Features Frugally Living With Old Shit

And that's not even factoring in the whole "carbon footprint" argument....

 

I'm getting ready to retire. I plan on driving beaters until they need a major repair and then get another. You really can't get cheap old beaters any longer.

I'm talking $1000-$2000 S-10's or small delivery vans are getting old enough to be found really cheap (I currently drive a Chevy City Express and I love it). I'll drive it until it can't be driven any longer.

That leaves me money for my old car and trips to the races. I won't have to give in and buy Red White and Blue beer either.

 

I did just that for years. I drove I95 to work everyday in hand me down cars or cars I bought off Craigslist or the Bargain news. Had a 55 Chevy 2dr post car stick six. Until some kid hit me head on one night on my way home. Also a v8 Pinto wagon (fun to drive) and various station wagons and sedans handed down from our parents. Buying a new car was never an option. Now I'm in my 70's and bought a new truck in 2016 and love the thing to travel in. I think I will buy another one this spring. Nothing to save for now! Best thing about driving old cars is not having things beeping at you and I know how to work everything without having to be trained.

 

We did the same for years--our main car was wife's 55 which she drove daily in Bay Area traffic. I had a company car. Cost us very little and was and still is very reliable. No car payments!

 

Yeah , you are perfectly right Ryan. I got my 55 daily driver out of hibernation last saturday because we are having a very mild Winter this year and most of the salt seems to be off the roads by now . I am totally fed up with driving the 250€ '98 Opel Corsa winter beater another week. Google it, it's a 3cyl shitbox... I just can't bring myself to driving the 55 through snow and salt...

 

I have lived within my means since I started work, (a long time ago), I built my cars as I could afford them, never coming from the house budget. Now, in my old age, I can afford to buy a 32, but am so cheap i don't, broke down and bought the boss a new car, but still driving my 07 duramax and always will, got two hot rods, everything I own outright, learning to control your wants is tough when you're young, but pays off in your old age.
We are comfortable, we have friends who still scramble, peter pays paul and they get by, but I love fixing shit, buying it once and putting them back into service when they break, got a kettle to fix today, damned thing only lasted for twenty years, should have gone forty.
Got a flip phone thats never turned on, not chained to data usage, you can't get hold of me when I'm not home till I get back, no texting, I email when I need to, got cash in my pocket, buy from places I can hold the item in my hand, buy from mom and pop whenever possible. Speaking of which, gotta plan my trip from princeton bc to utah in august, want to stay-eat in mom and pop places, I'll have a teardrop behind my 36, got suggestions?
On reading this, it has occured to me that I come across as anti progressive and opposed to tech, but thats not the case. All this keeps my lifestyle simple and stress free, when stopped on the street, my phone doesn't ring to stop the conversation, my bank account states my true financial health, I like to live the life I have always lived, simple and easy, not interrupted by todays modern conveniences and annoyances.

 

I've never owned a new car, I would rather drive a older used car and not have a car payment hanging over my head, I drove my '65 Ford truck for more than 20 years and replaced it with another older pickup.

With Brenda's floral business she needs a newer more dependable every day driver and has gone through several vans over the years, I recently bought her a well maintained Dodge Magnum wagon to replace the last van, she really enjoys it and it has a lot of creature comforts.

I don't drive my old beater '32 every day but I drive it a lot, I like the no car payment philosophy. HRP

 

I bought a brand new duramax in 2006 and have racked on close to 300,000 miles on it for work...it needs some electrical work. I bought a Colorado with diesel engine in 2016 for work. It now has around 100,000 miles on it and I've been having problems with the exhaust fluid system (it's gonna get deleted as soon as it's off warranty). And we own a 2017 jeep wrangler with around 20,000 miles...been nothing but problems. We are leaving on a trip today and not sure which vehicle to take since none of them seem dependable. Worst thing is, I'm a journeyman mechanic, but even I can't fix modern vehicles out on the road without proper tools. At least an older vehicle you don't need much for tools to get back on the road.
By far the cheapest best vehicle we had financially was a 1989 Lincoln we bought for 50 bucks. I really didn't want it but bought it for the new tires it had on it. We took it on a holiday (same place we leaving for today actually), and decided if it broke down we would just abandon it and get home by bus. We drove that car for 2 years...I added oil as it needed (burnt a couple quarts in 3000 miles) so I never even changed oil. The automatic heat control became undependable so we parked it.

 

I haven't had a car payment since 1992. Our good car, that we travel in and the wife drives daily, is a used 2015 Traverse. If you don't have a car payment and higher insurance costs associated with a newer car you can really start saving money.

 

I have been daily driving my 56 chevy PU since 2011, But like Iv'e said before it doesn't snow in San Diego. It cost me about 6 grand to build including the TKO 600. Ever since I built it I constantly get offers from people to buy it. So far the highest offer was 25 grand Sorry not for sale

 

Another way to look at it is this... a new car will cost say 35,000, and you can buy a pretty darn nice old car for 35,000. The new one will depreciate like a crazy, while the old one may depreciate depending how you look after it, but not nearly at the same rate. Sure the new one has some nice creature comforts but really which one will make you happier? The only thing I can say is great about new vehicles is the safety features....air bags, abs, and crumple zones...all for my wife and children.... for myself I could care less if I die in a crash.

