Maintenance Costs

Hey Everyone!

I just found a 1972 Maverick for sale in my area and am looking to purchase it. I am wondering what the maintenance costs run on average? This is my first car and I don't want to get myself in too deep. Also, if there are any problems that I could run into in the future I'd really like to hear what you all have to say.

Hopefully I will finally be able to have a car that not only works but is potentially awesome. Could this be the one?

Any advice/comments you may have for a new Maverick owner would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

is it a 6 cyl or v8?

 

you say maintenance costs, do you do your own labor? labor cost is always the killer on repairs even at a low cost shop.

 

Welcome from Florida.......
The car is old but if it is in good shape to start with,most repairs should be reasonable.. Make sure it's not rusted in the cowl and check the windshield and rear window for cracked gaskets, that will keep the rain out...

 

The ad says it has a V6 engine.

I am able to do some minor maintenance myself, but being a newbie to vehicles in general, the more equipment I will need the less I will be able to do.

I'm really going to show my naivety on the subject with this one but... outside of the standard oil & filter changes what else is typical for this vehicle. What is a typical cost for tires and what is the gas mileage like?

 

i think they mean an inline 6 and thats pretty simple to do work on

 

With an i6 you could get 25 mpg.

 

i dont know what i was doing wrong then because i wasnt getting near that with my six lol... i think i was getting about 17-18 miles to the gallon

 

heres a reciept from when i had some work done on my six. and this was from just last year

1.) Carb Kit
2.) Contact Set
3.) Condenser
4.) Tranny Kit
5.) Tranny Fluid
6.) filter

all the parts were $158.99

now i had them install this stuff too

1.) Rebuild the carb
2.) install new points
3.) service Tranny and tighten up the bands

Labor for that was $301.00

then tax brought the combined total to $499.99

the motor Ran like it was rebuilt! (drove like it too lol ) and it never gave me any trouble

since i have out all the old reciepts might as well let you know what i paid for tires. they were the stock size Hankook all weather tires and i paid a little over $300

 

I feel your pain, I'm pretty new to car stuff too so let me break it down for you from my perspective:

Car maintenance certainly could mean different things. And like it was said before, it has a lot to do with what you starting out with. If the motor runs strong, the tranmission is running well and the tires and breaks are in decent shape you really are talking about routine things if it's a daily driver, such as oil change, windshield washer fluid, car wash (optional), tire rotation, greasing up some of the suspension, putting air in the tires, tranmission fluid change.
The main things that are not really part of maintenance but are probably more in the repair category is a break job which is probably pretty cheap if you find a decent shop (around here maybe $200). Replacing tires which you can get as cheap as $30 each or of course a lot more. Then there is things like the engine needing a rebuild which would be anywhere from $1500 to $3000. Transmissions sometimes need to be rebuilt and that would be probably around $500.
So that's what I understand for maintenance, hope it helps.

 

It's a 37 year old car, anything can happen at any time. If your worried about costs, and can't do much yourself, buy something newer!!!
People have come and gone before, no matter what some people say, and how easy they say it is, some people just can't do the work themselves.

 

What the hell... I'm in an airport, got nothing to do but kill time, so here comes my lengthy two cents.

It all depends on you. My Maverick is cheap to maintain, and the parts to do it are cheap, but if I paid a mechanic to do everything I've done to it, and it was my only car, then it would be a different story.

You're inexperienced with cars, and that may or may not be a hurdle. How well do you know the way you learn? If you grasp the basics, ask the right questions on here, get some basic tools, you'll be fine if you're willing and able to learn it. In the 70's Ford marketed these cars as simple machines for the do-it-yourselfer to maintain, and that's still true. For most things there are no special tools needed. Do you have mechanically-inclined friends or relatives to lean on? (you have us!) It also really helps if you love your car.

My first car was an '85 Chevette. When you are a broke 17 year old and you drive a Chevette, you will learn how to fix it or you will not be leaving home much. I didn't have message boards to read, my dad's not into cars... All I had was a socket set, a few screwdrivers, pliers and a Haynes manual. But I learned it, I discovered I love doing it, soon I was maintaining all the family cars, then it became a side job, and 13 years later I'm confident tackling any type of repair. Well, except for welding. Not enough experience with that. But I know full well if I get my hands on the right equipment I can learn it, and that's the attitude you've got to have. Whatever it takes, if I don't know how to do it I will learn it and afterward I will know how to do it, and that drives me because each new skill I have is a source of pride. But that's just me, that's the way I think. Is that the way you think?

You're already head and shoulders above where I started, so there's nothing standing in your way except for you. You have to be honest with yourself. Do you have a natural knack for logic? I'm not saying "are you smart?" but I mean "left-brain" oriented... "If/then/else" type of linear thinking, troubleshooting. Are you a good researcher? Are you willing to accept the cold hard fact that there will be times when your car is down? Will that endanger your employment? Do you care? (Tip: Old cars are super reliable when you have two of them!) Do you have a place to work on your car? All you need is a driveway for most things, but if you live in an apartment complex or a neighborhood with Nazi style covenants, you have to consider that.

Bottom line: If you're the right type of person in the right type of circumstances, I believe experience is totally optional. Even the best techs and mechanics started somewhere. (If that's not what you want to be though, better listen to Dave...)

 

Compared to a new car the maintenance and repair costs are stupid cheap.
You could bring in your 2007 Ram truck to me for no tail lamps to have me diagnose it only to tell you that it needs a 500 dollar TIPM. Thats the control module that powers and controls most of the truck. Kind of like the central nervous system. How about your minivan for no washer pump so I can tell you it needs a 900 dollar body computer. I could go on for pages. This type of repair is the norm in this day and age.
So comparatively speaking these cars are cheap to maintain as long as you start with a good solid car. Parts are readily available and for the most part affordable. The wiring and mechanics are basic and simple. You dont have to be a tech to work on these cars. You can do some of the work yourself and probably learn a lot.
As far as fuel economy its a 30 plus year old car with an inline 6 that has terrible fuel distribution and archaic technology. It aint no diesel Jetta. Good news is that you can tune the old thing to run very well and the fuel economy is acceptable. The money you save on car payments and repairs more than makes up for the fuel economy compared to a newer vehicle. We dont have the option of driving old cars like these as daily drivers cause they all rusted away up here. Have fun with the car I think you will like it.

Dave does bring up a good point. Do you have the ability and location to do repairs?? Sometimes I forget not everyone is mechanically inclined. Most of my friends are also techs so I tend to forget that there are people out there who cant use a screwdriver. No big deal if you cant. Its just one of those things in life where some people are a natural at it and some people cant fix a leaky faucet. Those people need to buy dependable cars with warranty if possible.

 

You won't like it as a daily driver if you have to get on the freeway alot. They just arn't like the newer cars zipping in and out. Brakes? Gotta give some space to be safe, plan on leaving early. Want a weekend car? It's the only one to have, well, other than a Comet.


darren, are you a Dodge tech?

 

I don't know if I agree with that. I definitely don't know as much as most people on this site but I've owned plenty of cars in my day. Many nice ones and sum average ones. The car makes a great daily driver, drives smooth, corners well and breaks just fine. Its comfortble on the freeway. Its not as nice as a newer sedan but there are a lot of crappier cars on the road. But this is just my opinion. When I got my maverick it wasn't so smooth but after a little work it was great on the freeway.