..and I don't see another logical way out so I can keep it. Had a car since I was 16, and being 63, facing the prospect of no automobile, well, I'm half in tears since last night. I can't even remember if I posted on this already. So I moved from Oregon to California, long story, some of you know it already. I'm all licensed and registered in Oregon until this August 21, but not so in CA. I went to DMV, and it will take all I have pretty much, to get it all legally transferred. Smog inspection, license & registration (plus a late fee because I didn't do it the first 20 days I was here), then the drivers license. I can do it, I have the money. But will it be worth it. That's my dilemma. The truck has things going wrong with it more and more, and I can't save because everytime I get a few bucks saved, something has to be replaced on the truck, lol! May as well laugh. So now I'm thinking of letting the truck go, and it's not worth much to anyone but me. To be honest, I don't want to try and sell it because that's just more stress. I have a couple up in Oregon that could use the truck, good friends, that have stood by me for years. I can drive it up, and they'll meet me in Grants Pass OR. Then they would have it, and I would be using public transportation, for the first time in my spoiled life, LOL! I know some of my friends do fine without vehicles. I guess I would love to hear from people that are doing fine without. My other option is to keep the truck, and continue getting what it needs until it just won't run anymore, LOL! On my low income buying another truck is out of the question. I seem to pride myself on getting buy without a lot of frills in my life, but I didn't think I would ever be without a rig.
I think you did voice this concern before, Denise. My opinion was to keep the truck if at all possible. Once it's gone, it's gone! Your ride is your freedom, independence and might even save your life. That's just my opinion.
@Denise Happyfeet , your old truck might be worth more than you think it is. We have an old 2000 Ford stationwagon with about 200,000 miles on it, and one that has had a hard life. We have been struggling to keep it running, too. I started looking at cars on Craiglist, and some of the facebook groups for cars in our area of Alabama. Most of the cars that I found that were at all affordable had close to 200,000 mile and many of them had a lot more miles than that; and these were vehicles that were selling for $1500 and up. Anything priced uder that amount had either been in a wreck, or didn't run and needed a lot of work. I finally decided that finding a vehicle that would get good gas mileage and still be driveable and affordable for us, just was NOT likely to happen. We could either get one that was economical and had almost 300,000 miles on it;and was trashed inside and out from all those hard miles; or we could get an older gas-guzzler that had less miles on it and was probably also trashed inside and out. We ended up fixing our old wagon ourselves, so that it is at least drivable for the time being, and not buying another one. Then, my daughter gave us her 2000 Ford Ranger because it was having issues and was not dependable for her to drive when she had to be somewhere for her job. She just bought a better truck herself, and we are slowly working on fixing up the Ranger. It has well over 200,000 miles on it, too; but she had done most of the maintainence on it for as long as she has owned it, so once we get it running okay again, we should have a more dependable vehicle. I think that you should check out the sales of Mazda pickups in your area before you decide to just give away your little truck. A Mazda is one of the most dependable trucks ever, and should be able to make at least 300,000 miles with care and proper maintainence. I think that you can sell it for $1500+ if it runs at all, or maybe trade it for a vehicle that has passed all of the emissions tests there, so you can license it easier. At the very least, park it for a while, and try living with using public tranportation. Save up what you can while doing that, and then decide whether to give up the truck, fix it , or trade it for something different. Look under groups on facebook and just search for car sales groups in your area (under $5000) and see what people are buying and selling. That way, you have a lot more information before making the hard decision.
I think you are both right, Ruby and Yvonne. I don't think I can bear to let it go anyway. I'll get it all legal, and stop worrying about "what" might happen to it. There are some good, senior services here, may help me meet up with someone that works on vehicles, sort of on the side or something. I actually know one guy here that was chompin at the bit to fix some things on it, just for something to do I guess. It does run good, and the last mechanic that worked on it said it would go another 100k most likely, like you said, just taking care of the regular oil changes etc. I hardly drive it, so it could last til I die, who knows, LOL! I feel a lot better now. Been in working a puzzle to get my mind off everything, then came back and saw the replies. Thank you so much, now I can quit whining, until the next crisis in my life, LOL!! hugs all, denise
I wish we had some public transportation here where I live. I miss being able to just hop on the bus or train, but I would still want to keep my vehicle. I'm in a similar situation to yours with the tight finances and some needed vehicle repairs. I'm glad you've decided to hold onto the truck, at least for now, because it is a measure of independence, and it doesn't sound as if you're ready to let it go.
Yeah, living in the inner city (Houston) is the only place to find that "public transportation" ... it's a joke.
Actually, that's gasoline, since I have a slight hole right near the opening at the top. I don't suppose you have an extra gas tank lying around? For cheap??
Thanks Diane, as I always say, I'm not glad you are in a similar boat, but it's good to know someone understands what it's like. Yep, I'm putting on my armor now and headed for DMV soon as I finish breakfast.
I'm still thinking though, I could sure save some dough if I went without from now on. It's a hard decision. If the truck was newer, and didn't have things going wrong with it, it would be easier to decide, that's for sure
actually, right now I'm thinking of taking donuts down to DMV with me. They are government, and I've heard bribery is paying off with them??