2023, Automotive, Family, Travel, Uncategorized

Wheels

32 Comments

We are back from our trip to South Dakota, happy but weary. I noticed as we drove our Honda van East out of Bismarck on Thursday that the odometer passed 153,000 miles. It wasn’t too long ago we were thrilled to get a vehicle past 100,000 miles. What happened?

We have two vehicles- a 2011 Honda van and a 2014 Toyota Tacoma pickup. I am unsure how many miles I should expect to get on the Honda, I really don’t want to think about getting a new vehicle just yet. I need to rethink the need for a van if we have a pickup. They are all so expensive, and I come from a father who never in his life bought a used vehicle. It was unthinkable in his opinion.

What vehicle did you get the most miles on? If you got a different vehicle, would it be new or used? What is your most memorable means of transportation?

32 thoughts on “Wheels”

  1. I came to look at about 300,000 miles on a vehicle is life expectancy especially if it’s a Toyota or Honda
    . right now I’m hauling about 70,000 miles a year on my vehicles driving a Toyota matrix to get 30 miles to the gallon is great the previous car which was Steve’s Subaru and got 19 miles to the gallon. The extra 30% ends up being a huge savings of three or $400 a month on gas bills.
    The life cycle of a vehicle is determined by the adherence to the changing oil the first of the month
    change the oil, replace the brakes and figure on something else coming up about once every 50 or 100,000 miles and your car will last for a long long time
    A new car is great but I am a believer in buying a verse from year-old 30,000 mile used vehicle and driving it to 100,000 miles and selling it for a total expense of about $1000-$2000 on the vehicle if I wanna look longer-term, I’ll look for 100000 out of Phoenix or Las Vegas, where there is no rust.
    Honda is a wonderful vehicle as far as making the wheels go around for 300,000 miles at minimum expense but I was very unimpressed with their response on my accord hybrid when it had problems their response was basically stuck in your ear and it turned out to be a nationwide problem with my car that should’ve been handled with a dealer but I had a dealership that didn’t read the bulletins from corporate and didn’t realize there was a problem and I took it in five times called corporate, and it wasn’t until I went to a different dealer that was responsible and fixed at no charge in five minutes and asked if I had a different problem that I had complained about and fix that one of the same time so much about the dealership and you better pick the right one because corporate will not stand behind you
    Toyota is a wonderful name and I’m currently driving a Toyota matrix which is like a shrunk down minivan that I got with 150,000 miles on it and I am approaching one year and now I have 250,000 miles on it
    it is transportation and work-based function that is required toyota does that well
    i am amazed at the electric car options today
    maybe get your name in for the new vw van
    electric and about 40,000 cut not gas costs
    a big deal for me with a savings of $1200 per month but might help justify new car payments for you
    a used chevy volt or tesla might help you decide if an electric is for you while you wait a year for your van
    my name is on that list already
    i’m also looking at a fiskar vehicle

    best vehicle ever 69 vw van
    gonna relive it 50 years later

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    1. The day after Blevins met you turned right in front of me in your Toyota (Hwy 5 and Pr Center Dr). I waived but you were intent on something else.

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  2. I had a 2006 Saturn Ion that I drove for almost 15 years. It had 206,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I would love to have kept it longer but it was starting to need repairs that would cost more than it was worth. I am still very bummed that Saturn no longer exists. I currently drive a 2019 Honda Civic that I bought
    used in 2021. It had only 16,000 miles and I expect to get many more.

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    1. I also had a Saturn Ion for 12 years. Her name was Ivy. When YA got sideswiped about 10 years ago and her car was totaled, I let her drive the Ion and I bought a new car, a Honda Insight. I adore this car. I’m much happier having a hatchback again and I almost always get more than 40 miles to the gallon as it’s a gas assist hybrid. And it’s red.

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  5. Unlike consumer reporting enterprises, fleet operators (taxi companies, police agencies, etc.) measure cost-of-ownership data with specific intent. That’s why I always felt confident buying Ford Panther platform cars (Crown Vic, Mercury Marquis), discontinued since 2011 but still well-represented among operators.

    A surviving legacy of that line is the Ford Mustang in V8 models. Not the V6. That engine has fatal flaws. Whenever I talk about this, I hear people say, “I need something with good gas mileage.”

    Is that the only thing you need? Are fleet operators buying the most fuel-efficient cars? If so, it’s a coincidence. They’re buying lowest total cost of ownership. I’d say find out what the fleet operators are using, and if it fits your needs, buy one of those.

    On the topic of my most memorable means of transportation, I published two essays in recent days. You might have seen both, but here they are.

