1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale from North America - Comments

Since I have owned this beast the only thing that has gone wrong with it was the fuel pump.

It has some surface rust but not bad for 25 yrs.

A minor tear in back seat.

I love this car. its acceleration is amazing.

The first day I owned it I took it to a track to see what its got and it topped at 127 mph, and I was at 60 mph in around 7 seconds. superb for this size of car.

If you don't watch it, it'll spin the tires pretty easily.

The brakes surprised the ___ outta me, stop on a dime.

The trunk is huge.

There is a ton of room for the driver and passengers.

If you are going 30 mph it feels like you are going like 15 because it is such a boat.

And it has a pretty tight turning radius for its size.

The only thing not so great about this awesome car is the fact that it goes through a 20 gallon tank of gas in just over 225 miles.

Didn't sound too bad... until you got to the gas mileage.

Anything over single digits is good gas miliege.

Cheaper to own an old car worth a few hundred or a thousand dollars and pay for the gas than to buy a new one for $25,000.

Really? Let's see, if you drive 1000 miles a month and you get 11.25 mpg like our friend with the Delta 88 here, you will be spending around $356 a month on gas, assuming the price per gallon stays around the $4 level. Contrast that with a car that gets 25 mpg, in which case you would only be spending around $160 a month on gas. That nearly $200 in savings would make up most, if not all, of a car payment for a later model car. And this does not even take into account the increased maintenance costs of an older car.

That old "spend more on gas but cheaper than making a car payment" argument went out the window around the time gas got above $3 a gallon.

Well of course I have never financed any car, new or used, but I would have assumed most new car payments would be more like $500/month. Also because I value comfort and safety I much prefer to drive a large older car.

It depends on how far you drive, not only on gas price. The other poster is also correct --- it's pretty hard to find a car that is only $200/month. It's hard to find a car that is less than $300/month. Then it's all about whether you want to get a loan for a used car, which may have problems of its own, which is a whole different story that affects the overall economic picture.

It is true that the argument for driving on older car, despite worse mileage, was more clear cut when gas was cheaper. However, not everybody drives 50 miles/day. It is still a better deal if you can drive less. The car you currently own, especially if it is paid for, is generally the best deal as opposed to buying a new car, regardless of mpg.

There is no doubt that improving the gas mileage on your old car will only help your overall economic situation. It seems like a 1982 Bonneville ought to be getting better mileage than 11 mpg. Maybe a tune-up is in order, and practicing some lightness on the throttle.

Agreed, they should be getting better gas mileage than that. I've owned two town cars and now have a full size Caddy De ville and they all got better gas mileage. I'm pending a 307 swap for my caddy but it still should get 14-15mpg lowest.

And to the argument that it's not cheaper and repair is more expensive on an old car. I do my repairs myself and as long as you up keep and fix what's needed driving an old car is no more expensive maintenance wise as a new car. Plus, like stated, there's no monthly bill on top of it.

I also own a 2.8L Chevy Celebrity as my current daily and it gets 20mpg (low for that model, but the valves are leaking and the carb is worn). I drop $120 in gas a month on the car and have only had to repair it twice since I've owned it. Both repairs total cost me maybe $150 in parts. How can you argue it's still not cheaper? New or old a good car is a good car and a POS is a POS. Don't be jaded and say just b/c people own old cars they all treat them terribly before you were the "savior" new owner... it's not always true.