Buying a used car

[Adam Berland]

What do you think of Kia soul?

[RonBaldwin]

the Kia Soul has a great feature, every time you start it the Gray's Anatomy soundtrack automatically starts up and the gps voice says "you go girl".

[Mike Germond SOC]

I've seen Ozzie pack up his Mini and I couldn't believe it all fit! But it does.

 

I can fit my backstage cart, full Steadicam kit, fiance, and baby in my Infiniti "SteadiFX". Rubber trunk liner was a must! I don't let PA's park this car..

 

Edited June 6, 2014 by Mike Germond

[Tom Wills]

My thought with used vehicles, as someone who drives used cars, has always driven used cars, and just got a new (to me) used car last year is this: buy bigger than you think you'd ever need. I had a Volvo station wagon, which I loved dearly, and which carried my rig around without complaint. However, when given the opportunity to trade it in at 220,000ish miles, I ended up going one step up, and getting the full-sized SUV model from Volvo, the XC90. I thought it was bigger than I ever would need, but lo and behold, as my car got bigger, I just got more stuff to put in it. Rickshaw pushed it to its limits. Routinely carrying full camera packages, or grip hardware I need. Often 2 (or more) Magliners. It never ends!

 

So, basically, go bigger than you expect. You'll find a way to fill the room.

 

For reference: my XC90, on a job I was DP on a while back. 2 camera package, 2 Magliners (one Senior, one Junior), 3 foot slider, 4 full and 4 half apples, 17" mointor, sticks, tripod dolly, 4 C stands, 2 4x4 Kinos, 4 300w Fresnels, and my full Steadicam package (Sled, Arm, Harness, AKS1, AKS2, PWR, and my stand). Doors would still close. Apparently the picture is short a few items (I can't see the Kinos, and they were usually sliding through the middle of my harness), but safe to say, that all got in there somehow.

 

Most I ever carried was 2 Magliners, one Senior, one Junior, a full Red One package from Panavision with Primo Primes, a zoom, an OConnor Head, and 2 sets of Ronford sticks, a few Pelicans of accessories and monitors, and then my full Steadicam package. That one pushed the limits even a bit further.

 

Now, on the thought of a Kia Soul, one of my exes had one, and while it was a decent enough car, I certainly wouldn't call it big. I don't know if it's long enough to easily slide in a Magliner, and it certainly isn't wide enough in the back for 2. It might work perfectly for you, but if you're like me and always tossing extra cases in the back of your vehicle, or bringing extra toys to set for regular operating, or turning your vehicle into the camera truck for a low budget job, it can be useful to go big. Oh, and get plenty of furniture pads. They'll save your interior (a lesson I learned far too late!)

[richard bellon]

Having a bigger car than needed isn't always the best thing... like having an extra large ditty bag... the bigger it is the more crap u can put in and the heavier it becomes.

now packing a car like this with cases full to the brim is really dangerous. 1 sudden stop and u can have a case take your head off. Its happened here a couple of years ago.

 

what i like about a van is the separation of the cab and load space so that your head is protected from any thing coming loose

 

if you going to carry heavy loads, get a car thats designed for it, same as overloading you rig

not to mention the adverse effects that carrying heavy loads has on your braking distance, etc