    A Satisfied Customer

    Nostalgiafied

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    1. You’ve made me think about my mother whose last two cars were retired rental cars. She thinks that they’re in better shape after a year because they’re rental cars. I have no idea about that but I do know that the guys who run this rental car place are really really good to her.

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      1. If my impression of fleet operators is correct, the cars were worth having because the rental company knew what to buy. Over the years, I’ve known a few people who did the same thing and reported it worked out very well.

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  6. I have had a used 2005 Pontiac Vibe since 2007. Vibe’s have Toyota engines. Mine now has 250,O00+ miles, it had 40,000 when I bought it. I’ve never had a new car. My first car was a 1963 Ford convertible I got in 1964 that took me back and forth between Minnesota, Colorado and Washington state. I sold it to friends who lived in California who drove it from  Minnesota in late 1980s, The next cars were a VW, two Fords until the Vibe. My mechanic tells me when I need to replace cars and so far the Vibe is still fine. In the past it was rust that made me replace a car,,,except the convertible, which may still being driven in California. Electric car next?  Cynthia “Life is a shifting carpet…learn to dance.”

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  7. Rise and Stay on the Road, Baboons,

    We are watching the hybrid market because we feel ready to make a transition to a hybrid car. Presently we have a 2016 Honda Pilot (great road car) and a 2013 Ford Escape, battered, still running. Both have 100,000+ miles on them. Given the low car stock we will take new or used once we are prepared to buy.

    One memorable transport event was in Oslo, Norway, in 2014. We were on the public tram when a belligerent, probably mentally ill man got on the car with us. He began BLASTING music on a portable speaker, When someone asked him to turn it down he started yelling and probably swearing (but it was in Norwegian, so maybe it was a nursery rhyme). At the next stop everyone but us departed, probably out of fear. We did not know where we were or exactly how the system worked, so we were scared to stay on and scared to get off in the rubble of Oslo. The entire city was under construction . The guy was escalating his hostility, so we got off at the next stop in a pile of gravel, transversed a ditch, and walked where we wanted to go. Through the rubble.

    I really hated Oslo, which surprised me. I expected to like it but everything was a problem. Many of the places we wanted to see were closed due to construction or just inaccessible. Their tourist websites failed to mention this.

    OT. This smoke has my eyes and my system inflamed. Headachy and stiff this morning.

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      1. Love my two boat trips from Bergen up to where my two of my great grandparents were born and raised. Up past Sogn Fjord where I did take a side boat trip and stayed in Balestrand at a wonderful bed and breakfast.
        Met relatives the second trip to Askvoll and Helle on the coast north of Bergen. Took the overnight train from Oslo to Bergen so enjoyed the tv version of the day trip.

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  8. Most mileage was on our 1991 Toyota Camry, which was up in the 225,000 range before we sold it. We’ve always bought new and held “forever” so we’ll probably buy a new Toyota for our next car. That may not happen for 10 years or so. Oldest car is the 2015 Highlander. only 105,000 miles on it, so lots of life remaining.

    My most memorable means of transportation was the train travel in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France). LOVED the Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) in France. Went something like 180 mph at top speed, smoothest ride you can imagine, and quiet too.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  10. I had a 1992 Honda Civic Hatchback manual transmission that I bought new off the lot at Burnsville Honda. I drove that car for 16 or 17 years. I put 248,000 miles on it and sold it to a young guy in Mankato who fixed it up and put another 100,000 on it. It might still be on the road. I loved that car. It was my most memorable car. I called it “Miler.” I think it was the water pump that decided to go out. I thought it was the engine but the young guy who bought it put in a new water pump and jazzed it all up and away he went.

    I have a 2016 Toyota RAV4 now. It’s a great car. I really like Toyotas for their reliability. The gas mileage isn’t nearly as good as you can get with a Honda Civic, though. My Miler had a manual transmission and no AC, so I could get 45 miles to the gallon with that car on the highway; I’m not exaggerating. I don’t understand why cars can’t be made that way anymore.

    I don’t want another car right now. I bought a second car, a racy looking Honda Civic, two summers ago. I sold it last summer to a father who bought it for his graduating daughter. It was a bright red color and a really cute car. When she realized he was buying it for her, I thought she was going to faint. I kept my RAV4 and I like it more every day. My next car will be a hybrid. I like Toyota Matrix – that makes sense to me.

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    1. My first Honda was also my first new car. Honda Civic. Red. Hatchback. That’s pretty much my checklist. Her name was Civetta – Italian word for flirt. I drove her for 15 years and never had any big ugly. horrible, expensive surprises.

