Just got a job delievering pizzas what can I do?

getting a beater just to deliver pizza isnt a sound investment, unless you find one that runs for free and uses maybe 50$ of insurance a year. the savings of fuel youd get with having a beater wont be greater than the cost of insurance and actually buying a beater. just drive the jeep and dont hit the gas too much. delivering pizzas isnt going to hurt your jeep until you find a better job that requires less short trips.....remmeber many guys have well over 100,000 miles and no problems whatsoever.

say 30 mpg beater vs 15 mpg jeep. (conservative). so say u drive 30 miles a night (alot for pizza) thats 1 gallon savings a day.....say 6 day work week....6 gallons a week @ 1.80 a gallon = $10.80 a week savings of gas. $10.80 x 52 weeks = $561.60 a year.....you prolly couldnt buy a beater and keep it on the road for that.


25mpg vs 18mpg @ 30 miles 6 a week. 1.2 gal-1.67gal=.47 gal/dayx 6 days = 2.82 gal/week. x 1.80 = 5.08 x52 weeks = 264.16 $ a year savings......now you REALLY cant afford the beater.

so just stick with the jeep.
 
I get paid minimum wage, 5.50 i think...work 3 nights, 16 hrs a week, and make around 200+ a week, but most of it goes towards payments for the XJ, 4 wheeler, cell phone, insurance, etc. Its a decent job, Ive gotten good tips from alot of people with the "nice jeep" comment coming first and then the heres some extra money to get that thing in the air!
 
I get paid minimum wage as well, but we get paid 7.16, its nice to live out here in washington, the minimum wage is adjusted based on the federal cost of living. So next year i should be getting a "raise".
Nobody gives me extra money so i can lift my jeep, but i still get decent wages. I havent really figured out what i make but its most likely 150-200 a week. But that all depends on how busy it is, and where I deliver to.
Thanks for the help. I think I'll be sticking with the XJ for awhile. Unless I get any problems but hopefully shouldnt.
I almost half wish I'll have problems with the XJ, it would give me a reason to park it, and start working on her.
 
Ok, here goes, I also have delivered pizza in the past but found I couldn't make any money at it because of my vehicle's gas mileage. However both times I was driving large V8 powered cars ('80 Chrysler LeBaron, '69 Barracuda). Compared to those the XJ should do fairly well. If you were to go the beater route, I would defineatly go with the Honda. A friend of mine had one and the thing was indestructible. He took it wheeling more often than I did my jeep. The thing was dirt simple to work on, had decent power and good mileage. Don't knock it 'cause it's carbeurated, we ripped the fuel filter off it once in a gravel pit and wound up bypassing the filter with a pen to get home, try that with fuel injection!
Personally though, I'd stick with the XJ. Others have already mentioned most of the things I can think of to get the most out of it. However, nobody has mentioned tire size. The smallest stock size for a XJ was 205/75R15 and if I were you I'd run with those. This would help in three ways; first the smaller tires are cheaper to replace when they wear out, next it effectively lowers your overall final drive ratio which would increase your gas mileage in the short stop and go driving of delivering and the resulting increase in engine revs will bring your engine up to temp quicker.
Tony
 
i,too, delivered pizzas out of my jeep in HS...go the beater route. gas prices as they are and thirst as jeeps have for it just don't mix for delivering pies.

grab the honda for 800...i snagged an 89 honda for 800 bucks over the summer and rode it for a few months before turning around and selling it for 1200...49 mpg and a zippy lil daily driver was not a bad combo, should serve you well in your work.

also...your car WILL smell like pizzas for months even after you quit working there. don't subject your jeep to the torture.


Here's a perfect candidate for your beater.....
 
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as far as a beater cheap vehicle? buy annother XJ - then you have a parts car and a beater... they're cheap enough and they are a dime a dozzen. And you have a car that you can make mods on that you dont care about.


think test holes and cuts

think extra parts for the main rig. and if one breaks, then you always have one running. when you graduate from hs and go to college, then you have a parts car to sell parts off of to others and make swaps.


thats what i would do if i had a job that paid more than 100 a month...
 
