I like those oddball cars also although I think 3500 is a bit much on an '87. There’s some guy around here who can be seen now and then driving an older 60s era Cadillac hearse around although it’s not as dreary looking as it was originally.
He’s got custom wheels on this one and it’s painted in a bright burnt orange with pinstripes.
@ok4450 Exactly right. That’s why my approach is to tell the owner exactly how much I’m willing to blow on a silly, impulse purchase of something I don’t need and maybe won’t really want after I’ve owned it a month or two. If I get it, swell; if I don’t, oh well, keep scouting for other interesting things.
I bought a weird, three wheeled 85 Honda Gyro. It has a 50cc engine and really isn’t able to function on the steep and pot-holed streets of the SF Bay Area. It’s very slow, it smokes (2-cycle) and it’s underpowered. It’s so small no one can see you on the road. But it is somehow something that I like. So, what’s it worth? Who cares, except some other person with judgment as bad as mine.
What was this about? Oh yeah, buying an old hearse. I guess I need an old hearse like I need a hole in my head. I’ve already got 2 deteriorating money pits sitting on my driveway. Nevertheless, I think I’ll keep an eye on it & see if the price comes down. If I go up there now and lowball it, I’ll probably just pixx the guy off. IF it sits there for awhile with no bites, he’ll probably be more inclined to deal; and IF it sells, well, I didn’t need it in the first place. I like @wentwest approach, basically make a lowball offer, maybe you get it, maybe you don’t. Kinda like a bus, if you miss this one, another one will be along in 15 minutes or so.
I say again how much I liked the link @shadowfax posted in the first response. If you click around, got some really cool pictures, some of the old hearses also doubled as ambulances. I really like the ones where the side windows were glass all the way back, with fancy curtains in the windows. You really don’t see that anymore, and according to the info, its about impossible to get replacement glass if you need it.
I never did understand how the old ambulances built like hearses worked. There wasn’t enough room back there for many supplies, and barely enough for anyone to tend to the patient. Did they just stuff the patient in and get to the hospital as soon as they could?
I had an ambulance ride in a modern boxy ambulance a couple of years ago and it was remarkably spacious and full of gear. The EMTs became my heroes that day. They were so calm and reassuring and when I got to the hospital they stayed around the ER and bugged the staff until they got me into a proper bed and they keep taking my vitals (my BP was dangerously high). The ER staff was not happy I had been taken there, because they had declared they were full and not accepting ambulances when we were halfway there. Turns out that didn’t matter because they had already been told we were on the way before they tried to turn us aside, and they can’t do that. It would have been a pain to go somewhere else as that hospital is right in the neighborhood and I’m in their records. Anywhere else would have taken a lot to more explaining. I ended up being admitted and spending a week, so it isn’t as if I was wasting their time with something minor.
That ambulance ride drove us to buy a car, as we had been doing without for about seven years, using Zipcar when we needed a car. That doesn’t work really well when you need to get a someone you the ER quickly.
I rode in the back of one of those old style ambulances once and actually it had quite a bit of room. Room for the gurney in the center and space for an attendant to sit on the side. They didn’t have much equipment to carry around back then though like now. Just basic first aid supplies.
I saw the hearse, cool idea, then thought it might be fun to get an old checker marathon to play with. Thinking of the millions of cabs they might be cheap. Only 2 on ebay, none in auto trader, where did they all go?
Cab businesses usually drive the wheels off of their cars. There isn’t much left to sell except to a scrapper once the hack company gets done wtih 'em. When you think about it, they’re paying for a car plus driver salary plus garage overhead plus profit at a couple bucks a mile. Gotta rack up a lot of miles to get the value out of the car.
A guy in Minneapolis has a fleet of vehicles. He rents them out as cabs for $500 a month. The rest is for the driver to keep whether $10 or $10,000. Has his own shop to keep them going.
I had a friend who owned three old hearses several years ago. One had a vanity tag that read LASTRYD, another LASRIDE. I forget what the third one was. He lived in a retired firehouse, in part to have room for his transportation. Also because the city sold it at an auction, dirt cheap. When he died, the funeral home refused to allow his kin to take him for his last ride in his favorite hearse, saying that it was not properly licensed. Of course they got paid for using theirs.
The son of coworker had a hearse when he was in his early 20s. He wanted to have a casket to keep in the back. His parents found out that one available at the local Air Force Base’s surplus sale for $25. (We’ll never know how or why it wound up there.) The padding was gone, but the shell was in good shape. The parents decided to buy it for the kid’s birthday. (What a present!) So they drove out to the AFB in their short bed Ranger pickup. The casket would only fit with the tailgate down. They got a lot of very strange looks on their trip home.
I wonder if he still has it now that he’s in his early 40s.
Would I want one? No, I don’t even want to ride in one when I die.
Check ebay for comparative pricing. $3500 seems high to me.
I’m doing meals on wheels this week and the folks kinda watch for you to show up. I was just thinking how they would feel about delivering their meal in a hearse. That wouldn’t be nice, not to mention what the neighbors might think.
