I have kept my two old trucks running far beyond reason with my old
1985 Nissan having 313,000 and the 1988 Dodge having somewhere between
180,000 and 200,000. This weekend, coming back from working on my
sailboat, I was seriously worried the Nissan would not get me home.
Not only is the transmission going bad, the center support bearing is
gone from the driveshaft, I cannot get her to go into reverse without
effort, now I seem to have a timing issue making her miss a lot and
lose power (maybe timing chain has slipped). No gages except the tach
and odometer work. One of the front drive axles has a torn boot (I
never use the 4wd so it does not matter). She would not pass
inspection anywhere else cuz the pollution control stuff long ago
rusted away.
Now the Dodge (the only vehicle I allow my 18 yr old son to drive) has
developed transmission probs. I simply cannot continue to repair so
many things because it takes all my time.
I loathe the idea of truck payments and comprehensive insurance but it
looks as if I'll have to just do it if I want to keep towing my boat.

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:46:42 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

I have kept my two old trucks running far beyond reason with my old
1985 Nissan having 313,000 and the 1988 Dodge having somewhere between
180,000 and 200,000. This weekend, coming back from working on my
sailboat, I was seriously worried the Nissan would not get me home.
Not only is the transmission going bad, the center support bearing is
gone from the driveshaft, I cannot get her to go into reverse without
effort, now I seem to have a timing issue making her miss a lot and
lose power (maybe timing chain has slipped). No gages except the tach
and odometer work. One of the front drive axles has a torn boot (I
never use the 4wd so it does not matter). She would not pass
inspection anywhere else cuz the pollution control stuff long ago
rusted away.
Now the Dodge (the only vehicle I allow my 18 yr old son to drive) has
developed transmission probs. I simply cannot continue to repair so
many things because it takes all my time.
I loathe the idea of truck payments and comprehensive insurance but it
looks as if I'll have to just do it if I want to keep towing my boat.

Plenty of used trucks out there. 3-5 grand will get a decent one you
won't have fix daily, depending how careful you are in picking one.
No need for payments or paying comp.
Your choice.

--Vic

On Oct 20, 12:46 pm, wrote:
I have kept my two old trucks running far beyond reason with my old
1985 Nissan having 313,000 and the 1988 Dodge having somewhere between
180,000 and 200,000. This weekend, coming back from working on my
sailboat, I was seriously worried the Nissan would not get me home.
Not only is the transmission going bad, the center support bearing is
gone from the driveshaft, I cannot get her to go into reverse without
effort, now I seem to have a timing issue making her miss a lot and
lose power (maybe timing chain has slipped). No gages except the tach
and odometer work. One of the front drive axles has a torn boot (I
never use the 4wd so it does not matter). She would not pass
inspection anywhere else cuz the pollution control stuff long ago
rusted away.
Now the Dodge (the only vehicle I allow my 18 yr old son to drive) has
developed transmission probs. I simply cannot continue to repair so
many things because it takes all my time.
I loathe the idea of truck payments and comprehensive insurance but it
looks as if I'll have to just do it if I want to keep towing my boat.

Maybe I am too obsessive about having little debt but I always thought
of it as a freedom issue. With little debt I could do as I pleased.
Of course, having kids changed that some but still I have waaaaaay
less debt than most. It just seems WRONG to take on debt that ties me
down. My wife says "Dont worry about it, you'll keep this truck for
20 years too" but it is the near term debt idea that slays me. Saving
up to pay almost all cash would be difficult with so many kid expenses
and my wifes mouth surgery and so on and on, even the down payment is
tough when we want to keep a reasonable cash reserve just in case.
How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:56:48 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:


How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?

Everybody's different. You might guess I pay cash.
Had a $1100 note on a used '64 Olds way back,
because I didn't have the cash and had to get to work.
Paid that off way early.
Most I ever paid for a car was $6k.
Had 31k miles, and I junked it at 190k 11 years later when it rusted
out. Well less than $1k in repairs, and it only failed to start once.
If you go used, talk to plenty of truck mechanics first.
They'll put you onto the right one.
Some people don't mind getting into debt for a car/truck.
I'm not one of them, and you don't seem to like it either.
Doing your own repairs helps.
Second best is having a good mechanic.
But picking the right vehicle is the key.

