In the USA we like big, fast cars. Our streets are larger than Europe and gas is less than half the price of Europe. Right now we can buy a gallon for $1.65 US or 1.2 GBP
Some of us do buy inexpensive economical cars, many of us like larger more luxurious cars with lots of goodies. I drive about 23,000 miles a year so I want to do it in comfort. Fact is, I can spend a lot less and still get to my destination. My choice was luxury.
If I was you I'd buy an old gas guzzler. Cheap fuel, no depreciation. Don't care if I crash it.
Your choice, of course. I could easily have found reasonably reliable transportation for $40,000+ less. I like satellite radio, climate control, heated steering wheel, all sorts of technology. I'm planning to to die broke.
You can get second hand cars with technology in them.
In Scotland, you can cancel your full credit cards and they can't do anything about it.
Yes you can. I bought many a used car earlier in my life. Once I was able to do so, I chose new cars equipped exactly the way I wanted. I know it is not a good investment but that is not a factor in my decision. For the price I paid for my present car I could have bought five serviceable used cars.
If no one ever bought a new car you'd eventually run out of used cars to buy. I'm doing you a favor.
I like buying them used That way I get the well equipped cars for well less than the cost of a bare-bones vehicle new.
The old 6 years old, 60,000 miles for $6000 has worked well for me over the years but the last one had half the miles, was twice as old, and cost me an extra $500. 10 years old with 54000Km for $6500. It's almost to the 100,000km (60,000 miles) now and 14 years old. I bought a set of tires and brakes and a battery for it now, as well as a door lock switch and a key sensor coil module. Not counting tires and battery, I've spent under $300 on repairs in 4 years. I know lots of people who have spent more on new cars. It had a little issue with the air blend motor too - but resetting it solved the problem at no cost.
It is a pretty well loaded SES Taurus - Everything on it I would have ordered if I bought it new except for leather.
Then there is my truck. 1996 Ranger long box with cap and liner. $.0 liter 5 speed 3.55 posi, came with 14" alloys. I bought it 4 years ago with 307,000km with a bad clutch cyl and a cracked windshield in showroom condition for $1500. If I bought it new it would have had a CD stereo instead of the casette, and it would have had AC.. I might have popped for the convenience pack - power locks and windows.
I spent $900 to have the clutch cyl and clutch replaced - the clutch was hardly worn at all but I replaced it while it was apart. I didn't have the luxury of the time to do it myself - so I paid shop rate to have it done. The new original equipment windshield cost me something like $360.
I put AC in it at a cost ofsomething like $350 using about half used parts from a truck a friend was scrapping. I bought a decent aftermarket stereo on sale for $70.
I replaced the 14" alloys with 16 inchers and a new set of Michelin tires about a year later, and replaced the front brakes with oversized (11 inch) rotors. I bought another set of used alloys and a set of Hakkepillitta snows (total cost of tires and rims about the same as I paid for the truck)
Repair-wize, I've replaced the universal joints. I bought cheap ones a year ago, and one failed again this winter - so I replaced them both with higher quality ones - total cost for 4 joints about $80. I replaced the driver's door handle and the latches on the cap for about $30,00. Last week I blew one of the tailgate struts - replacement cost $50 for the pair. It was a bit slow starting on real cold days so this week I sprung for a new AGM battery for $220 - the battery I replaced was the second battery in the truck and was 10 years old. I've replaced one brake light bulb.
Other than the clearcoat pealing on the roof of the cap, it is still pretty much in showroom condition at 340,000+km on it.
From the extensive service records that came with the truck, and the word of the original owner, virtually everything else on the truck is still original, ( one evap control solenoid replaced early in it's life) so I'll likely need to spend a bit of money over the next few years but my repair costs over 5 years will be less than the second ot third year's depreciation on a new truck. One of these days I'm SURE I'll have to replace the original headlight bulbs!!!!
Much less than you would think. At speed a bike requires considerable input to turn. There are many factors from rake and trail to tire design, but there is also considerable rotational inertia. There are exceptons like BMW boxer engines and the Moto Guzzis, but on most bikes the crank, sprockets, wheels, and so forth are all rotating in the same plane.
Consider some of this craziness:
The really good (or crazy) riders can generate enough body english to momentarily twist the bike off its axis but they had better let it restore itself before it lands. Landing slightly sideways means more plaster, more pins, and more screws in various body parts -- if you're lucky. And that's all angular momentum. There are no contact patches.
From my non-scientific observations, very few. For one thing, it's a semi-arid climate. 15" of precipitation a year is on the high side. Then you need a frost susceptible soil. Concrete slab construction is very rarely used and asphalt is more flexible. That's not to say there is no frost damage at all but compared to the roads back in the northeast it's negligible.
The city street can get rough, but they're chipseal:
Chipseal is a wonderful technique. You pour tar on the road, dump copious quantities of crushed stone, and let the traffic do the compacting. Maybe sometime later they will come by and sweep up a few tons of gravel that accumulates along the shoulder. Since it depends on traffic to compact the surface, longitudinal ruts are a given. Coming to a stop light on a bike you have to position yourself so you're not on the high part in the center or reaching pavement with a foot without falling over can be tricky. But it's cheap.
yeah, but it didn't matter since it was a new car and had full coverage insurance on it.
Just plonk the old Macaw. He isn't worth wasting keystrokes on.
That's the kindest thing anyone has done on Usenet, in ages.
- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .
He likes birds, so he can't be all bad, ya know?
Depreciation means the car becomes worth a lot less after a few years, even if you don't use it. So it does matter.
Why don't you plonk me? You said you did, yet you're still replying to me.
I know that.
The difference is in this situation, it was only a few months old, and it's a requirement here to have full coverage insurance on cars that age if you are making payments on it.
The insurance company is required to restore the vehicle to top condition with that sort of car insurance. It wouldn't matter if the car was 4 years old. If it's still financed and payments are being made on it, and it's insured for full coverage, the insurance company will fix it.
Yes, it probably didn't matter if you crashed it (although your premiums would go up), but my point is nobody should ever buy a new car. They cost way more than a 2nd hand one.
Unless the cost to fix it is more than book value. Then they give you the value no matter how much you owe. Some people carry gap insurance to cover the difference.
One insurance company is advertising they will pay for a one year newer car if you total yours.
What annoys me is that insurance pays for new parts when your car is 6 years old. You should get 6 year old parts.
I've never owned a new car - always used. My son and husband both bought a new vehicle at least once.
I've heard if the insurance company says it's totaled they'll do what you mentioned. Seems insurance companies differ slightly on those policies.
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