Ignorance is Scary

[2B]

Over the last year I've replaced tow 2001 vehicles. DW's Accord has turned into a Highlander and I got rid of a Chevy 1500 and have a Tacoma. Both were new. The older vehicles went to CarMax. Both older vehicles needed repairs or maintenace that was about the same amount as their CarMax price. Doing the work would have had minimal impact on their value. I feel sorry for whomever gets either of these rolling disasters.

I typically keep my cars until the maintenace needs approach their value. It's unusual for us to not keep cars for over a decade and put well over 100,000 miles on them. My Chevy P/U had 220,000 miles but just had so much wrong with it that I should have gotten rid of it a year earlier.

 

[Chuckanut]

Old car - 26 mpg overall. New car of same model but hybrid - 38 mpg overall.

Back on topic - when I was on my Condo board had a few owners complaining that the dues where to high. One lady complained constantly. I tried and tried to explain to her that the dues were controlled by expenses, but for some reason she seemed to believe that the condo board just made up a high number for the heck of it.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

We have purchase used cars. Most expensive was about $7K but it was in payment for a debt. Others were under $3K. After purchase I go over them looking for any issue. Expect to put about $1K into them the first year and then drive them (with good maintenance) till they just won't go any more.

When weather is good I've taken to using a motorcycle. Gotta get a little bit of fun in!

 

[aja8888]

calm, I loved the ad for the Sprint. That's my kinda car! Will have to see if any are around when I get ready to change cars again.

Sarah, better hurry! Most have rusted into the earth and turned back into iron oxide by now. I checked eBay and could not find one listed for sale. If you can find a clean 3 cylinder one, you are golden!

 

[Meadbh]

My second car was a Sprint. I drove it for nine years. After 40 years of driving, I'm now on my fourth car.

 

[Andre1969]

I think Sprints and Metros got a second wave of popularity back in 2008, as gas prices soared just before the Great Recession. IIRC, you have to get just the right combination, to get that really good gas mileage. 3-cyl, hatchback coupe, stick shift, and no a/c. I remember if you got the 4-cyl/automatic, it was EPA rated 30/34 by the metrics of the day. Good city economy, but the highway mileage wasn't much better than some full-sized cars. I remember my old Intrepid was rated 20/29, and I think the Chevy Impala, with the 3.4, was something like 21/32.

I'd imagine these cars are pretty rare today, because they were bought mostly as cheap commuter cars, used up, and thrown away. And that second wave of popularity probably did in most of the survivors.

 

[powerplay]

My second car was a Sprint. I drove it for nine years. After 40 years of driving, I'm now on my fourth car.

+1
I also have had a total of 4 vehicles in my 44 years of driving. Heck, I still have 2 of them and drive them frequently.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'd never even heard of the Sprint, but definitely the Geo Metro is famous. I've seen a few Metros listed for sale around here, admittedly all in pretty poor shape.

Shame none of you frugal types saved one way back when for me to buy off you at this late date. This would be the cheapskate version of the mint Ford Mustang dream uncovered in a farmer's barn, right?

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

I'd never even heard of the Sprint, but definitely the Geo Metro is famous. I've seen a few Metros listed for sale around here, admittedly all in pretty poor shape.

Shame none of you frugal types saved one way back when for me to buy off you at this late date. This would be the cheapskate version of the mint Ford Mustang dream uncovered in a farmer's barn, right?

You jest, but many ugly, cheap-when-made cars are actually now worth a pretty penny. Vintage VW buses go for a good amount, as do their more common cousin, the VW Beetle.

 

[Amethyst]

That's not just ignorance; it's stupidity, and love of complaining for its own sake. I have a lot to say against condo board members, but wanting high dues (which they also pay) is not among them.

Amethyst

Back on topic - when I was on my Condo board had a few owners complaining that the dues where to high. One lady complained constantly. I tried and tried to explain to her that the dues were controlled by expenses, but for some reason she seemed to believe that the condo board just made up a high number for the heck of it.

 

[Andre1969]

It was called the Chevy Sprint when it came out for 1985. That first year, I think it was only offered in the Western US. At some point, they added a 4-door hatchback, and there was even a turbocharged model offered for a couple years. I think it was 1989 when the car was redesigned, and no called the Geo Metro. The 4-door hatchback was dropped, but a 4-door sedan was added.

Around 1997 or 1998, I think GM dropped the Geo brand and these cars reverted back to being Chevies. At least, one of my friends had a 1998 Tracker and it was a Chevy, not a Geo, so I think they did that with all their "captive imports".

In 2000 they stopped selling Metros to private customers, but continued selling to rental fleets through 2001.

Oh, looking around on Wikipedia, they mention Car and Driver did a comparison test of a used 1998 Metro, pitting it against a new 2009 Prius and Insight. Naturally, it came in last place overall, because the newer cars were simply newer, better-engineered, etc. Not to mention, coming in at a higher price point. Nonetheless. the Metro managed to tie the Prius in fuel economy...42 mpg on their test average.

