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New Year's Revolution 2016
10 years ago
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In 1998, I plunked down the money for my very first Brand New Car™ - a 1998 Chrysler Neon.
Over the years that I'd been driving, I'd been through a couple of hand-me down vehicles. The Ford LTD wagon that belonged to pretty much everybody in my family before it got to me, and a third-hand Chrylser LeBaron that I drove right up until the engine literally blew itself to bits, on the way to work one Friday.
And so, I got the Neon. Which I spent all of a day shopping for, and which I bought for three very important reasons:
1) One of the people I worked with owned one.
2) I needed a car by Monday, and nobody was open to sell me one on Sunday, so it was buy one Saturday or else.
3) It was blue.
And though it was a good car, and thought I fought like hell at times to make the payments on time, and though I eventually paid it off.... I'm afraid that it's time for it to go.
And I won't be replacing it with another one.
It's been 17 years since I made that first payment, and in those 17 years, the world has changed a lot.
For example, I no longer need a car to drive to a job at a building with a boss and a timeclock and people, just to keep the money happening. I can thank you folks for a large part of that - and the internet for a good chunk of it too.
I work on the internet. I get paid on the internet. Hell, I SHOP on the internet too. I don't need to go anywhere anymore, really.
Quite frankly, the only thing I need a body for is sex, and I mostly do that over the internet, too. if I could plunk my brain into a jar, and live on the internet for the rest of my life as a virtual avatar I'd be all over that. Sign me up for virtual sex with my favorite JPG fantasy. I'm there.
Meanwhile, the neon has basically sat out front, slowly going to pot.
It's been parked in front of our next door neighbor's house since last winter. It hasn't actually moved in over a year.
And the neighbor recently died. And instead of leaving the house to her kids, she left it to the Humane Society, who will probably be rolling in to claim it at some point.
Shortly after the neighbor's passing, my dad opened discussion with me about my car, and what we should do with it now that my parking space might be going away. And the fact that the car was starting to resemble a sandbar, complete with it's own ecosystem growing around it.
It's got a brand new battery in it, which is dead, because I never drove the car enough to keep a charge on it. It's got a speedometer that doesn't work half the time, two junkyard tires, and about half of it's original clearcoat. There's a nasty scar on the hood from where the new Jersey Highway Safety Van took a bite out of it that one time.
Still got all four hubcaps tho.
Oh, and my insurance rates just got hiked again. $255 quarterly. That's a lot of money to be paying every couple months, for an oversized paperweight.
So, it's time to let it go.
My dad suggested I take it to one of those places that buy junk cars. I'm not betting that they'll give me much, if anything for it. But it will mean I won't have those quarterly payments to deal with anymore. He said that I can use their cars anytime I need to drive anywhere. And while I appreciate the sentiment, it kinda leaves me a bit ill at ease. Ever since I moved home, I've been doing my best not to fall into the trap of becoming a mooch.
So, I want a vehicle of my own. Something I paid for, with my money.
But, what can that be?
This is where the revolution comes in.
I have an idea - something I can park in the garage, where I can easily keep a charge on the battery, by leaving the battery plugged into a wall charger.
I want a scooter.
They're incredible on gas, and the insurance on them is a pittance compared to what I have been paying.
And yes, while I can use my folks cars on days when it's raining or snowing, or otherwise inclement.... I'll still have my own wheels, and some relative independence.
It won't feel so much like I've just given up, if ya know what I mean.
So, yeah... It seems like a winner of an idea all around.
A local friend and I did some comparison shopping online over Thanksgiving. We looked at a great many makes and models. Yamaha, Honda, Kymco, even the mighty Vespa...
But I think I found my dream ride, right here:
http://genuinescooters.com/anniversary.html
Unfortunately, it's a limited edition, so I have no guarantee that it will still be available by the time I get some money together to buy one. I love the look of those whitewalls though. And that blue.
My fallback option is this:
http://genuinescooters.com/buddy125.html
...in blue, natch. Shame it doesn't come with whitewalls too.
But if I do go for this, it's going to mean that I'll need to do a couple things first.
