Cars cars cars

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IMADreamer
Has an anecdote about a townie he overheard.
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by IMADreamer »

Famous Mortimer wrote:I'm wavering between three choices.

1. Get a relatively cheap car now, and wait for the number of electric charging stations to increase, or for me to move into a house I can charge from. Then, get a fully electric car with financing.

2. Get a decent Prius (my brother in law has one)

3. Get something impractical but fun (a big pickup, or something from the 70s)


I'm saving up now, but funds are low, and because I've never had a credit card in the USA, I've got zero credit score. So, I'm thinking 1 until my credit score improves. Or maybe 3, if I find a pickup for a good price.
Do it, life is too short to drive boring stuff. Get something that will make you smile.
AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d/19 ... 48938.html

I'm actually tempted to call about this one.
Go in there with like 2500 cash and I bet you can get that.

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JCShutout
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by JCShutout »

Not to hyjack this thread, but sold my Ria Rio recently and upgraded to a real mean machine... a Yaris. Watch out now! 38mpg highway fools!

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Swirls
gone fission
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Swirls »

JCShutout wrote:Not to hyjack this thread, but sold my Ria Rio recently and upgraded to a real mean machine... a Yaris. Watch out now! 38mpg highway fools!
Similarly, I actually sold my 2014 Ram 1500 4x4 Ecodiesel and bought a... 2011 Suzuki SX4 crossover. AWD with a 6-speed manual, DVD/GPS nav system, and only 19k miles on the engine - because it was technically less than 6 years old and had less than 100k miles, it qualified for a lifetime powertrain warranty from the Dodge dealership (engine, transmission, and entire AWD drive system). It's been an absolute blast to drive. Ended up paying $6k cash on top of the $3500 extra I got in trade on my truck to buy the car outright. Yay for no longer having a $550/month car payment!

Image

Also, congrats on the Yaris. My wife had one in college, and it is the only car she ever had stuck in winter. Not in the snow, but actually the ice. There was a snowstorm one winter day at the plant when we both worked at the same location (she was a college co-op at the time), and she parked over by the cooling tower, which causes a lot of ice formations due to the evaporating steam and the fact that it was a whiteout blizzard. Well, when she got to her car, her tires were literally frozen to the ground in ice. The poor car didn't have enough power to actually break free from the ice.

Luckily, there were a few engineering co-ops that were also walking out, saw her problems, and offered to help. They had some hockey gear in one of their cars, so they were beating away at her tires with hockey sticks trying to break the ice.

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Hoot45
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Hoot45 »

I did a trade-down too. Swapped a loaded F-150 for a manual transmission Ford Fiesta. One of the best decisions I've made. The lower cost of ownership, between service/parts and fuel, was literally life changing. I feel more comfortable driving that little MT Fiesta in snow and ice than I did the big powerful truck.

Also, we rented a Yaris for a 10 day camping tour of the Pacific Northwest. That thing was a trooper. Took us up and down mountains like a champ. Cheers to economical autos!

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IMADreamer
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by IMADreamer »

I sat in a yaris once. I could barely get in or out because it was cramped. Granted this was the first generation. Maybe it's better now?

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Swirls
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Swirls »

IMADreamer wrote:I sat in a yaris once. I could barely get in or out because it was cramped. Granted this was the first generation. Maybe it's better now?
No. It's not any better now. They're still about the same size as a SmartCar or a Fiat 500.

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by lukethedrifter »

Swirls wrote:
IMADreamer wrote:I sat in a yaris once. I could barely get in or out because it was cramped. Granted this was the first generation. Maybe it's better now?
No. It's not any better now. They're still about the same size as a SmartCar or a Fiat 500.
My Dad had a SmartCar. He said it had plenty of room for him at the elderly shrinking version of 6’5” he was at the time so maybe 6’3” 270.
Never saw him in it and he’s notoriously stubborn -back when was 6’5”+ 265ish he drove a Fiat Spider and it was ridiculous so take that fwiw.

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Swirls
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Swirls »

lukethedrifter wrote:
Swirls wrote:
IMADreamer wrote:I sat in a yaris once. I could barely get in or out because it was cramped. Granted this was the first generation. Maybe it's better now?
No. It's not any better now. They're still about the same size as a SmartCar or a Fiat 500.
My Dad had a SmartCar. He said it had plenty of room for him at the elderly shrinking version of 6’5” he was at the time so maybe 6’3” 270.
Never saw him in it and he’s notoriously stubborn -back when was 6’5”+ 265ish he drove a Fiat Spider and it was ridiculous so take that fwiw.
But turn that SmartCar into a 4-door sedan and you now have a Toyota Yaris.

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Famous Mortimer
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Famous Mortimer »

We're renting a Nissan Altima while we're waiting for the insurance to pay out on the car and it's pretty nice. I need to stop enjoying it, though, because whatever I get next will be substantially less luxurious.

Good call, whoever told me life was too short. Time to get serious with saving for something fun.

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Famous Mortimer
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Re: Cars cars cars

Post by Famous Mortimer »

Aw man, a brown El Camino that (apparently) runs well.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d/19 ... 74744.html

I just can't make a decision, so I'm just going to keep saving until I really need to get one. And the 1985 F150s look lovely too...argh

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