Well, i'm selling the bug, and my scooter, so i can purchase a daily driver. Now i've been going through different vehicles, in my head, trying to find the pro's and con's and which ones i really want. I'm posting to ask your point's of view's.
I have some rules, as follows
-under $3000 -has to be able to sleep good -good gas mileage -reliability -ease of maintence -something you wouldn't mind driving across america -A/C (depending on the car, eg. VW rabbits)
some of the vehicles i've looked into are
-vw rabbit/caddy diesel (not having the gas engines in the rabbit's) -volvo 240 wagon estate -toyota pickup (mid-80's to early 90's) -nissan hardbody pickup same year range as the toyota pickup.
My goals with the vehicle are going to be roadtrips, rolex 24, and everyday driving. my roadtrips aren't too limited, i get two weeks of paid vacation per year. i plan on doing some winter driving up north, and everything inbetween. The rolex is important to me, and i need something to camp in during the race. this last time i used the yaris to sleep two. I work downtown, meaning i deal with stop and go traffic, and horrible brick roads. i don't really need a automatic, infact i usually shy away from used auto's due to reliability and maintence cost's.
-- Edited by majorposer at 23:23, 2007-06-17
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague desire for something salty..."
I would say go for the Hardbody or Toyota. But I don't think you can get a decent one in your price range.
Seems to me that the 2.4 SOHC KA in the Nissan's are pretty much made out of depleted uranium and are next to impossible to kill. Just make sure you get an extended cab, the bench seat blows ass.
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“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...”
– Hunter Thompson
Volvo, wagon, any vintage or flavor(740, or 240) I think it wins hands down. Make sure it's a wagon though, or estate, or shaggin wagon, or 745, or 245. Fold them seats down and spread out, more room than you'd ever need. Cheap to buy, cheap to fix, and winter driving? These things come from a very cold, snowy place. Heated seats FTW. My A/C even worked on my 745. And personally, I prefer the 7's over the 2's. But that's just my opinion. The 240's I hear are better suspension wise, but the 7's look better than the 2's as wagons. I think the 245 wagon looks sorta...silly. But the 745 looks like awesomeness. And reliability...for example, 15-18lbs on a 200k+ mile junkyard engine...I think it's time for me to buy me another one of these fine Swedish Bricks.
And you say your budget is 3k? Hell, buy a clean 745 for 1k, then put the other into some bushings, sways, and maybe a little engine work(try to get a turbo), and blam, you can tow your MX5 if you want to. And still turn, aggressively...or slide, aggressively, whichever you choose.
Sedans have some good room too, and I think both the 244, and the 744, the sedans, look fantastic when done right. Just not the 245 wagons, only the sedans...or...the coupes, which are quite rare, but are quite awesome. And the motors are also stupid easy to work on, and a cam can get you 25-50HP alone. Just a thought. But you know where my allegiance lies..
yes, and working on cars all day long really let me take a step back and realize that i don't want to work on diesel's, or front wheel drives. i've really heard good things about the realibity of the volvos, and how easy they are to work on.
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague desire for something salty..."
Yeah it's a huge factor with the Volvo's, the simplicity and easy layout. I like trucks in some regards, they are better suited for some things. But think of it this way. If you go somewhere, anywhere you go, all your stuff is locked up in that cavernous space in the back. Trucks can't do that, unless you get a topper, which look silly. But that's a huge selling point for me on the Wagons. Hell, you could tow the Miata, and lock up all your tools, tires, and who knows what else in the back. And the base price alone of the Volvo is enough to sway me, they just don't cost much to buy. Or fix.
You sure you need a daily? I mean you have a miata and it gets good gas mileage. You cant sleep in it but you can get a nice tent for 3000. Think about all the tires and track time you could get with that.
You sure you need a daily? I mean you have a miata and it gets good gas mileage. You cant sleep in it but you can get a nice tent for 3000. Think about all the tires and track time you could get with that.
well, i totally see your point, but it is really nice to have a second vehicle to take the beatings. since i have access to other vehicles here at home, i've realized how important it is. i think that i'll be going with the truck, since hauling new tires and old tires with wheels isn't easy with the miata.
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague desire for something salty..."
Ok I thought the whole reason behind you getting a miata is so you can have a car to drive everyday and race when needed.....If you want a daily that then sell the miata and fix the bug and buy a cheap truck. I think you should keep the scooter and miata and sell the bug and with that money, go to sebring and figure out what you need and buy those parts with the money you get for the bug. I would love to have a scooter as a daily, I just cant see myself in it.
i would love to have a scooter as a daily too, but people around here aren't very safe when it comes to taking my lives into their hands. i need something to haul my **** that i can't fit into the miata, and get decent gas mileage. those older toyota pickups get 25-30mpg.
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague desire for something salty..."
scooter-you own and dont need insurance and put 6 bucks a week in gas
truck-you have to sell both scooter and bug then buy it and then make sure the previous owner didnt ghetto rig anything and do all the needed service on it just to make sure it will last and then transfer everything and then get insurance on it and then keep up with the servicing it....
You are in a pretty good situation right now, if i were you i would sell the bug and then keep the scooter until the miata is a real race car, but hey even then i would drive it everyday.LOL If i were you I would really think about it, part of the reason why i dont have a daily cause i dont want to put money into 2 cars when i have one car that can be both. It is not that i cant afford it now I just choose to not want it.
i would love to have a scooter as a daily too, but people around here aren't very safe when it comes to taking my lives into their hands. i need something to haul my **** that i can't fit into the miata, and get decent gas mileage. those older toyota pickups get 25-30mpg.
You can get killed on/in anything in Orlando. I am in a group of guys who ride that ride with ATGATT, which is all the gear all the time. And you'd be surprised how many idiots(no helmets) go down, and then give most of us bad raps. You'd be surprised how manueravble a two wheeled machine is when you really need it.
I know this because that's how I get to work everyday, and yeah I've had some really close encounters, but no more so than when I drove. My bike is wicked loud though too, and, takes up way less space, so when trying to get around something, I can fit. Just my 2 cents.
damn tha volvo is nice. louis, i do hear you about the situation. speaking of which, a guy from missouri has a boner for my car, hopefully this will be going down soon!
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague desire for something salty..."
I will say when I went to the rolex race I crashed in the hatch of my 240. It wasn't to bad except it was cold. So I just started the car and feel bad asleep.
