the ultimate delivery car of another sort
Max.P. found what he calls “The Ultimate Delivery Beater”, in the form of an $800 1985 Caprice wagon. If you were driving over 20,000 miles per year delivering food, and wanted to maximize your income by minimizing expenses, what would you look for in the ultimate delivery car?
Me? I’ve had experiences with two circa 1992 Corollas that have convinced me that they’re the cheapest/most durable way to go. The one I bought for $300 almost three years ago (above) is still going strong, in the hands of another owner. And a good friend has a similar vintage wagon that also still feels like it’s got lots of life in it. Both have well north of 200k miles on them.
What would you deliver the goods in?
Geo Metro, preferably with a manual, but the automatic will do ok because you’re not looking for performance. I’ve owned one (’94) and they’re small, good on gas (high 40’s), about as comfortable as you’re going to get in a low line 90’s car – but still more comfortable than some higher price competition. Downsides are their noisy inside and bare bones, but we’re talking a second car employment-tool, not something you’re going to live in as main transport. Oh yeah, it’s one of those cars that you can actually buy tyres at the advertised teaser prices, because it has the small wheels.
I’ve always considered them an incredibly underrated automobile. They do the job, and I wish I had one now for commuting.
The automatic won’t do, actually – besides the performance penalty (not like there was much to spare) there’s a huge drop in economy, to the point that an auto Metro barely did better than a contemporary Civic.
True, the mpg on auto shift Metro’s goes down to mid sized car levels, but the overall cost of maintenance, parts, repairs, ease of said repairs and insurance are beyond unbeatable. They drive fine around town, terrible but feasable on freeways. Rented plenty back in the day, Syke- you are right about them being comfortable and roomy in the front.
That price paid on the Corolla was unbeatable, a running example regardless of miles can still fetch $1500-$2000 here, wagons more- they tend to be bought up by exporters in S FLA for new lives in the third world. I got $1700 for my faded 90 three speed auto, and the exporter didn’t even bother to dicker. I’m certain she’s chugging around a banana republic to this day.
One pizzeria here uses a Lexus LX to deliver pizza.
Currently in the market for an around 2k dollars Toyota Corolla or Tercel, possibly a Honda Civic. Possibly a Sentra. I know certain year Corolla’s are Geo. Family member refuses to learn to drive stick, so mid to late 90’s auto is what is needed. I wonder how the auto’s hold up on these cars, the stick shift’s seem to be pretty bullet proof. She refuses to drive Geo, wants New Beetle but talked her out of that. Neighbor has an 89 V6 Cougar in decent shape cheap, but the 18 year old refuses to drive “Cougar”.
I would go with the Suzuki Swift, just to be contrary! Must be 5sp, non turbo. Another option would be early 90’s Sentra. Much more comfortable, and fun. Plus tough as nails.
Suzuki Swift Geo Metro Holden Barina back in the early 90s they were the same car.
Yay!!!!!
yeah the Toys r good, but still have electronics n if auto, expensive rebuild, guess if ur going to throw away as Max plans, there would b lots from the big boys that would work if had for the right $ I had a 96 geo prism that i put almost 100k on and didn’t do anything but change oil n tires n think one batt, but when came time to service it, was going to cost almost what car was worth, so I sold it from that n walked away smiling Thats where I’m at with my 02 civic now, anyone want to buy a nice clean 02 civic LOL
I would think it depends on what you are delivering and/or the size of a “typical” load.
I worked delivering pizzas for 2 different, extended periods. The 1st time I often had fridays or rainy days where I delivered 5 or 6 pizzas in my regular cab Ranger. That was one tough truck but was no fun to drive with all those pizzas crammed into the cab. By the time I was doing my 2nd stint of pizza delivery, I had switched to a hatchback Civic. A MUCH better car, though not as tough as the Ranger.
Conversely, that Ranger delivered a lot of furniture for co-workers, a job that the Civic sure could not handle.
Of the two choices listed? It’s a toss up, but I’d lean to the Toyota.