 

That is the big question, isn't it? Creature comforts notwithstanding, the main thing about these late model EFI machines these days is that they don't break down, they are 100% reliable. And if you are still trying to conduct business, the extra cost is not for creature comforts, but for reliability. You simply cannot call to say you will be 30 minutes late to the meeting because your ride broke down.

But for you retired folks, you really have no excuse, now do you?

 

I work for the Navy, so I see a lot of cars from all over the country. Met a contractor from Louisiana who told me his new car broke down before he even left home. Had to get up here, so he loaded up his 1973 Datsun 240Z and made the trip with no issues.

 

Looking to do the same, just get a nice solid New used pre smog car. No payments.
We already have our wishlist cars but dailies are getting boring, I've had my F150 16years! I think in the next year or so it will start to give me the 1000.00 problems. But I have not had a payment in about 11 years or so.

I have a relatively short commute but love to have a truck for all my house projects or just carry stuff in general.
It's time for an older F1-F100 or even older.

One thing to note is some people should keep that "no payments" money and smuggle it away to finish their projects or just buy one new used running car.

 

I've been fortunate, I've had a company supplied vehicle for about 30+ years. I've never bought a new car, but I've had one to drive every 4 years or so for the last 20 years. I did convert one of my company vehicles at the end of the lease period for my wife, but I paid cash for that. So I haven't had a car payment in decades. I have my old cars and drive them on weekends, the company supplied daily driver gets me around during the week, and the company pays for the gas and maintenance. I only have to pay "Income" tax on my personal usage, cause the IRS considers that to be "income". The old cars appreciate (hopefully) and I get the pleasure of driving and working on them. Seems like a great deal to me.

 

new cars can leave you stranded too.

 

I refuse to make car payments but then again I don't have anything like my neighbors. If you live in the rust belt most of your stuff falls apart before the drive train gives out.I know people who can't retire because they owe too much money .Really sad.

 

"Deferred gratification" is the term for putting off our "wants" to fulfill our "needs," like paying the bills, building or remodeling a house, putting a child through college or whatever. That's why its taken 45 years to build my '29 AA and its still a long way from getting on the road. I'm driving my O/T '96 Explorer with 450,000+ miles to the grocery store or to the country school where I substitute. I'm nearly 71, and still expect to complete the AA, so I'm hoping the Explorer can last just long enough that I can afford to finish the hotrod and use it for my daily driver. It may not get painted, or have much of an interior, but I just want it on the road before I die. That would mean that my first car (a '29 A coupe) and my last car would both be '29 Fords.

 

never bought a car that ran until i got married

 

if your in the rust belt, the 3rd thing to consider is : SALT. it'll turn your 50's car into dust in 1 winter.

 

I'm headed the other way fellow hamb-erz. No more "New-Stuff" every day ride.
Picked up a dailey driver that on the edge of the hamb limit, a 1967 El Camino. Known as "da Schmell-Camino"
Small block 4 speeder....that's it. Solid floors, no big rust issues. Paid a little too much... I've added discs up front, sway bars front and rear, quick ratio steering box, a pair of USB charging ports and hopefully A/C by summer.
Here's a few pictures of it being loaded for the ride to my place...Cragars have already been sold...

 

I drive the '59 Ford pretty often, but would appreciate an older car that has AC, power steering and a radio. I may grab a '64-ish Thunderbird or Buick Riviera sooner than later. I have an OT Chevy Malibu, paid for 84,000 miles and very reliable. I am retiring in 70 or so calendar days and would like to spend under $15,000 to accomplish the dream.

 

I buy 10+ year old BMW's x5's or x3's for the 4 wheel drive. They last forever, they're dependable, comfortable, they're easy to repair and they don't rust even here in the NE with all the salt. I pay minimal sales tax, minimal excise tax and low insurance costs. In the good weather I drive the hot rods. Been retired 10 yrs and this seems to work pretty good for me...

 

I've wanted to build a mild 4x4 to DD. Here in CO the winters, and going fishing one needs 4x. Though I get to the point of Id hate to tear up the build in my mind. So I keep the fun stuff for fun times. I have a cheap little Chevy HHR that I hate to say how good of a DD it is. Doesnt give the smiles the 61 does. But its MPG and dog hauling abilities pay for itself

 

Ryan is correct. The trick is you have to be willing to forgo buying the new
vehicle (backup) which most ladies desire because of the safety, creature comforts,
dependability, automatic transmission, back up cameras ,side warning systems
and all the other bells and whistle that make driving so easy and safe, especially
at highway speeds. If you're single, it's a lot easier.

 

A buddy and I were just talking about this a few days ago! He only drives older stuff. His theory is that you can spend your money on a Honda and be like every other schmuck on the road, or spend that same money on something cool that makes you smile every time you drive it.

 

Yeah, keeping the wife in a modern car is the right thing to do if you can, doubly important if you have kids that she has to haul around to school and activities too. We can deal with the old car issues because we choose to, but not wise to put that on them. Especially in areas of the country with severe climates that can be downright dangerous to get stuck. Who wants to worry about that every time they go off?