Your point is well taken. Huge numbers of Americans are in
increasingly precarious positions as the attack on the middle class
continues.
I will not presume to insert myself in your position. I am just
suggesting some things to think about if you have not considered
them. Sometimes people get locked into a way of looking at things.
Your Caprice is not going to last forever either. What will you do
when it fails? If you consider the answer to that, why not take that
action now? Economical cars do not start at $20K. The three below
will all consume 1/3 to 1/2 the fuel used by your present car?
Regular gasoline here is about $3.25/gallon now. Depending on how
much you drive you could save a couple thousand a year on fuel alone.
Or move within walking distance of the public transit station and
dump the car.
Fit: $13,850
Yaris:$13,325
Versa: $12,450
Winsor
Long Beach, California, USA
On Apr 11, 2007, at 1:29 AM, Chris Crawford wrote:
> Yes, Europeans have good public transit, which is simply non-
> existent in
> most parts of the USA. We had none in my hometown in Indiana and
> here in
> Santa Fe the public transit doesn't run anywhere close to where I
> live, and
> doesn't go anywhere near my biggest client. So, I drive.
>
> I have a gas guzzler, a huge Chevy Caprice. My grandpa gave it to
> me, and if
> it weren't for him I wouldn't own any car. I can't afford to spend
> 20,000 to
> buy a new fuel-efficient car, or even $5000 on a used one. I spend
> a lot on
> gas, but I did the math and realized that if I bought a used car
> that got
> better gas mileage than my Caprice, the used car would fall apart
> before I
> actually saved any money because of the $5000 or so that a decent
> used car
> would cost me.
>
> This is a problem that faces a lot of working class people in
> America. They
> don't have the cash to buy a fuel efficient car, and can't borrow
> the money
> for one due to bad credit that is a result of not making enough to
> live. My
> credit was ruined by medical bills I couldn't pay. I have had a lot of
> medical problems since childhood and have not had insurance since my
> father's insurance told me I was too old to be on it at age 21. I'm
> 31 now.
> You Europeans have free health care. Americans don't.
>
> America's ecomomy WOULD be wrecked because the majority of
> Americans (70% of
> us make less than 40,000 a year) would have to choose between food
> and gas
> if it gets too expensive to drive to our crappy paying jobs.
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