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Frugal auto transportation: theories?



 
 
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  #31  
Old January 5th 05, 07:20 PM
Timothy J. Lee
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In article <DwICd.281111$5K2.31207@attbi_s03>,
John R Weiss > wrote:
>"Jonathan Grobe" > wrote...
>> So taken
>> everything into consideration (initial cost, repair
>> costs, insurance/license costs, gas costs...) what do
>> you recommend as the type (age, mileage, foreign vs
>> domestic...) of vehicle to purchase?

>
>>3 years old

><50,000 miles


Cars with low mileage for their age need careful scrutiny, since they may
be city cars (city miles are harder than highway miles), and owners may
have neglected to do maintenance based on time (e.g. the tires may have
plenty of tread, but after several years in the sun, are rotting away).

>Toyota Echo/Corolla


The Corolla is also available as a Geo or Chevrolet Prizm from 1990 to 2002,
and a Chevrolet Nova from 1986 to 1988. The "Chevrolet" badge tends to
decrease resale value, so it may be worth a look for the used car buyer.
(But if you drive on the highway, the 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic
transmission is preferable over the 3-speed automatic transmission.)

>Shop around and see what you can get in those models, for what price. You'll
>have to assess the condition of each car, and decide what the risk is for
>maintenance costs.


Yes, condition and maintenance history are highly important in finding
a good used car.

Insurance costs can be found by calling (or getting web quotes from)
insurance companies before you buy a car. License costs depend on how
your local jurisdiction determines them; find out from the motor vehicle
department.
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  #32  
Old January 5th 05, 07:33 PM
William R. Watt
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"Rod Speed" ) writes:

> Still think the body design is well past its useby date and
> that a Golf of the same vintage makes a lot more sense.


I would not recommned one of the early VW hatchbacks. Here in Canada they
were called Rabbit. I had a '76. The aluminum head went on it. Expensive
repair.
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  #33  
Old January 5th 05, 08:47 PM
Tock
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"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> Tock wrote:
>
>> Lots of cheap VW bugs still out there, and parts are still easy to come
>> by. Best years, IMHO, are 69 to 71, after the switch to 12 volts and
>> before they put air pumps on the engine. Pre-67's are ok, if you don't
>> mind the single circuit brake lines . . .
>> --Tock

>
> Not if you're in the rust belt. Perhaps the OP will respond with a
> location. Some of my other favorite "run till ya drop" cars are also
> excluded from the list because I still live in an area where rust is
> somewhat a concern.



That's a good point . . .
Ya, the winter road salt would wreak havoc on their undersides, but I've
seen plenty of VW's without rust here in Texas. Location makes a big
difference . . .
One of the first things I noticed when I moved from Massachusetts to Texas
was the lack of rust on older cars . . .
These folks have a '66 VW for $1500 that looks to be in pretty good shape.
I'd buy it myself if I could figure out some way to carry a penny-farthing
on it . . .
-Tock


  #34  
Old January 5th 05, 09:08 PM
Daniel J. Stern
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On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, D. Dub wrote:

> a VW diesel from that era will go forever and ever and ever and
> ever......


.....because at any given time, some 70 percent of the parts have just been
replaced at great expense.
  #35  
Old January 5th 05, 09:08 PM
Tock
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"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message
n.umich.edu...
> On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Tock wrote:
>
>> Lots of cheap VW bugs still out there

>
> ...if you're a masochist, they're a perfect car to use on a daily basis.
>
> Otherwise, they're grossly polluting deathboxes with no defogger or heater
> to speak of and *certainly* no A/C. It only seems like they were good cars
> because there were a lot of mind-altering drugs going around in the '60s.



I drove a bug from Texas to Massachusetts 4 times, and a VW Squareback (oh,
the luxury!) twice.
Had the wipers stop during a storm in Oklahoma, but all that I had to do was
open the front trunk, pop off the cardboard back to the dash, and put a
retaining clip back in place. Worked fine ever after.
It developed a small hole in the gas tank once, so I used my JC Penney
socket wrench set to pull the gas tank out (4 screws), sanded the spot and
wiped it clean with alcohol, and glued something over the spot.
The ball joints were wearing out, but I didn't know about such things back
then, and one of 'em snapped while getting on a Dallas freeway. I managed
to coast to the roadside, and had it towed to a shop, where they fixed both
sides for about $100 (back in 1978). Now I know about such things . . .
lol . .
My 69 squareback (with automatic transmission, I should add) suddenly
stopped on my way to work one morning, and I traced the problem in about 5
minutes . . . the little piece of graphite that connects the underside of
the distributor cap to the rotor fell out. I put it back in, and again,
never a problem ever after.
Ya, these creatures don't compare to the advanced technoligical wonders
we've got nowadays, they didn't get as good mileage, they polluted more,
they had more quirks, and god knows the VWs had horrible heaters (something
you'd cuss about more in northern states than here in Texas), but for
someone on a budget, they were great. They're easy to fix, easy to get
parts for, the parts were cheap, and you could do the work yourself.
Modern autos have little computers stuck in 'em like little "Aliens"
creatures waiting to attack, and there goes three house payments if you ever
need to replace one of 'em. Ugh. Nevertheless, from an ecological
point of view, it's probably best they don't make any more VW's, and they
become footnotes in transportation history.
Still, I like 'em . . . their air-cooled valves have a funky
"beetle-chirp," they've got a characteristic shape, and they're basicly a
simple, fun little car.
Maybe I'll get me a bus next year . . .
--Tock


