Best car for ERE

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take2
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by take2 »

Nuuka wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:27 am
I like driving these lazy diesels. Somehow you adapt a different driving style (cruising) along and I feel relaxed. I get often tumb-up signs and older people often come to talk and tell that they have owned mercedes as well.

My S123 touring I am currently driving, looks like a wreck since it has been driven already 650000 km (400000 miles) without repaint job.

Here is a small video clip about my S123 touring :)

https://youtu.be/2ckL13E453M
Excellent. My parents have a 1980 300CD that’s still going, though now garaged most of the time. My father bought it used in 1985 with 15,000 miles on it. I was almost born in the thing as my mom was rushed to the hospital in it. I took my drivers test in it 18 years later, and drove it for another 7 until I moved out of state.

The odometer stopped working around 210,000 miles sometime around 2002, so I’m sure it got north of 350k before being mostly garaged. Amazing cars.

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Sclass
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Sclass »

Nuuka wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:27 am

Here is a small video clip about my S123 touring :)

https://youtu.be/2ckL13E453M
Great 300TD. Love that color. I almost bought a 79 300d normally aspirated in seafoam green. Love it. Beautiful.

Nuuka
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Nuuka »

Color code is 881 silberdistel. Interior color code is 056 grunolive.

ToFI
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by ToFI »

A high mileage car but around 6 years old is better than an old rusted car with low mileage. The rust is still not too bad and the components are still new. Cars are meant to be driven.
I bought a 2012 Volvo XC60 with 125000 miles for only 8000 USD. I used clay bar to clean it and it looks almost like new. I plan to drive it for 6 years when it's 13 years old and get another car. I live in a snow/rust belt so rust is a big issue. The car will rust out before engine's dead.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Do modern cars rust anymore, I thought they were all galvanised now.

We tend to buy cheap European hatchbacks, and run them into the ground. 150K is about the max you can get from them. A bigger diesel car might last longer but the costs of fuel, insurance, tax and servicing make it look worse in the UK. Anyway at this point the bodywork still looks fine, it's the cost of catalytic converters, fuel injectors, etc that starts to mount.

5ts
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by 5ts »

No salt in the UK means no rust. Where there is salt there is rust to this day.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by tonyedgecombe »

We salt our roads quite heavily in the UK in the winter.

TopHatFox
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by TopHatFox »

No car is not practical for a country build around cars. Look: even Jacob and MMM have one for all the talk about bicycling.

You don’t have to use the car to get down to the grocery store—and in fact you probably should live within walking distance of work—but a simple used car you maintain yourself is life changing.

Want to go on a date with a lady the next town over? Yes. Want to go to the state or national park 100 kn South on the weekend? Yes. Want to travel your state during vacation? Yes. Is that freedom worth you working more? Yes.

You don’t need anything fancy, just a used Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, or Toyota Camry that you keep in tip-top shape. While you’re at it, avoid living in dense af cities or blue states that may charge exorbitant fees for a car space, parking, insurance, licensing, and other car expenses. A good used one should run you 7k and last many years.

———-

I also don’t think getting the smallest, most economical car is a good idea. You want a car that is common and therefore has plenty of parts, that has excellent safety statistics, and that is inexpensive to buy and operate. As of now, electric, hybrid, or diesel cars do not meet these standards.

————

Apparently the Toyota Yaris has a Mazda engine in it, so that means its reliability is more akin to a Mazda rather than a Toyota.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

tonyedgecombe wrote:
Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:08 pm
Do modern cars rust anymore, I thought they were all galvanised now.
Modern cars definitely still rust, it just takes longer and it doesn't seem to hit the body panels as hard as it used to say 30 years ago. The underside of a ten year old car in areas where salt is used will most likely still be a rusty mess.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

TopHatFox wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:08 am
No car is not practical for a country build around cars. Look: even Jacob and MMM have one for all the talk about bicycling.
I agree with THF on this one. It is difficult to not have a car in most places in the US without having to restrict lifestyle and/or figure out a lot of work arounds.

That said, it comes at a cost for ERE purposes. My car, even though I work on it myself and it has less than 100,000 miles, is a constant money, time, and energy suck because it is low quality and is on the part of the life cycle where everything is wearing out. If I didn't have a car and made corresponding lifestyle sacrifices I would be closer to FI.

Cost depends on the particular model, the individual car, and even the owner, not just the brand. There are money pit Toyotas and Hondas and GM and Chrysler cars with low costs. The odds are with the Toyotas and Hondas though.

