I need a new car

My current car is a 1976 Holden Kingswood.

It’s been in my family for 27 of it’s 29 years. I was the third generation to take possession of the heirloom late in 1999 when it had an amazing 90,000kms on the clock. The car was almost imaculate. Anyone that’s looked under the bonnet of an old Holden would be amazed when I tell them that at 90,000kms the old 202 motor was not leaking a drip of oil….. Things have changed.

Now don’t get me wrong, the old girl has been good to me, In the five years I’ve had it, only once has it broken down unexpectantly, I’ve toured a large part of mainland Australia, with the biggest problem being that I didn’t have aircon to cool it down when I left it parked in the sun.

Unfortunatly (as is my usual pattern) I have not looked after the old girl as she has deserved. The motor has a nice even coating of oil (note to self: check oil soon). I have added minor dents on the front guard (dog run out in front of me), had a shopping trolley dent the rear door (I didn’t see it happen) and worst of all I side swiped a large concrete pillar which made a mess of the door and the rear wheel arch. Sadly I could have had all these fixed under insurance but I didn’t want to pay the excess at $300 a pop.

On the inside all the seats are disintegrating slowly, the radio doesnt stay on station, most of the window seals leak and soak the floor carpets. The steering is heavy and by the time the heater starts working properly, I’ve normally got where I am going.

Under the bonnet, then engine is covered in oil, when I replaced the manifold gasket a couple of the exhaust ports were oily, meaning the valves are leaking (I blame Lead Replacement Petrol), The alternator light has been on for 3 months and will soon need attention, and a couple of months ago I paid a mechanic $300 to fix the brakes as I have a fondness for being able to stop before hitting things.

So what do I do.

To get a car where I am not inheriting someone elses problems I’ll need to spend around $10k, to get the car I want I’ll have to spend atleast $30k

I can’t get finance for either of those figures, so for now I’m stuck with the 1976 family heirloom Holden Kingswood.