If you only carry a few pizzas then something small is best. Max.P was hauling a load of bottled water or a $400 order of food for a party, so a larger vehicle might make sense. What is needed is something reliable but cheap. This means a used vehicle that won’t use too much fuel. An old vehicle with low miles is good, but they are not always available just when you need one.
Ultimate Delivery Beater ?
Something like this. A Renault Express from the nineties. Naturally aspirated 1.9 liter diesel, 5 speed manual.
A fuel sipper. Dead simple old-school diesel technology. French comfort and handling.
There you go, I’ve maximized my income by minimizing expenses.
Good call.
Or a Skoda Felicia !!!!!
Which one ? The hatchback, wagon, van, or pickup ?
Johannes,…I’d go for the Hatchback..1.3 Litre petrol engine..with the timing chain.
I do remember those Renault vans..used by the post office.
Late 80s Corolla diesel wagon 1c non turbo engine will go forever on very little fuel and mechanically they are unbreakable providing you keep the cooling system clean,
Enlighten me Bryce, didn’t Corolla diesels come with Peugeot engines in the past ? 1.9 or 2.0 liter ? Must be before Toyota got its own 2.0 liter diesel.
If I want a 2.0 liter diesel or smaller, old or new, then it certainly would be something from France. They’re the masters in that segment.
Meanwhile I did some searching. The 1982-2001 PSA XUD diesel could also be found under the hood of pre-2001 Toyota Corollas. In Europe that is, I don’t know about other parts of the world.
By the way, you surprise me Bryce. I really thought you would go for a Peugeot or Citroën van with a XUD diesel. You know, like a Citroën C15. 🙂
A mid 90’s Corolla or Tercel strippo stick would be a good choice. You could pull out the seats for more room if needed.
Just as an exception to the Toyota rule, I knew a guy who delivered pizzas with his relatively new Toyota Paseo, and within a couple years that car was beat absolutely to snot.
Also, don’t waste money on a Corolla when you can get a cheaper Geo Prizm.
In the 1970’s Attic Pizza in Stoney Creek ON had a pair of black Model A Ford Tudors, which as I recall they actually used to deliver pizza. I don’t know how long that experiment lasted, because by 1980 there was only one and it was permanently parked beside the building, gone by 1985.
BigOldChryslers probably remembers that one too.
Wow, Attic Pizza and Stoney Creek Dairy on a Friday night. No better place on earth in the ’70s and ’80s on a hot summer night. Thanks for stirring up those memories.
I daily drove an 89 corolla until 2009. It was my mother’s car that she replaced with an ’02 Echo. Cheap to drive and nothing ever broke on it in the decades of family service. A used Echo would fit the role just fine. Cheap to buy and run with bare bones interior and there’s a surprising amount of room in the 4 door sedan.
Never delivered Pizzas but I did run deliveries in Stoney Creek four nights a week in the early ’80s with a ’72 Impala coupe, red on black with a black vinyl top. Completely unsiutable for the task but at the same time there was the “price wars” on gas that saw 19 cents a litre which meant a full tank for less than $15. Fun times for an 18yo. It was the boss’ car so it cost me nothing.
I actually delivered Chinese food in my Bugeye Sprite. I think I lost money on that job considering the amount of time I worked on keeping that car running.
I had a pizza delivery job in college during 1981-82. My vehicle at the time was a 71 Plymouth Scamp slant 6/auto. I did break reverse gear rocking it out of a snowbank, I will admit. Otherwise, it was a great choice. But that was over 30 years ago. (Oy!)
Today, interesting question. Your Yoda suggestion would be hard to beat. As tempted as I would be to pick a older, low mile American car like a GM H body or a Panther, they would certainly use more fuel. Also, while the basics of the cars are quite durable, there is a lot of other stuff that is less so. But perhaps I am getting fatigued by (occasionally) dealing with the death rattles from a 20+ year old Crown Vic that one son has at school. Or is it death by 1,000 little niggling failures.
