OT Blue Monster may be on its last legs (err wheels)

My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.

As for the truck, I'll probably hang onto it, since the dealer says it
has no trade in value. I have a friend who enjoys rebuilding engines
and seems pretty good at it - at least they seem to run when he's
finished. I'm going to see what he thinks it will take to get the
truck up and running again, but still need to get a more reliable
vehicle - the fact that the Camry I'm looking at gets more than twice
the mileage also makes it look pretty attractive with the gas prices
going up and me driving 75-100 miles a day.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.

As for the truck, I'll probably hang onto it, since the dealer says it
has no trade in value. I have a friend who enjoys rebuilding engines
and seems pretty good at it - at least they seem to run when he's
finished. I'm going to see what he thinks it will take to get the
truck up and running again, but still need to get a more reliable
vehicle - the fact that the Camry I'm looking at gets more than twice
the mileage also makes it look pretty attractive with the gas prices
going up and me driving 75-100 miles a day.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

I don't think you can go wrong with a Toyota.

Joy

Glad to see you are doing to try and fix it. The kids around here get all
excited when they see an "oldie" as they call them on the road.
"Joy" wrote in message
.. .
"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.

As for the truck, I'll probably hang onto it, since the dealer says it
has no trade in value. I have a friend who enjoys rebuilding engines
and seems pretty good at it - at least they seem to run when he's
finished. I'm going to see what he thinks it will take to get the
truck up and running again, but still need to get a more reliable
vehicle - the fact that the Camry I'm looking at gets more than twice
the mileage also makes it look pretty attractive with the gas prices
going up and me driving 75-100 miles a day.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

I don't think you can go wrong with a Toyota.

Joy

Steve Touchstone wrote in
:

My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.

As for the truck, I'll probably hang onto it, since the dealer says it
has no trade in value. I have a friend who enjoys rebuilding engines
and seems pretty good at it - at least they seem to run when he's
finished. I'm going to see what he thinks it will take to get the
truck up and running again, but still need to get a more reliable
vehicle - the fact that the Camry I'm looking at gets more than twice
the mileage also makes it look pretty attractive with the gas prices
going up and me driving 75-100 miles a day.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj




If you drive mostly highway the hybrid is not worth it anyway. IF you do
a lot of stop and go they will save a lot of gas. My Corolla will hit
200K on Tuesday on my way home from work (100 mile round trip) and I hope
to get another 100K out of it. Looks like I have a shot since it runs
perfect and get great mileage but you never know.

I saw a new Camry on the road the other day. It looked all round and a
bit smaller than previous models. I have had a number of Toyotas with
well over 200K on them. A cellica, a small truck and a corona wagon with
over 300K and lots of rust.

Andy

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.



Asking the owners for purrs for you and the bank to agree on the Toyota, and
for the truck to hang on long enough for you. I rather liked it when we saw
you back in 04.

Pam S.

"Joy" wrote in message
.. .

I don't think you can go wrong with a Toyota.


Have you seen the Ford commercials where the spokesperson says that the new
Fords are as reliable as the Toyota. Makes me laugh and get angry at the
same time. All those years of saying that they were better than Toyota, and
Ford is finally admitting that they were not as good. Found On Road Dead,
or Fix Or Repair Daily, indeed.

Pam S.

On May 3, 6:17*pm, Steve Touchstone
wrote:
My old ford Ranger may be a thing of the past in the not to distant
future. It only has close to 300,000 miles on it and is only about 22
years old, but the old five speed transmission has decided to switch
to a 3 speed (first speed is gone and second is hard to find). So I
spent part of today down at the car dealer looking for a car. Thought
I might get one of the little Toyota hybrids, but turns out they're
sold before the dealer even sees them - to get one you have to put
down a deposit and wait three or four months. Then I looked at the
yaris, but it's way to small after many years driving a pickup, even
if it is a small pickup. I'm pretty much decided on a 2004 Camry they
have on the lot, but will have to wait until Monday to see if the bank
agrees.

