People hear that 3/4 of poor Americans own a car and think this:

[hedgehog]

when in fact, the truth is more like this:




When I travel to see the kids in Buffalo, I am always surprised by how shiny all the cars look; I'm more used to the ones in my town.

[safeinOhio]

1. This is America.

For most of this country, no car, no job.

[Trillo]

22. Yet, you can't write it off as a working-related expense.

It doesn't get much more corrupt and rigged than that.

[GeorgeGist]

5. Is this better ...

[CaptainTruth]

15. That's awesome!

I'm a car guy. That looks like a Nova but the grille & headlight bezels don't look right ... what is it?

[amandabeech]

21. Was there a Olds or Buick version of the Nova at some time?

Something in the back of my brain says that something like that was produced briefly.

[Tom_Foolery]

25. There were the Chevy Nova, Oldsmobile Omega, Pontiac Ventura...

Pontiac Phoenix, and Buick Apollo. They were all built on the GM X-body platform.

[amandabeech]

28. Then perhaps I'm not developing senile dementia after all.

Thanks for the post!

[Tom_Foolery]

37. You're welcome! n/t

[customerserviceguy]

46. And my 82 Pontiac Phoenix

made me swear off of GM cars forever. I'm perfectly happy with Hyundais.

[Mopar151]

49. Olds Omega, Pontioc Ventura, Buick Apollo n/t

[Freddie]

54. Looks like an Olds Omega

Brought my newborn daughter home from the hospital in a brown 73 Omega in 1986. Nice car until it just died one day.

[herding cats]

31. It looks like a 1974 Chevy nova to me.

[marble falls]

13. My Texas beater looks better than that, but then my Texas beater is waiting for me to come ....

up with $800 to replace the struts and windshield so I can drive it again. Its been months.

[amandabeech]

29. My Dad was an autobody repairman in Michigan.

That salt paid the bills in our house--along with the fender benders.

[Liberal_in_LA]

60. harder to drive junker in LA. people would rather lease or pay over six or seven years

[hedgehog]

3. True; it was the closest I could get to show an older car without getting

an image of the car when it was new. OTOH, you can't take a picture of a car that won't start when you have to get to work on time or face losing your job!

[thesquanderer]

9. Sure you can take a picture of a car that won't start when you need it to.

Pick pretty much any Italian or British car from the 60s/70s.

[Throd]

32. Hah! And add Peugeot to that list.

[SomethingFishy]

23. +1.. We use sand in Colorado but it has it's drawbacks too

Mainly the big brown cloud that covers the city once the streets are dry and the cars are grinding the sand into dust..

They use this chemical stuff on the runways at the Denver airport.. I wonder if it's any safer..

[Historic NY]

4. W/o mass transit systems in rural America

a person or family would require a vehicle of some sort. While I live in the burbs of NY there is now a plethora of taxi cabs of all sorts on the roads. They charge $5.00 fare for the intercity patrons.

[Archae]

8. Try living in a sparsely-populated county.

My Mom does.

If she couldn't drive, she'd be stuck.

The only buses in her area are school buses.

[KinMd]

19. Even if you live in a city and work an overnight shift

and the transit system doesn't

[Tree-Hugger]

36. $2.25 for a one way trip

On Septa. I think it's $1.80 if you buy tokens. That can be a hardship on a struggling person. I hear the train is fairly expensive as well.

Suburban Septa is limited in stops and doesn't have good evening, weekend, or over night schedule.

[cali]

6. spot on. and keeping it running is a huge problem

[DesertFlower]

7. my mom who basically lived on social security

drove a 73 datson until '86 when she won $50,000. did she buy something fancy? no she bought a honda civic.

the datson (nissan) was so old she couldn't take it to the carwash because another piece would fall off.

i drive an '05 mazda miata which i bought new. it only has 34,000 miles on it and looks like a new car. i tend to keep my cars for a long time.

[freshwest]

48. I keep mine until they're toxic waste on wheels. None of my vehicles save one was new.

It ate my lunch money. All I want is safe and working dependably. Radio or CD player goes out? Meh.

I keep mine until the repairs exceed the blue book value and then I give up. I've had three go 300K miles. At 34K, that baby you have is almost new! And kudos to your wise mom!

[Freddie]

55. Our family philosophy too

I read a study that you are far better off financially buying the $5000, 10+ year old car for cash and paying for repairs as they occur than buying a younger used car with a loan or (God forbid) a new car. You just have to be very careful in picking the model, mileage and condition of the car.
We are delighted with the 2001 PT Cruiser we found on Craigslist for $2200 a few months ago.

[DesertFlower]

58. i bought my miata new but was willing

to buy one a year or 2 old, but they were hard to find with an automatic transmission. most of mine and my late husband's cars were bought a few years old. you can can a great deal that way.