I'd vote for a beater if you have the mechanical ability to fix its problems. Insurance should also be pretty cheap, but dont count on a 2nd car discount. Do the math with your numbers, like how many miles you'd drive on average and all, and get a quote for a small beater. Put that all together and make a sound economic decision.

But the other good point - you get a second car while your XJ is being worked on. I hated it every time I HAD to finish something and risk a poor job.

I have access to a second vehicle right now: $500 VW Rabbit. A friend of mine is a VW fan and can probably fix any problem with it.
 
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I bet that peugeut or any other car you can afford as a beater would break down every day. Drive the Jeep, at least for a while, and see how it goes. What if you get fired? The Jeep won't be that bad on gas, it ain't a wagoneer.
 
notice no one is suggesting a 91 tempo or a kcar...typically foreign cars (honda/toyota/vw) were built to last and sip the gas. get a "beater" from a reputable source and you're set. sure they'll have lil problems from time to time but rarely will it cause you much hassle or cash to fix em. (like window regulators in hondas and shifter linkages in vws)
 
sportsguy said:
Changing the oil more frequently is a good idea. Some folks will advocate a switch to synthetic oil. I run regular oil in my XJ and it's fine. I have run synthetic in past vehicles, and other than added peace of mind, the only differnce I noted was it was more expensive - and I did track fuel economy. Dropping 3-4 PSI from each tire had more of an effect on my fuel economy than the switch to synthetic oil did, so that's a wash.
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What kills engines internally is the acids that build up in the oil, and getting the engine up to normal operating temp for longer periods helps to burn those off, too. For delivery work, a 2500 to 3000 mile oil change interval is a good idea, and if you're changing that often you don't need to pay twice the price for the extended change qualities of synthetic. Just use a good quality dino oil and a good filter (Purolator, Wix, almost anything except Fram) and change frequently. I like 2500 miles because it works into nice round numbers on the odometer. Easier for my tired brain to remember to change at 155,000 and at 154,000 if that's the way a 3000 mile interval would shake out.
 
i went the VW route and was very satified. for your 800 dollar range you can get an 87 to 90 GTI and it will be good on gas, fast, and reliable as long you keep your maint. schedule tight. after i was finished delivering the pizzas with it i went to neuspeed and did all the goodies to it...now very fast and handles like its on rails (turbo, ss everything, strut tower braces etc...). it doesnt pass the CA smog nazi test (no dyno test), so i gave it to my brother who now uses it to commute 40 mins round trip to school everyday in oregon (rain tires help it hook up on wet days "aquatread"). like i said tho, i beat the crap out of it while delivering the pizzas and all it needed was the regular maint.
IMHO
 
honda or vw somewhat easy to work on good gas mileage, and I don't know how to do it, but my neighbor had a old VW rabbit and he got 60 something miles to the gallon, His VW wasn't FI, I am serious about the mileage though, He found a way to get a lota miles on for his money, not sure how and not sure if he will tell me but its worth a shot to ask. Also a beater can last enough to get more money to get a better car or parts for the jeep. A friend of mine paid 500 bucks to some old man for a plymouth grand fury (not fuel efficient) but it still has lasted him 2 years and he beats the bag out of it. He goes through tires once a month and he always buys used tires roasts them and thats it no other money except for one complete fluid flush and money for oilchanges when he feels like getting one.

Go the beater route keep the XJ for if the beater breaks down, but go honda or VW something hopefully cheap and if you go honda you will find so many parts for it and it will be fuel efficient, and if you go VW parts may be a little harder to find and may be a little bit more pricey but has just as good gas mileage and is better than saying you drive a honda... Good luck
 
Georgia Jeep said:
VW rabbits are pretty cheap.
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I second that... I delivered pizzas for a few years and I had a 1981 VW Rabbit Diesel that got 40+ mpg in the city delivering pizzas.

Also, I'd leave the car idling whenever you can still see the car or whenever you're confident nothing will happen. It saves engine wear by not starting and stopping all the time, saves your starter too!
 
I picked up a (well technically 2) geo metros for $150 total in the south seattle area(Tukwila), put $30 into it in parts and I drive it every day to college (50mpg!). There are deals out there, you just have to look for them, and in some cases not be averse, if you have the room, to picking up an EXTREME beater and a parts car, stripping the parts car and fixing the ok one.
 
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