EyeMWing's next commuterbox

EyeMWing

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Nov 17, 2008
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Dual life MD/SoCal
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Subarus and shit
The Escort attempted suicide again yesterday, this time deciding the vital fluid it no longer needed was engine oil.

A pinhole rusted in the oil pan and made a nice mess of my employer's parking lot (meh, they're resurfacing it on Monday anyway)

The level was down below the dipstick, but it still had oil pressure, so I took it over to the auto parts store, grabbed 5 quarts of oil and dumped about 3 quarts in (overfilling it). From there, it was a quick run to the hardware store and then to a buddy's house, where I hijacked his garage and spackled up the oil pan with some JB Kwik.

Crisis averted for now - but given this car's apparently suicidal nature, it's time for me to start thinking about its replacement.

Here's where I'm at with the thought process.

I'm commuting 140 miles a day, so economy and cheap maintenance are good.
I'm NOT buying new, or even moderately new. 2003 is the latest model year I will consider at all.
I'm not buying expensive - $5k is the hard cap on what I'm willing to spend. Not an effing penny more.
Manual transmission is mandatory.
Whee! is preferable.
I maintain everything myself, and am building a garage with a lift in it, but things I can fix almost any problem in an evening are quite preferable.
I have plenty of big yachts in my life already, and will be adding more as projects reach completion. This isn't for that - it's for a daily driver commuterbox that gets a gazillion miles.
MPG target is 30MPG+. A bit less is okay (I get ~27 currently, so meh)

I really, really like the Ford Zetec engine. It's made of Whee!, it's apparently air cooled and requires no lubrication, and fixing it isn't very labor intensive. It also powers the ZX2 to an easy 80mph highway cruise and 100mph clear-road-supercruise without drama.


Here are the things that have thus far popped into my head:
- Buy another ZX2.
- Buy another Zetec to swap into the existing ZX2.
- Buy a Zetec Focus (ZX3, ZX4, ZX5, ZXW, SVT packages) - with the exception of the SVT, these are a less powerful tune than the ZX2 got, and the cars are taller and heavier, though, so I'm not sure if that will kill the Whee!.
- Limp-wristed Miata brigade

Suggestions? Comments? I won't be actively shopping one of these, since the bandaids on the ZX2 are holding fine for now, but I'll be keeping an eye out for any deals that show up. If one does, I'll retire the ZX2 to die gloriously on a racetrack instead of dying a slow death through interminable interstate miles.
 
CRX from a Southern state if you can find an unmolested one.
 
diesel golf?
 
A CRX had occurred to me briefly, but I'm pretty sure they don't exist in unmolested configurations.

And "diesel golf", to my knowledge, is a two-word phrase for "ungodly expensive to maintain and near impossible to fuel". Rare is the gas station without a pair of pickup trucks parked up at the only two diesel pumps for half an hour at a time. I require further convincing that this is viable.
 
Ford Festiva with a turbo swap. Lots of fun, good mileage and super cheap. Just don't crash in one.
 
Something Japanese/German if over 5 years old. Here usually Japanese is better value. Oh, may be a Hyundai at a push.

Doing your milage a year commuting I'd want something comfortable and able to cruise all day so I would not go for the CRX 'roller skate' option, that would be my weekend car personally, do you get Diesel Passats or Toyota Avensis?

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/avensis-2003/?
 
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Something Japanese/German if over 5 years old. Here usually Japanese is better value. Oh, may be a Hyundai at a push.

Doing your milage a year commuting I'd want something comfortable and able to cruise all day so I would not go for the CRX 'roller skate' option, that would be my weekend car personally, do you get Diesel Passats or Toyota Avensis?

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/avensis-2003/?

We get diesel passats but no avensis at all. We get the camry here...no diesel option.
 
MX-5 hard top?

I'm serious.
 
Economy is for wimps and accountants, what you need is this :

2011-dodge-ram-3500-laramie-longhorn-crew-cab-4x4-front-left-view.jpg


Added bonus : if the dakota falls apart again you can just fling it in the back :p
 
VW TDI... expensive to maintain? Wut?

The lack of diesel infrastructure might be an issue though. Gotta wonder how all the guys with diesel trucks do it.
 
MX-5 hard top?

I'm serious.

So am I. Hardtops are a bit on the expensive side, but a 'vert wouldn't be all that objectionable if the effing heater works.

Ford Festiva with a turbo swap. Lots of fun, good mileage and super cheap. Just don't crash in one.

