They say that the best way to learn is through mistakes. If this is true, I'm the best person to advise people on how to take care of a clunker.
I'm the proud owner of a blue 1984 Toyota Tercel that I inherited from a couple of friends who were too ashamed to ask money for it.
This isn't my first clunker. I also owned a 1986 VW Rabbit, whose life was cut short by a series of those tragic mistakes I referred to, and finally ended in one fatal one. Through that incident I learned where to pour transmission fluid (or rather where not to pour transmission fluid, i.e. into the coolant system).
That was many years ago, and I'm a much savvier clunker owner today. Ever since that incident I've paid very close attention to my car's fluids. Regularly topping up oil, anti-freeze, transmission fluid and brake fluid is crucial and it's a cheap way to keep that old jalopy running.
The thing about clunkers is that, if it's old enough to have gotten that moniker, it's probably one of those models that are reputed to have engines that run forever. It's a good idea to pick out the right clunker, if you have the chance. Certain types of Toyotas and Volkswagens, for example, can run well into the 400,000-kilometre mark - that is, if the body doesn't fall apart.
I learned to pay keen attention to the structure of the vehicle when one day a friend peeking under the hood of my Toyota noticed that the battery stand had unhinged (from excessive rust) and the battery was resting on the alternator. A battery cable that was pinned between the battery and the alternator was almost chewed through. My friend looked at me with a combination of horror and patience reserved for the intellectually challenged.
I think that look was more of an incentive for me to be more attentive than the imminent threat of an engine fire. Now I take a good long look at the structure of what lays under the hood of my car when I'm checking those fluids.
When I first acquired "Old Blue" I noticed that the car sometimes shimmies a little too much for my comfort when I hit about 90 km/h. I almost pulled over the first time I drove it on the highway, but at about 80 km/h it settled down again, so I plodded on. One thing clunker owners have in common is their compulsion to dare fate. But I decided it would be wise to have a wheel alignment before taking a long road trip I had planned. The mechanic gave me good advice: he said the work would be a waste of money. The alignment would last maybe 100 km and "this is the kind of car people just drive until it dies," he said. Once he assured me that a tire wouldn't fly off while I was doing 100 km/h, I took his advice and let it go. That shimmying comes and goes, but I've travelled well over 3,000 km over the last year and half, and I'm still going.
There are some things that should not be ignored, however, and for me that list is topped by brakes. Again, I learned that lesson the hard way (the brake pads literally fell out - thankfully I was in a parking lot at the time). But the mechanic again gave me good advice by suggesting that I get the cheaper pads instead of the ones with the 8,000-km warrantee.
"You're car will probably die before you drive 8,000 km anyway," he said.
What's the point in owning a clunker if it's just going to cost money?
