What I Drive

I’ve got a beater of a car. It’s a no frills 1991 Toyota Pickup and I love it. Back in the summer of 2007 I bought it with 168k miles on the odometer for $2,200 (slightly above book value) from the original owner, who had posted it on Craigslist. After replacing the thermostat it ran like a champ. It’s been pretty much bulletproof.

About a year later the original clutch finally packed it in and I had it replaced, along with the radiator and hoses, the alternator and battery. All in all I’ve put about $2,000 in for repairs and maintenance (doing almost none of the labor myself) over the course of 19k miles, which may seem high at the moment, but the truck is solid and good for many thousands more miles, so the cost per mile will gradually come down. It has also lost only about $500 in value due to depreciation.

No wonder it’s the truck of choice for warlords and dictators the world over. Ever notice how theses trucks are often spotted on the news in some hellhole with a machine gun mounted in back? It’s because they’re about as indestructible as dirt. Which makes them a great value anywhere.