Mainly, I'll need to get the cash together to buy one. These things are a couple of thousand bucks each - and although not having car insurance to pay should leave me with just about a thousand a year extra, it wouldn't be enough to get one in any kind of reasonable timetable.
So... what this means to you folks is, in the coming year I will probably end up doing regular commissions again, in an attempt to scrape scooter money together.
The other thing I'll need to do is get a motorcycle license. Which means taking, and passing a motorcycle training course.
I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about that.
....I haven't actually ridden anything with two wheels since my 80's BMX days.
I know they say that you never forget how to ride a bike, but I never had a bike with a throttle before.
This is all distant-future, planning for someday, pie in the sky stuff for right now.
I still need to get rid of my car first.
And right after I pay the car insurance on it, again.
Wotta world.
But hey, I have a plan now, at least.
And hey... I'll be helping to save the environment by not using so much of it.
Over the years that I'd been driving, I'd been through a couple of hand-me down vehicles. The Ford LTD wagon that belonged to pretty much everybody in my family before it got to me, and a third-hand Chrylser LeBaron that I drove right up until the engine literally blew itself to bits, on the way to work one Friday.
And so, I got the Neon. Which I spent all of a day shopping for, and which I bought for three very important reasons:
1) One of the people I worked with owned one.
2) I needed a car by Monday, and nobody was open to sell me one on Sunday, so it was buy one Saturday or else.
3) It was blue.
And though it was a good car, and thought I fought like hell at times to make the payments on time, and though I eventually paid it off.... I'm afraid that it's time for it to go.
And I won't be replacing it with another one.
It's been 17 years since I made that first payment, and in those 17 years, the world has changed a lot.
For example, I no longer need a car to drive to a job at a building with a boss and a timeclock and people, just to keep the money happening. I can thank you folks for a large part of that - and the internet for a good chunk of it too.
I work on the internet. I get paid on the internet. Hell, I SHOP on the internet too. I don't need to go anywhere anymore, really.
Quite frankly, the only thing I need a body for is sex, and I mostly do that over the internet, too. if I could plunk my brain into a jar, and live on the internet for the rest of my life as a virtual avatar I'd be all over that. Sign me up for virtual sex with my favorite JPG fantasy. I'm there.
Meanwhile, the neon has basically sat out front, slowly going to pot.
It's been parked in front of our next door neighbor's house since last winter. It hasn't actually moved in over a year.
And the neighbor recently died. And instead of leaving the house to her kids, she left it to the Humane Society, who will probably be rolling in to claim it at some point.
Shortly after the neighbor's passing, my dad opened discussion with me about my car, and what we should do with it now that my parking space might be going away. And the fact that the car was starting to resemble a sandbar, complete with it's own ecosystem growing around it.
It's got a brand new battery in it, which is dead, because I never drove the car enough to keep a charge on it. It's got a speedometer that doesn't work half the time, two junkyard tires, and about half of it's original clearcoat. There's a nasty scar on the hood from where the new Jersey Highway Safety Van took a bite out of it that one time.
Still got all four hubcaps tho.
Oh, and my insurance rates just got hiked again. $255 quarterly. That's a lot of money to be paying every couple months, for an oversized paperweight.
So, it's time to let it go.
My dad suggested I take it to one of those places that buy junk cars. I'm not betting that they'll give me much, if anything for it. But it will mean I won't have those quarterly payments to deal with anymore. He said that I can use their cars anytime I need to drive anywhere. And while I appreciate the sentiment, it kinda leaves me a bit ill at ease. Ever since I moved home, I've been doing my best not to fall into the trap of becoming a mooch.
So, I want a vehicle of my own. Something I paid for, with my money.
But, what can that be?
This is where the revolution comes in.
I have an idea - something I can park in the garage, where I can easily keep a charge on the battery, by leaving the battery plugged into a wall charger.
I want a scooter.
They're incredible on gas, and the insurance on them is a pittance compared to what I have been paying.
And yes, while I can use my folks cars on days when it's raining or snowing, or otherwise inclement.... I'll still have my own wheels, and some relative independence.
It won't feel so much like I've just given up, if ya know what I mean.
So, yeah... It seems like a winner of an idea all around.
A local friend and I did some comparison shopping online over Thanksgiving. We looked at a great many makes and models. Yamaha, Honda, Kymco, even the mighty Vespa...
