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Comment by mrfusion | Hacker News Reader

Older cars can work great but I just lose confidence in taking longer trips. If it’s statistically going to die soon I feel like there’s a large risk of getting stranded somewhere.

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>If it’s statistically going to die soon I feel like there’s a large risk of getting stranded somewhere.

If you're in North America are you really going to be 'stranded' or just footing the cost of a one-way rental and waiting for the check from the junkyard which will almost certainly cover it?

you grossly underestimate the cost of car rentals and overestimate the value of a scrap metal car.

You could be waiting for hours or overnight on the side of the US interstate (possibly in below freezin/0F temps) for a tow truck that may or may not show up. The salvage check may or may not cover the tow and replacement temporary transportation. A majority of Americans can't come up with $1000 for an emergency, which is somewhat close to the cost of a one way rental at the moment.

True, but statistically the average HN user with a beat up car won't be a McDonald's employee buying the only car they can afford, but more likely someone working in tech that's aiming for FIRE or whatever they're calling it and saving a ton of money.

Highly unlikely the average HNer can't come up with $1000 for an emergency (nota bene: for sure some can't, that why I didn't say "every HNer").

Phew, as long as we're only having to worry about HNers. That's gotta be what, a whole 1% of the driving population? Seriously, why is an HNer filter being applied?

Dunno, I felt like it.

Can't we be lackadaisical anymore? :-p

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