Unlike most people, we don’t have a car. We never have, so we never got licenses either. Partly we haven’t prioritized it, partly it’s not an expense we could really afford, partly it’s for eco friendly reasons, partly we’re just shit scared of other drivers. Lately we’ve been thinking of taking the plunge.
There are so many decisions to be made though. And so much money to be spent.
Do we get automatic licenses, or manual ones. The latter gives you more choice in cars, but realistically we’re both too lazy to drive a manual. Plus, I think I’d rather spend more time focusing on not hitting someone/getting hit, than on simply getting the car moving.
Also, do we get an old car, or a newer model. I like the look of old cars better, but it’s probably too expensive to get them repaired.
None of the newer cars look ‘me’ though. They’re all too bimbo looking, or too family looking, or just ugly.
Can anyone recommend a cheap ($0 – $2,500), automatic, reliable, safe, and aesthetically pleasing car?
I like this one, but it’s a manual. They want $2,500 for it. It’s in good nick, but it isn’t licensed and those mirrors look like they’d need to be changed. And that’s just first impressions. I wouldn’t have a clue about the inner bits. I have a mechanic sister, brother in law, and father in law, and my dad is pretty car-cluey. But asking them for help is another matter.
I can see their eyes rolling. I can see myself getting lost in car yard jargon. I can see my dreams of a bitchin’, rock’n'rollin’ car ending in the purchase of something horribly sensible.
I like the sloping back window on these cars:
My long dreamed for (and also fairly impractical) car is an old VW. I’ll probably never ever be able to get one, but I still love them.
I like the mini ute idea too:
It’s all just fantasy though. I’ll end up with something like this, I’m sure (this was the type of car my sister first got. I hate them!)
8 comments
Comments feed for this article
August 3, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Amy
Cars are something that are important to me (well, I work on parts for them, as well as live in the “car state”; Michigan).
The old VW Beetle is practical! It gets good gas mileage and is fine for yourself and one other person! It’s also cute!
I’ve been looking at cars for myself (I have to have a car to get to work; I live about 10 miles away, through the city and onto the freeway). I have a Saturn SC1, but I’m looking at a VW Jetta. The Jetta looks awesome, as well as seems to have what I want in a car, namely 4 doors. The Saturn only has 2, and that’s a pain when I want to transport more than myself and one other person, as well as some stuff.
Good luck with the choices. If you need help, feel free to email me. I know a little bit about stuff… not as much as my friends, but I know enough not to get blatantly ripped off by a dealer.
Amy
August 4, 2008 at 8:03 am
wildschwein
Hi
I guess I meant the VW wasn’t entirely practical because I’m sure they’d be relatively expensive to repair, get parts for, etc. I’m tempted though. I often see beetles advertised in the paper, too, for pretty cheap. It would be very cool to have one, and looks like a nice small car to learn in, but I assume most are manuals, so I’d have to get my manual license. I probably should anyway and not be so lazy.
What year Jetta do you mean? The newer ones, or the older models?
August 4, 2008 at 12:09 pm
gizo
I really don’t know if this is the right time to be investing much money in a petrol powered vehicle.
Don’t forget about registration too, and insurance. The costs keep on coming.
You’ll probably pay that $2,500 again in a year or two of servicing the car, and again in petrol.
Are you sure you can’t acheive all you need on a coule of nice electric bikes? You could do nicely for the same money, including some funky wet-weather gear, and so on. Maybe a trike (but beware of stability around corners…)
August 4, 2008 at 2:14 pm
wildschwein
Hmm. maybe.
We live in a semi-rural place so a bike isn’t really practical for what we need it for. But if we move closer to the city later in the year/next year, then yeah, a bike might be a better idea. I thought a scooter would be pretty cool and very economical/fuel efficient, but it’s not really what I’d use it for primarily. I wouldn’t use the car as my primary means of transport. I don’t mind catching the bus/train. It’s more so we can go pick stuff up if we need to, or go to an out of the way kind of place without it being a huge hassle. Also some jobs require you to have a car and license whether you use the car to get to the job or not, so it’s handy in that sense too.
P.S. Don’t you work for a car company or something??
August 5, 2008 at 12:16 pm
gizo
Yes, I agree that a license can be handy. Get a Manual license, learn to drive a car – not just steer it.
Have you thought about either a shared vehicle with mre people, or is there some sort of local ‘fleet’ of community cars?