Ah, another aspect of my commute I forgot to mention. People run into me regularly. The ZX2 just eats minor collisions (and even fairly major ones) without complaint. Also, I'm not Rick.

Economy is for wimps and accountants, what you need is this :

2011-dodge-ram-3500-laramie-longhorn-crew-cab-4x4-front-left-view.jpg


Added bonus : if the dakota falls apart again you can just fling it in the back :p

I'm actively shopping for an F-350/Dodge 3500. The Dakota just can't do my towing requirements, and I figure if I need to go bigger, I may as well go all the effing way.

VW TDI... expensive to maintain? Wut?
[Citation needed]

The lack of diesel infrastructure might be an issue though. Gotta wonder how all the guys with diesel trucks do it.
600 gallon saddle tanks, depot pumps and properly equipped truck stops for the big guys. Virtually every 1-ton diesel pickup carries a 1-200 gallon auxiliary pump/tank in the bed, ostensibly for farm equipment but more often than not it gets used to refuel the truck. Only people with 3/4 ton diesel pickups seem to suffer, and they're usually the assholes parked up at the pump for half an hour.

Here is an apparently unmolested one: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3066050599.html

This one looks pretty unmolested except for the paint. http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/3059761628.html

I wonder if they know they could sell those for $10k to weeaboo boyracers in SoCal.
 
I wonder if they know they could sell those for $10k to weeaboo boyracers in SoCal.

Why tell them? Just take advantage of them.

Or, as DerStig just told me, "Buy both, sell one in California for fun and funds."
 
Civic/Accord/Corolla/Camry.

/thread

I'm sorry, I fell asleep for a moment there. Were you trying to say something?

(FWIW I have the option of picking up a 2010 Yaris with super-low miles for $500 from my grandfather's estate. "No." was and will remain my answer to anything beige and "sensible" - I value my life too much to put up with that shit.)
 
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VW TDI... expensive to maintain? Wut?

Diesel cars not being anywhere near an important fraction of the vehicle ecosystem here, mechanics who have the skills to service them are specialists and charge accordingly. Then, too, a good diesel mechanic has huge upward mobility - so a car shop would have to pay more to retain a diesel mechanic.

One of the only reasons a diesel pickup is affordable to run here is because they use the large industrial engines out of medium trucks and therefore there is much competition for their servicing and parts sales amongst the heavy equipment shops. (But yes, before you ask - even with the competition, if I had my diesel serviced at a shop instead of doing it myself, it would cost more than a comparable gas truck - but still less than a diesel car at a diesel car shop.)

Also, since they aren't sold in huge numbers here, diesel car parts are not always commonly stocked and even when they are, they can often cost more. Here's some good examples:

Alternator, AC Delco brand (I.E., not the OEM for either vehicle, so as to be fair):
1995 Jetta TDI - $212.89
1995 Ford F-350 Powerstroke Diesel - $151.29

Power Steering Pump, Cardone remanufactured:
Jetta - $113.79
Ford - $48.79

Fuel Filter:
Jetta - not available in aftermarket, go to VW dealership and drop trousers, then bend over.
Ford - $20.79 from Ford, but available in aftermarket via Ford's Motorcraft line of parts.

You may begin to see the problem with running a diesel VW in the US... When parts cost twice what that of the 7.3L turbo behemoth's parts do and they're actually harder to replace (VW didn't design their vehicles with maximum serviceability in mind, Ford and International usually did) thus cost more money to service at an already expensive specialty mechanic, that tends to make the 'cheap' VW not so cheap.
 
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Heck, I'm just watching the thread myself as i'll probably have to end up replacing the Taurus before Fall....
 
I'm commuting 140 miles a day, so economy and cheap maintenance are good.
Miata
I'm NOT buying new, or even moderately new. 2003 is the latest model year I will consider at all.
Miata
I'm not buying expensive - $5k is the hard cap on what I'm willing to spend. Not an effing penny more.
Miata
Manual transmission is mandatory.
Miata
Whee! is preferable.
...What have I been telling you?
I maintain everything myself, and am building a garage with a lift in it, but things I can fix almost any problem in an evening are quite preferable.
I have plenty of big yachts in my life already, and will be adding more as projects reach completion. This isn't for that - it's for a daily driver commuterbox that gets a gazillion miles.
MPG target is 30MPG+. A bit less is okay (I get ~27 currently, so meh)
Why haven't you come out of the closet yet?? Seriously, go drive one and TRY not to buy it.
 
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