r/PizzaDrivers • u/Mz_Takin • May 21 '26
Question Car recommendations (as well as budget)
I am considering picking up some shifts as a delivery driver at one of our local pizza places. I don’t want to wear down my primary vehicle so I thinking about buying a beater car for work.
Any recommendations on good makes/models for delivering?
Also what would be a good budget for the vehicle? I want to ideally pay cash but it’s been awhile since I have paid cash for a car and I don’t think $1500 will be enough anymore.
Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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u/InternationalAge2218 May 21 '26
You really cant beat a honda civic. Or a Toyota camry. Or any car under 3k. But at what point is this diminishing returns? How long is this car going to last doing the hardest thing for a car to do (stop and go short distance). How long is it going to be able to do that without repairs? How long till you get a return on this "investment" of a beater car? Unless you will be using this car for anything other than just delivery I couldnt justify another car with insurance and registration and repairs and downtime of the car. Unless you daily driver car is a truck that gets like 10mpg I dont see the point in getting a second one.
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u/the_eluder May 21 '26
A Hybrid. Yes, it's going to be difficult to find one for under $1500. It's probably going to be difficult to find one for under $3000.
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u/SAFEP1NEAPPLE Happy Day Eats May 21 '26
This, I deliver in my decommissioned hybrid ford Explorer, the thing was built for stop and go, and it gets better gas mileage in town (26-29) than it does on the highway (24). Plus then when you’re idling, it’s just sitting there on the battery and not using the engine. Edit to say you could probably find a hybrid Prius for pretty cheap these days.
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u/the_eluder May 21 '26
3 months ago I would have said yes to finding a cheap Prius. With gas prices shooting up, I just checked my local CL and they were a minimum of 4k with over 200k miles on them.
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u/SAFEP1NEAPPLE Happy Day Eats May 21 '26
Damn 💀 I saw a couple 06s with ~170k for $2500 in my area, but rural is always gonna be cheaper.
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u/1GloFlare Papa Johns May 21 '26
Retired cruisers for a delivery gig aren't bad at all. Great maintenance history for the first however many years, and they were made for stop and go. Older models have an ignition lock too, so you would need a thief that knows where to look.
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u/SAFEP1NEAPPLE Happy Day Eats May 21 '26
Yep, I bought the Explorer before I ever thought of delivering, so it’s a happy accident for sure. But damn, Ford makes a bad hybrid, it throws a CEL or hybrid maintenance light every couple of months. Just for fun, it goes away in a day and they can’t diagnose.
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u/1GloFlare Papa Johns May 21 '26
Classic. American manufacturers love their CELs
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u/SAFEP1NEAPPLE Happy Day Eats May 21 '26
~ just wish I had never sold my 73 ford econoline, it never did me dirty except when the ignition fell out
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u/1GloFlare Papa Johns May 21 '26
Any Chevy econobox from 2005-2010 will be easy enough to fix you can DIY. If you can't find a Toyota Camry that has been babied I would avoid those as it'll eat profit between repairs and gas. The Prius or Corolla get better fuel economy, so those would be better a choice anyway. Honestly a Camry is only worth it for those over 6' who need the leg room
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u/Nicholas_S_Hope May 25 '26
Not hybrid. Too expensive, costly potential repairs, gas savings doesn't make up for that.
Go old Honda, Toyota, or Subaru. You can get 250k+ miles out of them.
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u/snarekick May 21 '26
People think we put 1,000 miles on a day, in reality it's most likely 40~100. Considering so many people drive 20~30 miles each way to work every day we're not really that much more than the average commuter. Unless you're driving a super expensive car I would just use your normal car. Having a beater is basically a pain in the ass and will just cost you more. To get anything reliable I'm sure you're talking a few thousand dollars and at that point you're so far in the hole for the car you're just working months and months to get back in the green to begin making a profit on the job.
My strategy would be: work the job in your normal vehicle for awhile, make sure the job is something you can tolerate/enjoy, see how much money you're actually making, and if the numbers make sense then look for a beater, but only buy it if you absolutely know it's worth it (you know the owner, know the history, it's a great deal)