Second Vehicle?

[fan-of-fans]

I’m still driving my Ford Taurus, and not having any trouble with it. However, it feels like I’m wearing it out, since it amazes me how fast the miles have racked up on it lately. I got it the year before Covid, so much of 2020 and 2021, I wasn’t driving as often. But after that I guess I was driving a lot, and now I’m approaching 72k miles.

I’d like this car to last as long as I can, as I really don’t want to put the money into a new vehicle for a very long time. Ultimately, I’d like to get a second vehicle that’s older, cab be repaired easily, and just carry liability insurance on. I wouldn’t mind a truck, but they hold their value a little too well. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind an older minivan or an SUV. I quite like the older Chrysler ahd Toyota minivans, as well as older Ford Explorers too. I like the new Explorers too, but they’re far more than I would like to pay.

My current living situation doesn’t really afford me the ability to keep two vehicles, and I don’t really want to pay to store one some place, so I guess I’ll wait for the time being. Ultimately I think I’ll need my own home to be able to keep two vehicles, but I would like to have two to split the mileage up a bit. I like to go for drives on the weekends sometimes, and I think that’s where the miles really come from without me noticing. I like to visit the small town south of me often on Saturdays, as it has a nice downtown area and stores there, and then I usually will come back to town here and hit up a few places, then go out to lunch, and before I get back home I realize I’ve done 40 or 50 miles in all! If I had another vehicle I think I wouldn’t feel so gag about that driving, but I have tried to cut down some on my trips and be a little more conscientious about it.

 

[human]

What year is your Taurus? The average car in the U.S. gets driven 12,000-15,000 miles a year, so at 72,000, yours has the average mileage of a five or six year old car. I wish my 2013 Buick LaCrosse had that few miles. It just turned 126,000 the other day, which is still a little below average.

My second car is a highly impractical 1995 Cutlass Supreme convertible. It's a lot of fun in temperate weather, mainly the fall and spring, but there's a considerable amount of time in the summer and winter when it isn't fun at all. I really messed up a few years ago, when my mom gave me Dad's 2002 Olds Silhouette minivan to sell. I kept it for about six months, using it as a hauler, before I sold it to a single mom, who really needed it. But there have been times when I have wished I still had it. The thing only had 62,000 miles on it in 2018. I'll never find another one like that again.

 

[fan-of-fans]

It’s a 2016. It does have some minor damage to the front bumper where I lightly bumped a hog one night while rounding a corner, and there’s a tiny dent on the door from someone deciding not to put their shopping cart away. Other than that it looks quite good and everything works.

I do worry about it getting transmission failure or something when it approaches 100k miles. Seems like most people don’t expect American cars to last nearly as long as the Japanese. Although, my former 2001 Chevy Malibu started having lots of problems at around 140k miles, which ultimately led to me replacing it.

It was mainly having transmission issues, and when I had it checked I was told it needed a new one. Looking back I kind of wish I had just repaired it, kept driving it and bought a house instead, before prices jumped astronomically.

When I bought it, I test drive a Ford Fusion that I really liked, but my father did not, nor did he like the turbo engine. I also wanted to test a Focus hatchback but didn’t do so. He kept pushing me toward a Taurus because it didn’t have the Turbo and we both felt the Taurus rode better. I did like the looks of the Fusion though.

If I was to get a truck as a second vehicle, I really like the late 2000s GM full size trucks. I also have a soft spot for older compact trucks like the 1990s-2000s Ranger, S-10, Dakota and Nissan.

I also wouldn’t mind an older Chrysler Town and Country Limited or Toyota Sienna Limited.

My former next door neighbor used to have one of those Oldsmobile Silhouette vans he got around that year. It was a maroon with tan leather interior.