SH> My car has 180K miles on it. If I am careful about scheduled
maintenance,
  SH> and I am, I should get a half million miles out the engine.

EH> My 55 Chevy (my first car) had roughly 300K miles on it and was on it's
EH> second engine. It had different color driver's door and trunk lid.

You still have your first car??  That is cool.  And a great car it is - a
classic.

EH> My current car (my 12th) is a 94 Dodge Intrepid and has 110K and the
EH> engine is still strong. I maintain it very well.

I have never counted up the cars I have owned.  I just did.  10.  In that
number are a 67 GTO,  a 64 Corvette and a 77 442.  I currently drive a BMW
535i.  I am now and have always been a car nut.

EH> I have never owned a brand new vehicle. Several of my friends, being car
EH> enthusiasts, own several cars from the 50s and 60s as well as newer
EH> cars, none of which are "junk" as Otto claims.

Cars from the 50 and 60s are classics now, some fetching big money.  Late
60s and early 70s MOPAR muscle are out of sight with Hemi Cudas and Road
Runners bringing in $100K or more.  I was watching the Mecum auction
recently and a plain jane 70 Road Runner, OD green with bottle cap hub caps
and no frills interior, fetched a quarter million dollars.

  SH> This summer, I will drop a bucket of money getting hail damage fixed
from
  SH> two years ago. To lessen the bill, I have bought a hood and trunk
deck from
  SH> a parts car (damn the luck, the parts car was a different color).

EH> Don't you hate when that happens?

Get this.  Since I sent the original message this morning, I went to a local
body shop (a new place) and he said he would get the dents out and paint the
car (color coats and a clear coat) for $1,000.  That price includes some
trim damaged in the hail storm.  "This summer" has been moved up
to "this
week" in case the place goes out of business before I can get there.

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