Topic: we kind of need a second vehicle so........

[bucky katt]

..i was looking at getting a fixer-upper air cooled beetle. i was until i saw what, if it were a motorcycle, we'd be calling it a basketcase, are selling for well over $2,000. i about #$%* myself when i saw that. my first beetle cost me 200 dollars and i drove it for 11 years soing nothing more than oil changes and a new oil pump. as much as i love the old bugs, i cannot justify spending that kind of coin for a second vehicle. i guess i was expecting to spend a couple of hundred for one. i hadnt looked at prices for used beater cars in a long long time, as i havent brought a running vehicle since i got my saturn new in 1994. no second car for us, thats for damn sure.

[Inigo Montoya]

It is the "cool" factor. Kinda like our bikes. I mean they are selling for more now in many cases than they did new!

[BeSeeingYou]

They are "collectible" now.  At one point you could not give them away.  How about a Yugo instead.   Believe it or not I know a guy who knows a guy(yeah I know ) who collects them.

[bucky katt]

i'd love a compact truck too, same thing. theyre selling for stupid money. i guess if i want a second vehicle i have to sell the rest of my musical gear. or ride my mountain bike.

[Duke McDukiedook]

You could probably score a Ford Explorer or an H2 Hummer on the cheap now.

[tramp]

pick ups have always been high cause everyone wants one
you can get a beater cheap
look for early 90's or late 80's in good shape

[azuredesign]

My $.002: Look for older garage kept japanese cars. They don't use salt much down your way, there should be some nice mid 90's Camrys around for short dough. ( If it's a Camry, just make sure you don't forget to budget to change the cam belt or make sure it's already been done.) Maybe not as cool looking as an old Beatle, but remember that the 1600 cc Beatles had much less hp than our cb750s.

[bucky katt]

no salt is used on our roads here, as we dont get snow. columbia doesnt even own snow removal equipment. here, the direct opposite of new england, you see cars that are completely worn out but still looking good but nothing at all that is rusted out, unless it came from a snowy region. i got my first beetle in 1984, it was 7 years old and was pretty badly rusted (connecticut) i have friends that have beetles here that are 40 or 50 years old with just the area under the battery looking tatty.

[azuredesign]

Wow, no corrosion is a pipe dream in New England as you say. I'd always thought one had to go to Arizona or New Mexico to not have rust issues. The roads are white with salt already, and it's only snowed once a bit more than a week ago.

[wardenerd]

You are safer on a bike than in a VW death trap.  At least with a bike you can't go through the windshield and you might be able to dodge the trouble.

[jamesb]

why would you say vw's are death traps. i have a couple of them and i never had any problems with them. i paid 100.00 for the 71 beetle and it is great. my passat runs like a cadillac and i would give anything to have have my gti vr6 golf back.i have heard several people say they are junk and death traps but i could never understand why. just curious as to your opinion thanks.

[bucky katt]

the last beetle i had was a 65, had a 6 point cage, with low door bars. i slightly narrowed both the front beam and the rear torsion housing so i could fit  some decent rubber under it, 4 wheel discs. oh yeah, around 360-380 rwhp with the 94x94 motor, a turbo and a couple of different carbs i messed with. i wont build anything like that again for a daily driver like barney was (the thing was barney the dinosaur purple when i got it) but it sure was a great driver when i was in my 20's . it flew (low 10's - high 9's on slicks, high 10's - low 11's on street rubber in an all metal bug)

[Rocking-M]

hey Jeff, I've got three trucks and three cars as of last month. I bought a 96 Subaru Impreza awd for $300.
Runs great and has 173k on the clock. The snow tires I put on it cost more than the car. The car had hit a deer
in it's last wreck and the fellow was tired of fixing it. I put a fender on it, straightened the radiator support and
made a Stihl chain saw hauler out of it. First Jap car I've owned and the Subaru's are all over the place here.

You don't get snow there but I'd still suggest finding a Subaru.

[bucky katt]

hey Jeff, I've got three trucks and three cars as of last month. I bought a 96 Subaru Impreza awd for $300.
Runs great and has 173k on the clock. The snow tires I put on it cost more than the car. The car had hit a deer
in it's last wreck and the fellow was tired of fixing it. I put a fender on it, straightened the radiator support and
made a Stihl chain saw hauler out of it. First Jap car I've owned and the Subaru's are all over the place here.

You don't get snow there but I'd still suggest finding a Subaru.

my all time favorite car i've ever owned was my 82 subaru GL10 4 door, 4wd. i killed a moose with it in 1989. the subaru, and nearly me was killed as well    subarus, even old, high mile ones arent cheap around here or i'd be all over getting one. about the only really cheap cars i'm finding in this area are the domestic compacts, like cavaliers and escorts. i know both have their fans but you pretty much couldnt give me one after the problems i've witnessed with those. i might have a line on a 1977 toyota hi-lux for 200. it needs a motor, or a rebuild. the machine work on the block would be right at 100 dollars or so, another 100 to get the head deck surface flat and around 200 for a motor kit from the machine shop. i'll know by the end of the day i think. the guy will probably give me the truck for my epi les paul.






update, he wants my frontman 212r amp as well, NOT happening    i'm just going to have to bite the bullet and ride the k4 750 until it becomes hard to start in the cold. Bucky the snowman