Old-car comfort versus new-car safety

Dear Tom and Ray: My 1985 Honda Civic Wagon, with a standard transmission and four-wheel drive, looks terrible but still drives beautifully and gets 30 miles per gallon on the highway (I'm elderly and rarely drive faster than 55 mph). My children don't think the car is safe to drive anymore. But I love the way it handles (even though the windows must be rolled up and down, and it has no power steering or whatever), and I feel quite comfortable driving it. Seriously, what kind of checks can and should be done to know whether a car is safe to drive? OK, we do know that the driver must be "with it" to be driving. If a psychologist vouches for my driving ability, can you suggest how I can check for car safety?

Judith

Tom: What nice kids you have, Judith. My kids keep loosening my lug nuts, greasing my brakes and encouraging me to go for nice, long rides on the highway.

Ray: Well, let's start by answering your actual question. Any good mechanic can do a thorough safety check of your car, Judith. If you don't have a mechanic you like or trust, check out the Mechanics Files at our Web site (www.cartalk.com) for personal recommendations that come from our listeners and readers.

Tom: Your mechanic can check the frame for rust, the front end for steering components that are wearing out, and the suspension parts to make sure nothing is about to fall off. He can assess the condition of your tires and brakes. And he can check your belts and hoses to lessen the likelihood that you'll break down on a deserted road at night and end up passing through the digestive system of a feral carnivore.

Ray: So that's the answer to the question you asked. But here's the more difficult question: How do you balance your comfort level in this car versus the advanced safety features you would get in a newer car?

Tom: For instance, your 1985 Civic has no front air bags, no side air bags, no head air bags, no anti-lock brakes, no electronic stability control, no reinforced door beams ... you get the idea. By buying a new car or a newer used car, you could avail yourself of many or all of these safety features. Would that make you safer in an accident and more able to avoid an accident? Absolutely.

Ray: But you'd be giving up the comfort level you feel behind the wheel of your old heap. And your comfort and confidence there probably make you a safer driver.

Tom: Here's what I'd suggest. Have your old Honda checked out, just so you know it's safe to drive. But when you have a chance, drive a few new cars that are roughly the same size. See how comfortable you feel behind the wheel. You might be surprised.

Dear Tom and Ray: I've been a fan of yours for a long time, and I thought you might be able to help. When I was growing up in the Bronx, I had a fascination with the emblems on VWs and used to steal them. They popped off easily with a screwdriver. I'm not proud of having done that, and my dad had to come get me at the police precinct after I was caught in a hospital parking lot trying to lift one of the emblems off a doctor's car. I'm now in my mid-50s and would like to be able to purchase the emblems (without the cars attached) in order to re-create my adolescent collection. Any suggestions where to go?

Bob

Tom: You can buy them new, Bob. They're sold as replacement parts -- mostly to VW owners who've had their emblems stolen by rotten little kids!

Ray: You can get those new ones from any local VW dealer, or find them for sale online from auto-parts stores that do business on the Internet.

Tom: But I suspect that what you want are used VW emblems. And you probably want a bunch of different ones, from different-size VWs.

Ray: You can find those on eBay. Most of them are being sold by rotten little kids who've popped them off VWs in hospital parking lots. Maybe if you threaten to turn the kid in, he'll confess to how he got it, and you'll be able to relive your entire youth vicariously. Good luck, Bob.

Listen to "Car Talk" at 9 a.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays on KRCU 90.9 FM -- Southeast Public Radio. Write to Tom and Ray at Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500 Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass., 02238. Or e-mail them at the Car Talk section of cars.com.