The original article this comment was posted to remains among your finest work and should be required reading before signing up for commenting privileges on any blog promoting "shitboxes" or "wrenching" or "the joy of cheap cars" or whatever.
I'm shocked at how cheap car repair was in 2015. I paid the Nissan dealer to replace the radiator and upper and lower hoses on a 2014 Quest in two visits (EMOJI GRIMACE FACE HERE) on Memorial Day weekend 2022 in Boise, Idaho. Total bill was $1800! For a radiator and two hoses! And being billed for two complete flushes, of course, because they fixed the hoses on Saturday before the holiday... then it dumped a massive load of coolant on the garage floor Saturday night. "Oh, looks like the radiator's leaking, too. Somehow our pressure test didn't notice this, even though we billed you for an upper radiator hose you almost certainly didn't need."
I forgot about this exact source article, but I've often repeated the mantra hammered home in a few Baruth articles that only a rich guy can afford to drive used cars. Why do I drive a 17-year-old Nissan sport sedan? Because the 4-door 350Z is danged fun, that's why, and they don't make 'em like they used to. But also because I save a fortune on car payments and insurance and if the Nipponsei car broke down or is undriveable (say, uh, you move to Idaho and leave the summer tires on it all winter), I can drive something else or otherwise still get around. #privilege
The original article this comment was posted to remains among your finest work and should be required reading before signing up for commenting privileges on any blog promoting "shitboxes" or "wrenching" or "the joy of cheap cars" or whatever.
can you link it? i forget which one it was
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/02/no-fixed-abode-gotta-rich-cheap-car/
thanks!! heres an archive link in case it goes dead/you dont want to give TTAC the clicks: https://archive.ph/MQPYx
for anyone who has comments collapsed by default, thanks to jack4x for the link, here is an archive link: https://archive.ph/MQPYx
I'm shocked at how cheap car repair was in 2015. I paid the Nissan dealer to replace the radiator and upper and lower hoses on a 2014 Quest in two visits (EMOJI GRIMACE FACE HERE) on Memorial Day weekend 2022 in Boise, Idaho. Total bill was $1800! For a radiator and two hoses! And being billed for two complete flushes, of course, because they fixed the hoses on Saturday before the holiday... then it dumped a massive load of coolant on the garage floor Saturday night. "Oh, looks like the radiator's leaking, too. Somehow our pressure test didn't notice this, even though we billed you for an upper radiator hose you almost certainly didn't need."
I forgot about this exact source article, but I've often repeated the mantra hammered home in a few Baruth articles that only a rich guy can afford to drive used cars. Why do I drive a 17-year-old Nissan sport sedan? Because the 4-door 350Z is danged fun, that's why, and they don't make 'em like they used to. But also because I save a fortune on car payments and insurance and if the Nipponsei car broke down or is undriveable (say, uh, you move to Idaho and leave the summer tires on it all winter), I can drive something else or otherwise still get around. #privilege
Damn