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I was wanting to post this in the automotive threads, but since everyone there would cling to their steering wheels long after they've physically left this world, then this would be the second best place.
I went car-lite from 2006 up until last December when I was pressured by everyone here into getting one(I'm somewhat weak-willed, but there's plenty of topics about that elsewhere).
It was fine having one around for odd-uses, but I still managed to use my bike almost every other time.
Anywho, just like the Bronco II I owned in '05-'06, this one starts having transmission problems four months into ownership.
After getting the $3000 repair bill for this thing and am still paying it and the actual vehicle off, I'm once again kicking myself in the teeth for jumping back into this pain-filled, world of hurt.
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.
Parts are astronomical, and the labor charges are usually what breaks the line-of-sanity for me.
Sadly, once you're locked into some sort of financing arrangement when it comes to a vehicle, it's rather hard to get out of short of trying to sell it yourself or piling it on top of the financing amount for a more reliable vehicle.
Either way, once I've got this thing paid off, that's it for ownership.
Back to strictly riding the bike and renting a car when I need one.
Too many headaches, too much stress than I can deal with.
Well, the obvious other reason for getting rid of cars would be financial. No payments, repairs, maintenance, insurance, or gas to pay for. If you don't have a car, you would have to walk more even if it is to the bus stop. You have the opportunity to interact with others also whether you are walking or riding a bus.
I've long desired to get rid of my vehicles for something else but after thinking realistically about it I find it cheaper (and more enjoyable) to keep my vehicles...
Non-motor transport.
Longer to get places, but it usually forces some of us to get our snot together when it comes to time management.
At the end of the day some of us are loners with nowhere important to really go.
A motor vehicle is just a noisy tool that collects dust and eats money when you're just sitting at home most of the time any way.
Non-motor transport.
Longer to get places, but it usually forces some of us to get our snot together when it comes to time management.
Thanks, that's exactly my point, to bicycle to work would take almost 2 hours each way, supermarket shopping would be at least 30 minutes each way (would have to make 2 trips because I couldn't carry everything in 1 trip)... These times are approximate because I don't think I could keep up the pace of riding home on a bicycle wearing business attire in 100+ degree weather.
Another way to get out of car ownership is to lease the vehicle...
Methinks after you grow up and have a family your feelings will change on the subject (unless you plan on living on the outskirts of civilization raising a family) and are off the grid in all respects...
BTW, I love to ride my bicycle at 2AM... quiet, peaceful, no stress...
Thanks, that's exactly my point, to bicycle to work would take almost 2 hours each way, supermarket shopping would be at least 30 minutes each way (would have to make 2 trips because I couldn't carry everything in 1 trip)... These times are approximate because I don't think I could keep up the pace of riding home on a bicycle wearing business attire in 100+ degree weather.
Another way to get out of car ownership is to lease the vehicle...
Methinks after you grow up and have a family your feelings will change on the subject (unless you plan on living on the outskirts of civilization raising a family) and are off the grid in all respects...
BTW, I love to ride my bicycle at 2AM... quiet, peaceful, no stress...
I don't see myself ever having a family or a relationship with another.
Not trying to derail the thread, but I've worked with enough persons older than I to know that that route is a game-changer that I go to great lengths to avoid(ie,. looking ugly, dressing ugly, blowing off compliments from a woman,. etc).
Anywho, I've got a rear-rack with panniers and a single-wheeled bicycle trailer I could attach when needing to carry more than a back-pack could warrant.
My typical distances are usually 20 mile round trips each day.
Also, the type of work I do usually requires regular work clothes and an optional uniform shirt.
If I had to wear a suit, I'd leave a little earlier and just wear a t-shirt while riding, wipe down when I get to my destination and don the fancy attire.
There's really no excuses and it all comes down to how we choose to live.
As far as car-ownership goes with me, that would also mean less money spent on dumb things like visits to over-educated therapists on helping me cope with losing money over a machine.
I am sitting on my off grid property on my mountaintop 30-40 minutes from town.
I buy decently running vehicles and can't think of ever spending $2k in a single year (even though most of my cars have been "beaters") in repairs.
I'll keep my car and stay out of the 'ant hill' cities, thank you very much.
I live in a small town and the only reason I can't find a job in the "sticks" is due to lack of work in those areas.
But given enough time I may dig deeper and find a solution to that too.
In this rural area, I ride my bicycle in every weather situation it takes to get to work or wherever I need to be.
However, the only time I get hounded is when I'm preparing to ride 7-8 miles through a blizzard and everyone gets all worried that I'll get flash-frozen or more realistically, hit by a vehicle whose driver can't see through the blowing snow.
Merely owning a motor vehicle doesn't necessarily mean not environmental. There are still many parts of the country in which public transportation is non-existant or impractical. Bicycling is fine if the roads are safe or the weather cooperates. I live on a road so narrow there is literally no shoulder. When big trucks go by, I slow down and ride with my tires on the edge of the ditch. No way am I riding my bicycle down that road. This road also doesn't have street lights. I live 8 miles from work. 6 of those miles have no shoulder nor bicycle lane. Also, I live in south Louisiana and work in a boiler room. If I rode a bicycle 8 miles to work safely, I could end up in the ER from dehydration or heat stroke after starting work in the boiler room. When you own a home and do repair work yourself, you need a motor vehicle to get repair items you can't carry on a bicycle. Try carrying a sheet or two of plywood on a bicycle. You probably could pull the weight on a trailer hooked up to the bicycle, but that would be pushing it in heat, humidity, and hills on public roads. Another option is to hold onto the vehicle you have for as many years as possible. My car is a 2003 and I bought it in 2004. My wife's previous car was a 1997 that she got at the end of the same year. She had it until a lady in a Jeep ran a stop sign in 2009.
General consensus is cars are like drugs to some people.
They get taken away or they break down, then the owners go all ape-nuts.
Another thing that irks me about vehicle ownership are the insane amount of people who discourage working on their own vehicle.
People think I need help for speaking out against it, but they're typically the ones that need to think about where all those thousands in repair costs go.
I'm not interested in providing for some other weasels well-being.
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