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Not having a vehicle just doesn't work in a rural area. There's no public transportation that's of any real use around here. Moreover, I wouldn't want to be depending on a bike in an emergency where I needed to either get to help or get out quickly. I don't care to go shopping every few days. The best thing to do is to just use a vehicle when needed, not for everything, and keep it running as long as possible. Get something you can work on yourself. That's harder to do with newer vehicles. I hate putting money into vehicles but they're a necessary evil when you don't live in a big city.
I will continue to own at least one car and a motorcycle so long as I can safely drive and ride. In addition to providing transportation our vehicles are used for recreation. Given the choice between going to a movie and riding my motorcycle with my lady, even if they cost the same, we will ride. If I want to travel to see friends or explore a part of the country within 800 to 1,000 miles we will drive. To travel to Denver or west we will fly and rent. If we are snow birding for the winter in NM we will drive.
I tried living in NYC without a car and it was just too much like being in an elaborate trap.
I don't know how everyone else manages to deal with it without eventually going mad, but the thought of $500-$multiple thousand dollar repair bills being routine is sickening to me.
One would say learn to repair it your own, but then there's those clowns that say that route is considered a waste of time as well.
I'm not sure what kind of car you bought, but my gas-guzzling Ford F150 that I purchased in '02 has hardly cost me anything more than standard maintenance and worn parts to keep running. Maybe the kind of car you are buying has more to do with your maintenance woes than simply blaming automobiles as a whole. It should also be noted that if you are getting service at a dealership, you are paying a lot more than you would from an independent garage. I broke a leaf spring in my truck this spring, and after getting a quote of $700 from the dealership for the part alone, I took it to a local spring shop that replaced the broken leaf for $130 parts and labour included.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
Another thing that irks me about vehicle ownership are the insane amount of people who discourage working on their own vehicle.
You've had people actually do this? While there are some repairs I will only take my truck into a shop for (like brake system repairs or the aforementioned leaf spring), I will make a lot of repairs to the truck myself. If some inept girly man tried to convince me otherwise, I'd remind him this is why most guys took auto shop instead of home ec in high school.
Whatever.
I'm just getting tired of attempting to go car-free and having people fight tooth and nail to keep me from doing so.
Focus on yourself and your method of transportation.
If it's cold and freezing out, stop worrying about whether I'll get sick or injured and just show up to work on time yourself.
As far as maintenance goes, define maintenance.
Checking fluids, belts, hoses, and all physical parts within arms reach?
Or are you speaking of having all the diagnostic tools on hand and even pulling transmissions and engines apart piece-by-piece before a daily drive?
All the break-down issues have been things I was unable to spot during a routine check-up.
If anything, I'll just lease a vehicle.
I barely do enough driving to justify the cost of ownership.
Shut these rural concern-freaks up for a bit.
I use public transport all the time or walk.. but then I live in a city and transport comes easy and I can walk to most of my shops... totally different for people who live out of the way of shops etc.
There are plenty of reliable, even high-mileage, used cars out there that will not need constant repairs. A 10 year-old Corolla or Civic, just to name a couple, are pretty low ownership vehicles. You do need to drive any car regularly to keep it from rotting away.
Outside of living in a urban environment with good public transportation options, bike lanes, and the availability of a zip car, it is not practical for most people to live without a vehicle. This is especially true if you have a family.
There are plenty of reliable, even high-mileage, used cars out there that will not need constant repairs. A 10 year-old Corolla or Civic, just to name a couple, are pretty low ownership vehicles. You do need to drive any car regularly to keep it from rotting away.
Outside of living in a urban environment with good public transportation options, bike lanes, and the availability of a zip car, it is not practical for most people to live without a vehicle. This is especially true if you have a family.
Again, using ones kids as a crutch.
I'm finding that these threads and arguing about it in public are becoming a one-sided battle.
All sorts of excuses for needing to drive every day and no way to get around it.
The car-kkkulture has been pretty much ingrained into almost the entire populations skulls.
Some say "go see a therapist" about this, but then I'll probably get kicked out of there for starting an argument about car use as well.
IMO Zipcar and Car2Go are going to make a big dent in car ownership in the city.
Not unless they drop prices. 9.75/hr and 90per day? Enterprise can get you a car from 20-50 per day.
They have a decent market but won't change the game by any means at this point. If there is massive scale growth to the point it exceeds taxi-like in presence and availibility, then a difference will be felt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
Again, using ones kids as a crutch.
I'm finding that these threads and arguing about it in public are becoming a one-sided battle.
All sorts of excuses for needing to drive every day and no way to get around it.
The car-kkkulture has been pretty much ingrained into almost the entire populations skulls.
Some say "go see a therapist" about this, but then I'll probably get kicked out of there for starting an argument about car use as well.
Guess I'm pretty much doomed
I agree it is ingrained in our culture. But it is also embedded in....no rather it is our infrastructure. There would have to be either some major improvements to public transportation and bike routes from today's levels or major infrastructure overhaul (which is a lot less likely).
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