As for the truck, I'll probably hang onto it, since the dealer says it
has no trade in value. I have a friend who enjoys rebuilding engines
and seems pretty good at it - at least they seem to run when he's
finished. I'm going to see what he thinks it will take to get the
truck up and running again, but still need to get a more reliable
vehicle - the fact that the Camry I'm looking at gets more than twice
the mileage also makes it look pretty attractive with the gas prices
going up and me driving 75-100 miles a day.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix athttp://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids athttp://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

Oh no, you're retiring the old Blue Monster? I remember that truck,
Pam also
probably remembers the little racoon party it was host to. :-)
Good luck w/ your purchase. We just had to buy another truck b/cause
some
17-year-old kid plowed into the old one (on Lee Blvd., going about 45
mph), totalled
the truck. DH bought another GMC, gas is going to eat us alive but we
need
a truck for farm stuff, trailering, hauling feed and such.
The Camrys look pretty enticing to me, good mileage and it's a really
cool-looking
car.
Sherry
Sherry

On Sat, 3 May 2008 18:35:22 -0500, "Granby" wrote:

Glad to see you are doing to try and fix it. The kids around here get all
excited when they see an "oldie" as they call them on the road.

Just think, in a couple more years it'll qualify as a classic. Here in
Oklahoma the price of our tags is based on the original price of the
vehicle and it's age. Once it hits a certain age, 18yo IIRC, the
annual tag is less than $20.Not sure if the tag drops again when the
age hits 25 yo or not.

anyway, I'd rather hang onto to it and see what my friend says about
fixing it than just give it to the dealer for less than what I'm
selling my riding lawn mower for.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

On 03 May 2008 23:41:04 GMT, outsider wrote:

snip OP
If you drive mostly highway the hybrid is not worth it anyway. IF you do
a lot of stop and go they will save a lot of gas.

That's what I hear. Of course with my driving delivering pizza, I make
lots of 5 and 6 mile trips, so I think the hybrid should work out well
for me - if I could get one. I'm thinking I'll drive this 04 Camry for
a couple years. It has less than 60,000 miles, and except for a couple
cigarette burns on the back seat and one of the speaker covers having
a hole in it could almost pass for new in appearance. Then I'll think
about a trade for a Prius hybrid. By then the new class 3 hybrids
would be on the market, and we'll know how close Toyota's claim of
80-90 MPG for it is to the truth.

My Corolla will hit
200K on Tuesday on my way home from work (100 mile round trip) and I hope
to get another 100K out of it. Looks like I have a shot since it runs
perfect and get great mileage but you never know.

I saw a new Camry on the road the other day. It looked all round and a
bit smaller than previous models. I have had a number of Toyotas with
well over 200K on them. A cellica, a small truck and a corona wagon with
over 300K and lots of rust.

Course while I was at the dealer I looked over all the vehicles I'd
rather have, full sized trucks, hummers etc. They had a really nice
four door Titan in the showroom, fully loaded, for $45,000. Even if
someone were to hand me the keys for one of those, I'd need a loan for
the tax and insurance every month LOL
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

Steve Touchstone wrote in
news

for me - if I could get one. I'm thinking I'll drive this 04 Camry for
a couple years. It has less than 60,000 miles, and except for a couple
cigarette burns on the back seat and one of the speaker covers having
a hole in it could almost pass for new in appearance. Then I'll think
about a trade for a Prius hybrid. By then the new class 3 hybrids
would be on the market, and we'll know how close Toyota's claim of
80-90 MPG for it is to the truth.


Sounds like a good idea; let the technology mature a bit and become more
afordable.





Course while I was at the dealer I looked over all the vehicles I'd
rather have, full sized trucks, hummers etc. They had a really nice
four door Titan in the showroom, fully loaded, for $45,000. Even if
someone were to hand me the keys for one of those, I'd need a loan for
the tax and insurance every month LOL


They _are_ beautiful but that is more than I want to pay for
transportation.






--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj