American Car for 6 months...

[Douglas Dakota]

Thank you all for this very good hints,

Not certain if you just want transportation or also want to "experience" an American car.

Primaly, I need transportation. The experience comes later, only if possible.
I would go to Jacksonville, FL from Summer (August) to Winter (Februar).

[rosecitywanderer]

You can pick up a used Ford Taurus for a song. I've seen 2005/2006 model Tauruses selling for less than $8,000 and they're a solid American car. That would be my recommendation.

Enjoy your time in the States!

A 2005 Ford Taurus

[caution]

For fun, search for the "Top Gear" episode where they buy used American cars for a trip from Miami to New Orleans rather than rent a car for the trip. The intent was to sell the cars later. If you've not seen that spot, it's a riot. I thought of that when I read your first post :-)

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

If you'll be in the South, you mention Florida, something you might want to consider is an old pickup, something from the 60's or early '70's,

You're recommending he buy a truck from the 60's or early 70's?!? I could see 80's or 90's, but not that old. I wouldn't pay $500 for a 40 year old truck.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by dkf747

You're recommending he buy a truck from the 60's or early 70's?!? I could see 80's or 90's, but not that old. I wouldn't pay $500 for a 40 year old truck.

Let me guess, you are from the Rust Belt, no? And/or, your mechanical abilities are, shall we say, limited?

Example of what I'm talking about - I saw this in a local want ad paper - 1969 full-size Chevy pickup (did they make a small one in 69?), has a new 350 V-8, probably a "crate" engine, otherwise decent, probably has a newer stereo system (very easy to put in and out of these), probably it's been repainted at least once in it's career, they were asking $5000.

I have not actually looked at this truck so it may or may not be worth $5K, and may or may not be worth owning at all. But if it's been in the Inland Northwest it's entire career, it's quite likely the body is rust free, in any case there won't be any structural rust.

So rust isn't an issue, particularly not structural rust. Then there is wear.

First, wear on major assemblies: The truck has a recent engine, an engine swap in these old pickups is EASY. I forget about the transmission, but in 1969 GM simply did not put any weak or short-lived transmissions in trucks, and particularly the manuals are very easy to remove and replace, rebuilt units are available across the counter almost like a can of beans.

The rear axles in these don't last exactly forever, I guess it's *possible* to wear one out, but if it's kept full of gear lube, and the seal replaced if it wears out and leaks, they last many hundreds of thousands of miles. And even if it does not, good used units are available in junkyards, removal and replacement can take a few hours but again it's not hard.

Then there are the wear parts, stuff like brake shoes, sparkplugs, etc. Again all are readily available at any small-town parts store, at least around here they are, not expensive, not hard to change out.

So, a 1969 truck is 40 years old this year. So what? Obviously if you find one that has spent the last 20 years in a barn, or worse, a field, not running, it will take considerable work to put on the road, and you may be better off paying $5K for the one I saw advertized than to take such a vehicle on for free.

These old trucks remain popular with restorers, so things like headlight switches, other "stuff" in and on the dash are available new, but on these old rigs they usually don't give any trouble anyway.

Any of the above work can be done by a shop if the OP does not want to DIY. And any decent shop will be quite happy to work on this truck, they know it's only slightly more complicated than a hammer, parts that break and wear out are available and usually in stock, they can make money fixing it, they can keep the customer happy because they will do the simple maintenance and/or make the simple repair on time and on budget.

My daily drivers, for the most part, are an 82 Scirocco, an 87 Camry (was step-daughter's car, long story not worth re-telling) and occasionally the 72 MG-B. It's 40 miles one-way to work. In the last 10 years, I have had to call for a tow exactly twice - once with the B (something I should have anticipated but didn't) and once with the 'roc - the ignition switch quit while I was driving. With AAA the tow is free, and I think they are probably OK with the amount of towing I am using for my membership.

Without sinking megabucks in any of these 4, each one is considerably improved, mechanically, from the day I bought them. This is do-able but it requires skill and knowledge.

I would not expect much better reliability from late models, even cars so new that their value is dropping like an anvil in a Road Runner cartoon.

But, don't listen to me, listen to the friendly guy at your local dealer, the one in the white shoes and plaid pants...

[ferretkona]

If you try to sell a car back to a dealer you will walk away understanding you paid him to take it off your hands. You can usually buy and sell at the school.