It completely blows my mind at how many people do NOT know how to maintain a vehicle. They leave them filthy inside and out. I was my vehicles at least weekly. There's some people out there that do not know how and have NEVER washed their cars, and after a year its so easy to tell. You see 15 year old vehicles maintained very well, looking newer then a 1 year old vehicle. If you keep the carpets in your car like you do your house, they will last even longer then the ones in your home.

Quote Originally Posted by TheGanzman View Post
Here's the thing with this forum, and most other forums - 'Ya just hear the BAD news! I rarely post on here simply because I HAVE no "bad news". I VERY carefully bought my VX from an original (high desert) owner 3.5 years ago with 58K miles. It's my daily driver, with just under 90K miles on it as I type. Including all the BRAND NEW cars that I've owned/driven this long, I've spent less $ in maintenance/repairs on this vehicle than ANYTHING else, to wit: $100 for a battery (the 10 year old original battery was STILL working fine when I bought it, it just made me "nervous" having a 10 year old battery!), $400 for tires, which I should get another year out of, $20 for a new serpentine belt (only 'cause the original had some light cracking), $150 to replace the rear pinion seal, one headlight bulb, oil/filter every 5K miles, change front/rear differential fluid; that's IT! It uses just under a quart of oil in-between oil changes - Boo-hoo! Driver's window had "troubles" when I bought it - 30 minutes of adjustment and it's been working fine since...

Now - if I became interested in a VX and did my "online research", leading me to THIS forum, I'd NEVER buy one in a thousand years! Did *I* get lucky? Maybe so, but I think it's more likely that there are a PILE of VX owners out there like me, that just DRIVE their vehicles without trouble. By analogy, my wife owned a Lexus SC430 for six years - ZERO trouble in 50K miles. I went on a Lexus SC430 forum one time to look for an "answer" to some question I had - could not BELIEVE the troubles that people were having with theirs! I thought I was on a YUGO forum!

Another thing that most people will deny, that I know to be true at 56 years old - people don't take care of themselves or their STUFF! My VX looks NEW, 'cause I take care of my stuff. Most people's idea of "maintenance" is to drive it like you stole it, then bitch when something breaks. Also - and most people on this forum won't wanna hear THIS either - the VX was NOT meant to be turned into a lifted, big-tired, rock crawler! This vehicle was built as "an assembly", with microcomputers at every wheel - just try dropping ten pounds out of one tire and see how "confused" your VX drives! Start changing the "arithmetic", and you're just asking for it - premature brake, axle, pinion, u-joint/CV joint failure will follow!

O.K. - caffeine-induced rant off. I know - "Hey Pops; better get home - your soup's getting cold!" Now pardon me while I go ride my bicycle 48 miles...