metalpony

I can't decide if this should make me feel lazy or active...but my car got a flat tire about a month ago (luckily in the parking lot of my apartments) and I have yet to have it repaired. I only drove it once or twice a week at most anyway, but now its 100% bike.

bpohl

Heh, I did much the same thing this summer. My car had a tire that kept going flat, and there was no way I was going to pay the price of a new tire. It sat there with a flat tire for almost two months before I fixed it. In that time span, I bought a new set of tires for my bike ($90), a new pair of pedals ($250), and a new rear wheel ($350). I never once complained about that, but it killed me to pay the $75 for a car tire. Still, though, I would maintain that my driveway's paperweight doesn't deserve the money I put into it, while my bike actually takes me places and keeps me healthy. My car just sits there and collects dust. I really should just go completely car-free, but keeping the lease in my name is helping my credit right now, and it's good for some trips.

I-Like-To-Bike

Fix a flat on a car for $75? What did you plan to do, get a tow to the tire store?
$45/bike tire?; Pedals for $250?; Rear wheel for $350? I would have complained plenty!! I haven't spent that kind of money on a daily commuting bike in 10 years including the cost of the bike when new.

bpohl

No, I had to buy a whole new tire. The puncture was on the side wall (? - I think that's teh term). I use my road bike for commuting right now. I'll probably buy another, cheaper hybrid bike after I buy my next roadie. So, the commuting-specific bike is still behind another road bike on my list of priorities, although I've never felt like I really NEEDED a commuting bike, anyway. WHen I get groceries, I just attach the trailer, and I'm good to go.

Artkansas 

What is your apartment management's policy about cars? Ours have to at least appear to be operational, ie no flats, current registration ect.

bpohl

Usually, that's just because of zoning requirements for the jurisdiction you're in. In Indy, these are basic requirements for inoperable vehicles.

Jerseysbest

New tire + labor + tire disposal fee = $50 - $100 depending on the car.

noisebeam

My little used truck got a moderately slow flat, down full flat in ~1wk. I let it go to full flat and paid the price in using my floor pump to get it to enough pressure to take it to the tire shop for a new one. That took perhaps 20mi of pumping. (I don't own a powered pump)

If you are going to pay to get it repaired/replaced do it as soon as possible. A motor vehicle with a flat tire doesn't look so good sitting around anyway (of course neither does one with one.)

You need an inflated tire to sell the car for what its worth anyway.

Al

JosephPaul86

The cheapest tire for my sister's Nissan Altima is $80, now add balancing, old tire disposal, lifetime warranty, and whatever taxes and it puts it around $110 for one tire. Same goes for my last Truck, '02 F150.

Ehh...cars are just too expensive to maintain alone. The empty space in the garage is slowly filling with bikes, i am up to four now including 2 MTN bikes, a Beach Cruiser and a BMX.

PDay

I dearly wish that was the policy where I live. Theres this guy that has a really eyesore-ish toyota that has 2 flats. Its been sitting there all year...Im not even sure which one of my neighbor's it is (really friendly people )

I-Like-To-Bike

OK, that's in the ballpark for replacing a tire, not just fixing a flat as originally reported. $250 for pedals? Outta Sight!

syn0n

You guys really ought not to let your cars sit for a long time like that. Letting your car sit for months with the fluid stagnant can cause problems that can ultimately lead to replacing more expensive parts. If you're planning to eventually get rid of them, you should probably run them for a minimum of 10 minutes a week, and possibly drive them around the block or use them for some errands once or twice a month.

heywood

Yep I was going to say the same thing.. really it should just amount to pulling the battery (keep it inside a cupboard until you need it) and use some gas stabilizer in the gas tank and it should be good for six months..then change the oil, fire-up the engine and i guess drive it in circles for about half and hour then repeat..

Hey if you're never gonna use again though..just take it to a wreckers or sell it to some kid..i'm sure someone could use it..

Roody

Don't ever leave a drivable car sitting around, even with a flat tire, especialy if it's uninsured. My friend let a loser park his car in her driveway. Somebody "borrowed" it and got injured in an accident. Meanwhile, the loser has skipped town, and the borrower's insurance company is suing my friend for $300,000.

If you keep the car, it would be a good idea to yank out a couple wires so it can't be started.

crazybikerchick

Sounds like a good time to get rid of it and save cash on insurance and the parking space (if it is extra)

jeff-o

Definitely get started on selling that car. Fix the tire, have it safetied, and get it out of there. An unused car is hemorrhaging money for every month it sits there, both in insurance costs and resale value.

FrugalBiker

There is some excellent advice in this thread for those who are still clinging to a car while trying to live car-free. I have found the ultra-carlite lifestyle to be surprisingly wasteful. You do save on gas, some wear and tear repair, and possible parking fees, but you still have all of the other endless costs of owning a black hole (a car). And meanwhile, it loses value every day.

Plus, as noted in some posts here, a car has to be "exercised" and can't just sit all the time; I've incurred extra costs by not using the car enough, particularly with batteries going bad from lack of use. Since I try to never use it, I have to take the car out for occasional exercise just to keep it running - which is obviously insane and even more environmentally irresponsible than a normal car trip.

For those who must still be car-clingers, for whatever reason, are there any threads or websites with helpful advice for keeping a car "alive" at a minimal cost until a person can finally take the magical car-free leap? (I apologize if this is slightly against the LCF spirit.) In my case, I'm currently job-hunting, and I'd first like to find the job, of course , and be sure that I can handle the yet-to-be-known commute car-free. But I can't wait to dump my automotive beast, and I'm always sooooo envious of the truly car-free people at this forum.

jeff-o

Well, it's a good start to keep the battery charged with an external charger. Keep the tires inflated to prevent damage to the tires and rims. It will still need oil changed, though not as often. The brakes will develop rust if left to sit, I'm not sure what to do about that aside from driving the car every so often.

MyBikeGotStolen

Depending on how bad the flat is, just go spend $10 on a plug kit for your tire. Of course I have been meaning to do that for my car for a year and a half now . Right now I just use the little Bell 12v bike pump everytime I need the car (about once or twice a month)