Short commute vehicle?

[Jeb-NY]

Depending on how hilly, I would walk to work in all but the worst weather. 3 miles each way would get you in good shape in a few months. To get started drive to work and walk home, then walk to work in the morning and drive home. After a few weeks walk both ways.

If you are against walking and want to keep your truck in good shap, here is my rules for POS buying, since that is all we owed for years (some say we still do). Pick a popular make/model and stick to it. Good tires and battery can easily be your biggest expense getting the POS safe. If you stick to cars/trucks that use the same size battery and tires, you can swap the most expensive wear items to the next POS when the current one dies. Staying with the same model helps because then you don't have to remount the tires just swap wheels and all. If you want a safety net join AAA and they will tow you home or to the garage if your POS dies. For 3 miles I wouldn't worry to much about reliability just safety.

Jeb

[Jessica08]

IMO i think you should drive the Rebel in the warmer months and drive the truck during the winter. This way you can enjoy your commute for the majority of the year and be safe in the winter. I think it would be a waste of money to buy a junk car and constantly worry about if it will break down on you. At least the Rebel could be considered a "toy" and worth the investment.

[Patrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I'd vote for driving the pickup. Unless you are tryng to keep this truck to hand down to your kids/grandkids, or you enter it in auto shows, I think you'll find it is the cheapest and most practical solution. Sure, the short trips aren't good for it. What will happen? Your exhaust might rust out sooner, and you'll have a little more wear from the startup phase. Use synthetic oil to minimize the latter problem, or buy a top-end pre-oiler if you really want to go crazy. Set aside $10 per month for the exhaust system replacement (it will go a year or two earlier than itt otherwise would have). Another vehicle brings a whole set of new maintenance issues, another yearly vehicle license fee, a bump-up in your car insurance, another piece of steel littering your driveway, and another depreciating asset. For all this you'll be getting a vehicle that is not as comfortable or reliable as the truck you have now. You need to get to work, right? For the money you'll spend on any decent used car, you can pay the extra for gas and keep your truck on the road for many more years. Keep it simple. Unless you just want another car.

Ditto.