I can answer what I have delivered the goods in easier than what I would. I delivered out of all the following in the early 90s KCMO when gas was cheap:
1969 GTO Judge clone
1968 Baja Bug
1974 GMC Jimmy (with the top off whenever possible)
1977 SAAB 99 GL 5-Door
1985 Ford F-150
Of those, the SAAB was definitely the best. I think today I’d probably pick something small and Japanese from the mid to late 90s. Stick.
It would be fun to own a Tex-Mex restaurant called El Camino and offer food delivery – using Chevy El Caminos.
Realistically, and within Paul’s parameters, Id find whatever would cost the least to own/operate and give as few headaches as possible. An older corolla (as pictured) would be tough to beat in this instance.
When I worked for WalMart in college, i was in lawn, garden and seasonal. My Scrambler delivered MANY bbq grills, bicycles, lawn mowers and all manner of stuff to customers. Outside of the largest garden tractors (i had a tow package, no trailer)…nothing that Jeep couldnt haul.
Now, if I owned a delivery intensive biz…and creating awareness was prioritized over cost, mpg, etc…well then a SRT-8 Magnum with a loud vinyl wrap of course!
Pizzas or something bigger. If something bigger I would take out my back seats. Pizzas would require no change. I have the right car. 2013 Nissan Cube. It even mimics the side opening (for curbside deliveries) of the old sedan delivery cars. I would prefer the 6mt in the 2010 cube I had but they are otherwise the same.
I was thinking exactly the same thing, Lee, or an X Box.
I’ll be in Japan soon and will give a complete weird car review upon my return.
Looking forward to that. I was in Japan years ago. The US is a cultural island and you can see lots of stuff elsewhere.
The consensus seems to be for small Japanese cars.
I’m going to argue differently. I’d have a Jellybean Buick LeSabre. They’re way more comfortable. If I’m driving all day, I want comfort.
The fuel isn’t that much worse. I can get 30 MPG on the highway, but I won’t be going fast. So it’s not as good as a Civic, but it’s not bad.
The initial price would be lower (At least here). For the extra $1000 to buy something Japanese, I can buy a lot of fuel.
I can service a lot of the items on the car, and that’s a big plus for me. I know GM stuff a lot more than I know Japanese stuff.
In the winter, I’ll take my barge over a Civic any day. Snowdrift? Not a problem. Crash? I’m better off, and the car is more likely to be fixable.
Plus, a lot of the LeSabres have sagging rear ends and bad paint out here. People will think I’m poorer (I “obviously” can’t afford a Corolla), and I may get more tips.
Just my thoughts!
“Plus, a lot of the LeSabres have sagging rear ends and bad paint out here. People will think I’m poorer (I “obviously” can’t afford a Corolla), and I may get more tips.”
Haha! Hadnt thought of that angle….but nice move!
What can I say? I own a 1995 as my backup car.
It’s the best car that I’ve ever owned. It’ll be getting a wash tomorrow.
Very nice car.
Neat! I’m not the only Buick enthusiast on here!
That car’s my baby. It was my first car, and I”m keeping it. I had a transmission replaced last year- that cost more than the car was worth. But, I think thast it was worthwhile.
Even for a 220k mile car, it’s still a nice car to ride in. I think that it’s more comfortable than my Audi.
It just needs a bath. 😉
The pizza place down the road uses Vespa mopeds with insulated boxes on the back.
+1
That about covers it.
Earn extra cool points by having the Honda 50..They are some machine.
Perhaps by the mid-20s those midsized commercial vans such as the City Express will be cheap and reliable enough to use for delivery duty.
35 years ago I worked with a guy running an MGBGT as a daily driver. It had a lot of issues – total loss electricals; missing muffler, stripped knockoff – we welded one of the wire wheels to the hub for him. He delivered pizza at night with it – the “hot box” wouldn’t fit under the hatch, so he’d run the passenger bucket forward off it’s rails and set the box alongside him. Came back from a run and found the refuse guy had tipped the dumpster then “tidied up” around back – yes, his seat was gone.
