Best pilot cars

[floatflyer99]

What do you drive?

I've got a 5-speed 1988 Mercury Tracer hatchback that's logged thousands of miles looking for flying jobs from the West Coast to the Great Lakes to the Arctic. It's cheap on gas, low maintenance and will maintain a good 90 mph for hours on end (in Montana when there was no speed limit ) Don't have to worry about collision insurance or car payments--I think I paid around $1000 for it about 3 years ago.

I also drive a nice gold and brown '81 Pontiac Phoenix 2-door. It sports a powerhouse V6 engine and a pair of gold COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) wings on the back window. That's the one I use to cruise for chicks.

Most of the pilots I know drive beaters. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

 

[Loafman]

Some pilots can afford cars?????

Eagle pilots walk to work because management stole our f$%king bicycles.

 

[floatflyer99]

Duh! I guess it shoulda been obvious to me why most pilots drive beaters. That said, I've noticed more than one senior airline captain driving a beater, and thought that maybe there's some strange preference for crappy cars. On second thought, by the time you're a senior airline cappy, you're probably paying alimony to at least two wives at a bare minimum.

Anyway...

Besides bicycles, what do YOU drive?

 

[sbav8r]

Dam@! I thought once I was finished with all this I would be able to afford a new Toyota Pickup. I guess I better get used to bikes and beaters.

 

[Loafman]

I have a pickup with 164,000 miles on it. Wanna buy it so I can get a new bike?

 

[merikeyegro]

...

My mother and father both worked for NWA for years. My mother an FA and father a pilot. She told me story after story about senior captain who made oodles of cash but were cheap bastards. My dad would sit there and agree. It was amazing how much most pilots WOULDN'T spend. My mom said that my dad vowed early in their marriage never to become that way. Well, let's just say that getting $20 out of my dad in 1996 (my senior year of HS) was very difficult. He was 27 years senior at the time. The most expensive car he ever drove was a '60s Malibu or something when he was out of the Marine Corps. Growing up the best car we drove was a 1993 Ford Explorer. My father used to get very excited when the local grocery store had 10-cent donuts and coffee on Saturday. My mom called it "the pilots' breakfast." She knew pilots were cheap and made fun of them for it.

Moral of the story: old pilots drive beaters because most of them are too cheap to buy better ones. Take from someone who's seen it firsthand his entire life. Don't fall into that trap of hoarding your $, lest you die a millionaire. I'm sure my father will do just that, although he's starting to loosen up a bit now that he's @ NJA...

 

[Booker]

MRE is right, major captains are cheap. As for me, I drive a '97 Corolla with 99K on it, and I try to keep it looking off-the-lot clean.

 

[F9 Driver]

Trying to pay off

student loans!! I'm in the early 90's 4wd Subaru (my mt. bike cost more than my car

My wife has a nice ride though.

The company gives me a multi million dollar ride so the cheap wheels to the airport doesn't bother me much!

 

[DCitrus9]

I drive a ten year old jeep grand cherokee with 140,000 miles on it. I, too, fall into cheap bastard territory when it comes to cars. My wife will probably get a new(er) car, but I'll be out wrenching on my jeep! Best crew car I've had was a hand me down from my grandpa. He bought a new Ford LTD, in 1977, and put a couple hundred K on it. It still chugged along, leaking a half quart of oil per tank of gas (was too lazy to replace valve cover gaskets). Back window had National Rifle assoc., AOPA, and assorted stickers on the window to complement the rust spots and distract your attention from the missing bumper (oops, that's another story)
Any GLA guys seen my Cortez Cruiser lately?

 

[Kingairrick]

Maybe the reason pilots drive beaters is that we are good at math...
99 out of 100 nice new cars you see on the road are financed. Car payments are the biggest sucker deal ever invented. Paying interest on a depreciating asset.

I think that by the time pilots begin to make enough money to afford really nice cars, they have aquired the wisdom to not go buy one...

just my .02