Buy a new bike or a new car
 

January 2105 I was faced with that decision. Replace my 2001 Civic with 235,000 miles or upgrade to a better bike. The bike won and I purchased a Trek Emonda SLR... love it.

So yesterday my Civic, now with 260,000 miles, started to overheat. Winds up its got a bad head gasket... so now it's time for the car.

Bummer, sure glad I made the right decision and had my priorities in order. ;)

Unfortunate i'll now be in violation of Rule #25 .

New head gasket and another 100,000 miles...

And, a few more bikes during that time. :)

Buy a truck...

The car is a wreck. I did the head gasket at 205k and it developed a piston slap after. I've been waiting for it to fail, but it's still kicking. It need rear struts, rear suspension bushings, has 2 small cracks in the windshield, the roof rotted at the top of the windshield, so I caulked it to stop water leaking in. One of these days the original CAT will fail. And the AC compressor causes the fan belt to squeal.

The right rear quarter panel has a big dent, the front left fender was side swiped and i pulled it out by hand. The rear bumper cap is held on with screws. The front bumper has zip ties and the right front wheel well had to be ripped out when I ran over a traffic come on the Cross Bronx Expressway and it didn't come out for 9 miles.

I expect to get about $300 from a salvage yard. If you want it, i'll sell it to you for that price.

It does drive, stop, gets 36mpg and the AC is freezing cold.

Come and get it. ;)

Bikes... not anytime soon. 10 days ago I picked up my 3rd, a Cannondale SuperX Rival CX1.

Why would i want a truck? I drive 30k miles a year.

Do they get 35mpg?

Do they have a trunk?

Can i put 2 adults in it?

Are they around $20K new?

Funny< I am now in Violation myself. For years I drove my old 2000 Tahoe because we traveled and I need to pull a trailer. My wife's health has slowed that down some and we hadn't traveled out of state for some time. Then I started having some problems with the truck and after two major fixes we decided to sell it and the trailer and get a smaller car.

One day I came home with a Honda Fit and parked out front. I went into the house and walked my bike back out to roll it into the back of the fit with the seats down. Once it was clear that I could get the bike in and close the rear hatch I put the bike back inside the house and went and bought the Fit. But at lest I got the car because my bike
Fit in the Fit.

I buy new cars so frequently I rarely needs new tires. On the other hand I've kept bikes for 20 years

Well, tomorrow i'm bring the bike to the dealer to make sure it fits. Then it's time to negotiate.

I've had 3 cars since 1974 when I bought a new VW Beetle. It's in my garage and has 475,000 miles.

No.
No.
Yes.
Yes.

OK, maybe i'm trying to convince myself...

You can always buy a cheap used car...

I always said that next time I get a new car it'll be a truck...and I never get a truck lol. I had a nice truck about 18 years ago and I remember it got exactly 10 miles per gallon and gas was $.99 a gallon. I'd put 100 miles on it (the gas gauge didn't work so I just filled up every 100 miles), I'd stop at the gas station and get 10 gallons for 10 dollars.

Keep us updated, let us know what you get.

With my cycling how it is and just getting more involved now, and my son playing soccer (which is going to be a traveling team), I almost wish I bought one of these:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4nO899cIu...8237194_oa.jpg

But I have an Edge which is fine and AWD, so that's a bonus up here in the northeast.

I buy cheaper used cars. Usually a small PU. The last 3 bikes I purchased were all new. 2 from the LBS and 1 from a big box store in NJ.

BTW: the Murray from the big box didn't last 3 days. But it was cheaper than renting a bike while I was there. Considering that the big box gave me a refund on the broken bike it was basically rent free for 2 days.

Hey ... you know what they say ... you are what you drive.

Naw ... that doesn't mean you're a beat up, over the hill POS. What it means is that you really don't care what you drive and your priorities are elsewhere.

I'm in much the same boat. With all the bike commuting, I don't put a lot of miles on my car, and when I do, they're typically high speed freeway miles to and from the mountains. The car as 127,000 miles on it, and at this rate, I'll probably have it another 10 years ... if I live that long.

Works for me. :D

BTW ... I learned something here. I didn't know you could still buy a pick up for less than $20K.

My tastes in cars run toward small-to-midsize station wagons. We already own the perfect car (2001 VW Passat wagon with 62K miles / 100k km on the odometer), but if I needed to replace it on short notice, my short shopping list would include the VW Golf Sportwagen, Ford CMax, Prius V, BMW 3-series wagon, Audi Allroad, and Volvo V60. Unfortunately, the old Passat wagon has better cargo space than any of them and a lower roofline than most of them.

