Would you own and drive a used hearse?
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,375
Likes: 21
From: California
I am Chinese as well.
I think being disowned is a bit extreme, even though I can imagine being cut off from parents' will within imagination.
It's just not a good juju to drive that thing around. Let the dead be entitled to their transportation.
Jon
I think being disowned is a bit extreme, even though I can imagine being cut off from parents' will within imagination.
It's just not a good juju to drive that thing around. Let the dead be entitled to their transportation.
Jon
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,816
Likes: 7
From: UK
What's not to like about a vehicle you can stretch out full length in the back and go to sleep?
Years ago, a friend of mine was a young policeman on the beat. One snowy morning he walked round the corner into a large, empty car park to be confronted by a the strange site of a large black hearse doing handbake turns round and round on the ice. The sheepish driver admitted he was bored with travelling everywhere at slow speeds and had taken the vehicle out for a bit of a blast. He'd had no complaints from the back.
Years ago, a friend of mine was a young policeman on the beat. One snowy morning he walked round the corner into a large, empty car park to be confronted by a the strange site of a large black hearse doing handbake turns round and round on the ice. The sheepish driver admitted he was bored with travelling everywhere at slow speeds and had taken the vehicle out for a bit of a blast. He'd had no complaints from the back.
What's not to like about a vehicle you can stretch out full length in the back and go to sleep?
Years ago, a friend of mine was a young policeman on the beat. One snowy morning he walked round the corner into a large, empty car park to be confronted by a the strange site of a large black hearse doing handbake turns round and round on the ice. The sheepish driver admitted he was bored with travelling everywhere at slow speeds and had taken the vehicle out for a bit of a blast. He'd had no complaints from the back.
Years ago, a friend of mine was a young policeman on the beat. One snowy morning he walked round the corner into a large, empty car park to be confronted by a the strange site of a large black hearse doing handbake turns round and round on the ice. The sheepish driver admitted he was bored with travelling everywhere at slow speeds and had taken the vehicle out for a bit of a blast. He'd had no complaints from the back.
Years ago, a friend of mine was a young policeman on the beat. One snowy morning he walked round the corner into a large, empty car park to be confronted by a the strange site of a large black hearse doing handbake turns round and round on the ice. The sheepish driver admitted he was bored with travelling everywhere at slow speeds and had taken the vehicle out for a bit of a blast. He'd had no complaints from the back.
A hearse driver just got his first job as a taxi cab driver.
Customer taps the driver after he missed his dropoff.
The driver jumps and screams out loud.
Customer asked him why he scream and he replies, "I never had anyone in the backseat tap me in the shoulder"
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 30,277
Likes: 354
From: Canada
Let's see if I can get this joke right:
A hearse driver just got his first job as a taxi cab driver.
Customer taps the driver after he missed his dropoff.
The driver jumps and screams out loud.
Customer asked him why he scream and he replies, "I never had anyone in the backseat tap me in the shoulder"
A hearse driver just got his first job as a taxi cab driver.
Customer taps the driver after he missed his dropoff.
The driver jumps and screams out loud.
Customer asked him why he scream and he replies, "I never had anyone in the backseat tap me in the shoulder"
You do know that there are second row seats in hearses right ?
Out of Warranty
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,925
Likes: 13
From: Houston, Republic of Texas
There are good-sized clubs dedicated to collectors of hearses and funeral cars (note: a funeral car is like a stretch limo, except with doors for each row of seats). It is generally agreed that the advantage of a 10-15 year old vehicle may be that parts are relatively easy to find, although initial cost may be fairly high. Older cars are highly collectible and prices can go pretty high - just like any other classic.
I had a friend who owned a hearse who tipped me off to a couple of facts on buying and owning your own personal hearse.
First, resist the urge to remove the floor and rollers in the rear (bier floor) - these are difficult to find and their removal cuts deeply into resale value to other collectors. Don't do anything that's not reversible.