When he died, the funeral home refused to allow his kin to take him for his last ride in his favorite hearse, saying that it was not properly licensed.
Sounds money-grabby to me. Back when I was in TV news, I covered several oddball funerals where the “hearse” was the deceased’s favorite ride. One was a semi, one was a T-bucket, and one was a '57 Chevy. I somehow doubt any of those vehicles were “properly licensed.”
Just for fun I checked my state’s hearse laws and there’s nothing in there about having to specifically license a hearse. The only real licensure mention is that if you want a hearse with heavy tinting/glazing on the side and rear windows, it needs to be owned by a funeral home.
You have to look under the burial permit part of the statutes concerning the transporting and burial of bodies. Every state is different but there are uniform standards. You can’t just put a dead body in a car and drive it around without being a licensed funeral director. Not a money grab but a public health issue developed over the past 100 years along with sewer systems and food service regulations.
Yep, I did. Here’s the relevant line from our state’s statute:
A vehicle that is a dignified conveyance and was specified for use by the deceased or by the family of the deceased may be used to transport the body to the place of final disposition.
I guess I’ve mostly come to my senses now. I’ll be looking for a bargain anyway, not something to restore. I’ve had 2 vehicles professionally painted before, and both times the vehicles came back with numerous electrical and other glitches; they were never “right” after that. I’ve promised myself I would never have a vehicle painted again; the most I would do is buy some cans of spray paint at Wal-Mart and spray over any corporate logos myself. Somebody posted on here the “wrap” should be easy to remove. I would disagree. Something like that been on there for years and years, baked on by the sun. Even removing an old bumper sticker can be a whole afternoon chore.
I’m really enjoying all the comments though, thanks everyone. I have a few other thoughts, but they’re off-topic so I’ll refrain so as not to provoke the keep-it-car-related police (and deputies).
Oh heck, here’s one anyway: The whole funeral industry is mostly unnecessary (I’ll refrain from calling it a scam). Like my Mother used to say, why would you care what happens to your body after you leave it any more than you would care about an old pair of shoes you throw in the trash? You’re gone. You can usually donate your body to science for free, all that’s required is someone to sign a paper. If you want a ‘service’, gather a bunch of old pictures / memorabilia of the deceased, reserve the ‘meeting room’ at a local buffet, and have a good meal and reminisce about the good times you had together.
And the insurance industry uses funerals to scare old people into buying that scammy “whole” life insurance. “The average funeral costs over $8000 dollars and Social Security will only pay $255. Are YOU going to put that burden on your poor innocent family?” Makes my blood boil, but, again, a fool and his / her money. . . . People live and work for 50 -80 years and don’t have so much as $8,000 to show for it? Well, there’s another saying, “You can’t fix stupid”.
Regarding the transportation of the body, I’ll bet that varies from state to state. I’ve heard of (mostly truck drivers) having their casket transported strapped onto a flatbed trailer, bikers having their bodies carried by modified motorcycle trailers, etc. I guess the lesson is, if you want any type of unusual arrangements, you should pre-plan, if only to find out what you could legally do. Maybe have your funeral in the next state over if necessary?
Personally, I liked George Carlin’s bit about wanting his body dropped out of a helicopter, ". . . but wherever it lands, you have to leave it there, even if its the front lawn of the governor’s mansion. . . "
The flip side it true, too: weddings are nuts now. One week later you’re married, whether it cost $100 or $50,000.
Yeah, and most marriages end in divorce. They say your estranged gets half, but really the lawyers get (more than) half, and you squabble over the crumbs.
$50,000 for a wedding? How about, go down to the courthouse and get married, put the remaining $49,895 down on a house to start your new life in. (No / low debt makes for a lot less arguments about money). Then, if you want a reception, reserve the ‘meeting room’ at a local buffet, and have a good meal and celebrate with all your friends for $13.95 +tip per person. Of course I’m a guy; I’m told females don’t think this way. Probably a big part of why I never married. 
(I guess there’s a reason I call myself Ed “FRUGAL”.)
P.S.- I suppose the whole economy would collapse if everyone started following my financial advice: i.e. keep a car for 20+ years, courthouse wedding, donate your body, spraypaint your own car, etc and so forth. . .
The female I’m with thinks that way. She’d wring my neck if I tried to spend 50 grand on a single party no matter what the occasion was. She’d much rather put the money toward going on, say, 25 Caribbean cruises. To keep it car-related, the Oasis of the Seas has an Auburn Boattail Speedster replica parked on the promenade. (Don’t shoot me, @cdaquila 
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Oh, as president of a little cemetery, I have to disagree. Funeral directors can provide a very valuable service at a time when things may be a little chaotic. But that’s OK if you don’t want to spend the money. On the other hand whataya gonna do with the money when you’re gone?
One has to call it personal preference. I care not for a wake etc. My dad passed, Mom had him cremated and we spread the ashes later. 1st and 2nd generation were fine, but 3rd generation threw a hissy fit about we need closure,etc. So ended up with a priest and remembrance ceremony at the assisted living complex, and yes I had to be mc, free icecream and cookies after. Good showing, but for me I care not.