Hypothetical what car thread - pizza delivery?

In reply to mmosbey:

I delivered pizza's in college quite successfully driving a 1975 Hornet wagon.

How about an old US Mail jeep? It's already used to a bunch of stop and go driving.

P71 with working spotlights to light up the street numbers on the idiot's houses who can't be bothered to have them on the mailbox. Plus traffic gets out of your way, you can hop curbs, and there's room for like 5,783 pizzas. Not to mention stupid-cheap to buy and maintain and insure (probably the most important for pizza-men). Way tighter turning radius than you would think, too. Length and gas mileage would be issues.

Not sure if it can be had for $3k, but i worked with a "lifer" who went thru 2 P71s in about 9 years. he got decent mileage with a light foot. But the real claim was that the car never once kept him from working due to maintenance needs or being broken down, and the guy delivered full time...40+ hrs a week. Its a pretty robust vehicle...think of how many taxis are crown vics...

I work the biz with my 90 CRX HF. 45 mpg, runs forever, starts every time. The place I worked for previously had a 26" diameter pizza and it fit just fine in the hatch area. I've had well over 50 16" pizzas in the car at one time.

Paid 1800 for her, put a few hundred into little things, got a great set of snow tires, I'm unstoppable.

Best college job ever. The responsibility versus earnings ratio just can't be beat. You spend half your shift or more in your car listening to whatever you want, and the interactions at the door can be priceless.

I once got asked to join a naked swingers hot-tub party. Been flashed by college girls. Had a lonely cougar on business proposition me in her hotel room. What can I say, I take customer service VERY seriously.

coll9947 wrote: I once got asked to join a naked swingers hot-tub party. Been flashed by college girls. Had a lonely cougar on business proposition me in her hotel room. What can I say, I take customer service VERY seriously.

I often regret not delivering pizzas while young, single, and going to college.

I bet a toyota echo would do great as a delivery vehicle. Basically maintance free, good visability, tight turning radius and it barely even sips gas

coll9947 wrote: Best college job ever. The responsibility versus earnings ratio just can't be beat. You spend half your shift or more in your car listening to whatever you want, and the interactions at the door can be priceless.

there is a reason I delivered for so long... good money to be had relative to the work and experience involved... where I lived a "good paying" factory job made a good bit less then I took home...

had a friend that used a toyota echo... was a good car for delivery... small and nimble, plenty of room...

always thought a scooter/moped/small motorbike (like they do in all the 3rd world countries) with a box AND also a car would be great... roll the bike for the closer/smaller deliveries... if you get a 3top or quad or larger toss it in the car and roll... problem is 2 wheels aren't permitted by the big 3 because of insurance :(

side note... nothing like rocking out a 9 top out and back to the edge of our delivery zone in 45 min :)...

on a side note... my "ideal pizza car" mantra USED to be find the best car you can for $500-800, basic tune up... when it needs tires get used/junkyard tires (always good to have a used tire shop friend when you deliver lol... a free pie every now and then keeps things REAL cheap)... when something "major" comes along sell/junk the car and find another... you keep the ware and tare off your good car but have it as backup when you've got car issues... but now these days it costs $300 or more just to register a new car (add another $100 if you don't have a tag to transfer :-/... and in this post cash for klunkers world $500 cars are far fewer it seems :(

I had 30 pizzas in my Miata a couple weeks ago.

I've delivered with any car I have owned that would start before my shift...Miata (mostly), Merc 300td, mk2 Jetta, Volvo 740, Fox Mustang with open headers and no power steering (that was a lot of fun), etc.

My best delivery was to a football team at the stadium (30 seconds away), loaded up 50 or so pizzas in the back of the Mercedes wagon, opened the hatch when I got there and all the football players unloaded the pizza, got tipped $60.

my cars for pizza delerivy right now over the past few years......my grandmothers 95 saturn....i hate that thing, my 82 olds delta 88..and challenge car in 2004, a 95 subby legecy wagon with 5 speed, back to the delta, sold that and picked up a different 94 subby legecy wagon...just sold that this week and now driving a 4.3 liter 94 chevy s-10 that needs a very bad tune up and with 31' mudders and a 2"inch lift with a 2 wheel drive.... thinking a new 95 subby legecy or an amc eagle...

Been in pizza forever (1976) and now I just do weekends and such BUT, I do take my cars seriously. Since I often (monthly) drag some piece of junk from someones house, I use delivery as a test of said repaired junk. Usually 3000 miles and then fix the stuff that still bothers me.

Best I have found is my 1991 Escort Pony. Good gas mileage, big windows, decent handling and can get out of it own way. While the other cars have held up well for their 3000 mile tests, I always return to the Pony.

230,000 miles of delivery in the last 10 years and only one failure that sidelined the car for more than a day. and it was driver error that broke it.

