I finally realized that Americans buy for edge-case scenarios. Well, I might go off-road someday. Or I might need to haul something big someday. Same with houses. I might have six friends over for a month someday, so I should buy a house that will mostly sit unused until then. Instead, we should buy for what we actually use, then rent something for the rare occasion when what we have isn’t enough. We’d save a fortune, and not waste so much energy. 🙄
I’m looking into buying a kei truck for these exact edge case scenarios. Realistically I only need a vehicle that can reliably drive a few miles a day. With one of these I can get that plus 4wd, amazing mpg, a whole ass truck bed, and they cost PEANUTS compared to regular vehicles.
I don’t plan on hauling anything, but I do love the option.
Holy shit, I didn’t even know those were a thing. Thanks! That’s kinda perfect for what I’d need and they are reasonably priced (but ooooooooold, most of the once’s I’m finding are from the 90s for 5-7k. Certainly much lower price for the low mileage than any work truck I’ve come across…
Check your local laws, but if you can find a dealership in your state you’re probably fine.
I saw conflicting reports about legality in my state, but there’s also dealerships selling vehicles with valid in-state titles that they claim are highway legal. I just assume there’s some semantic/bureaucratic bullshit at play.
I checked, street legal in my state, but with restrictions.
Idk how accurate this resource is, but it’s what I found. I figure I’ll check with the dmv before I buy one, but I found a forum post that seemed to confirm it…
Yeah same I’ve been looking at a few different models because eventually I wanna build my own house out of cob and be self sufficient and all that. It’d be nice to have something that doesn’t take up a lot of space, can be relatively easily fixed, and gets good MPG
There’s stateside dealers with inventory! Realistically the import fees/taxes get lumped into the final price, but altogether that price is still well below typical used car prices.
If you do some searching you can even find dealerships that deliver to large swaths of the country.
I felt a bit of pride when I managed to move out of my apartment in one trip… with a Subaru Impreza. It was basically 3D Tetris, only the drivers seat wasn’t totally full.
I bought into this thought and downsized my vehicle. Then I realized just how much of a pain in the ass renting a pickup truck is. Most rental agencies focus on business trips out whatever. They have plenty of sedans, but no pickups. U-Haul is the only consistent place to rent one. They take terrible care of their shit. The first two trucks they presented had broken turn signals. The third was burning oil. They had no other options.
Home Depot has decent truck rentals in my experience. Also their work vans are quite good. I’ve paid $44 CAD for a rental for work I needed to do within a day.
I finally realized that Americans buy for edge-case scenarios. Well, I might go off-road someday. Or I might need to haul something big someday. Same with houses. I might have six friends over for a month someday, so I should buy a house that will mostly sit unused until then. Instead, we should buy for what we actually use, then rent something for the rare occasion when what we have isn’t enough. We’d save a fortune, and not waste so much energy. 🙄
I’m looking into buying a kei truck for these exact edge case scenarios. Realistically I only need a vehicle that can reliably drive a few miles a day. With one of these I can get that plus 4wd, amazing mpg, a whole ass truck bed, and they cost PEANUTS compared to regular vehicles.
I don’t plan on hauling anything, but I do love the option.
Holy shit, I didn’t even know those were a thing. Thanks! That’s kinda perfect for what I’d need and they are reasonably priced (but ooooooooold, most of the once’s I’m finding are from the 90s for 5-7k. Certainly much lower price for the low mileage than any work truck I’ve come across…
Check your local laws, but if you can find a dealership in your state you’re probably fine.
I saw conflicting reports about legality in my state, but there’s also dealerships selling vehicles with valid in-state titles that they claim are highway legal. I just assume there’s some semantic/bureaucratic bullshit at play.
I checked, street legal in my state, but with restrictions.
Idk how accurate this resource is, but it’s what I found. I figure I’ll check with the dmv before I buy one, but I found a forum post that seemed to confirm it…
Didn’t see any dealerships in the area tho.
https://motorandwheels.com/mini-trucks-rules-per-state/
Yeah same I’ve been looking at a few different models because eventually I wanna build my own house out of cob and be self sufficient and all that. It’d be nice to have something that doesn’t take up a lot of space, can be relatively easily fixed, and gets good MPG
Even with all the importation fees and taxes?
There’s stateside dealers with inventory! Realistically the import fees/taxes get lumped into the final price, but altogether that price is still well below typical used car prices.
If you do some searching you can even find dealerships that deliver to large swaths of the country.
I felt a bit of pride when I managed to move out of my apartment in one trip… with a Subaru Impreza. It was basically 3D Tetris, only the drivers seat wasn’t totally full.
I bought into this thought and downsized my vehicle. Then I realized just how much of a pain in the ass renting a pickup truck is. Most rental agencies focus on business trips out whatever. They have plenty of sedans, but no pickups. U-Haul is the only consistent place to rent one. They take terrible care of their shit. The first two trucks they presented had broken turn signals. The third was burning oil. They had no other options.
Home Depot has decent truck rentals in my experience. Also their work vans are quite good. I’ve paid $44 CAD for a rental for work I needed to do within a day.