10-17-2024, 09:18 PM
(10-17-2024, 08:17 PM)argentus Wrote: There is no car brand I am aware of that I would NEVER buy. Each vehicle transaction I have entered into has been a weighed measurement of the variables, as measured against the price. When I was really poor, I cobbled together $550.00 for a 1963 Mercury Comet that had blown freeze plugs, and the back seat had a 12" tear. I loved that car. I wish I still had that car, because it would now be worth a [expletive] fortune, not to mention that it would be really quite super cool, and fast compared to the cars around it.
Where I live, we all fantasize about EVs, but there is nobody to work on them, so we know we'll ultimately get screwed. We buy vehicles on-line, and hope for the best. Mostly, we buy Hondas. There are dozens of white Honda SUVs around here. I was looking at the Chinese trucks last year, and they look good and are fairly priced, but I couldn't bring myself to endorse the Chinese economy with my purchase. Others here have done so, and the trucks look great. I wish American cars were considered as good a value as Japanese cars, or even South Korean cars. I really believe the U.S. can get back to the good place where they are making solid cars with good value and longevity, along with spiffy features that make us all quivver.
Short answer: I am a vehicle whore. I would buy any car at any time if the price was right.
The Chinese trucks aren't legal here. If they were, I might buy one, only because I could use a small, cheap, cheap to run truck for small load pickups. I doubt there's any longevity but they're dirt cheap.
Toyota sells the HiAce in other "developing" countries which is a basic small pickup, but not in the US.
The US automakers have gone way off the rails with the feature creep in what are supposed to be work vehicles. There are no work trucks anymore, unless specially ordered. They're all Cadillac Sedan De-Villes on a lifted frame with a body kit. I see people driving around in these all the time. Can you actually get work done in one of these? At $120K a pop I'd be worried about scratching the paint on a job-site. Cloth or leather seats... you're getting in there with muddy pants and boots on?
I don't get it. The people I know who have them only have them because there is nothing else new available and if they can get one, they actually prefer older, more basic trucks which actually still go for pretty good value around here. Like $6000 - $7000 for a 150K Mi+ beat up 2003 without a tow kit and worn out suspension and a cracked windshield. Seems like quite a lot to me considering 20 years ago such a vehicle would have been sitting in the junkyard or on someone's farm.