Daihatsu Cuore ‘Handi Van’. The el strippo delivery version with the rear seats and any unnecessary trim already removed. It would be a fun drive with the rev happy 1L triple and 5 speed manual, providing I don’t have to carry too much weight of course!
Pontiac Vibe, Chevy/Geo Prizm and Chevy Nova (fwd ’84-88) in increasing order of age. Toyota reliability and fuel economy with GM depreciation.
I would suggest a 1st year Scion xB for price, carrying capacity, reliability and fuel economy. The sides are big enough to carry a company logo.
After reading the title again the word ULTIMATE stood out in my mind so I’m changing my answer to the Harrier “jump jet”. Imagine the awesomeness of the Harrier landing in your back yard and a guy in full flight siut knocks on the patio door. I can hear him now. “Pizza’s here, And your roof needs shingles”
It would depend on so many things. What is being delivered? Is it a large load all going to the same place, or is being dropped off piece by piece in a lot of different locations, or is it a smaller load, like delivering pizzas? For typical pizza delivery, a Smart car makes sense. If you are going to haul a large load, mostly to one place, a wagon, or the modern version, a mini van, would make more sense. I would not go with a manual transmission if it involves a lot of stops and city driving. Shifting for fun is fine, but if you have to shift and use the clutch hundreds of times a day, it becomes a very strenuous workout.
I have relatives into trucking, and almost went that way myself once. There are 2 different types of trucking. One extreme is you pick up a trailer in San Diego, and haul it to Maine, where you drop it off, pick up another one, and head back to the west coast with it. That is the easy way. It’s almost all open road driving. The other extreme is local deliveries, where you make 20 or so deliveries a day, all in a local area. Many of these deliveries require maneuvering an 18 wheeler into some pretty tight spots. That is work, hard work. You couldn’t pay me enough to to that kind of delivery, at least not with a large truck.
Then there is the ultimate delivery nightmare. Newspapers. I helped someone do that for a couple of months. People who do this are grossly underpaid.
Well I deliver stuff for a living currently fruit to packhouses and coolstores in a 03 CXH Isuzu 400hp 18 speed manual non syncro trans twin steer it already has 871,000kms clocked up runs fine drives ok pulls a 8wheel 4 axle trailer and grosses 44 tons laden, Delivery has been its mission since assembly its ideal.
La mother of all rugged delivery vans :
When I was in grad school, I delivered pizzas in my ’99 Saturn SL2 w/ a 5 speed and thought it to be the perfect vehicle for the occasion. It was as reliable as any Japanese sedan of the same vintage, peppy acceleration, good brakes, cheap to fix and insure, and because of its size and light weight it drove like a 4 door Miata. Bonus: plastic body panels meant that the dents and dings typical on most of the other driver’s cars wouldn’t show on my Saturn.
My second pick would be a Volvo 240. They’re cheap, durable, safe, good on gas, and you could fix most things with a few whacks from a hammer on the side of the road (known from experience).
I had a co-worker years ago who had been married to four women by the time he was 30. He had children with all four of them, and was divorced for the fourth time when I knew him, but, ever the optimist, working on wife #5. As a consequence, he had a lot of alimony and child support payments. Plus, he was perpetually broke… This guy worked all of the time. How he had time to court yet another wife was beyond me, but that was back in the day when you could still buy pseudoephedrine over the counter…
He worked as a maintenance man at our printing facility as his main job. He delivered the morning paper before his shift at our place and after work he delivered pizzas. He had two delivery vehicles. The one he used for newspapers was an ancient, smoky VW van (Bully), which I guess gave him the right height to get the newspapers in the road side boxes they used where he lived. Apparently, he sat in the passenger seat and operated the controls from there while placing the newspapers in the boxes. Considering how short the guy was, it must have been quite the spectacle.
His pizza delivery vehicle was a mid 70’s Honda Civic, with all of the interior stripped out, save the driver’s seat. He had fashioned a rack system that he could place the insulated carriers in the car, so he could deliver something like 25 or 30 pizzas in one run. That car looked like it was demolition derby survivor, with every panel (including the roof!) with a huge dent on it somewhere.
