Remember the Old Clunkers ?

Interesting article:

https://www.cypher-news.com/2025/10/the-death-of-the-beater-car/

 

As someone with a teen about to get their license I know about how it’s pretty impossible to find a cheap car anymore. A hand me down car from the parents or relatives is what many seem to do these days. The kid gets a free car and the parents get a new car and new car payments. It’s too bad all those XJ Cherokees were sent to the junkyard from cash for clunkers. Many of them would still be drivable today.

 

I had a 68 Buck Skylark that only ran in reverse, so we had to swap the transmission before I could even drive it. What a great core memory


My eldest got a hand me down from my mom, a 10 yr old CRV and my youngest got my FJ :/

 

Is this article a parody? Seriously, are they so dumb that they blame a policy that ended so long ago that the new cars then could be considered clunkers now? Get over it FFS.
1. Just because cash for clunkers took a lot of old cars off the road doesn't stop the process of new cars becoming old, what was a new car then would now qualify as a clunker. If you don't think they became clunkers, you have to find another reason because it ended long after.
2. Literally everyone I knew in college drove a vehicle far older than what would be considered a clunker. A 02 CRV, 94 Tempo, 05 Ranger. They still exist. If you live in the East, blame salt, because old cars still exist in the west.
3. There is a car price floor set by the value of scrap metal, you aren't going to get a sub-1k car anymore because most people would rather sell it to a scrapper than deal with an endless line of "Is it still available?" time wasters on market place just to get $400 extra

This is just curmudgeons reminiscing about something that still exists while doing their favorite thing- blaming Obama

 

More and more young people would rather not need a car at all. Well-planned infrastructure and effective public transportation are becoming more popular.

 

It's a shame. It's not so much "needing a car", but when I started driving (1977) we looked at the "freedom" aspect of having a driver's license. I can remember the 1950 Ford I started with, when the cassette/AM/FM came out, had to have one. So we put the 12 volt radio in a 6 volt system car, then had to convert the 6 volt to 12 volt, well, the old wiring in the car couldn't hack it, started the dash on fire and I watched my $65.00 investment burn to the ground, plus my new radio. Used beater cars now days don't really seem like beaters, 100,000 miles on a used car isn't something to be afraid of, but it'll cost ya!

 

Those are older than a clunker? LOL.

 

Yes, a rather strange curiosity. I couldn't wait till I was able to get a driver's license and my first car. A friend said her son did not even get his permit till he was 18. LOL And he wasn't in a hurry for that. Maybe for some it's less expensive to take Uber than purchasing, insurance, gas, and maintenance of a second hand vehicle (?)

 

I don’t think that’s the norm. Maybe just for city kids. Kids out in the suburbs and country want their license ASAP. The parents want them to get it quickly too so they can stop needing to drive them everywhere.

 

80s Toyotas and even some GMs, Fords and Chryslers were indestrutable and lot of them got clunkered. think GM W and B bodies, Jimmy/Blazers, Ford Fox and Panther bodies, Broncos, and Chrysler M bodies.

 

It was a dumb program that didn’t take into account the energy needed to build a new vehicle. A lot of perfectly good vehicles were wasted.

 

Want or need?

 

One thing about it that got me annoyed was it wasted a lot of cars that owners can work on themselves, rather than having to have computer diagnostics to do simple things.

More than a few Toyotas with 22 engines got send to their early grave when their dipstick owners decided to get a k or two out of it and get an Escape or something.

 

My 1st car, 1969 Pontiac Lemans Sport….$600, full of rust but ran perfect. Every time I went over RR tracks it lost a couple pounds. Drove it from upstate NY to the SF Bay Area when I was 20yrs old(50yrs ago) for a drafting job. ZERO problems with that car.

 

Both

 

LOL !!! That was certainly the case with my Grand kids.

 

LOL. I'm 75. My first car in 1966 was a 1962 Rambler Classic with an inline-6 and a push button automatic. It had a dent in the left side front fender. But ran well. Paid $150.00 for it. During the first year it needed a new generator, voltage regulator, and battery. Don't recall what the three parts cost, but it was under $100.00. Installed them myself with a new fan belt under supervision of a neighbor guy who was older and more knowledgeable. Drove that car trouble free for two years and sold it for what I paid for it. Back then, it was easy to find cars like this. And you could do most of the maintenance yourself.

 

Now it costs $70 for a set of spark plugs. Crazy.

 

My grandmother had a '65 Rambler. She gave it to my POS dad (her son-in-law) and he trashed it (it's okay; his alcoholism eventually finished him off in 2008). She bought a new '73 Hornet which my mom eventually got to ferry me and brother around in. Those were the good ol' days, but I still prefer my 4Runner.

