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Here's one way to go car-light . . .

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Living Car Free Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

Here's one way to go car-light . . .

Old 05-02-15, 09:52 PM
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Here's one way to go car-light . . .

I was following the https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...bicycling.html thread with interest. I almost weighed in with my two cents about how being car-light allows me to drive an old beater, and save money on maintenance - since I'm not normally dependent on my vehicle to get to work, I've been able to do some repair work myself, or if it is minor stuff, just blow it off completely.

Well, about two weeks ago, "my" car (which I inherited when my wife got a "new" used car last summer) developed a major leak in the water pump. I was losing about a gallon of anti-freeze overnight in my driveway. So, unfortunately, not something I could ignore, and I've replaced enough water pumps to know that is not something I want to do.

Took it to the local shop (which is only a mile away, so I have car-free transport home - my feet!). They put in a new water pump, and I asked them to see about a check engine light that was coming on. They managed to diagnose and fix that as well, but when they called to tell me that the car was finished, they let me know that they had also discovered that the lower engine mount was rusting out - and I probably should be very careful driving over railroad tracks. Can't say that it was a huge surprise to me - the car is a '97 Pontiac Sunfire. 17 winters in Minnesota takes its toll. I figured I'd drive it till it died.

Well, that turned out to be about 20 miles. It started pulling to the left - BADLY! Pontiac was known for their sporty cars, but this car had never been so exciting to drive. Going around a gentle corner at 20 MPH had the front tires squealing, and it was it was unclear if the car would even stay in the lane. When I got home, it looked like the front wheels were out out of alignment by about 15 degrees. Limped it back to the shop, and they gave me the unsurprising diagnosis, that yes, the engine mount had rusted out, and I was screwed. Cars are always expensive, but I must say, on a per mile basis, this was my most expensive repair ever - a $500 repair job that lasted 20 miles = $25/mile.

One happy note, on it's final trip, the car was used to pick up a bicycle: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...good-deal.html . So at least it died doing what its owner loved!

So, to sum it up, cars are always expensive, and my observations about how being car-light can save you money are pretty much BS.

Just another car thread on the living car free forum! I know I-Like-To-bike will appreciate it. Hope you ACTUAL car-free people get some karmic joy out of my woes .
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Old 05-03-15, 07:03 AM
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What an emotional roller coaster that car provided in its final hours! This would have been a catastrophe for many people but it turned into a blessing for you.

Even when I was car dependent, I was always trying to squeeze the last penny out of car costs. So I was the "final owner" of many cars. That is, I drove my cars until they died, then sold them to the junk yard. When I depended on cars, the loss was major. It meant a couple days of car shopping, a trip or two to the state office to transfer titles and so forth, a trip to the credit union to get cash or a cashier's check to pay for the new car. All this had to be done without a car--which seemed almost impossible at the time.

When I became mentally less dependent on cars, having one die was no longer a tragedy. It became merely an "oh well" experience. The POS isn't starting this morning? Oh well, I'll just ride my bike to work. I need to find and buy a new car? Oh well, I can just wait until the weekend when I have more time.
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Old 05-03-15, 09:10 PM
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Well, at least you have a reason for going car-lite that the wife will understand. I'm sorry for your loss.

I've had to "bury" a car at the end of its service life. Surprisingly, the scrap yard wasn't willing to give me much for it when they towed it away. At that time, I already had another car, so I did not have to go around trying to buy and register a car when car-free. But it was sad to lose the beast.
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Old 05-03-15, 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Roody
What an emotional roller coaster that car provided in its final hours! This would have been a catastrophe for many people but it turned into a blessing for you.

Even when I was car dependent, I was always trying to squeeze the last penny out of car costs. So I was the "final owner" of many cars. That is, I drove my cars until they died, then sold them to the junk yard. When I depended on cars, the loss was major. It meant a couple days of car shopping, a trip or two to the state office to transfer titles and so forth, a trip to the credit union to get cash or a cashier's check to pay for the new car. All this had to be done without a car--which seemed almost impossible at the time.

When I became mentally less dependent on cars, having one die was no longer a tragedy. It became merely an "oh well" experience. The POS isn't starting this morning? Oh well, I'll just ride my bike to work. I need to find and buy a new car? Oh well, I can just wait until the weekend when I have more time.
That is the thing about being car lite that is a huge benefit, and doesn't get a dollar sign affixed to it in all the back and forth debates - the reduction of stress.

Like you, in my pre-car-lite-life, anytime the car was unavailable was a near crisis. How am I going to get to work? How fast can I get this thing fixed? Am I going to get screwed by the repair shop? That's not even counting the added stress of actually DRIVING every day!

I'll probably buy a new beater, but no hurry!
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Old 05-03-15, 09:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Artkansas
Well, at least you have a reason for going car-lite that the wife will understand. I'm sorry for your loss.

I've had to "bury" a car at the end of its service life. Surprisingly, the scrap yard wasn't willing to give me much for it when they towed it away. At that time, I already had another car, so I did not have to go around trying to buy and register a car when car-free. But it was sad to lose the beast.
My wife bought the Sunfire brand new, so we have ALL the memories of this vehicle. When we got the new car last summer, we had an extra car - the dealer wouldn't touch the Sunfire with a 10 foot pole! I was driving a '96 Saturn, so we had to get rid of one of them. I picked the Saturn to get rid of - it needed a new exhaust, it had transmission issues, it was older and had more miles. I guess it was the wrong choice.

We just donated the Saturn to a Charity. The Saturns on CL that DIDn't have issues were only selling for a few hundred dollars. We would have gotten a tax write off, except that we don't itemize deductions, so we just got a warm fuzzy feeling. I'm sure we'll do the same with the Sunfire.
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Old 05-04-15, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by loky1179
My wife bought the Sunfire brand new, so we have ALL the memories of this vehicle. When we got the new car last summer, we had an extra car - the dealer wouldn't touch the Sunfire with a 10 foot pole! I was driving a '96 Saturn, so we had to get rid of one of them. I picked the Saturn to get rid of - it needed a new exhaust, it had transmission issues, it was older and had more miles. I guess it was the wrong choice.

We just donated the Saturn to a Charity. The Saturns on CL that DIDn't have issues were only selling for a few hundred dollars. We would have gotten a tax write off, except that we don't itemize deductions, so we just got a warm fuzzy feeling. I'm sure we'll do the same with the Sunfire.
Donating is good way to go. As long as you're getting the free "hearse" to get rid of the damn thing, that's good. Like Artkansas said, you probably won't get much to sell a beater to a junkyard. I don't think I ever gotas much as $100 (but that was years ago).
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