Rope-Pusher wrote:My son feels there is some lower limit on the cost of safe, reliable transportation. If you purchase a vehicle below that value, you'll likely need to plow some money into it to bring it to that level. Often, it is tires, brakes, suspension, and/or exhaust that have worn out over time and need to be dealt with. After that, the cosmetics may continue to degrade, and the wear items you haven't replaced yet will continue to slowly degrade, but if you can do at least some of the wrenching, it is still usually less expensive to keep it on the road than to pick up something newer.
Now most cars seem to have stainless steel exhausts. My rent's taurus has over 230k on it and the muffler is still original. Same with my rent's minivan. Over 220k and the muffler still is solid. My 2000 civic has gone through three. Mileage is only 100k and seemed to be garaged most of its life. My 91 went through like 5 or 6.
I must admit I love having a beater with high mileage. Especially if the car isn't really known for having high miles. Like a Honda/Toyota with over 200k isn't really news. But a pos beater with high miles is kind of a conversation starter.
Squint wrote:I've driven a handful of older need-maintenance-occasionally cars and driven a couple of new cars (one purchase, one lease) and for now, the newer cars are winning the debate between the two. That decision is significantly swayed by the fact that I don't have a ton of time to work on the little things being in school, working full time, and having a family. And there is also something nice about the new car smell/newest tech in the cars (pending you can still find the manual shifter...).
That being said, I'm planning on keeping the Fiesta for at least another 6 years (it'll be 10 then) and I don't have a payment on it so it's just the Mazda lease payment every month. I can see the appeal of not having a car payment at all, but at this point in life, it feels like I'll have at least one payment for the next foreseeable future so I can have the warranty/newer stuff/less worries about breaking down/etc...
Now if I had a garage and some more free time... that opinion might change for at least one vehicle.
Being able to supply your own labor is a big factor in keeping cost of ownership down, but it will require a place to work on it, tools, skills and thyme. Having access to a pick-your-own junkyard also helps keep the part costs down. A true luxury may be having the space to store some donor cars to harvest Oregons from.
'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"
Any particular reason you recommend it over the Fusion Titanium?
Why not get a used Fusion with a stick. May even be able to find a fusion out there still new on a dealer somewhere. Titanium will have much more comfier seats though from what I hear.
Any particular reason you recommend it over the Fusion Titanium?
das Stick!! und das Fun!!!!
Lol, that is a good reason. Got the motorcycle for "fun" though, I'm going for luxury with the car. Keeping the manual transmission would be a definite plus though. Also recommended was a Mazda 6, or a used Infiniti G/M series.
kevinf wrote:Lol, that is a good reason. Got the motorcycle for "fun" though, I'm going for luxury with the car. Keeping the manual transmission would be a definite plus though. Also recommended was a Mazda 6, or a used Infiniti G/M series.
I can vouch for the fun of a Mazda 6. I have a friend at work that has one (automatic, though) and it's a comfortable car to ride around - if it has the same 6-speed transmission as my Mazda 3, you'll like that part too.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT '97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
I've never kept one long enough for it to turn into a real pit. My first nice car was my then 11 year old Accord EX in pristine condition. A couple big issues came up when I had a 91 LeSabre, steel brake lines rusted out before taking delivery and the driver's side doors never opened - rendering it a coupe by default. Otherwise the rest were good for the time I had them.
Otherwise, I've owned more cars than I care to recount.
17 Mazda6 Touring
18 Mazda3 iSport
InlinePaul wrote:The driving force of new fangled features to sell more cars [is to] cater to the masses' abject laziness!
tankinbeans wrote:I've never kept one long enough for it to turn into a real pit. My first nice car was my then 11 year old Accord EX in pristine condition. A couple big issues came up when I had a 91 LeSabre, steel brake lines rusted out before taking delivery and the driver's side doors never opened - rendering it a coupe by default. Otherwise the rest were good for the time I had them.
Otherwise, I've owned more cars than I care to recount.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.