[7962]

12. Smart people drive cars a long time. My Pontiac G6 has 300K + on it.

Keep it maintained and cars these days will darn near run forever.
Too many people have an "image" they want to show. They will lease a fancy car when they cant afford to buy it. Leasing is just a perpetual car payment. Dont do it. A car is a tool and we should look at it as such. Invest your money instead of showing off.

[csziggy]

40. I buy off lease vechicles and drive them until they die

My truck is a 1999 GMC Suburban - it had just come off a 5 year lease when I bought it almost ten years ago. I've put 50,000 miles on it and the engine is still in great shape, though the body is starting to show some wear. I had to get the windshield replaced a couple of years ago after it was cracked by a rock thrown up by a truck. It will probably be the last truck I buy - I'm not hauling horses anymore so don't need one much. I'll keep this one until it dies - it's paid for and worth maintaining for the times we do need to haul big stuff.

My husband's car is a 2006 Prius we bought used. It's in great shape and the gas savings are incredible. We paid cash for both vehicles. No payments!

[7962]

44. Thats how you get ahead!

[tanyev]

14. The same people offended that poor people have cars are the same people outraged

by the idea that tax dollars should be used for mass transit.

[CaptainTruth]

16. I've never bought a new car in my life.

And I don't think I ever will, why buy something that loses thousands of dollars in value as soon as you drive it off the lot? My first beater vehicle was my old Ford Courier pickup I got for $800 (head gasket was going out, I replaced it myself & drove it for 10 years). Now my main driver is a Ford E150 van I got for $1500. It runs great but it was cheap because the AC is brroken, & I'm in FL. No problem with me, I have plenty of sweat, but I don't have plenty of money. You have to make tradeoffs in life to get by.

[NutmegYankee]

34. Only reason I prefer getting a new car is history.

I know how I treated it and the maintenance put into it. Since I drive the car for it's entire service life, it isn't a bad deal in the end.

[noiretextatique]

39. i agree

i buy a car for no more than $1500.00 and drive it until it dies. they usually last three or four years, so i think i get my money's worth.

[Freddie]

56. Yep

I figure $500/year then it owes you nothing. Drive it until the cost of the parts or repair is greater than the car's value. Bought a 1997 Escort from some guy's front yard for $2500 in 2003; I drove it until 2010, gave it to my son-in-law who used it til a few months ago and the transmission finally went. He got $400 for the scrap metal.

[eShirl]

17. I hear some poors even have refrigerators and TVs

Probably even have indoor plumbing, and phones!

[awoke_in_2003]

18. I know...

what guile (just in case)

[grasswire]

26. nothin wrong with old TVs

Mine is a Zenith, probably slightly newer than the one you picture. I bought it at Goodwill six years ago for ten bucks. It's perfectly fine! My cousin wanted to buy me a flat screen larger one, and I said no thanks. It would be cool to have a larger screen for my college football obsession, but no thanks. I love my modest TV. It will run forever, likely.

[daredtowork]

20. For the poor the problem is not getting a car

The problem is getting gas to keep the car running.

Poverty is lacking the means to meet the regular payments you have to shell out for: rent, bills, recurring necessities.

Most voluntary (particularly "faith-based&quot efforts to help the poor fail because they are focused on one-time donations of items when what the poor really need to get back on their feet is a way to meet these recurring demands. They need some at least some small cash-flow to meet the rent-taking flow.

[daleo]

24. And insurance

[Grammy23]

27. Don't forget about breakdowns and things like tires that need to be replaced.

It makes me so sad when I see people driving cars that are clearly on their last leg or obviously having problems. I see cars with tires that look slick or have bulges and signs of impending problems. A car broken down in the turn lane is only the beginning of a very slippery slope. I was poor back when my husband and I were first married but the difference for us was that he was a vehicle mechanic and knew how to make repairs when taking it to a car repair shop would have been out of the question. (Not one penny extra to pay for parts or labor.)

Over the years I couldn't begin to tell you how many family members he helped out with repairs for the same reason. They did not have the money to take their car to a shop for repairs, but he could offer free labor and even helped with parts from time to time (when we were better off financially).

Those who live on the margins are often one breakdown away from their whole house of cards falling in on them. With no transportation, they may lose a job. Missing just a pay check or two means they can't pay the light bill or other utility. The rent may be next. It all is so fragile and subject to the whims of fate. I know. I've been there. Luckily for us, we never faced eviction or job loss but we knew the cold dread of facing an unexpected expense like a car breakdown. It is unnerving to live like that and for many of the poor, it is the only life they know. With no end in sight, no way out.

And then the HAVES of this world have the nerve to point out how GOOD the poor have it. It makes me sick to realize how little compassion they have for their fellow man.

[Art_from_Ark]

50. Just like that Lucky Ducky comic

http://gocomics.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5f3053ef013485dc2183970c-800wi

[hedgehog]

53. This post deserves to go to the greatest page!

[Throd]

33. Most people can eventually save enough money to buy a beater.

It's when that beater suffers a critical failure that costs as much as the whole car that you're screwed.

