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> I wound up getting a Japanese kei truck [2]. It was under $4,000 to import, title, etc. It gets 50mpg (4.7 liters/100km) and carries 880 lbs (400kg) in the 4.

> I wound up getting a Japanese kei truck [2]. It was under $4,000 to import, title, etc. It gets 50mpg (4.7 liters/100km) and carries 880 lbs (400kg) in the 4.5x6.5ft bed (1.4x2m). You could use a large-ish garden shed as a garage if you wanted. This is great information! I would like to dig in a bit deeper because I need a reliable work truck too. So in California it's not impossible to find good quality trucks at a great price. For example: My last truck purchase was a F350 7.3 Turbo Diesel for $1500 Why? Because it was a manual, the diff was busted, body's all dented, seats torn out and the doors did not work as it was run as a jobsite truck and the contractor wanted to get rid of it. After fixing it up, the challenge became the ongoing registration and insurance fees in California which I had not taken into account. The DMV in California classifies a F350 as a commercial truck. As a result, you have to pay a much higher registration and insurance fees than what you would pay for a SUV or minivan. Because of this, it's financially smarter to just rent trucks from Lowe's/HD/UHaul/CL for whenever I need it unless I'm using it more than 6 months per year - which I don't. Now this $4k truck is new and welcome news to me, so thank you. At 6' I'll probably fit a bit tight BUT how much could the registration and insurance fees in California be? The same as a SUV? Less? Please, feel free to contact me please. I would love to continue this discussion

zrobotics 7y ago
My dad has one, he uses it similarly to a ATV. Be warned that they are not legal for road use in all states- they are often liscenced the same as an ATV/UTV, so it was not legal to drive in Colorado for instance. I can't specifically say for CA. However very handy vehicles if you don't need to haul tremendously heavy loads or go very fast. The other potential downside is the cab is very small, bigger people will not be able to fit comfortably. Otherwise, they are definitely very handy vehicles,and can be found reasonably cheaply in excellent shape. Japanese vehicle registration starts getting more expensive for older vehicles (to encourage new sales and get older more polluting cars off the road) so at some point these trucks become uneconomical to register in Japan.
jjeaff 7y ago
I'm kind of surprised there isn't an Uber "pickup truck" option.
- gamegoblin 7y ago
  I once saw some ads in the Seattle metro for a company called Dolly which seemed to be marketing itself as "Uber for Moving/Delivery" https://dolly.com/ https://dolly.com/ Never used their service so I have no idea how it is.

zrobotics 7y ago

My dad has one, he uses it similarly to a ATV. Be warned that they are not legal for road use in all states- they are often liscenced the same as an ATV/UTV, so it was not legal to drive in Colorado for instance. I can't specifically say for CA. However very handy vehicles if you don't need to haul tremendously heavy loads or go very fast. The other potential downside is the cab is very small, bigger people will not be able to fit comfortably. Otherwise, they are definitely very handy vehicles,and can be found reasonably cheaply in excellent shape. Japanese vehicle registration starts getting more expensive for older vehicles (to encourage new sales and get older more polluting cars off the road) so at some point these trucks become uneconomical to register in Japan.

jjeaff 7y ago

I'm kind of surprised there isn't an Uber "pickup truck" option.

gamegoblin 7y ago
I once saw some ads in the Seattle metro for a company called Dolly which seemed to be marketing itself as "Uber for Moving/Delivery" https://dolly.com/ https://dolly.com/ Never used their service so I have no idea how it is.