters all failed to work properly (even after cracking them open and tinkering with them), due to the auto-reverse feature of my cassette deck. I haven’t been able to find any direct way to play music from my phones (with active and inactive SIMS) inside my car.
There is always more than nine ways to skin a cat, folks. The bottom line is that older vehicles are much cheaper to operate and insure … yes, even with repairs factored in. I just outfitted mine with a set of 4 new comfy V-rated Michelins with a 3-yr alignment on Monday and then went home and applied for my $70 rebate. I am now ready to hit the road again!
