I am now going though period of replacing a number of original parts on my car.
List of completed items:
1) all front steering parts.
2) front struts & rear shocks'
3) radiator & hoses.
4) all end links.
5) front dr shaft univeral joint.
6) rear axle shaft seals & bearings.
7) spark plugs (original to 350 swap).
8) repainted front end of car.
Plus normal fluid changes....

So anyone who owns a 24 year old car beware of these expenses and I stopped with the performance upgrades 10years ago. Now it maintenance and more maintenance and I stopped keeping track of the costs (sticker shock).

 

its like that with any car. now had all those componants been greased at every oil change like theyre supposed to, you probably wouldnt have had to replace them. its like that with everything. ive had to replace king pins on a truck with only 75k miles because it was never greased. ive also worked on trucks with 800k miles still using all original parts because they were greased every 5k miles.

 

Yes, maintenance plays a huge role in how long a component lasts, but after 19-29 years (age of 3rd gens), things like shocks, struts, ball joints, TRE's, bushings, etc. are going to need replaced, plain and simple.

That's a big problem we have, especially in this economy with people buying older vehicles to get out from under their new car payments. They expect a 10-20 year old vehicle to not have any problems and not require anything other than the usual oil and brake changes, but in reality LOTS of things need replaced.

I see it a lot on the Jeep board. People buy 93-2004 Grand Cherokees, sometimes with over 200,000 miles and expect them to be cherry. Then when the transmissions go out, water pumps blow, steering gets loose, pinion bearings start to go, heater cores go out, etc., they complain about what a POS it is.

 

My biggest problem on my 1 owner (me) '83 Z28 is plastic interior parts cracking, worn door hinges, the headliner, deteriorating door seals etc. All the "normal" maintenance items have been taken care of and are in good shape. Oh, I have a crack in the firewall next to the clutch linkage that needs to be welded.

 

I am not complaining about my costs because those were original parts. And after 24yrs as the owner, it is still inexpensive. Owning a old car is like a woman they are both high maintenance.