5ts
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by 5ts »

tonyedgecombe wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:51 am
We salt our roads quite heavily in the UK in the winter.
Either you turn over cars before the rust hits or you have a magical salt that doesn't cause rust.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by tonyedgecombe »

5ts wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:01 pm
Either you turn over cars before the rust hits or you have a magical salt that doesn't cause rust.
Modern cars are galvanised, compared to stuff from the seventies (especially Italian cars) rust really isn't a problem. The only parts we have had fail through corrosion are in the exhaust system.

5ts
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by 5ts »

tonyedgecombe wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 2:25 pm
Modern cars are galvanised, compared to stuff from the seventies (especially Italian cars) rust really isn't a problem. The only parts we have had fail through corrosion are in the exhaust system.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/indu ... thing-past

I will give you much more resistant, but it's still an issue.

https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-ag ... at-britain

UK = 8.2 years

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/aver ... e-america/

US = 11.8 years

It's still an issue.

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Seppia
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Seppia »

When I’ll have to buy my own car, it will be a lightly used, certified pre owned Honda Jazz or similar.
VW Golf if I’ll feel fancy.
An oil change is the most I’d do myself, so spending $7-8k one shot and knowing I won’t have to worry for years is worth more than spending $3k and having a ton of minor issues to deal with.

chenda
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by chenda »

I like Beetles, because they're small and cute, though VWs always seem very overpriced. There used to be lots of the old air cooled ones about, which made a lot of noise once they got going. Probably high maintenance too.

davtheram12
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by davtheram12 »

I've been wrenching on cars since I was 15 and have always made it a habit to know my vehicles inside and out. I can definitely attest to certain cars reliability and ease of maintenance while also being able to provide evidence on cars some people should avoid.

My current vehicle is a 2011 Honda Fit that I have owned since new and currently has 126k miles. Its been very reliable, is fairly easy to maintain, parts are affordable, is inexpensive to insure and is very fun to drive. I would recommend this car to anyone willing to forgo some of the fancy amenities other cars might offer (usually at the expense of the things I listed above).

I previously drove a 1998 Honda Civic CX that had 302k miles before I decided to make it a project car. Its been parked in my garage since 2011. That car also gave me the same pleasant experiences.

Also had a 1989 Acura Integra for a short while that had 115k miles before I decided to sell it to a friend. Not as popular as the subsequent models but really fun to drive. Parts were a little harder to find considering the age of the vehicle but still very easy to work on. I would recommend the newer models as they are just as inexpensive to maintain. Acura has since discontinued the integra but the TSX, TL models are equally as good.

I've had really good luck with cars I've personally owned but I cant say the same for some cars my friends and family decided to own. Some examples of cars I would not recommend:
Chevy Astro Van (terrible transmissions, terrible on gas and a pain to work on)
Ford Aerostar Van (sensitive transmissions, cheap interiors and a pain to maintain)
Any modern German vehicle >2000 (a lot of unnecessary technology that is prone to break and expensive to replace/fix)
Any car that has not been maintained properly. I can not stress this enough. If it looks nice but the service record is either non-existent or spotty just walk away. Its better to spend a little more money on a car that has been properly maintained and has a good history of reliability.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by tonyedgecombe »

5ts wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:48 pm
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/indu ... thing-past

I will give you much more resistant, but it's still an issue.

https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-ag ... at-britain

UK = 8.2 years

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/aver ... e-america/

US = 11.8 years

It's still an issue.
It's difficult to compare the UK to the US because we have a very stringent testing regime, cars will fail on a ton of things that wouldn't be a problem in the US.

basuragomi
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by basuragomi »

The recent discussion in this thread is a pretty strong reminder of how radically society was transformed to accommodate cars. In rural Ontario you can see ghost towns every few dozen kilometres - they were spaced out to be farming communities one day's carriage ride from each other and largely populated by Eastern European immigrants. The advent of the car (though mostly terrible soil conditions) completely wiped out these communities. Manhattan reached peak population around 1910 and has never again approached that level of density thanks to the car. A tremendous amount of infrastructure was put into place to make the car ubiquitous, and the ubiquity of the car makes this embodied effort almost invisible to us. Is it useful to assume it will all be maintained sufficiently to sustain a car-based lifestyle in the future? Interesting things to think about.

@davtheram12 what would you consider an appropriate toolset for home car maintenance? I've seen people use anything from scissor jack + tire iron to engine hoists + two-post lift to full machine shops with overhead hoists, attached composites shop, etc. Maybe the question should instead be "what repair would you refuse to attempt?"

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Sclass
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Sclass »

I really like the Fit. I have an 2008 civic and a 2011 Accord. They’re really easy because there is almost nothing to do. Service jobs can be found in the owner’s manual. My Civic only has 28,000 miles so it has just been oil changes. The Accord at 60,000 miles has had oil changes, brakes, a transmission fluid change, a broken trunk lid spring replaced.