  #36  
Old January 5th 05, 09:28 PM
Bob Ward
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On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 01:44:36 -0500, "James" >
wrote:

>
>"Jonathan Grobe" > wrote in message
...
>> My traditional view of frugal auto transportation has
>> been to have two beaters: (a small car I use most of
>> the time and a larger vehicle for hauling larger cargoes
>> and for backup). I've given up on my small car (a 1984
>> Chrysler Laser with 265,000 miles and am considering
>> what I should buy next (I got the Laser about 6 years
>> ago when it had 145,000 miles on it). So taken
>> everything into consideration (initial cost, repair
>> costs, insurance/license costs, gas costs...) what do
>> you recommend as the type (age, mileage, foreign vs
>> domestic...) of vehicle to purchase?
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>> --
>> Jonathan Grobe Books
>> Browse our inventory of thousands of used books at:
>> http://www.grobebooks.com
>>

>
>Your second car should always be a "PICKUP TRUCK". Can you think of any
>thing more useful or practical than a pickup truck? Hell, for many people
>their pickup is their first vehicle not the second one.
>


A pickup truck isn't in the running for me - I need enclosed, lockable
storage, and never need to pick up a load of plywood.

The one thing better than owning a pickup truck is having a good
friend who owns a pickup truck.


  #37  
Old January 5th 05, 09:45 PM
Steve
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Corky Scott wrote:

>>Now the watercooled VWs seemed to have better rust protection...
>>
>>nate

>
>
> I was going to mention that too. Besides all the difficulties the
> bugs had, they were susceptible to rust and salt corrosion like no
> other car I know of.


Oh, I know of one that can rust faster: Datsun 240Z and 260Z. Even the
280Z and 280ZX rust like mad, even here in Texas where cars "just don't
rust." It wasn't until the first 300Z that they sorta got that worked out.

  #38  
Old January 5th 05, 09:50 PM
Steve
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ray wrote:

> Daniel J. Stern wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Tock wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Lots of cheap VW bugs still out there

>>
>>
>>
>> ...if you're a masochist, they're a perfect car to use on a daily basis.
>>
>> Otherwise, they're grossly polluting deathboxes with no defogger or
>> heater
>> to speak of and *certainly* no A/C. It only seems like they were good
>> cars
>> because there were a lot of mind-altering drugs going around in the '60s.
>>

> Hey Dan,
> Would you approve of an 83 Caravelle (Canadian) with a 318


ANY Chrysler product with a 318 or a slant-6 automatically qualifies as
a frugal, reliable, and cheap-to-maintain vehicle. Generally, the older
A- and B-bodies (Dart, Valiant, Satellite, Coronet) are better than the
later F bodies like the Aspen and Volare. But by the 80s, the M-bodies
(Diplomat, Gran Fury) were pretty solid again, if uninspired
styling-wise. A Caravelle is the Canadian M-body, isn't it?
  #39  
Old January 5th 05, 10:14 PM
ray
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Steve wrote:
'60s.
>>>

>> Hey Dan,
>> Would you approve of an 83 Caravelle (Canadian) with a 318

>
>
> ANY Chrysler product with a 318 or a slant-6 automatically qualifies as
> a frugal, reliable, and cheap-to-maintain vehicle. Generally, the older
> A- and B-bodies (Dart, Valiant, Satellite, Coronet) are better than the
> later F bodies like the Aspen and Volare. But by the 80s, the M-bodies
> (Diplomat, Gran Fury) were pretty solid again, if uninspired
> styling-wise. A Caravelle is the Canadian M-body, isn't it?


Yup. USA=Gran Fury. Canada=Caravelle.
What's really weirdo is they sold the K-Car Caravelle at the same time.
Makes for really interesting conversations when you buy parts.
I like the old cop-car styling.

Ray
  #40  
Old January 5th 05, 11:32 PM
David
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"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message ...
> James wrote:
>
> If
> you can deal with the lack of power the slant six will run forever, and
> truth be told it's not *that* slow,


They had sufficient power, but they were pretty slow when you consider
the poor fuel-economy.

I've had inline-6 versions of a couple of the cars on the list. The only one
I remember the fuel economy for was the Rambler American, 3-speed, no OD.
I could almost get 21MPG on the highway if I kept the speed to about 55 MPH.
At 65, gas mileage dropped into the teens.

My 6cyl auto car today accellerates & stops much faster, handles better, has much
better traction in poor conditions, and approaches 30MPG at around 70MPH.

But for frugal-living (since that seems to be a goal of the OP), if one did ones own repairs,
a decent Dart or Rambler American might not be a bad choice.


 




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