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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about getting my shoes resoled. Hopefully this didn’t come off as like my big “reuse” project for the year. Not by a long shot. We reuse a lot and really believe the idea that repair and reuse is better than recycling. It’s also cheaper.
About two years ago my son came home from the military with a severed Achilles tendon from a training accident and got to stay with Mom and Dad for a year while he went to the VA Hospital for therapy. I’m sure he hated that (another story altogether) but he was also without transportation – he hadn’t planned on being back for a while and he decided to be car-less and carefree.
I set out to find a car with the express goal of something we could afford, and something we’d need for a short time before we’d gift it, sell it, or donate it to the local Shepherd Rescue, where some of our vehicles go for their retirement. We found a delightful 20 year old Volvo with nearly all the paint peeled off and a door that wouldn’t close all the way. It ran great, seemed to have good gas mileage, and passed the safety inspection. Oh yeah and it cost $1,000. I thought I’d be really happy if the car made it for a full year and then down the road we could use the CA State smog reduction program and get a $1,000 credit to retire it.
Boy was I wrong.
We’re now on year two of the car and it’s going strong. Too strong. It also gets the best gas mileage of any of our cars, and it passed smog by an unbelievable margin, so no chance at retiring it. My son has since relocated leaving the car here as our spare, but of course in two years it’s also suffered a little fender-bender, in addition to continuing to rust away. There is a hole in the headlight cover that fills with water when it rains, like a little fish tank. I should stick a plastic gold fish in there. It’s really one ugly car. I mean UGLY.
Last month my 12 year old truck started having some bizarre symptoms of it’s own, and since it’s got over 200k miles I was worried, and rightly so. Two mechanics and a neighbor who is quite experienced in engine rebuilds all said, “sell it.” I need a truck but didn’t want to buy another one in this price range because I’ve replaced everything on this truck at least twice. After two weeks of “convincing” I got my mechanic to open it up and the repair was successful, to the tune of $750, but still cheaper than getting another 10 year old truck.
…….
My reasoning was this: The kind of used truck I wanted would go for about $4k-$5k. For that price I get the same 10 year old truck, also with high mileage. I’d probably have to do all the same repairs I’ve already done. So we set our breaking point for the repairs on this truck at a couple of thousand, and got off easy at $750. So one more truck avoids the scrap heap, and one less new truck needs to be built in the supply chain, and we saved some money. I think (when possible) repair is almost always better than recycle.
I carpool frequently and have the occasional work at home day so don’t freak about the truck – we have reasons we need it, and we’ve done the Carbon Trail exercise already to see if getting a hybrid would make us lighter on the environment. It wouldn’t. So using this (with wisdom) until it cannot go any further is the best solution all around.
During that time the truck was broken I drove the Volvo to work. If you think that people do not judge you differently by what you drive, try driving a 20 year old, paint peeling, dented Volvo to work. Then see what you think. I like to think it doesn’t bother me, but I noticed I do park a little out of sight of the office . I think my coworkers were more worried about our financial health than anything, because that’s how we think today. If you use something old it must be because you can’t afford something new. We always think of “trading up” but is it to get something more functional, or is it just for prestige? That’s a way of thinking we should take a look at.
I also see a attitude toward me when I go out on my gardening clothes and drive the Volvo on the weekends – an interesting sociological experiment. If you already drive a car like this, I wonder if you’d agree?
Now the truck is fixed and the Volvo is going strong, our best car for fuel and emissions. As far as getting rid of it, I don’t think it’s going anywhere fast, no pun intended. So for the time being, this is how we roll.
How do you roll?
This is how we roll by Brad Rowland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
I lived my past 32 years in Ithaca, NY, where anything goes in transportation. Bonus points for showing up to work on a bus, a bike or on foot. It was very easy to embrace a repair/reuse lifestyle. Wherever I am now, I think about how it would feel to maintain that philosophy in that area, and L.A. got my lowest lifestyle rating.
I don’t know where I live yet, so I can’t remark on that (no)place.
Roxanne
Wow – “i don’t know where i live yet” sounds like the beginning of a great novel.
btw – loved the Caboodle Ranch and bucket of blueberries picks.