 

Yeah they're pushing 20 years old, far older than what was considered old in the 90s. The Tempo was getting close to 30 years old at the time.

 

Are you talking about the same Tempo or just Tempo in general? The Tempo was introduced for the 1984 model year so by 2009, the first Tempos would be about 25 year old by 2009, not quite pushing 30 years old just yet. The 94 tempo would have been just 15 years old at the time of C4C.

 

LOL !!! One of the first things that happens when you retire is that you become a taxi for the grand kids. There's no negotiating. It's just an assumed. LOL

 

How long ago were you in college?

 

So your first car was only $150 and it was only 4 years old? And you all can't understand why kids don't give a shit about driving today? Shits expensive now.

Back in the day, it was "freedom" because it provided the ability to explore and learn new things. Now days, a kid can learn more on their phone in 10 minutes than you could learn in 10 years exploring in your car 60 years ago.

Many things have changed drastically in the past 60 years, some people still struggle to comprehend these things

 

Of course, you're right. Many things have changed. And yes, stuff is way too expensive. Don't know how couples in their 20's make out today. As late as 2013 I bought my Grandson his first car when he was 17 in high school. 2004 Toyota Corolla, base model with 60K one-owner miles. Dealer installed two new front tires and front brake pads. Paid $8,000.00 for that car. Don't think you could find one similar today for that price.

 

I got my parents old 79 Buick Century station wagon. Fit 12 of my friends in there many times.

For my kids i got them an Old Jeep Cherokee V8 that got like 10mpg. Was a great investment for $500 and my son learned quick on how to work on cars and the need for a job just to pay for gas, lasted a long time too. Only negative is my son has not purchased anything but Jeeps since then. lol

 

I’m aging out of being one of the young un’s (late-20’s) but a car today is very much a sizable expense and combined with the death of third spaces where younger folks can exist without being expected to pay contributes.

I was all about that freedom because I was out in the suburbs where a bicycle took me maybe to Giant or a CVS and already a car nerd - but no way I could have supported a vehicle with just my help-desk job in college. (Didn't get license until 18 since mom didn't want to have to go to the courthouse)

Used cars are pricier, (COVID-19 disruption and subsequent price hikes did more than C4C) insurance, repairs/parts are pricier, between aforementioned factors the computer/internet as a place for entertainment and socialization is hotter than ever before for better and for worse. (Video games, streaming are a great-to-solid hour/dollar value compared to many things like the movies or an arcade.)

This is limited to those with more car knowledge but I'd feel the bottom-end-of-the-market car shopping is a minefield too. (always was to an extent I will admit) Stretching to buy something decent and then hoping you don't step on the mine of the CVT fluid never being changed, the buying a theft/vandalism-magnet and then the engine seizing on the thief (HyunKia), etc.

Honestly I'd say it makes a used EV a pretty appealing choice just for putting around locally even with some battery wear but not sure they'd be cheap enough either. (and you'll be living with your parents anyway at that age because rent so you'll be able to charge)

You can spend a lot on taxi's, delivery, etc. these days before you hit the cost of a month of insurance alone but of course this is highly location and lifestyle dependent.

 

In the 70s and earlier, cars were not expected to last much past 100k miles and in the snow belt, 4 year old cars with prior accident were not exactly in great demand. But even then, 150 dollars then adjusted for inflation is around 1600 today. In parts of the country you can still get 5-10 year old cars with some miles for 2-3k a piece as long as you are willing to overlook a few faults, like a messed up fender and such.

Things are expensive today because enough buyers keeping paying for expensive things, no questions asked. Much like student loans, medical costs, etc, once the financing becomes easier, prices go up. Toyota still sells perfectly fine 22k Corollas but every new car buyer wants three rows, 4x4, 300HP, 50mpg, electronic everything, powered tailgate SUV to drive their potential 1.7 children to day care, so the corollas are now Uber and Doordash specials or for really old people who don't need a Suburban to go to the store.

 

"You can spend a lot on taxi's, delivery, etc. these days before you hit the cost of a month of insurance alone but of course this is highly location and lifestyle dependent."

A friend of mine who just turned 66 can't drive due to a back injury and surgery. But walks ok with a cane. He lives alone. He has Door Dash deliver his groceries every 10 days or so. Anything else he needs can also be delivered. He said that 90% of where he needs to go is within 5 miles. He said that it wasn't until he had to stop driving and is retired, that Uber was way less expensive than owning a vehicle. Even if it was paid for. Says he simply has no need for a vehicle. LOL I can see his point.

Since I retired 4.5 years ago, I only put 5-6.000K miles a year on my 4R.