insurance.

[Jud]

Good post. Goes a long way toward understanding how the poor can live well. Good to know once the Tea Party has made the world safe for billionaires and the middle class is a faint memory.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bennett wrote: > > This insurance question is very interesting. I have liability only, for $150 per year. Allow me to enthusiastically promote the virtues of old, cheap vehicles: > > My '95 KLR cost $1,500 two years ago and has provided me many smiles of fun. The thousands of dollars I saved over new have paid for lots of gas, a chain and sprockets, some tires, and a few farkles. If I drop the bike, I don't care-- I bought it pre-scratched. > > I like to buy "disposable" cars, too. I haven't had a car payment for YEARS. After my '95 Honda died at 260,000 miles, I purchased a '95 Toyota Avalon with 144,000 miles for $3,250. Yeah, it's got some hail dings. Yeah, I'll need to change the timing belt pretty soon. It'll cost me $200 in parts. But the car looks nice, rides smooth, the leather interior is great, and the oil is still gold-colored 3,000 miles after the last oil change. I'll get another 120,000 miles out of it for sure, which brings my acquisition cost per mile to about 2.7 cents. Maybe it'll got to 300,000 miles, I don't know. If I bought the car new for $32,500 and kept it for 300,000 miles, I'd be paying 11 cents a mile just to own it. Plus, I'd have a car payment, which means I'd have to carry comp and collision insurance for my lender. As it is now, I just carry liability. If someone hits me, who cares? I'll sell it for salvage and buy another $3,500 car. > > Cheap bike, cheap car. They both get me where I want to go, and the operating costs are low, low, low! > > Kevin >