Posted on 06/21/2014 10:04:44 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
The days when a bare-bones "stripper" car came with vinyl seats, rubber floor mats and no air conditioning are long gone.
Today, convenience and cold air come standard for all models, along with a long list of niceties that were once the sole domain of the loaded vehicle. A base Chevy Spark, as one example, offers aluminum wheels, ten standard airbags, power windows — even six months of OnStar service, in case you lock your keys in the car. On the surface, the new car market is offering better values than ever.
There is just one small problem with nearly all entry-level models of the modern day: You can't ever find em', and when you do, they usually come loaded with surprises. We may learn about that teaser of a price from the manufacturer's advertising, or the dealer supposedly suffering a bone-headed overstocking whose pain can be your gain. But actually finding that car is another matter entirely.
Recently, I searched for an absolute bare bones 2014 Nissan Versa S, base model. How many were there for the genuine manufacturer's drive-out price of under $13,000 in metro Atlanta? One. Just a single car to serve a metropolitan population of six million people.
Two weeks ago I walked over to a Mitsubishi dealer near Myrtle Beach, S.C. There were 20 Mirages on the lot, and out of those 20, there was one basic car with that ever so rare five-speed manual. The price: $12,500, before a whopping $1,995 surcharge for window tint. The old days of stain guards for carpeting and VIN etchings on the windows have been replaced with $700 processing fees, $800 destination charges, and $2,000 aftermarket trim packages with low-quality leather and fake wood made out of real plastic.
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...
Brand new 2014 Jeep Patriot:
No power windows,
No power locks,
5 speed manual transmission.
Has options A/C and bigger 2.4L engine, $15,300
Thanks for your responses. Even as old as I am I still think there should be a reasonable, logical reason for why something is the way it is. Guess I should realize that it isn’t going to happen in my lifetime.
Got a 2001 mercury mountaineer I bought used in 2002, 5 liter engine, still going strong with 140k miles on it. My son drives it. I drive an 06 grand marquis I bought used in 08, got 70k on it and hope to get 200k more. Just traded a 2003 Mazda MVP for a used 13 Nissan Murano. MVP had 187k miles, nothing major wrong but could see lots of little things starting to show signs of going out. Call it a feeling but I didn’t trust it anymore and neither did my wife. Hope to get 200k out of Murano.
If I ever end up in the water I want to be able to crank a window down.”
I agree. My son got me one of those little hammers that is supposed to allow you to break the glass from the inside. All I have to do if I find myself in this panicked situation is remember that I have such a tool and where it is.
I have a 2003 Chrysler Sebring with 23,000 miles on it.
Problem is you bought something from Dodge, who spend a lot of money on commercials and not a lot on making a good car. I’ve got a 10 year old Sentra with power lots of stuff none of which has ever broken.
I agree. My son got me one of those little hammers that is supposed to allow you to break the glass from the inside. All I have to do if I find myself in this panicked situation is remember that I have such a tool and where it is.
I carry a resqme on my key chain.
http://resqme.com/US/
Remember the little swamp cooler units you could hang on the driver's side window, then roll the window up to lock them in place? They had a cloth medium that dipped into a water reservoir then incoming air from a forward facing horn blew across the cloth and put cooler air into the car. There was a string you pulled to rotate the cloth when it got dry. If you pulled too fast or hard on the string, it splashed water out of the unit onto the side of the driver's head. Sort of putting 'cool' into afterburner. Also good for startling Daddy.
In high school I worked construction, sometimes driving a large truck with a very stiff clutch. My car was a 1955 Pontiac with automatic transmission. At the end of the day, I'd leave the truck, get in my car, and stomp the floorboard where the clutch would have been if it had one. Argh.
When you’re buying old beaters you’ve got to have a very good eye, or a friend with a very good eye, a bit of luck, and be dedicated to treating the car very well. Ed, my friend who gets the super cheap beaters, goes over them very closely before the purchase, knows what’s broken, how important it is, and how much it will be to fix, all before purchasing. Then after purchase and initial repair he’s religious about preventative maintenance, and not pushing the car too hard or too fast. He’s good at getting 10,000 or more miles out of his little cheapies, slowly and with frequent oil changes.
My 2005 Ford Ranger has hand crank windows. Cost 20 bucks to replace a crank(easy job). Cost hundreds of dollars to replace a power window from a dealer or garage.
I’ll check into it. Something like that would be better in those circumstances. Thanks.
I bought a 1964 Malibu SS in November of 1963, as they first came out. Paid sticker price of $3290. Figure ten times that amount today.
I had a 69 Dart with the slant six 225. You pumped the rubber washer peddle that was next the the high beam switch with your left foot.
I'm with you. I had never heard that term either but I thought it had to do with 'exotic' dancers.
“I only click on this because I had no idea what a stripper car was, thought maybe it was a model car strippers were after.”
Same here. I was hoping for pictures.
That is it except the ones I saw were glossy and very dark black.
“Never quite understood why you have to push the brake pedal in to move the transmission to drive or reverse. “
So you can’t accidentally pop it into park or reverse going down the road at 60mph.
If it’s any consolation, my ‘99 Dodge does not have this feature, which I found quite by accident.
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