Although they are usually based on luxury vehicles, hearses (generally Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes) are called "professional cars" for a reason - they tend to be operated until they become more expensive to maintain than they are worth. Caveat Emptor.
From a practical standpoint, they are almost impossible to park, they offer truly miserable fuel economy, and they are largely hand-made, so restoration is labor intensive - parts often have to be fabricated. While engines are stock, other components including transmissions, brakes and wheel spindles are often special "professional" models . . . and expensive.
Because of the nature of their service, most of these cars have had many hours on the engine spent idling. Mileage is not always a significant factor when purchasing your funeral vehicle - look for signs of wear - run a compression test, and if possible, borescope the cylinders. Check the transmission fluid for overheating, and ensure maintenance was performed regularly.
Finally, you need to insure them heavily - hearses seem to attract vandals. You will be best served by garaging your hobby - if you can find a garage to fit. Naturally, while most are black, some of these vehicles may be found in other somber colors, dark blue, grey, maroon, brown, etc. There are some to be found in white as well. Whatever color you choose, they MUST be kept scrupulously clean at all times.
Now, if you can work around all of that, there is no problem in owning a hearse. They are not "haunted", and if converted to limo service, can help you earn extra money - particularly during Halloween and prom season. Some owners even rent their classics through local funeral homes - for upscale funerals.
As collectibles they appreciate in value, and a good restoration of a classic can bring big bucks from other collectors at auction.
http://members.aol.com/hearseq/grimrides.htm
http://members.aol.com/GHRiders/
http://www.hambly-funeral.com/LasRyd.html
http://www.coffincruisers.com/
http://www.graveyardhaulerz.com/
I had a friend who owned a hearse who tipped me off to a couple of facts on buying and owning your own personal hearse.
First, resist the urge to remove the floor and rollers in the rear (bier floor) - these are difficult to find and their removal cuts deeply into resale value to other collectors. Don't do anything that's not reversible.
Although they are usually based on luxury vehicles, hearses (generally Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes) are called "professional cars" for a reason - they tend to be operated until they become more expensive to maintain than they are worth. Caveat Emptor.
From a practical standpoint, they are almost impossible to park, they offer truly miserable fuel economy, and they are largely hand-made, so restoration is labor intensive - parts often have to be fabricated. While engines are stock, other components including transmissions, brakes and wheel spindles are often special "professional" models . . . and expensive.
Because of the nature of their service, most of these cars have had many hours on the engine spent idling. Mileage is not always a significant factor when purchasing your funeral vehicle - look for signs of wear - run a compression test, and if possible, borescope the cylinders. Check the transmission fluid for overheating, and ensure maintenance was performed regularly.
Finally, you need to insure them heavily - hearses seem to attract vandals. You will be best served by garaging your hobby - if you can find a garage to fit. Naturally, while most are black, some of these vehicles may be found in other somber colors, dark blue, grey, maroon, brown, etc. There are some to be found in white as well. Whatever color you choose, they MUST be kept scrupulously clean at all times.
Now, if you can work around all of that, there is no problem in owning a hearse. They are not "haunted", and if converted to limo service, can help you earn extra money - particularly during Halloween and prom season. Some owners even rent their classics through local funeral homes - for upscale funerals.
As collectibles they appreciate in value, and a good restoration of a classic can bring big bucks from other collectors at auction.
http://members.aol.com/hearseq/grimrides.htm
http://members.aol.com/GHRiders/
http://www.hambly-funeral.com/LasRyd.html
http://www.coffincruisers.com/
http://www.graveyardhaulerz.com/
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,474
Likes: 2
From: Tennessee
There's a lot of things I'd drive if it were free... some of them pretty embarrassing... but no I wouldn't drive that. It could affect the way your friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc think about you quite a bit... and I don't just mean that in a pretentious "I want to impress everyone" way, I mean people would think you are flat out psychotic.