Hey Brad, you’re right! I want to read it. And, thanks!
Roxanne
I have never driven to work, when I started living/working here I couldn’t even afford a bike, so I’ve always lived on the bus line. Here in Minneapolis there are enough middle-class greenies that bussing or biking (ESPECIALLY on a ’60s stepthrough, which was my first bike here – I got it for a poem, at a garage sale) makes people think you’re cool.
But using a clothesline makes our neighbors ask worriedly if our dryer is broken and would we like to borrow theirs.
That does sound cool. I tried taking the train to work and my 12 mile commute turned into 2 hours door to door each way, so we went the car pool route with occasional work at home.
That’s hysterical about the clothesline, and means that I will absolutely have to get one too. Thanks for the tip.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, Brad, but yeah I can’t get myself to drive my old 1988 CRX anymore. I know that a lot of young guys would love to have that car–I’ve gotten notes from potential buyers, but since it’s not cherried-out, I feel funny about being seen in it. I don’t know if it’s just me and I’m imagining the looks, but yes, I feel that I do get treated differently.
I thought I didn’t care about this stuff. I mean, I don’t watch TV, I don’t know who Lady Gaga is, I don’t care about clothes, etc. But the car!!! The last of my dinosaur attitudes I have to examine…
Thanks for your honesty,
Mil
Thanks Mil – I wonder if the best approach is to make sure the world sees us smiling and having a great time saving money and reducing our impact. I can put on happy music while I hang my laundry on the clothesline and act like, “don’t you wish you were me?”
Maybe we need some bumper stickers that say, “I drive this car so they don’t build me another one” or “One less car payment means I can help the homeless.” I’ve read studies where the longer you use a car (with good emissions) the lower it’s overall footprint and carbon trail (because it’s not getting junked and a new one didn’t get built for you) — maybe some kind of contest or something to recognize your sacrifice!
And perhaps there’s a business idea here somewhere …...
My first car was an 86 CRX! I loved that car and wish I hadn’t ever sold it. I would probably still be driving it today. @Mil – I’ll buy your CRX! 😉
Today I drive an 08 Honda Fit. Great car, but new enough that no one looks at me askance. However, I hope to still be driving it 200k miles from now, and then I’m sure they will.
I do sometimes get looks when I drive DH’s old Chevy Astro van around. We use it for hauling people and furniture, lumber, compost (but DH can never know I did that!) and anything huge that we need. It’s totally worth the looks, and it makes me smile when I get six cars of the road by running a van carpool.
Hi Brad,
I like the idea of a bumper sticker! It’s just so funny, my attitude. I’ll wear some crappy sweats with holes in the knees, but I must get into my late model car.
@Jess
We CRXers are fanatic about that car. I’ve gotten so many ex-CRXers telling me their stories with a dreamy look. Actually, I’m hoping to fix up the car some day. Does the Fit have about the same amount of room as the CRX?
I didn’t think it was possible, but we actually moved a full-sized couch in the CRX to my partner’s office. Crazy!
I so believe you about the couch. CRXs rock! My friends once got together and picked up my CRX and flipped it around in the parking spot so when I got out of class I was parallel parked the wrong way in a line of cars on the street :D.
The Fit actually has more room than the CRX, which is why I ended up with it (I have two greyhounds who needed more room than my del Sol could offer :P). The dogs can stand up full height in the Fit, which is really nice for them.
A couple summers ago I moved from Washington DC to Washington state with two people, two greyhounds, a cat, a roof rack with a cargo box and one seat full of luggage. When I did the mpg calculations for the trip, we averaged 39mpg! If I can’t have a CRX, the Fit is a pretty good substitute. /end Fit evangelizing…
When I was an antique dealer, I drove a 10 year old Volvo station station wagon. As things started falling apart on it, I started duct taping the pieces back on the car. My dealer friends would shake their heads and say”No one who can afford a Volvo should hold it together with duct tape….” .Now that I have sold it, I kind of miss it.
Now I use HourCar…
Sonya Lenzo
http://www.oldbooksmarket.com