If you only realy NEED a car for a couple of trips a year – it might end up being worth hiring one for those trips.
As for my work – yes, kinda. And I do live with the silent fear that one day they’ll find me out….
August 5, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Amy
RE: VW
I’m looking at a 2006 Jetta. At this point, I wouldn’t get anything older than a 2006 model. I’m driving a 99 right now, and it’s getting to the point where it’s more to repair it than it is to get a new one.
The parts may be hard to come by, but here in the US, VWs and the like are becoming more popular (well, I mean specifically in Michigan; we’ve always been a domestic car state; especially since we have GM, Ford and Chrysler).
Anyhoo, Glad to see you’re looking. I’d pick something practical for you though. Getting an older car increases maintenence costs. A newer car will be more expensive, but you may not have to keep repairing it every time you turn around. If you get an old car, you may want to look into learning how to repair it yourself. Older cars are pretty easy to fix (no computers, mostly mechanical systems) so a book will guide you in the correct direction.
Again, it depends on how far you drive and how often. I drive every day for work (into work, back home, etc). It is also not feasible for me to move closer to work (I work in a “bad” section of town; I’m not willing to sacrifice my safety for a shorter commute… I did the dangerous area bit when I was at Uni and I want no more part of it). If you drive only a few times a year, then maybe those bikes are a good idea. Or you could look at a Prius or another electric vehicle. All good options.
Amy
PS: You need a special liscence to drive a manual? Wow, it’s the same here in the US whether you drive an auto or a manual shift…
August 5, 2008 at 3:14 pm
wildschwein
We talked about VWs tonight and the boy seems to think that VWs are actually fairly cheap to repair because the beetle is such a popular model. And, as you said, its more a learn-by-a-book thing. SO we’ll see.
When I said I’d be using it now and then I didn’t really mean once or twice a year. I meant more once a week perhaps, as opposed to every day. With fuel costs so high I would prefer to catch the bus where possible, but there are some trips that are just more convenient with a car, such as visiting family. It’s a drag having to be gone from a get together so you don’t miss the last bus home, or planning an evening out around the bus timetable – meaning you can’t really make many spontaneous decisions while you’re out; you’ve got to keep your eye on the time so you don’t miss your opportunity to get back home.
Living in a semi-rural place, it would also be kind of convenient to be able to pick up some bales of hay on occasion, or similar kinds of outdoorsy/gardeny type products that you can’t really put on a bus.
And then theres the matter of the boy getting back into music, and the dilemma of how to get to people’s places to jam, how to get to future gigs, etc. Carting a guitar, amp, pedals and other gear isn’t particularly easy via public transport – altho he did that in his crazy youth days, carting 10s of kilos of gear has lost a bit of its charm now. It’s also not particularly safe to in some areas.
And yeah, the safety part is also a big plus for cars. The main bus and train stations that we travel through are not particularly safe, and on many occasions I’ve wished I could just drive home rather than wait for 30 mins to an hour for a bus I’ve missed.
Although it’s nice living in the hills, about an hour from Perth city by car, it’s one and a half to two hours by bus and train. To get to uni we used to have to catch one bus (which ran for 30 mins), get off and hop on a train (which ran for 30 mins), then walk over to a bus station and catch another bus (which all up took another 30 mins usually). It entailed a lot of waiting around. And if something was late, or you needed a loo break, you’d miss your connection and have to wait around for another bus/train. Buses from where we live only run every hour or so on a weekday, so it puts a lot of stress into getting there on time, and on having reliable bus drivers who don’t run too early or too late.
SO yeah. After a lifetime of catching buses, and over 3 years of putting up with the above effort of simply getting to uni, a car does have some appeal!
Oh – you don’t need a special license for a manual. It’s just you have two options: to get your manual license (which allows you to drive manual and automatic vehicles), or to get your automatic license (which only allows you to drive automatic vehicles). The latter is evidently easier because you don’t need to learn how to drive a manual. It’s probably wise to learn to drive a manual anyway incase you’re in a situation where you have to drive a manual car, but I was mainly saying that if I wasn’t planning on buying a manual car then I’d be tempted to be lazy and just get my automatic license.
That probably doesn’t make any sense. It’s late, sorry!
August 23, 2008 at 9:57 am
Fanfare — Stacking Theory
[...] know precious little about – notably advising them regarding the purchase (or non-purchase) of an automobile – through to a meandering discourse about Working Dog’s latest foray into TV-land, The [...]