Giving away cars to people with no money??

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
if you put in m1 ap, then it should've at least made it a year instead of months. Did you get an uoa on the oil?


Hey, good idea next time I give a family member one of my vehicles … good Fram Ultra to match …

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish.

Did someone around here use to say “Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”?

LOL

 

[Mr Nice]

We gave our old 1999 Civic EX with 200K miles to my nephew for a high school present.
He kept it for another 6 years and it finally had a bad head gasket and traded it in.

Since he was mature and responsible.... I had no problem helping him.

 

[Leo99]

Some people get down on their luck and appreciate a free car and will get back on their feet. You hope.

Others will not. That doesn't mean you stop trying and hoping for the best.

And a lot of people just trash their cars. They are mad at their cars or something. They neglect them.

 

[fisher83]

I’ve never completely given any cars away but I have sold two cars to friends and family for probably 1/2 what I could have sold them for otherwise. One I sold to a friend for his 16 year old daughter’s first car. She still has it and that was 6-7 years ago. The other I sold to my father in law and I have very little hope for. He has had it for about a year and a half now and hasn’t destroyed it yet but he is bringing it over this weekend because he says it is running rough. I didn’t really plan on being his go to repair guy throughout the course of him owning the car but it makes my wife happy. Happy wife, happy life!

 

[Alex_V]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish.

Yes. I'm close to plenty of similar situations, and really do want to help people - but almost every. single. time. the reason they need a car is because they ruined the old one. Ove the past 4 years I have probably had lower income than many of them (surely less disposable income) but I've not yet had to buy a single car out of necessity to replace another one - and I don't pay child support, or have to buy cigarettes, medications, etc. Giving them another car only perpetuates that cycle. Maybe they won't learn, regardless, but in the vast majority of cases you only enable them and facilitate the ruining of a good car.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

I have given away my last free vehicle. I have given away 4 of them not to my kids I may add. Of the four one of those a 1998 Saturn lasted 12 years and the owner traded it way for a pickup. The others all failed due to lack of care. I know one of them a Corolla a 1992 saw an oil change about every 18 months if it needed it or not. No those people find themselves in need for a reason and if you watch them they will demonstrate almost on a daily basis why their life is just in a total mess. Only the owner of the Saturn has a regular job and is making strides ahead. The other three are clueless and when their Mother and I die they will parish they have not saved a cent and three of them will be penniless. One of them is a homeless alcoholic that has a college degree and has [censored] near killed herself drinking. No you can lead them to water but they will likely never be more than failed individuals.

 

[Chris142]

It seems that the more someone needs a car the less they maintain it. A single mother of 5 won't ever check her oil.

 

[mightymousetech]

If they have no money, better to give them a bus pass.

 

[Kestas]

I remember reading from people who post, "My brakes are failing. I can't afford to repair it, and I can't afford a new car. What should I do?" They're looking for some magic answer from smart mechanics to their problem. I tell them, "You can't afford to drive."

You're giving a car to people who can't afford a car, and they can't afford to maintain it. They simply can't afford to drive. Owning a working car is not an entitlement.

 

[raytseng]

hey there are also stories of guys who are walking 10miles each day to some blue-collar work, and still show up everyday. Their coworkers chip in to get them a car and it changes their life.

 

[Kestas]

Those stories pop up once in a while. You'd think they'd at least ride a bicycle.

 

[javacontour]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/homeless...-tent/401160413

 

[E150GT]

I gave food to a stray dog once. He ate it and ran off without saying anything. Ungrateful dog.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: E150GT
I gave food to a stray dog once. He ate it and ran off without saying anything. Ungrateful dog.


Well at least he didn't bite you. Then that would have been the dog that bit the hand that fed him.

 

[93cruiser]

Make the choice to give based on the person, not the situation. You should know ahead of time if the car will help the person get further ahead in life, or just enable them to continue their degenerative ways. Helping is fine, enabling is not.

 

[Newreet]

I have used this nonprofit organization more than once: https://www.vehiclesforchange.org/

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
hey there are also stories of guys who are walking 10miles each day to some blue-collar work, and still show up everyday. Their coworkers chip in to get them a car and it changes their life.


Man that was a State Farm commercial on TV! The guy who rode the bus to work, but kept eyeing the Dodge Ram in the dealer lot.

 

[fdcg27]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
While I think that giving a decent running car to someone in need is a noble act, if those you try to help show no appreciation for what you've given them, then that tells you to let them go their own way and buy their own transportation.
It is a shame that even poor folks don't feel any need to take care of durable goods and it's also a shame that those you tried to help valued what you gave them so little.
A life lesson for all of us.