On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:34:45 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm,
Brent Philion quickly quoth:
Gunner Asch wrote:
On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 18:42:42 -0800, (daniel
peterman) wrote:
Of course. Which is why Ive never bought a car newer than 4 yrs old,
and then haggled for low blue even then. Simply driving it off the
lot costs about 20% of the value, the moment the rear bumper passes
the curb. Hell..signing your name on the dotted line costs about 20%
of the value at the least. Its now a "used car"
Always the best reason to never buy new if you have ANY mechanical
aptitude at all
I disagree. With the extremely good and long new-car warranties
coupled with the reliability of new vehicles, I hope to never buy
another used car again. I've owned only one new vehicle, the '90
F-150 I now drive, and it has been the best experience of my car-
owning life. I've also watched so MANY others pay the same amount
of money to keep up a used car with tons of miles on it that I did
in payments on the new truck with no maintenance costs. So if it
costs the same amount, why NOT go NEW? You get that new car smell!
g (What is that, anyway, formaldehyde and plastic?)
My suggestions:
If you have no mechanical aptitude, buy only new vehicles and trade
them in at the first sign of trouble.
If you have some mechanical aptitude, buy new vehicles and trade them
in when you get tired of working on them.
If you have lots of mechanical aptitude, buy at least one new vehicle
for your family/self and keep other vehicles you can afford to have
break on you.
When I say "trade them in" I mean sell them for the best profit and
get the new car. Never go to a dealer and trade in your old car. They
give peanuts on the dollar.
And spend the time to order your perfect truck from the factory. The
dealer doesn't get to rip you off on goodies you don't need and a
vehicle color that will make the maid blush. I did this twice. First,
I hammered out a decent price (~$16k) at Red Richie Ford in Encinitas
CA in May. 6 weeks later, they called me to say "Oops, we made two
orders with the same number that day and they made the car, not the
truck. Would you like us to reorder?" Needless to say, my crushed
phone receiver was still smoldering an hour later.
So, I told my sister about it and she told me about Bill Fell Ford
in Fairfield, CA. I called him, gave him the specs I wanted, and he
sold the truck to me for $13.7k. 6 weeks later, after I had sent new
mirrors ($100 cheaper at Whitney than Ford) and some other goodies
up to my sister's via UPS, I flew up and picked up my new pickup.
I grabbed my long-distance girlfriend and spent a few days driving
back via CA Hwy 1. We had a room with a hot tub in San Simeon which
made the trip even more memorable. domg
I also had a chance to drive down Pismo Beach. 4 miles down, and no
trouble so far, I had to turn around. A very high wave came in just
before I turned and as I slowed to turn, the wheels sunk up to the
axle. Luckily, there was a fisherman at the end there and he was
driving a little Nissan 4x4. He had no tow rope but I had sent
motorcycle tiedowns to my sister's for securing our luggage in the
bed. Those would do. I linked them together with the steel hooks
and the guy pulled, instantly straightening the hooks.
OK, that didn't work. I tied them together and he tried again, this
time breaking the thick 1" nylon banding. Hmm, the fisherman is
getting tired of trying. OK, I dug out in front of the wheels and
lowered the air in the tires. This time it pulled right out. OK,
truck christened in fire and that was the last time I ever got it
stuck. (Knock on wood.)
In the first dozen years, I put 3 sets of tires on it, tuned it up 3
times (Amazing, isn't it? I love EFI.), put a drag link and tie-rod
ends on it, redid the brakes at 70k, and installed poly leafspring
bushings for more stability.
In the first 8 years, I did nothing but a single tuneup and a set of
tires. I love a reliable vehicle!
Just before I moved up here, the auto tranny's 4th gear went out and I
had it rebuilt before driving up. Cha CHING: $1825.
Since moving up here, I've replaced the starter, plug wires, and
alternator. I'm starting to think it's time for a new truck, but
now they're starting at $25k! thud
If you're in CA, NV, or OR, look to Bill Fell for your Ford pickups.
He'll make you a great deal. I haven't called him for a replacement
yet, but he has been sending birthday cards every year since 1991.
The man knows about customer loyalty. I'll be back. Fairfield is about
an hour from the SF Bay area up on I-80.
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We're born hungry, wet, 'n naked, and it gets worse from there.
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