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how much are the new plastic electric cars again? the batteries will last how long before the already short range is reduced and cost how much to replace? will they be worth new batteries in say 7 years? or done by then?
If the thing is in any sort of accident you can bet he repairs for all those plastic bits will be lots and at that time you have already invested lots so you go ahead. Then no one wants it because it's been in an accident.
I drive junk for good reason, sure Ive had a few tow homes, 1 a year maybe? and some work in the summer to get them all ship shape so I dont need to go out wrenching much in winter. Never regretted it. Never made a payment, never had to hire a mechanic. Never paid for collision insurance, never made a car payment in my whole life, Never been on a car lot. Oh there are times I think maybe Ill buy something newer but then I realize all the technology requires the dealer to be involved.
Houses here are crazy, rent is nuts here too. If I had bought new cars I'd probably be living in a compartment with no shop, nothing much to do but watch TV. because I saved up and invested all I could muster into a house at 40, it tripled in value, at least. was 370 aftr separation I bought it again for 500 by paying her out.. now, 20 years later it's close to 1.5 mil. If I had bought new cars and made payments it would be really hard. with interest rates high I'm a bit scared but the house appreciated so much I could always take a step down and at least own my own compartment.
Its all relative I guess, new cars are nice. every parking lot I enter I look around and my car is the oldest. I don't care about image or keeping up with the Joneses, I still have payments but If I had made the choice to buy an apartment and keep some cash for a new car , it would have changed my path. The Porsche is sort of a toy, I might work on it more than I use it, It might not ever be perfect, just fun.. I dont mind, Its what I want to do.
with the fuel prices and conversion to electric I'm happy it doesn't have a huge gas pig engine, and its still going to be as much fun. I expect fuel prices may go higher as we get electric cars forced upon us so I don't want a V8.
I figure It'll be worth close to what I spend on parts and my original investment of 2K my time is free (for me) lots of peope spend way more on cars and do not wish to challenge themselves with car maintenance. For me it made a huge difference. I thin 3K before the rubber hits the road and Ill still want other stuff like shocks etc.. maybe it will be more. part of the reason Im taking my time is because then I can spread the costs out a little. I consider it a hobby not a great investment but if I apply myself I figure I'm not really "spending" sure it's a little investment.
If I had mechanics and dealership work on it then I think I'd lose about what those costs were on it's value. I dont see a lot of the new cars really exciting people much, who wants to fix all those broken plastic clips and stuff. they just arent' really made to be repaired so much, the car companies break the mold every year to prevent it. I keep hoping a car company wil make a repairable car that is designed with a longer term repair strategy, Its a pipe dream, the things are like printers now , the ink rns down so you buy a new one because the ink cartridges cost nearly as much as a new printer, so it goes in the trash. one would think society would figure that out since recycling is so big now. today I see plastic spoons are being elliminated. they just started making plastic screw on spouts for the plastic impregnated milk cartons. I never had much trouble opening one,does it need a screw on spout? but I cant; have a spoon?
I thought that's about as much plastic as a spoon and I need to replace it after using half litre of milk. where is all this stuff made from recycled plastic? I htink they just burn it in the incinerator.
car companies don't give a hoot about environmental concerns, they cant even standardize wheel bolt patterns let alone anything else. Its just a huge scam to make people buy new cars and they are decreasing the designed in lifespan quite systematically. a certain percentage of a person wage goes to the car companies. I don't see it as any great environmental fix, rather as a way to keep economies moving. old hondas of the 80's got just as good of gas mileage as new many cars of today. My 66 Volvo got 25 MPG, the car companies could have used technology to decrease fuel use if that is what they wanted. They chose not to.. Its all about profit, not common sense.
now if I was a doctor or a lawyer and made bug bucks maybe I'd feel different but personally Ive enjoyed the challenges. I have 6 80's cars, I figure I can keep something running for a while and they are certainly not worth what a new car is. I think its not the "normal " way people look at things but it's my way, by choice.
I bought some real junk when I was younger, It taught me to fix stuff..
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