--Vic

On Oct 20, 12:13*pm, Vic Smith
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:56:48 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?

Everybody's different. *You might guess I pay cash.
Had a $1100 note on a used '64 Olds way back,
because I didn't have the cash and had to get to work.
Paid that off way early.
Most I ever paid for a car was $6k.
Had 31k miles, and I junked it at 190k 11 years later when it rusted
out. *Well less than $1k in repairs, and it only failed to start once.
If you go used, talk to plenty of truck mechanics first.
They'll put you onto the right one.
Some people don't mind getting into debt for a car/truck.
I'm not one of them, and you don't seem to like it either.
Doing your own repairs helps.
Second best is having a good mechanic.
But picking the right vehicle is the key.

--Vic

That's what I like about my '90 mercury wagon. It's a good car. paint
isn't the best but not bad. It cleans up nicely and I don't mind
taking it on a trip. The 302 engine isn't the best for pulling the
heavy boat, but it does the job. I've got less than $1100.00 in it not
counting the maintenance (tires and brakes) And I plan on driving it
for another couple years (minimum) or so. Which will make my 5 year
anniversary with it.

No. I'm not a slave to fashion.

On Oct 20, 1:30 pm, Tim wrote:
On Oct 20, 12:13 pm, Vic Smith
wrote:



On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:56:48 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?

Everybody's different. You might guess I pay cash.
Had a $1100 note on a used '64 Olds way back,
because I didn't have the cash and had to get to work.
Paid that off way early.
Most I ever paid for a car was $6k.
Had 31k miles, and I junked it at 190k 11 years later when it rusted
out. Well less than $1k in repairs, and it only failed to start once.
If you go used, talk to plenty of truck mechanics first.
They'll put you onto the right one.
Some people don't mind getting into debt for a car/truck.
I'm not one of them, and you don't seem to like it either.
Doing your own repairs helps.
Second best is having a good mechanic.
But picking the right vehicle is the key.

--Vic

That's what I like about my '90 mercury wagon. It's a good car. paint
isn't the best but not bad. It cleans up nicely and I don't mind
taking it on a trip. The 302 engine isn't the best for pulling the
heavy boat, but it does the job. I've got less than $1100.00 in it not
counting the maintenance (tires and brakes) And I plan on driving it
for another couple years (minimum) or so. Which will make my 5 year
anniversary with it.

No. I'm not a slave to fashion.

Is it possible to rent a large truck to tow my heavy sailboat? I have
never seen such.

On Oct 20, 12:35*pm, wrote:
On Oct 20, 1:30 pm, Tim wrote:





On Oct 20, 12:13 pm, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:56:48 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?

Everybody's different. *You might guess I pay cash.
Had a $1100 note on a used '64 Olds way back,
because I didn't have the cash and had to get to work.
Paid that off way early.
Most I ever paid for a car was $6k.
Had 31k miles, and I junked it at 190k 11 years later when it rusted
out. *Well less than $1k in repairs, and it only failed to start once.
If you go used, talk to plenty of truck mechanics first.
They'll put you onto the right one.
Some people don't mind getting into debt for a car/truck.
I'm not one of them, and you don't seem to like it either.
Doing your own repairs helps.
Second best is having a good mechanic.
But picking the right vehicle is the key.

--Vic

That's what I like about my '90 mercury wagon. It's a good car. paint
isn't the best but not bad. It cleans up nicely and I don't mind
taking it on a trip. The 302 engine isn't the best for pulling the
heavy boat, but it does the job. I've got less than $1100.00 in it not
counting the maintenance (tires and brakes) And I plan on driving it
for another couple years (minimum) or so. Which will make my 5 year
anniversary with it.

No. I'm not a slave to fashion.

Is it possible to rent a large truck to tow my heavy sailboat? *I have
never seen such.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You probably can. Check a local dealer and see if they have a heavy
used truck (dodge ram2500) or Ford power stroke, that they would rent
for a day or wekend. some places will.Because it's not making them
any revenue just sitting there.