These jobs can be performed by a beginner. Jacks and proper jack stands are cheap (ones for a little Honda will cost you $40). It’s a safety thing so I say spend the money. I repaired my cars in the dorm parking lot as a kid with scissors jacks and old wheels for safety stands. It wasn’t worth the risk. I’m glad I didn’t get crushed. The cheapest toolkit at Harbor Freight ($29 on sale) is sufficiently good for oil changes. I have bought two of these Chinese wonders and put them in the trunks of my cars for emergencies. Better than nothing.

The brakes on a 2011 Accord are the easiest brake job I’ve ever done. A child could do it. Watch YouTube. Don’t forget to wear your p95 respirator.

This toolset is really cheap. The tools suck as far as tools go but they work. I use this set when I go to self serve junkyards because it is a lot of tools in a small box and I am not afraid of losing a tool while stripping parts.

https://www.harborfreight.com/Tool-Kit- ... D%3D%0D%0A

On those little Hondas there is often a hidden transmission filter that is not recommended for replacement by Honda. It is supposedly a lifetime filter. But, it has become popular for Honda geeks to change them while doing fluid changes. BTW don’t believe this BS for no transmission fluid changes for life...it only works if the life of your car is 100,000 mile before you sell it. I did our Accord long before the recommended service interval. Fluid is cheap, transmissions are not.

Watch YouTube and learn the jobs. On oil changes, mistakes can cost you an engine. So make sure you get all the steps in and check your oil before you drive off.

Have fun and save money. I’ll further add that changing oil doesn’t save much money. What saves money is keeping your car out of the service shop and getting hit with all the unnecessary add on work they scare you into doing. Just stick to the owners manual recommendations for maintenance and inspections.

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Alphaville
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Re: Best car for ERE

Post by Alphaville »

No car!

My wife and I recently got rid of our car, and it's great. Took about six months to make the leap, but now it's finalized.

One person's commute is short enough to walk/bike, the other person doesn't commute. We walk and/or bike to most places.

We kept the car parked for six months with "storage insurance" just in case. All I had to do was to reactivate the insurance in case of emergency. Didn't happen. Not once. Not even close. Even with terrible weather, we found ways not to have to drive.

At the beginning we took a bunch of Ubers & Lyfts, and now we never need one. We've learned the routes and ways and travel times and we walk and bicycle to most places.

When required, there's cheap mass transit, and we can take the bike on it for greater range.

Beyond that, there are friends and family willing to give us a ride if we're going to some place in common, there's Uber/Lyft at all hours, and there are many car rentals available.

The other day I was looking at car rentals for future weekend trips, and a subcompact with unlimited miles could be had for $23/day (plus tax). In case of hauling required, UHAUL/Home Depot will rent you a van or pickup for $20 for a few hours (4?).

Compare this vs. the $500+ per month of car ownership (payments, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, parking, etc.)

Before ditching the car our insurance was around $900/year even with below average mileage (large truck can cause large damage to people and property).

Now Visa/Mastercard takes care of collision/comprehensive insurance for the rental car itself (one of the many advantages of a zero-balance credit card.)

We've also kept liability insurance for rentals ("non-owner insurance"), which is $100 per year for us. This is a lot cheaper than getting liability insurance from the rental place ($25/day from midnight to midnight: renting a car for 24h from noon to noon, you'd pay $50 in liability insurance $30 in collision without credit card coverage--a rotten deal.)

We might get rid of non-owner insurance later, if we end up never renting a car. But it's nice to have backup for now while we get used to a carless life in a car-centric place.

Before making the leap I found the book "How to Live Well Without a Car"... somewhere in the blog? or this forum? Where was it? Oh yes, here: https://earlyretirementextreme.com/how- ... money.html (see Robyn's comment--thanks so much Robyn!).

Anyway, the author goes into great detail on how to make it work, even in very car-centric places (he was living in St. Louis at the time).

That book (published 2006) is now outdated because back then there was no Uber, taxis were scarce in many American cities, Google Maps was underdeveloped, bus lines had no GPS apps to let you know when they were coming, etc. Also, e-scooters were garbage and e-bikes were probably in prototype phase. Nowadays it's even easier to be car-free. Not that I've needed an Uber/Lyft for months now, but should I need one, I know it's there.

I've been looking at "best value car buying" lately as a kind of intellectual exercise/consumer porn, because my family no longer needs to own a motor vehicle. This is how I started reading this thread. But really, we live better without it. Sometimes we go past traffic jams in our bicycles and we laugh at the mess.

Anyway, definitely no car for me and here's hoping more people can be car-free as well.

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