But I think I found my dream ride, right here:
http://genuinescooters.com/anniversary.html
Unfortunately, it's a limited edition, so I have no guarantee that it will still be available by the time I get some money together to buy one. I love the look of those whitewalls though. And that blue.
My fallback option is this:
http://genuinescooters.com/buddy125.html
...in blue, natch. Shame it doesn't come with whitewalls too.
But if I do go for this, it's going to mean that I'll need to do a couple things first.
Mainly, I'll need to get the cash together to buy one. These things are a couple of thousand bucks each - and although not having car insurance to pay should leave me with just about a thousand a year extra, it wouldn't be enough to get one in any kind of reasonable timetable.
So... what this means to you folks is, in the coming year I will probably end up doing regular commissions again, in an attempt to scrape scooter money together.
The other thing I'll need to do is get a motorcycle license. Which means taking, and passing a motorcycle training course.
I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about that.
....I haven't actually ridden anything with two wheels since my 80's BMX days.
I know they say that you never forget how to ride a bike, but I never had a bike with a throttle before.
This is all distant-future, planning for someday, pie in the sky stuff for right now.
I still need to get rid of my car first.
And right after I pay the car insurance on it, again.
Wotta world.
But hey, I have a plan now, at least.
And hey... I'll be helping to save the environment by not using so much of it.
Good luck otherwise in whatever you decide!
A couple of things on Scooters, you have to get used to riding with your feet in front rather than say a bike or sports bike where you hook your legs back. Scooters with smaller wheel/tyre combos are more subject to potholes, bad roads and slippery patches. If you're not going to use the Scooter very much go for a 4 stroke as 2 strokes generally don't like to be left sit for a long time without putting up a fight to start. I've had to get a few small 2-stroke engines on power tools and scooters going after sitting about and what a faff that is. The only downside of 4 strokes is they tend not to be so fiesty as power is only generated on the 4th stroke rather than the second and you need to change the oil.
Scooters often have both electric and kick start so if the battery goes flat you can still get going.
Be a little careful of these scooters that have no recognisable brand to them, most use derivatives of well known designs mostly Yamaha, Suzuki, piaggio etc. The problem is if you need parts, my old housemate had something similar the engine was of a popular design so that was fine but it was much harder to get other parts. The fairing was also of a substandard plastic that wasn't brilliantly uv stabilised and became very brittle and kept snapping clips. So see what support is like for these scooters before shelling out for it.
If you go two-stroke I can recommend fuchs 2-stroke oil for keeping exhaust smoke to a minimum.
*Personal opinion follows* :)
You might want to check out the offerings from major brands as well, I am Japanese biased on motorbikes apart from the odd Ducati.
http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sp.....lineup/scooter
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product.....aspx?year=2016 (suzuki only seems to have the bigger scooters)
http://powersports.honda.com/2016/pcx.aspx Hey Honda isn't one of the biggest sellers of bikes for nothing :) they have others too but their site doesn't show the line up on a separate page only a drop down :)
I was originally interested in a Yamaha Vino 125, but they seem to have stopped making them. They only sell a 50cc model now, and 50 is likely to be way too underpowered.
I've read some positive reviews comoaring the buddy to the vino. So that sort of made my mind up. It seems to have quite a fanbase.
Scooters or motorcycles have never been much of a temptation for me. Two wheel season is only about eight months per year here in Boston. So I gotta have a car anyway. If you live in a city area that has one of those short term car rental services like ZipCar available, scooter is a much more viable option.
Go look into the cost of rending a car for a week and convert that to a daily rate. Offer your dad a reasonable fraction of that as payment every time you need to borrow his car. You can even be up front about how you are uncomfortable about just borrowing it.
The pros: Great transportation, fun to ride, very cheap fuelwise and easy to maintain.
The cons: It lacks the protection of the car, you can't lock yourself or your stuff inside, can't carry much cargo and it's greatest enemy: RAIN!
I guess it all depends on your personal preferences, if you don't have to travel long distances and you don't need to have a huge toolbox (or fat wife) with you, it's great.
By the way, my first car ever was a Ford LTD wagon. It exploded one day.