Not just another "Daily Driver Quest" thread (HAHA YES IT IS) [Volvo Experts Needed]
10-24-2013, 12:30 PM
#43
Cpt. Slow
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Just don't get an automatic. And I hope you have time to work on them. They're apparently fairly reliable, just need plenty of upkeep.
I've considered a volvo myself, and come to the conclusion that I can't keep my wish for a wagon. Finding a manual turbo is hard enough, neither of which I want to swap in myself.
If you truly need a manual turbo wagon, go for the 700 series. They're the only ones where I've found nice leather interiors, stick shifts, turbos, with a wagon body.
needs work:
740 Volvo Wagon Turbo
**** yes look at that engine!
1987 VOLVO 740 TURBO 5SPEED
granted these don't help you in Texas, but you get my point.
I've considered a volvo myself, and come to the conclusion that I can't keep my wish for a wagon. Finding a manual turbo is hard enough, neither of which I want to swap in myself.
If you truly need a manual turbo wagon, go for the 700 series. They're the only ones where I've found nice leather interiors, stick shifts, turbos, with a wagon body.
needs work:
740 Volvo Wagon Turbo
**** yes look at that engine!
1987 VOLVO 740 TURBO 5SPEED
granted these don't help you in Texas, but you get my point.
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10-24-2013, 01:31 PM
#45
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Actually I've been really tempted by a couple EF Civic wagons that are up for sale (somewhat) locally. Unfortunately, both are in bad shape with rust or body damage and incomplete/halfassed swaps and modifications.
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10-25-2013, 01:59 AM
#46
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I don't get it dude. You're being a huge troll.
You make reference to getting paid to drive. You make reference to having to haul stuff for work. Then you jump down someone's throat for assuming (only not assuming since you said so) that you're making a living with this potential purchase.
You've been called out as being a dick by 3 different people now. Perhaps you need to reconsider your position.
Buy a used Honda goldwing [miata, or whatever else you want] with small trailer. Tow trailer when necessary.
You make reference to getting paid to drive. You make reference to having to haul stuff for work. Then you jump down someone's throat for assuming (only not assuming since you said so) that you're making a living with this potential purchase.
You've been called out as being a dick by 3 different people now. Perhaps you need to reconsider your position.
Buy a used Honda goldwing [miata, or whatever else you want] with small trailer. Tow trailer when necessary.
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10-25-2013, 02:04 AM
#47
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I'll contribute something somewhat helpful as well though. The old volvos are tanks. Very good cars if well maintained. The 4-speed autos are very durable. 5-speeds are very not. Go 7xx or older for the good ones.
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10-25-2013, 10:10 AM
#50
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I don't get it dude. You're being a huge troll.
You make reference to getting paid to drive. You make reference to having to haul stuff for work. Then you jump down someone's throat for assuming (only not assuming since you said so) that you're making a living with this potential purchase.
You've been called out as being a dick by 3 different people now. Perhaps you need to reconsider your position.
You make reference to getting paid to drive. You make reference to having to haul stuff for work. Then you jump down someone's throat for assuming (only not assuming since you said so) that you're making a living with this potential purchase.
You've been called out as being a dick by 3 different people now. Perhaps you need to reconsider your position.
Bottom line: I was clear in the first post what kind of cars I'm looking at, and was perfectly polite to anyone who offered real advice. I'm not some noob who just jumped in with a dumb question and then keyboard-raged on everyone.
Want to talk about cars I could buy? Awesome, I love it. Want to be a dick and make dumbass comments about why I shouldn't have owned a truck when you have no idea why I owned a truck in the first place? Pound sand.
Had to look it up. No HBO, sorry.
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10-25-2013, 10:23 AM
#51
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Anyway, if I'm being the dick here, I'm sorry. Clearly everyone else understands better the daily requirements of my previous job and the new requirements of my current job, and it's much more interesting to discuss why I obviously didn't need a truck before than to discuss what kind of car I should buy to replace my truck.
But I want to talk about cars. Can we just talk about the cars now?
But I want to talk about cars. Can we just talk about the cars now?
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10-25-2013, 10:30 AM
#52
Boost Pope
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Of all of the suggestions which have been posted here, the mid-90s Accord weighs most heavily with merit. Be not afraid of interference engines. For every one horror story, there are ten thousand people who weren't idiots and actually bothered to replace it every 60,000 miles.
Parts are cheap and plentiful, and these cars (both engine and chassis) are reasonably easy to work on.
I would not completely exclude a first-gen Honda Insight from your search. While they are only two-seaters, they do have a surprising amount of cargo room in the back. They are fairly easy to work on, will do a no-BS 50 MPG all day long, many of them had manual gearboxes, and battery replacement is both easy and cheap. You will definitely blow the $2k budget here, but it's worth at least considering. (Also, it's a little-known fact that even with a mostly-dead battery, the Insight will run just fine and still return fairly good mileage. This makes it somewhat unique among modern hybrids.)