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:30:10 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:



That's what I like about my '90 mercury wagon. It's a good car. paint
isn't the best but not bad. It cleans up nicely and I don't mind
taking it on a trip. The 302 engine isn't the best for pulling the
heavy boat, but it does the job. I've got less than $1100.00 in it not
counting the maintenance (tires and brakes) And I plan on driving it
for another couple years (minimum) or so. Which will make my 5 year
anniversary with it.

No. I'm not a slave to fashion.

Hehe. The trick is knowing the reliable drivetrains.
I stick to GM 2.8 based, including the 3.1's. The 2.2 four
is rock solid too. Not up on the GM transmissions, but haven't
had problems anyway.
Have to do your homework.
Except for my 352, haven't messed with Fords, but if I did,
I read up on them, talk to mechanics and get the skinny.
All the manufacturers make solid cars and they all make problematic
cars. Knowing which is which keeps you out of trouble.
Like you, I don't care much about looks.
I've had some cars I thought were homely when I first got them.
As years passed with no problems, they got prettier and prettier.

--Vic

On Oct 20, 2:15*pm, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:30:10 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:



That's what I like about my '90 mercury wagon. It's a good car. paint
isn't the best but not bad. It cleans up nicely and I don't mind
taking it on a trip. The 302 engine isn't the best for pulling the
heavy boat, but it does the job. I've got less than $1100.00 in it not
counting the maintenance (tires and brakes) And I plan on driving it
for another couple years (minimum) or so. Which will make my 5 year
anniversary with it.

No. I'm not a slave to fashion.

Hehe. *The trick is knowing the reliable drivetrains.
I stick to GM 2.8 based, including the 3.1's. *The 2.2 four
is rock solid too. *Not up on the GM transmissions, but haven't
had problems anyway.
Have to do your homework.
Except for my 352, haven't messed with Fords, but if I did,
I read up on them, talk to mechanics and get the skinny.
All the manufacturers make solid cars and they all make problematic
cars. *Knowing which is which keeps you out of trouble.
Like you, I don't care much about looks. *
I've had some cars I thought were homely when I first got them.
As years passed with no problems, they got prettier and prettier.

--Vic

My Jeep Cherokee was like that. Rock solid. That thing ran decent with
well over 350k on it. Lifters seemed quiter every end of the month
when I didn't have to make a payment!

On Oct 20, 12:56*pm, wrote:
On Oct 20, 12:46 pm, wrote:





I have kept my two old trucks running far beyond reason with my old
1985 Nissan having 313,000 and the 1988 Dodge having somewhere between
180,000 and 200,000. *This weekend, coming back from working on my
sailboat, I was seriously worried the Nissan would not get me home.
Not only is the transmission going bad, the center support bearing is
gone from the driveshaft, I cannot get her to go into reverse without
effort, now I seem to have a timing issue making her miss a lot and
lose power (maybe timing chain has slipped). *No gages except the tach
and odometer work. *One of the front drive axles has a torn boot (I
never use the 4wd so it does not matter). *She would not pass
inspection anywhere else cuz the pollution control stuff long ago
rusted away.
Now the Dodge (the only vehicle I allow my 18 yr old son to drive) has
developed transmission probs. *I simply cannot continue to repair so
many things because it takes all my time.
I loathe the idea of truck payments and comprehensive insurance but it
looks as if I'll have to just do it if I want to keep towing my boat.

Maybe I am too obsessive about having little debt but I always thought
of it as a freedom issue. *With little debt I could do as I pleased.
Of course, having kids changed that some but still I have waaaaaay
less debt than most. *It just seems WRONG to take on debt that ties me
down. *My wife says "Dont worry about it, you'll keep this truck for
20 years too" but it is the near term debt idea that slays me. *Saving
up to pay almost all cash would be difficult with so many kid expenses
and my wifes mouth surgery and so on and on, even the down payment is
tough when we want to keep a reasonable cash reserve just in case.
How do y'all justify debt on a vehicle to yourself?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Same way, I get a new truck, then drive it for 350,000 or so miles. I
figure if I get a vehicle with a four or five year loan, and drive it
for 12 or 15 years, I'm good to go!