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Wanted to give everyone an update on my '84 244 turbo with 240,000 miles that recently needed a head gasket, a clutch, and front end work. If you remember, I was quoted around $2800 for all of the work (same shop for everything) and I came here to ask for opinions on whether it was money well spent....or if I should just get rid of the car and buy something newer.
I decided to keep the car. It was my first brand new car and the only car that I have driven for the past 28 years (damn, has it been that long?). Depsite complaints on the 'net about reliability problems with 83 and 84 240's, this has been the most reliable car that I have ever owned, probably because it does not have the funky early LH Jetronic injection that the normally aspirated cars had back in '84. It has only been on a flat bed TWICE in almost 30 years!
Secondly, the body is still in great condition and somehow the paint job (silver) has held up very well. I've kept it garaged and wash it once a month, wax three times a year. People often guess that the car is a good ten years newer than it really is...
And finally, a decent used car, with under 100,000 miles, would cost somewhere in the $10-$12K dollar range. I drive fewer than 10K miles a year at this point so it's not worth it to me to invest that much in a newer vehicle.
Long story short...I had the head gasket done at one garage, clutch and front end at another, and saved myself almost $500 over the original estimate.
It drives like a new car now. Picked up my elderly (87 yo) Father last night and drove about 50 miles to a restaurant that he likes, and back. Between picking him up, going to the restaurant, dropping him off and driving back to my house...I put close to 150 miles on the car. Really enjoyed the drive. So I'm feeling better about the money that I spent and confiden that the car will run for at least a few more years!
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