Room inside is great to sling pizzas around without knocking the mirror around or getting hung on shifters and such. up to 16 inchers can be slid between the headrests without moving the seats.

Paid $250 for it and immediately put a $150 clutch in and spent $130 for government crap!

Sure I have changed about every moving part over the years, but it has been gradual and it is still a better than stock car. Have about $4600 for repairs and maintenance over 10 years.

Many of the other suggestions would make good delivery cars if maintained properly. Pick the values that will keep you happy and take care of your choice!

Bruce

I have delivered in 3 cars. '97 Cavalier Z24, not bad but being a 2-door the 20+ pie orders were a pain to load and unload. '01 Impreza RS, great for winter I've had 60 pizzas in it, 25 mpg means I spend a fair bit of the tips on gas. '02 Saturn SL1, great gas mileage bad turning radius. I like the Metro idea. Spotlight would also help a lot.

'89-'92 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback. They're pretty easy to fling around town, loads of pie-space in the back, and with a 5-speed, they're even kinda fun. I've never met an engine as dead-nuts reliable as the good old 1.5L 4G15, but go for the 12V EFI over the 8V carby. Cheap and economical.

...well, that's the smart answer anyway. What I'd actually do if it were me, is go for the JDM Cyborg R version which was the same thing but in 1.6 DOHC turbo with AWD. Then I'd volunteer for all the dirt-road, out of town boonie deliveries and pretend I'm Tommi Makinen.

A gutted Geo Metro with a hand painted Martini paint job. Some of you old timers around here will know what I'm talking about. Maybe even someone will post an old pic of it.

THIS!!!!

I used to deliver for Domino's in an MGB, but that was years ago.

I ran with the top down and the light up sign on the trunk lid and some of our regular customers used to ask for me.

I delivered all through High School (in a 1980 Toyota Corolla) and College (in a 73 Superbeetle) Both cars suited the job well. The Corolla was unstoppable even in MidWestern winter (RWD --lots of 4 wheel drifts!)

The Beetle was great for it's simplicity. I once broke a throttle cable while returning from a delivery. I bumped up the idle speed, gave it a bit more timing, and limped home with no throttle! Try that in a modern car!

One thing to consider.....get a cheap beater. Pizza delivery will quickly ruin the interior of any car. The pizza smell clings to every bit of fabric in the car, pizzas get spilled, boxes leak, etc etc, etc. I wouldn't deliver in a car I actually cared about.

Conquest351 wrote: THIS!!!!

That guy would own crazy taxi!

tr8todd wrote: A gutted Geo Metro with a hand painted Martini paint job. Some of you old timers around here will know what I'm talking about. Maybe even someone will post an old pic of it.

That's my former car. I think everyone has seen the pictures enough times that I don't have to post them again haha.

EvanB wrote: Miata...that's what I use.

Same! but the 24" monster pies have to ride balanced between the center console, and passenger door pull.

EvanB wrote: I had 30 pizzas in my Miata a couple weeks ago. I've delivered with any car I have owned that would start before my shift...Miata (mostly), Merc 300td, mk2 Jetta, Volvo 740, Fox Mustang with open headers and no power steering (that was a lot of fun), etc. My best delivery was to a football team at the stadium (30 seconds away), loaded up 50 or so pizzas in the back of the Mercedes wagon, opened the hatch when I got there and all the football players unloaded the pizza, got tipped $60.

We've loaded 80+ 14" pies in our old miata with my wife driving. Hard top, and she slides the seat forward enough to stack a few behind her on the shelf. Should have heard the owner asking how the @#$%# she got that many in there.

Oh yeah, the miata is generally short enough that you can drive under security gates with the topper on the trunk.

1988RedT2 wrote: City gas mileage is paramount in a pizza vehicle, or you're just paying for the "privilege" of delivering other people's pizzas. Probably not many hybrids available for 3k, so the above mentioned Metro or Neon. Anything small, thrifty, and reliable.

This. My gut says Corolla, but really gas mileage and reliability are of equal concern. The best mid-late 90s econobox you can get for $3K would be my approach.

I can't even fathom some of the other suggestions. P71?! Gas would really eat into your profits.

I know the question was about pizza delivery. But I used to manage a Jimmy Johns, and the guys running scooters KILLED everyone except for maybe the hardcore bike guys. (our owner even had bike jerseys made for the guys that wanted em) I borrowed a guys scooter one night to make deliveries when I had a driver call in. I stopped and topped off the tank when I was done for the night.. gas was creeping up on 3.00 a gallon at that time, and I think I put right at 2.60 in it. I made almost 60 more on top of it. INSANE!

sadly scooters are an insurance liability and absolutely NOT going to be permitted for use with the big 3 (and pretty much every other pizza shop)...

certain locations i'm sure manage to use them (large/dense cities)... I always thought they would be great as long as you had a car for backup (large orders/rain etc)