That failure can happen next week, or next year, but it WILL happen...and poor people don't have spare cash available to get it fixed.

[daredtowork]

35. That broken car probably contributes to pollution

But poverty means no money for repairs or to meet pollution standards or to get proper insurance. People may even end up driving without a license. But they need to in order to get around - to get to work, to get to groceries, to access public services.

Ironically catching people without licenses or with unpaid fines and charging them court fees was part of the escalating tensions that led to Ferguson.

Transportation is part of the problem, not a sign of luxury.

[Jackpine Radical]

43. I suspect that building a new car to replace it would generate more pollution

than continuing to drive this one until it dies. Just remember all the energy that goes into the manufacturing process, from digging and smelting the iron to shipping it to the dealer.

[Mopar151]

51. The "earned income credit" might as well be called "the shitbox credit"

My friend had a gararge in VT, sold used cars. He told me that he neded to have 5-10 $1000 cars for Febuary every year, for single parents who were getting their tax "refund" check. Not a big profit margin there - more like a public service.
#1 question - "Will it take a stickah?" (i.e. pass state inspection)

[Tree-Hugger]

38. I bought my car when I was doing well financially

I bought it new. Payments, insurance, gas, upkeep were no problem. When financeSwent to shit and we sank into poverty, it became increasingly difficult to keep up. Gas, oil changes, yearly safety and emissions inspections, tires, repairs, lights, wiper blades.....it is impossible to keep up. I was pulled over for having an expired inspection sticker. I couldn't afford the repairs in order to pass the inspection. The officer gave me a ticket with a fine and told me to consider it motivation. I kept driving my illegal car because it was needed for work, to get kids to doctor appointments, to get me to many doctor appointments.

It's something that doesn't get much thought or attention. Many charities don't/can't help with auto care. Social services doesn't truly take car expenses into consideration. Around here, there aren't programs to help people with repairs and upkeep.

I only survived some repairs, inspections, and upkeep because of the generosity of others - including those onDU.

[noiretextatique]

41. i cannot afford a car

but thankfully i live in the bay area and public transportation is excellent here. there is no way i could an afford a car right now. gas, insurance, registration, repairs...no way.

[Tree-Hugger]

47. Same

If this car became undrivable, I would be shit out of luck. I wouldn't be able to afford a used clunker.

[quaker bill]

30. Pretty rusty, but quite not dented enough.

around here they often have red plastic tape tail lights.

Below me on the ground level is a call center. There are now a lot of cars like this in the parking lot.

[TheKentuckian]

42. Dumbass people might but a thoughtful soul might guess that it isn't the rich and famous

rolling all the beaters.

[BuelahWitch]

45. All those nasty rich (and middle class) people who sneer at the "fat" poor

should be sentenced to living on minimum wage for 30 days with no access to their bank accounts. Supply them with a beater car and sub-par housing. Let them see the choices they have to make: do I buy food or pay the electric bill? Health care? Walgreens has a sale on generic Excedrin. That's your health care in a non-Medicaid state.

[Mopar151]

52. The story of the $1000 car

Truer words have rarely been sung....

[ladyVet]

57. Well, if you look at the media (TV, movies)

it would be easy to think all poor people have nice cars. You don't usually see those like your second pic driven around. They have nice clothes, good teeth, money for medical care, and full pantries, too.

Reality is a little different.

We have three very old cars. All three are broken down. My van just got a new engine (bought from a junk yard and installed by us). It had been sitting in the back yard for over a year. My older boys' car needs a new engine, and the youngest has a truck with something bent in the engine. Damn, there's a theme going here.

Anyway, still have a leak from the transmission on the van, and then we need to come up with the money to get it back on the insurance and get it inspected so we can get tags. Until then, we use my brother's van to get my oldest son to work, because by golly he got promoted to full time -- -- and we need that freaking job.

I'm grateful every day that we aren't as bad off as some people. I pray we avoid anything worse happen that what we're going through right now. We've managed to hang on, even though it's really rough sometimes. We'd like a new TV (okay, I would, nobody else really watches TV) and new computers would be awesome. Our stuff is so old, it's laughable. Nobody would give me more than $50 for all of it.

I'm losing weight and will need new clothes soon. I'll shop second hand, though, or see if any of the stuff my cousin is sorting through will work. But geez, it would be wonderful to be able to splurge and buy new stuff, just once.

Enough of the pity party. I really need to stop reading these threads.

[hedgehog]

61. "I'm grateful every day that we aren't as bad off as some people."

It seems that at a certain level, people realize they are down, and are grateful for what they have. Sometimes people who are doing well are desperate to prove to themselves that other people are poor because they just don't work hard enough. otherwise they may have to face the fact that they, too, are just a few paychecks away from real trouble.

[Liberal_in_LA]

59. los angeles - few junkers, mostly shiny cars.