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low to mid 20's mpg, cheap maintenance, cheap insurance, cheap to buy
nice car for sure, parts are relatively cheap, built like a tank but really don't want it for my daily commute. I need something in the high 30's as far as MPG.
Using your estimates, the 'new' car would save $12/day in fuel. So $12/day * 5 days/wk * 24 wks/yr (or less depending on your holidays and whatnot) = $1440 saved/yr
Assuming you spent your entire $10K budget on the vehicle, that means it would take almost 7 years for the new car to pay itself off in fuel savings alone, never mind the registration/insurance/maintenance costs. Something to think about.
Mike
24 weeks a year would be awesome!! But to piggyback on this:
04 F150 gets what? 15MPG combined? So 5 days a week, 52 weeks, assuming a fuel cost of $3.50 it would cost you $3640 in fuel for the 30 mile commute.
Compare that to a Civic...33.5 combined MPG with the same assumptions: $1820 per year in fuel. for a total difference of $1820 per year in fuel savings? Take that $10,000 and you break even in 5.5 years.
Not that I disagree with a commuter car...I have one as well and the F150 is for hauling stuff and camping...personally I would be looking at a smaller coupe if all you need it for is commuting...the Civic is a good choice and as mentioned above: Camry, Focus, Fusion (I am getting 29.2MPG as of this morning in mine) or other "typical bland cars". In Florida I would look for a ragtop though
1. A car known for having a good/reliable A/C.
2. Dont get a black dashboard, they turn your car into an oven.
3. One with tinted windows for the same reason, or get them tinted after.
4. Depending on your area, one that can drive through deep puddles....a lot of areas get localized flooding during hurricane season.
5. One with a great collision rating, people here drive like complete morons.
6. A lot of people here have boats/jet skis, so maybe down the road you will want one too. Consider if youll need to tow anything.
I was in a similar situation a few years ago but instead of work my parents, who live about 30 miles from me started to need constant assistance and my RAM was just sucking the dollars out in gas.
So I bought a new fiesta. A used car would have been fine but the lower rate on new and the fact that I'd be putting a lot of miles on it (20,000+/year) made new the way to go.
Now, since my truck was paid off I started on the calculations based on MPG's and added insurance, payment, truck maintenance and longevity.
I found a base line fiesta with automatic as the only option and have been getting an average of 38 MPG's all around.
My real world spending is that it is actually a bit cheaper for me to have both truck and car, pay full coverage insurance for both truck and car, pay my car payment and maintenance on both vehicles and gas then just the gas alone on my 13MPG truck at 20+ thousand miles a year. A bonus is that I now still have less then 65,000 miles on my 07 RAM and about 44,000 miles on my fiesta so I'll have lower milage cars for the next several years. I also don't need to change tires as much on the truck so the down payment on the car got cancelled out due to not needing tires on the truck since I didn't put 44,000 miles on it.
1. A car known for having a good/reliable A/C.
2. Dont get a black dashboard, they turn your car into an oven.
3. One with tinted windows for the same reason, or get them tinted after.
4. Depending on your area, one that can drive through deep puddles....a lot of areas get localized flooding during hurricane season.
5. One with a great collision rating, people here drive like complete morons.
6. A lot of people here have boats/jet skis, so maybe down the road you will want one too. Consider if youll need to tow anything.
Have fun!
Thanks. Actually just googled both where we will be renting apt, (Bradenton) and also where we will be having home built (Parrish), and my commute would be 38.5 miles. So to me, getting an economical car is important. Also my F150 is black exterior black interior. OUCH for florida for sure. My commuter would be a light colored car for sure. will use the F150 for beach trips and fishing trips up to Tarpon springs or down to Ft Myers a few times a year.
Don't forget to take into account general maintenance when you factor in cost savings. How much oil does your truck use vs a ford or honda at ~4qts of oil per change. Tire prices for a little 14" donut are going to be much cheaper than a meatier, stiffer side walled truck tire. Add that to the other various fluids and other wear and tear costs and it is cheaper on a small car. I know not a huge amount each time, but over the course of a year or two it will add up.
24 weeks a year would be awesome!! But to piggyback on this:
04 F150 gets what? 15MPG combined? So 5 days a week, 52 weeks, assuming a fuel cost of $3.50 it would cost you $3640 in fuel for the 30 mile commute.
Compare that to a Civic...33.5 combined MPG with the same assumptions: $1820 per year in fuel. for a total difference of $1820 per year in fuel savings? Take that $10,000 and you break even in 5.5 years.
OP said 35mile commute and then said 70mile total per day so the new math should be (for a Civic versus V8 F150 2wd):
70miles/(33mpg-15mpg)
* 5 days a week
* 50 weeks a year
* $3.5 per gallon
= $3400 in savings annually
Rented a 2010 Nissan Versa a few years ago. Definitely not a barn-burner, but it was actually a fairly relaxed and comfortable highway cruiser with a smooth ride. Can't remember the MPG though.
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