My wife's white Ford Expedition (aka "Moby") has finally died, thank God.
All it has to do now is make one last run to the car dealership as soon as a new alternator is put in it. Yes we had to fix it to sell it. If it will actually roll, Carmax will take it off our hands, and give us a fair-enough price if past trades are any indication (they will buy your car whether you buy a car from them or not).
Outside of the alternator the Exedition also has some sort of transaxle problem that will cost $1,500 to fix. Snap a jelly pack; she's toast.
The "new to us" vehicle we have just acquired is a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with 33,000 miles on it, courtesy of CarMax.
The downside, of course, is that this vehicle is a Detroit gas hog.
The problem, of course, is that to get "good" gas mileage in a 4-wheel drive vehicle is pretty close to impossible, and you have to shell out a lot of money to do it.
The other problem is that my wife bicycles after work, and often takes her bike with her into the City. If you leave a bike on a rack on the back of your vehicle in Washington, the chance of it being there, intact, when you get back, is not very great.
So she needed a bigger vehicle, and it had to be in the used market, and this is the one we could afford at a mileage I would accept.
Life is a compromise, and often without great results. This is one of those times.
It's at least made in America (Michigan to be exact), so there is that small grace note.
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As far as biking goes, the folding mountain bikes sold by Montague Cycles are pretty good. I'm 6'3" tall, and fairly heavy and the one I have had for the last few years has withstood my (mis)use of it; I have needed to fit a longer seat post to accommodate my long legs, and have upgraded the tyres to Schwalbe puncture resistant ones, but apart from that the bike is as per stock.
ReplyDeleteThe fold mechanism is a hinge around the seat tube; combined with a slightly unusual frame design and a front wheel removable by quick release, it gives you a bike that will fit inside a space of about 30" square by about 18" deep. That's small enough to fit into a most non-4x4 car boots (I'm in the UK, land of iniquitously high fuel prices and cannot afford to run a 4 wheel drive).
Worth a look, even if you just want to look at the rather neat design.
A GOOD idea! Will check it out.
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Congrats on the new acquisition. Looks to be well-kept on the outside, at least. What will this one be named?
ReplyDeleteLife is indeed a compromise. When my current car finally bites the dust, my parents have offered to sell me their older Honda. Definitely not one that I would look at if I had any other affordable choices (then again, the Buick wasn't first on that list either many year ago...again, no other choice), but hey, compromises!
We're struggling with the same issue, sans bicycle.
ReplyDeleteWe need something that can carry our 3 cattle dogs (and whatever rescues we have with us at the time), plus supplies, comfortably.
This means purchasing a midsize SUV.
Ideally, I would like a hybrid - and as you have pointed out, they're extremely difficult to come by used for a decent price.
It's frustrating, when you want to do the right thing and don't even bother spending a bit more to do it... but the suppliers are so out of touch with buyers needs.
The bottom falling out of the auto industry is possibly the best thing to happen to it.
Wow, I had no idea there is a Mrs. Terrierman. I didn't really picture you as the marrying type.
ReplyDeleteMarried 27 years with two semi-adult children. Adulthood starts at 40 according to my father ;)
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