I don’t recall the exact circumstances (this was back in the early 1990’s), but the transmission in the Civic failed. At the time I had a Yugo as a commuter car and he very much needed a car to replace the Civic. The Yugo was similar in size and mission to the Civic so he asked me if I would sell my Yugo to him. Did I mention he was perpetually broke? He wanted to buy it off of me on installment payments. He wanted to pay me something like $10/day until the purchase price was met.
I said no thanks, I needed the car for commuting, as I lived 20+ from that job and Atlanta commuter traffic was horrible. I only bought cheap nearly disposable cars while I lived there just in case they got crashed, stolen or died.
Eventually he found someone who would fix his transmission on his Civic. I left that employer not too long after so I never found out anything more about the guy, but what a character…
Ha! Replying to my own post. I got totally wound up in the story of my old co worker and forgot to post about a delivery car…
If I were delivering most anything light, I think I would pop for a used SWB minivan, something with a four cylinder motor and an autobox. The ones that come to mind are the original Chrysler minivans, the Mazda minivans, the original Honda Odysseys, etc. They would be big enough to haul most anything small and light, and if they were pizzas, you could stuff a whole bunch of them in there.
Honorable mention would go to the much newer and more commonly available Chrysler PT Cruiser and Chevy HHR. You aren’t driving these cars to love them, you’re trying to make a buck. So long as they don’t puke parts on you these should be serviceable.
I’d totally go with the ca. 1992 Corolla — but those are getting mighty rare out here in Rustopia. I did a CL search just now and found four Corollas 1990-1994. Best of the lot was this one, a ’94, though they want about $1500 too much for it imho.
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/4908324680.html
I’d go with a 2.2L-powered Impreza. Great in bad weather, reliable as can be (no head gasket issues) and still somewhat fuel efficient. I know I’m not the only person who is very generous with delivery drivers on snowy (like today here in the STL metro) days.
Too bad time and the rust monster got most of them.
My ex wife worked for a courier service for a couple of years, mostly delivering envelopes and small packages. The company had a fleet of Geo Metros. They seemed the perfect vehicle for running around all over town all day. But they had a lot of gear failures when the mileage built up. Apparently some gear or gears in the transaxle were made of plastic.
Since the demise of the Ford Ranger and Chevy S10, most of the auto parts places around here use either base model Chevy Sparks or Sonics. I have been told that the base model standard cab 2 wheel drive Ranger was the most popular fleet vehicle ever made. Ford should have been able to make money on fleet sales alone.
I don’t think there’s a single ultimate. Do you need large load space, but fuel economy isn’t a super high priority? High-mileage and/or cosmetically challenged xB, or perhaps a Buick Century/Olds Ciera wagon. Fuel economy more of a concern? The Metro is a contender, as is a Jetta TDi wagon, though the running costs might be scary due to electrical issues.
Reliant Robin van. Only issue would be drunken students tipping it over.
I’ve always wanted a Citroen C15 diesel but never had an excuse. Maybe I should start delivering pizzas, I certainly need the money.
I’d go for an early 90s Corolla as well. Friend of mine has a 1991 Corolla with 405k miles, original engine and auto transmission. Interior looks good and everything still works!
I delivered pizzas in ’96 in an ’81 Prelude. The manual transmission went, and I replaced it with an ’81 280z. The 280z was faster, but harder to get in and out of, and had a bigger turning circle, so I traded the z car for a transmission on the Prelude since the Prelude was faster for the job.
I also delivered autoparts for a shop that kept a number of beaters for the purpose. I used an Escort, an Omni, an Astro, A Roadmaster, and a Chrsler 400 convertable. Mostly the Escort was best since the most things like windows, doors, wipers, shifters, etc. worked on it.
Now I have a Prius. Aside from the mileage advantage the keyless entry and start without starting the engine would make it faster for getting in and out of the car, esp. with hands full of goods. It’s not shabby in the snow either.