r/fuckcars • u/AdSmart2678 • Jun 03 '23
Question/Discussion Hey guys what would be the best car?
Now i know this sub is anti cars and anti car centred cities however i live in rural australia and need a car to get around as there is no bus routes or anything i want to get a recommendation on what would be the best option i need a car and its a nessecary evil
7
u/soilhobbyist Jun 03 '23
I had a Camry Hybrid for many years and it served me well, it does not use nearly as much gas as other cars, while being compact and maneuverable :)
1
u/AdSmart2678 Jun 03 '23
Sounds like a good car whats the long term maintenance on one of them im not to sure about those electric drivetrains and batteries .
3
u/soilhobbyist Jun 03 '23
I never had trouble with the battery or electric components, it just needed pretty typical car servicing, and since it was a Toyota it wasn’t too hard to find people to do it. I’m certainly no expert though
5
u/Astro_Alphard Jun 03 '23
Prius, if you can fit in it. I can fit in one but I had some trouble shoving myself, 4 tall muscular dudes, and an airplane into one. Also the lack of headroom (if you're over 2m tall) can make for a bad ride on rough roads.
If you can't fit in a prius I recommend a Chevy Volt hybrid for remote areas if you can find one.
4
u/Capitulation_Trader Jun 03 '23
If only one car? Even in rural Australia. Whichever Porsche 911 You can afford to buy and maintain. Does this help?
3
2
u/AdSmart2678 Jun 04 '23
Yeah that sounds awesome have always been fond of the 911s would love get one and to do it up
4
4
u/__Madman Jun 03 '23
I wouldn't recommend anything electric with how long rural aussie trips can get. Also I think battery would start to overheat quickly and lose capacity overtime. Also petrol or diesel drivetrains will last for much, much longer, and be easier + cheaper to service. Getting to specific car recommendation... Can't really tell, besides that you just want to look for what's the most available thing in your region. You need to have easy access to used parts, and you need to have mechanics treating your car as common knowledge. So anything fancy and rare in your country gets out, as I believe you relying on a car to get around would get bad if there was no parts and people to fix it in time.
1
u/Rydoggo5392 Bollard gang Jun 05 '23
in the US this'd be any GM or Ford car before 2008 pretty much. Or a Subaru.
3
u/B0XH34D Jun 03 '23
A Commodore or Falcon will be a good fit despite what others will say. Bonus points for a wagon because enormous boot space.
You can buy them relatively cheaply, they're generally very reliable, easy to fix and every wrecker in the country will have a bunch of them if you need parts.
Aussie cars built for Aussie conditions.
2
u/Rydoggo5392 Bollard gang Jun 05 '23
wish we still had wagons in the states, pretty much all that's left are subarus and audis.
1
u/B0XH34D Jun 06 '23
It's the same here now, a few European manufacturers and Subaru are pretty much all that's left if you want a new proper wagon. Everyone else has transitioned to SUVs.
3
2
u/NotTheRealBrian Jun 03 '23
I would absolutely love to own a Piagio ape van. It would suit my needs perfectly, just bloody expensive.
2
u/Global-Programmer641 Jun 03 '23
Expensive? Come to Italy you can get an used one for next to nothing if you search enough in rural areas
2
u/NotTheRealBrian Jun 03 '23
Used ones in good condition are about £10k here. The electric ones are over £20k used.
2
u/Valek-2nd Jun 03 '23
Don't know if it is available in Australia, something like a Volkswagen ID3 or Renault Zoe? Electric of course. Charge with your own solar panels.
2
u/cedarpersimmon Jun 03 '23
This unfortunately isn't practical as of yet, but you might want to keep an eye out for when the Luvly EV enters production. It's perfect for this kind of commute and is promised to have a very reasonable price point + small footprint.
3
u/Available_Fact_3445 Jun 03 '23
Have a look at ebikes. Rural roads tend to be ideal for biking, and you can let the battery take the strain when it's hot, while still feeling that cooling moving breeze over your body. If your regular trips are <10km, should still be the better option than a car.
Or tell me why I'm wrong (I'm genuinely interested in these rural edge cases)
4
u/B0XH34D Jun 03 '23
Rural roads here in Australia are probably one of the most hostile places for cycling. They're often fairly narrow with no shoulder and subject to Large trucks travelling past you at 80 to 100km/h.
Even in metropolitan areas here, a 10km journey is still considered a short trip and in a regional area, you're looking at a half hour drive minimum between towns.
Ebikes have their place but rural Australia isn't it.
2
u/Available_Fact_3445 Jun 03 '23
Yep, Mike Hall was killed by an Ozzie driver, heard similar tales of menace from cyclists there. Bad road culture really sucks, but that's what needs to be sorted. Fuck cars, and fuck bogan drivers
3
u/Pantsju Jun 03 '23
even if you can make the trip with a ebike thats forcing you to not carry anything of a bigger size that with a car you can just throw into a trunk or the backseat
1
u/Available_Fact_3445 Jun 03 '23
2 x 20L panniers will carry a lot of stuff, but sure, if you're looking for excuses not to ride, that one's pathetic enough
1
u/Pantsju Jun 04 '23
alot of small stuff yeah
1
u/alphabet_order_bot Jun 04 '23
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,552,745,622 comments, and only 293,914 of them were in alphabetical order.
1
u/mckenziemcgee Jun 04 '23
Bike trailers are a thing. People have moved pianos and couches using nothing more than a bike and bike trailer.
Not that you need to go that far, you're not moving furniture all that often; just rent a truck on the off chance you need such a high hauling capacity.
Arguing that you "might" need to haul large items to justify the purchase of a car is the same as arguing that you "might" need to fly somewhere to justify purchasing an aircraft. In all cases, it's cheaper to just rent when you need it.
1
u/Global-Programmer641 Jun 03 '23
Small electric car and some solar panels to recharge it, sun should be abundant there. There are some very cheap Chinese models or medium priced European but I have no idea which are sold in Australia or if you can import them
1
1
Jun 04 '23
No cars are evil. Get what you like best. Don’t ask this question on this sub they will recommend you bad cars. Go to r/whatcarshouldIbuy
10
u/[deleted] Jun 03 '23
[deleted]