 

[SteveNU]

Loved my little Geo Metro. I always thought it would have been a great car for a lead footed teenager. Gas pedal to the floor at every stop just to get going, you couldn't get into much trouble speeding! When I get on the highway here it is uphill for a bit and I would have to floor it and push it to get to 65. Manual transmission, no ac, all beat up, but it ran and got me where I wanted to go.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I had one to. I liked it but for some reason it would died during the first minute or so in the winter. But during to good weather it was great.

 

[Sarah in SC]

You jest, but many ugly, cheap-when-made cars are actually now worth a pretty penny. Vintage VW buses go for a good amount, as do their more common cousin, the VW Beetle.

A friend who is a brilliant VW mechanic and owns 4-5 buses in various operational states had one of those barn finds not long ago. A VW Beetle, in perfect condition, purchased for $250 and a couple of hours of mechanical time on the guy's other car. Soooooo jealous!

 

[Andre1969]

Back in high school and college I was good friends with a girl who drove a dark green VW Bug. I tend to go for bigger cars, but I thought it was cool, in sort of a reverse-chic sort of way. This was in the late 80's, so at that time, they were just old cars, and not necessarily treasured classics.

 

[calmloki]

A prior owner had added a sunroof to mine - it leaked a bunch and the inner channel would fill with water. Nothing quite like going out to go fix a tenant's plugged whatever on a cold soggy Oregon fall day, sitting down into a wet car seat, charging off to do battle, and having a 1/4 cup of cold rainwater dump down the back of your neck on the first corner. Good times.

Had some people pretty amused because they thought my Motorola brick cell phone was worth more than the car. Hah. Mileage tax write-off on that car bought the car again plus all expenses and made me money every single year.

 

[MRG]

As long as you didn't live in freezing weather. I used to have to scrape windshield inside of my bug while driving. Left foot would burn while the rest of you froze. But they did well in the snow. Cheap reliable easy to work on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[jjquantz]

Loved my little Geo Metro. I always thought it would have been a great car for a lead footed teenager. Gas pedal to the floor at every stop just to get going, you couldn't get into much trouble speeding! When I get on the highway here it is uphill for a bit and I would have to floor it and push it to get to 65. Manual transmission, no ac, all beat up, but it ran and got me where I wanted to go.

+1 I had a 92 Metro that I drove for 10 years, put 120K on it and no repairs, just routine maintenance. I've still got the spreadsheet with all the expenses/gas/oil changes recorded. Averaged 51 mpg over the 120K miles. Bought it as a single person commuter. No AC and I installed an after market radio because it was cheaper than getting the factory one. By FAR the least expensive car per mile that I can ever imagine owning.

 

[SteveNU]

An acquaintance of ours who makes somewhere between 80-100k a year literally lives paycheck to paycheck. There are times he has told me he had to scrounge up money to buy gas. Already lost one house to the bank. But he does enjoy his wine of the month club membership....

 

[calmloki]

As long as you didn't live in freezing weather. I used to have to scrape windshield inside of my bug while driving. Left foot would burn while the rest of you froze. But they did well in the snow. Cheap reliable easy to work on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Pro trick for foggy bug windshields: keep a squeegee at hand

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grip...=UTF8&qid=1421784929&sr=1-1&keywords=squeegee

 

[Walt34]

Her only way to resume her previous life style is to find someone with at least the income as her ex-DH that's happy to let her spend freely.

Apparently that's exactly what she did. To my knowledge they're still married.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Apparently that's exactly what she did. To my knowledge they're still married.

For now.... unless he has sufficient assets/income that she can spend at whatever level she finds comfortable. One wonders (or perhaps just us LBYMers) how spending - in and of itself - can provide any sort of enjoyment. Money is a tool to buy things you need, and sometimes things you want.

 

[mystang52]

A corollary to being financially ignorant: Spending too much on something because it's supposedly on sale. Years ago one of my employees bought a new dining room set for something like $10,000. That's not a misprint. But he told me it was too good a deal to pass up, because he was saving $5000.
He was my employee, so I knew how much he made; no way he could have afforded that. Oh, wait, it didn't matter -- he just put it on his credit card.

But he did save $5000..........

 

[Walt34]

A corollary to being financially ignorant: Spending too much on something because it's supposedly on sale. Years ago one of my employees bought a new dining room set for something like $10,000. That's not a misprint. But he told me it was too good a deal to pass up, because he was saving $5000.

I loved that one. My ex used that reason often and one SIL still does. The ex went shopping one time and was exalting that she'd "saved" 40% off everything. I asked how much she'd have saved if she'd stayed home. That did not go over well.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Best car we had was a Toyota Tercel SR5 hatchback purchased as a bank repo. Teamed it with a 5x10 trailer. 4x4, manual transmission, great gas mileage. We hauled several trailer loads of gravel/sand at very slow speeds on the backroads while working on houses with that. Drove it till the engine went out. Bought another used engine and drove it another 4 years until the transmission gave out. Then we let it go to someone else for a few hundred. Would love to get another one if I could find one in great shape!