Our other car is the 1996 Audi A4 sedan which was my younger son's first car. With the split folding rear seat (absolutely essential feature in any car I buy), I can easily put one bike in it, two if I pull both wheels and work slowly and carefully to avoid scratching paint. With 107k miles on the odometer, 1.5k mile/year use, and a year-old mid-grade MAACO paint job, I plan to keep it for a few more years. Since it has very clean, timeless, elegantly simple Bauhaus styling and was the first year sold in the US, it may be a future classic.

I'm going to skirt the issue since Rule #25 states "The bikes on top of your car should be worth more than the car" and i'll be transporting the bike inside the car. I actually rode the bike over and made sure it fits.

Just dropped a down payment on a 2016 Subaru Impreza Premium in Dark Grey Metallic.

https://s3.graphiq.com/sites/default...0i_3753971.jpg

I was about to add my wisdom about a Subaru Forester...(had a 2007). The Imprezza will do! Fun car to drive! Enjoy it!

EDIT: If you transport your bike put a hitch and buy a hitch mounted rack. Don't bother with strap ons. In the end you will buy a hitch mounted rack. I paid for a cheap Allen strap-on (didn't fit the Mustang) and expensive Saris Bones 2 strap on (never felt comfortable with it stepping on the 'melted look' bumper of the Mustang) and in the end bit the bullet, got a 1 1/4 inch hitch and a Thule Vertex 2. The Mustang is happy and I am happier.

For the past 6 years i've been transporting my bikes int eh back of my Civic coupe. The only PITA was the seat release was in the trunk so I had to climb half way in and push the seat forward. The Impreza has the release in the passenger compartment on the top of the seat back so flipping them down is easy.

The bike is much safer inside than on the roof or on a hitch rack.

Yup. Just secure it so it doesn't fly around in a collision and you're golden.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psbph0zobv.jpg

My mantra of late is: cars suck. However, they are necessary and we're on our fifth Subaru. So, good move there. Along with other cars I support a 2004 Civic Coupe with 140K miles for my daughter while she finishes college. Hopefully, she'll appreciate that car going another 100K before giving up on cars all together. Many millennials seem to become city dwellers. So, no car necessary. I to will become a city dweller!

Why not just drive that beautiful bug?

Considering the displacement of your VW, I would have guessed you'd buy a WRX STI. Is it too late to change the order? Or you could find yourself a nice, old VW-Porsche 914 and put a bike rack on the back....

Ford Transit Connect XLT LWB
 

My Mtb sits upright in this wagon,
28 mpg Interstate, (It actually does this)
23 city If I behave and don't 'drag race' like everybody else light to light.
Handles like a small car.

Lets be honest, a VW Beetle is a rolling tin can. The ride is lets say... FIRM. It has no sound insulation, no radio, no AC and... no heat. Its a fun to to drive when I want to, but it's no a everyday car for this 60 year old body.

STI.. yes, there was a STI in the same color I orders as you walk into the dealership. But the 37,000 price tag was way more than i was willing to spend. I'm going to have enough culture shock going from a POS driving appliance that I didn't care about the appearance, to a nice car that I now have to wash every once in a while and be careful where I park it.

914... if I had one, i'd do this... stuff a LSx in the back.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...a/IMG_2978.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...a/IMG_2968.jpg

The STi is a beast, but after buying 3 bicycles in the past 18 months, I think i have my priorities in order.

I love my F150 Crew with legroom for 4 adults, a secure rack in the box for 4 bikes, and still gets 24 mpg combined city and highway. More economical than driving two cars with two bikes each on the roof rack.

I am reading these notes and grinning more and more ...
It reminds me of my long-gone past life!
Now I work in Qatar and the bus takes us to work. Traffic does not follow the so-called rules of the road. :cry:
Best to bicycle on the sidewalks.
Returning back to Canada for July and August - only, then back to Qatar.
What to do with confiscatory Air Canada fees for taking bicycles with baggage?? :mad:
Simple!! Bought 2 used Bromptons in England on the way back to Canada.
Flying on BA means ... Brommies in baggage and no fees.... :thumb:
Travelling about by rental car means the Brommies go in the trunk and can be pulled out for tootling about at will...

Life is good!
No rhymes and no hakku. Just enjoying travelling with a companion on bicycles - at will.
YMMV - and probably does :)