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> If it cost $10k, I would buy a couple of them immediately. Totally off topic, but I keep being surprised by how ridiculously rich the average HN'er appears t

> If it cost $10k, I would buy a couple of them immediately. Totally off topic, but I keep being surprised by how ridiculously rich the average HN'er appears to be. You talk about buying cars like they're Mars bars. :-)

agumonkey 9y ago
From outside the US it seems crazy, but considering Tesla says 35K is accessible price, 5K is barely nothing. Probably the cost of old used cars.
- falsedan 9y ago
  In the states? $5k would get you a great used car, a 5 year old mid-range sedan with <100k miles Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going
  - 24gttghh 9y ago
    Easier said than done! I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed. Where I am in the NE, road-salt destroys everything. To add to that, $5K might work in southern states, but I haven't had much luck finding something relatively new for $5K that didn't have serious rust issues as well.
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      Eventually you'll figure out that trying to inform a group of mostly (or at least they're the largest minority if they're not the majority) Californians about things like corrosion, winter, potholes, etc is a very lost cause... Source: BTDT
      - 24gttghh 9y ago
        Well SF is surrounded by salt water, so I would think that must have a corrosive effect when it rolls in on the fog.
    - falsedan 9y ago
      > I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed Buy 2004 Camrys? Or spend that $5k on a decent single car instead…
      - ams6110 9y ago
        There are decent 2004 cars to be found. My newest car is a 2004, and it's perfectly reliable and comfortable.
        falsedan 9y ago
        Yeah, nothing wrong with those cars. Toyotas are stupid easy to find & find parts for, and have great reliability: hence my specific suggestion for "what ~$1k non-rustbucket cars could I buy?"
    - ams6110 9y ago
      You've hit it, buy in the south/southwest where there's no salt used. I don't buy into the parts car idea, myself. Although any e.g. Honda from the same model year will share a large number of parts with any other Honda, they will still be old and worn out. New parts are readily available for most older cars if you stick with mainstream models that were sold in large numbers. If you need something significant like a transmission, you can always get one from a salvage company.
    - elif 9y ago
      yup! I have 3 1987-1991 Saab 900 turbo convertibles. (extremely fun cars to drive, almost no lag) Total spent: $4.2k. You nailed the problem, the same parts fail on all of them. But I've also gained my money's worth of car knowledge, which is more valuable to me than a banker collecting interest :)
  - Johnny555 9y ago
    Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going That probably works better if you don't put a value on your own time and have the tools and facilities to do heavy repair, I think most people would be better off buying a better car than trying to transfer parts from the donor car(s) to their commute car. Assuming they even have a place to park the donor car.
MagnumOpus 9y ago
If you have a six-digit income like most US HNers, it would be foolish not to have a liquidity reserve of $10-$20k. (Even just for car downpayments or unexpected house repairs - let alone for medical or family emergencies.)
dsfyu404ed 9y ago
$10k is buys about one month's rent, a dozen bagels, one fill up of gasoline and one week of coffee where a lot of HN lives. In SV monopoly money $10k is dirt. Everywhere else it's a major expense. I'm exaggerating but you get the point.
freeone3000 9y ago
It'd be a fairly major expense, but not one large enough to take out credit on. It's not unreasonable to have week or two's pay in cash reserves in case something unexpected happens.
- skrebbel 9y ago
  You earn $30k in two weeks? See, this is exactly what I mean :)

agumonkey 9y ago

From outside the US it seems crazy, but considering Tesla says 35K is accessible price, 5K is barely nothing. Probably the cost of old used cars.

falsedan 9y ago
In the states? $5k would get you a great used car, a 5 year old mid-range sedan with <100k miles Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going
- 24gttghh 9y ago
  Easier said than done! I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed. Where I am in the NE, road-salt destroys everything. To add to that, $5K might work in southern states, but I haven't had much luck finding something relatively new for $5K that didn't have serious rust issues as well.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    Eventually you'll figure out that trying to inform a group of mostly (or at least they're the largest minority if they're not the majority) Californians about things like corrosion, winter, potholes, etc is a very lost cause... Source: BTDT
    - 24gttghh 9y ago
      Well SF is surrounded by salt water, so I would think that must have a corrosive effect when it rolls in on the fog.
  - falsedan 9y ago
    > I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed Buy 2004 Camrys? Or spend that $5k on a decent single car instead…
    - ams6110 9y ago
      There are decent 2004 cars to be found. My newest car is a 2004, and it's perfectly reliable and comfortable.
      - falsedan 9y ago
        Yeah, nothing wrong with those cars. Toyotas are stupid easy to find & find parts for, and have great reliability: hence my specific suggestion for "what ~$1k non-rustbucket cars could I buy?"
  - ams6110 9y ago
    You've hit it, buy in the south/southwest where there's no salt used. I don't buy into the parts car idea, myself. Although any e.g. Honda from the same model year will share a large number of parts with any other Honda, they will still be old and worn out. New parts are readily available for most older cars if you stick with mainstream models that were sold in large numbers. If you need something significant like a transmission, you can always get one from a salvage company.
  - elif 9y ago
    yup! I have 3 1987-1991 Saab 900 turbo convertibles. (extremely fun cars to drive, almost no lag) Total spent: $4.2k. You nailed the problem, the same parts fail on all of them. But I've also gained my money's worth of car knowledge, which is more valuable to me than a banker collecting interest :)
- Johnny555 9y ago
  Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going That probably works better if you don't put a value on your own time and have the tools and facilities to do heavy repair, I think most people would be better off buying a better car than trying to transfer parts from the donor car(s) to their commute car. Assuming they even have a place to park the donor car.

MagnumOpus 9y ago

If you have a six-digit income like most US HNers, it would be foolish not to have a liquidity reserve of $10-$20k. (Even just for car downpayments or unexpected house repairs - let alone for medical or family emergencies.)

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

$10k is buys about one month's rent, a dozen bagels, one fill up of gasoline and one week of coffee where a lot of HN lives. In SV monopoly money $10k is dirt. Everywhere else it's a major expense. I'm exaggerating but you get the point.

freeone3000 9y ago

It'd be a fairly major expense, but not one large enough to take out credit on. It's not unreasonable to have week or two's pay in cash reserves in case something unexpected happens.

skrebbel 9y ago
You earn $30k in two weeks? See, this is exactly what I mean :)