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  11. I’ve never owned a new car. Let someone else take the new-to-used depreciation. I don’t like dealing with dealership mechanics and don’t much trust them. As long as low mileage used cars are available, that’s my preference. My 2014 Toyota RAV4 has about 80,000 miles on it. My mechanic tells me it should be good for about 250,000 miles. At the rate I am driving it, that may be my last car. Robin’s 2008 Honda Fit is another story. It has closer to 150,000 miles on it and though the mechanic says it’s still fit (so to speak) I’d like to see her in a newer car soon.

    Plenty of memorable transportation. Driving in Wales on the “wrong” side of the road in a stick shift car, where many of the roads were single track with eight foot hedges on either side and the locals drive them at 30 mph or more was hair raising. My hands got so cramped from gripping the steering wheel I had trouble sleeping.

    I remember when we went to Italy, we flew into Zurich, Switzerland because flights to Amsterdam using frequent flyer mileage were full. From Zurich we took the train into Italy. The trains in Switzerland were rigidly punctual, hitting every stop precisely on schedule. As soon as we crossed into Italy, that punctuality relaxed considerably.

    In about 1996, I accompanied my father and a few of his friends on a fishing trip to Canada. We drove across the border to the outfitters and from there boarded a two-engine float plane to an island out in the wilderness. On that flight, I was allowed to sit in the cockpit next to the pilot, where I had an exceptional view of the waterways and forest.

    When we were out in Colorado near Mesa Verde, all four of us—Robin and I and our two (at the time) young daughters decided to take a horseback ride. We expected a typical trail ride with some scenic bits and there was some of that. But the memorable part was when the guides, and our horses as well, took off at full gallop across territory that was interspersed with hard to anticipate arroyos.

    What struck me as most remarkable about the New York subways was that up above at street level it looked like any typical city street but you go down a stairway and suddenly you are in a whole other world.

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  12. My one and only new car was a 1973 Mercury Capri. It replaced the 1963 VW bug that died on Highway 280 one frigid winter morning on my way to work.

    The Capri was a sweet little car. It was love at first sight when I saw it featured at an exhibit at Apache Plaza. We paid the asking price of $3,200.00 for it; didn’t know any better at the time. Also, this was before you could easily research everything on the internet, so we didn’t know the first thing about it. No matter, a year later wasband and I divorced, and the car became mine because he couldn’t afford the car payments! I had it for ten years until the hinges to the front driver’s side door rusted so badly that the door literally fell off.

    Next came a succession of five or six SAABs: a couple of 900 3-door with hatchbacks, followed by several 9000 turbos. My favorite was the 900 hatchback. What a solid and practical little car that was. Unfortunately, finding a good and reliable mechanic for the SAAB was difficult. I had one who retired, and Jerry, his successor, was impossible to deal with. A wizard who knew SAABs and everything about them but was a pain the posterior to deal with.

    The only car I’ve ever had that I truly hated was a used VW Jetta. I had it only about a year, but in that year everything that could possibly go wrong with it did.

    I now drive a 2008 PT Cruiser. I bought it six years ago with less than 19,000 miles on it; it now has 27,000. It gets poor mileage, but since I don’t drive much, it works fine for my needs. I don’t anticipate ever buying another car.

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  13. Probably my most memorable mode of transportation was my, manufactured in Sweden, Monark bicycle. It was turquoise, my favorite color at the time, and a surprise Christmas present from my parents when I was fifteen.

    Mine was a basic model, one gear and coaster brakes, but it was a fine ride. I rode that thing all over Denmark, visiting every nook and cranny during summer vacations with girl friends. I brought it with me to Switzerland and rode it through parts of France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany on my way back home. My mom gave it away when I moved to the US.

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  14. I loved the car ride with the great granddaughter of my maternal grandfather’s brother (I challenge you to work that out. She was my Great Uncle Johann’s great granddaughter) when she drove us all around Neddenaverbergen, Germany, my grandfather’s hometown, as well as nearby Verden, Achim, and the surrounding countryside.

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  15. Our cars seem to rust out or begin to ‘nickel and dime’ me after 150,000 it seems. I’m not sure I remember anything longer than that.

    I had an old postal jeep for a while. It was just fun to drive. It was a deathtrap, and you’d never take it on the hwy or over about 60 MPH, but it was quirky.
    And I sure liked the Saab 900 I had. It was a 197X I think…

    Sure glad I bought my truck in 2019 before things went crazy. Trucks are stupid expensive in the first place. And now it’s just ridiculous. Mine is a 2014.

    We’ve had a few new cars. I agree with the depreciation hit…it’s just how it’s worked out.

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  16. My last three cars have been brand new when I purchased them. I like that a new car hasn’t had a chance to get up to anything that I don’t know about and/or have to worry about.

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  17. We’ll see if WP lets me on – I’m on the iPad because our computer is being replaced, will get the new one Tuesday…

    Most memorable travel was my 50th b-day train trip, which I’ve posted about.

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