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10-25-2013, 10:36 AM
#53
I see no reason why a $2k vehicle can't be a reliable daily-driver. My $800 Miata never left me stranded. You just have to start with the right car and take proper care of it. Suggestions such as you have made are the sort of baseless hysteria which drives the present day debt-culture that so confounds me. Of all of the suggestions which have been posted here, the mid-90s Accord weighs most heavily with merit. Be not afraid of interference engines. For every one horror story, there are ten thousand people who weren't idiots and actually bothered to replace it every 60,000 miles. Parts are cheap and plentiful, and these cars (both engine and chassis) are reasonably easy to work on. I would not completely exclude a first-gen Honda Insight from your search. While they are only two-seaters, they do have a surprising amount of cargo room in the back. They are fairly easy to work on, will do a no-BS 50 MPG all day long, many of them had manual gearboxes, and battery replacement is both easy and cheap. You will definitely blow the $2k budget here, but it's worth at least considering. (Also, it's a little-known fact that even with a mostly-dead battery, the Insight will run just fine and still return fairly good mileage. This makes it somewhat unique among modern hybrids.)
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10-25-2013, 10:42 AM
#54
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Of all of the suggestions which have been posted here, the mid-90s Accord weighs most heavily with merit. Be not afraid of interference engines. For every one horror story, there are ten thousand people who weren't idiots and actually bothered to replace it every 60,000 miles.
Parts are cheap and plentiful, and these cars (both engine and chassis) are reasonably easy to work on.
Parts are cheap and plentiful, and these cars (both engine and chassis) are reasonably easy to work on.
I am highly, highly tempted by this:
HONDA ACCORD
If this is a manual transmission, it'd be perfect.
I would not completely exclude a first-gen Honda Insight from your search. While they are only two-seaters, they do have a surprising amount of cargo room in the back. They are fairly easy to work on, will do a no-BS 50 MPG all day long, many of them had manual gearboxes, and battery replacement is both easy and cheap. You will definitely blow the $2k budget here, but it's worth at least considering. (Also, it's a little-known fact that even with a mostly-dead battery, the Insight will run just fine and still return fairly good mileage. This makes it somewhat unique among modern hybrids.)
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10-25-2013, 11:35 AM
#55
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I see no reason why a $2k vehicle can't be a reliable daily-driver. My $800 Miata never left me stranded. You just have to start with the right car and take proper care of it. Suggestions such as you have made are the sort of baseless hysteria which drives the present day debt-culture that so confounds
Do i trust them to not let me down, no. But i have backups, and it's besides the point.
I made my comment before OP made it clear it didn't matter if the 82 volvo quit while hauling 1600lbs of mulch somewhere. From what i understood, how he said it at the time, that it would negatively impact his job and thus his life.
So now that he has made himself clear i retract my statement and gave my advice.
Saturn SL2 wagon
or
Ford Taurus wagon
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10-25-2013, 02:01 PM
#58
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I have similarly had people tell me they "had to" buy a new car because their existing car needed a few hundred dollars of routine maintenance work and they "needed" to buy something (for thirty thousand dollars) that didn't cost so much to maintain. This took them from a few hundred dollars in rare and occasional routine repairs to several hundred dollars every single month for five or six years. I love the idiots who say "but I got a warranty now" as justification to throw away $25,000 extra dollars above what the repairs would have been for the same time period.
All they really want is for someone to tell them it is OK for them to waste their money on the new car they want to buy anyway. It is all about rationalizing irresponsible spending.
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10-25-2013, 02:11 PM
#59
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There are real reasons to own a newer vehicle, at least around these parts. Once a car hits 10-12 years old, the rust is going to start costing you lots of money and down time. I don't know about anyone else, but I need to be to work at an early hour each day or I won't have a job for long. When your lines start to go, it's thousands of dollars and several days to repair for each set. If you don't do them all (brakes, fuel, transmission cooler, P/S) at a grand or more a pop, you'll be out every time one of them goes. Putting 5+ grand into an otherwise decent vehicle doesn't make sense in the long run. Sure, it runs well, but it's falling apart due to corrosion. Leaks are an indication that it's time to let someone else have the headaches.
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10-25-2013, 02:24 PM
#60
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I have similarly had people tell me they "had to" buy a new car because their existing car needed a few hundred dollars of routine maintenance work and they "needed" to buy something (for thirty thousand dollars) that didn't cost so much to maintain. (...) I love the idiots who say "but I got a warranty now" as justification to throw away $25,000 extra dollars above what the repairs would have been for the same time period.
Of course, one need not confine one's self only to vehicles which are located nearby. A person who lives in New York (such as myself) would likely be better served to import a 15 year old car from a southern state than to pay thrice as much for a five year old car located in the same town.
As an example, I sold my rust-free '92 about four years ago while living in San Diego. It was purchased by a person in Michigan, and only cost about $700 to ship. He got an excellent deal on a clean car- far better than if he'd limited himself to searching in his local area.
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