Dunbar

If you can DIY all of your own car maintenance yes you are at a huge advantage to the average person when it comes to running costs. Keep in mind that most $700 cars would not be considered reliable enough transportation to get you to work every day. Realistically you probably need to spend at least $5k to get a reliable car (and there's no guarantee what you're getting is reliable at that price). Comparing a beater car to a $1000-1500 e-bike is not really fair though. Something like a $50 bike with a cheap front hub motor throttle kit is more analogous to a beater car.

PatrickGSR94

You're talking about having a car AND an e-bike. I was talking about having a car INSTEAD of an e-bike (assuming another car is available for weekend trips etc). 1 car 1 bike instead of 2 cars and 1 bike.

PatrickGSR94

They caught fire due to crappy BMS most likely.
@blaw1201 Why are you spamming all these threads with the same stuff?

KD5NRH

Local mechanics often sell older cars taken under lien (or just signed over freely when the owner can't afford the repair) for $1000-1500, with a 30 day guarantee. (And usually an unstated labor discount for the rest of the first year.) They may look like crap, but the mechanic does check them out well because it looks bad for him to sell a car that falls apart shortly after.

maxxevv

KD5NRH, I see that you're situated in Stephenville area. It probably explains a lot of your perspectives on the subject. I believe the guys are looking at it from cities which are far more congested and costs of living are higher generally.

If you were staying somewhere with a much higher population and car density, loads and loads more traffic junctions, jams and really bad options for parking in the town area, perhaps your perspective would be different.
Probably 3 miles within city center of Dallas, Houston or Austin would be a suitable shift to what the guys are looking at ??

speedy25

So why the hell did this thread end up as a car thread. This WAS an electric bike forum.

-SP

KD5NRH

I was car free a couple miles out of downtown Dallas for two years, and drove beaters there for another three. When it comes to what I'd want in an ebike, it's still pretty much the same; reasonable value compared to a lightly used, reputable name touring or CX bike, running 28s or 32s, rack, fenders, lights and 10-20mi range. The motorized MTBSOs tend to suck if you run out of battery 10 hilly miles from home, so it needs to be something I can get around on reasonably (i.e. road or hybrid) without the motor, or cruise at least most of the commute without pedaling. (Even if that means I'm stuck at 20mph max and chugging up hills at 6.)

NoPhart

I think all belching, smoking, dented up, bald tired, crappy brake, cracked window beaters should be gathered up in the desert and set a blaze! Maybe toss in a few of the crappy unsafe Chinese E-bikes as well...

KD5NRH

WalMart BSOs don't usually have windows, and occasionally the owners will pour enough 10W30 into the hubs to stop the smoking for a while.