high mpg car

[Deertick]

Well, I MIGHT be in the market for a new vehicle ... using a diesel pickup for day-to-day use is not good for the pickup or my wallet, but I\'m not sure the math is going to work if I get a \"go-to-town\" car, either, once you factor in insurance, licensing, sales tax, maintenance, etc.

BUT ... suppose I was looking for a vehicle to drive only for miles, not hauling, pulling, or otherwise \"using\". The pickup could then be spared a lot of unnecessary and high-cost miles.

Any suggestions?

Since this would be a vehicle that exists purely for economics, we\'d be looking at the words \"cheap\" and \"used\".

 

[cnelk]

John
I have an old Chevy \'96 Lumina that I call my \'grocery getter\'.
It has over 200k miles and wont win any beauty contests, but it gets over 25mpg
I wont get any money out of it so I dont put much into it, other than oil and gas.

 

[mtnmutt]

1998 Honda Civic hatchback. Avg 35 mph. 170,000 miles. Cost me $10,000 new. I have gotten a lot out of her.

Good radial tires got me over mountain passes during blizzards. In 8 years of mountain driving, I never got stuck. The key is manual transmission and very good radials. I did not like snow tires on dry curvy roads, so stuck with radials. I even took it on rough mountain roads, but had to watch what side the muffler is on to avoid rocks hitting it.

Hauled a lot in it too. Tall bookcases and lumber.

Fun car. Downside is it has no real modern safety equipment, so I stopped driving it on the high fatality highways. I would be squished like a tin can if anything larger hit me.

Next year, I may replace it with a Honda Fit now that Honda upgraded the Fit\'s engine for better mpg and pickup. It will be the first time in 30 years that I don\'t own a manual. I will be getting the automatic Fit, but they do sell a manual.

 

[Deertick]

Both good choices of what I\'m looking for ... now comes the time for the math ... between taxes, fees, insurance, maintenance ... it may be a wash.

 

[elkmtngear]

John,
I was doing a lot of travel work a few years back, and bought a 2007 Honda Civic (34 mpg Highway)

Besides the gas savings, it has been great. 170,000 miles on it right now, and the only thing that has failed has been the visor over the driver\'s window, and an air conditioner relay (a 12 dollar part)!

Back seat folds down flat...so I can put a lot of stuff in it if I need to from the trunk (My Full Size 88 key Roland Keyboard and all my music gear for example).

 

[elky McElkerson]

one of my hunting buddy has a FLEET of vehicles.

he has a diesel unimog, a diesel pick up truck and a diesel Sportmobile 4x4 van. his carbon footprint would crush a small rain forest.

his daily driver is a barebones yaris hatchback. he says he gets 45ish mpg on the hwy. i know for a fact that he has shoehorned a large hog in that thing. he is living the singles dream..no kids, no wife, hot girl friend and a lot of toys.

he drives the yaris everywhere. nobody ever breaks into his car on a trailhead.

 

[Deertick]

45 mpg?

And it\'s small enough to fit in the bed of my Dodge, I bet!

Now I\'ll need ramps.

Seriously ... I don\'t think the math works for something in the 25 mpg range ... but when you start to get >30 ...

 

[Bob Frapples]

In 2003 I bought a 1.0 liter geo metro for 1995$ with 165k mainly to tinker with after I read of guys getting over 70 mpg after modifying them, long story short, I never modified it and just used it as a work car, even when gas was just over a buck I got lots of laughs. No one laughs about it now, lol. I\'m just now going to retire it or turn it into a mailbox. I managed 308k on original engine, 3rd ac compressor and second clutch and it averaged 40 mpg. Right now I\'m holding my breath for the #1041th elio to roll off the assy line.


<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://hello.eliomotors.com/?gclid=CNfI7uDV870CFWxp7AodiSsA_g\">http://hello.eliomotors.com/?gclid=CNfI ... 7AodiSsA_g</a><!-- m -->

 

[ABQ_Chica]

X2 on the Honda Civic hatchback and Toyota Yaris for good MPG.
A used Toyota Corolla (stickshift) is also a good bet. We got at least 250,000 miles each out of our 2 Civics before we sold them (with lots more miles in them), and at 267K the Corolla is still going strong.

For an SUV/cross with good gas mileage, the Mazda CX5 (stickshift) has been great, too. Average city MPG has been 33ish, but I\'ve gotten as high as 38 on the highway. It sacrifices power for MPG, but has more clearance than the average city car and can handle quite a bit of off-road terrain. It\'s essentially my hunting vehicle, so I\'ve probably taken it many places I shouldn\'t have, but it\'s gotten me home every time so far.

 

[cnelk]

I did some quick calculations for you.

Lets say you drive 12,000/yr
Your truck gets 16mpg
Fuel is $3.85/gal
Total year cost = $2,887 [excluding insurance/registration/maintenance]

You buy a used car - $3000
Drive it 12,000/yr
It gets 30mpg
Fuel is $3.50/gal
Total year cost = $1,460 [excluding insurance/registration/maintenance]

Savings / year = $1427

It would take 2.1 years for payback for initial investment of car

Now, take that $1427 and get your insurance/registration.
Lets say that cost is.... $600/year

Your savings now is $827/year

It would take 3.6 years for payback for initial investment on car.
After that you can pocket the rest

 

[Deertick]

Brad ... I\'ve been doing such calculations.

I\'m driving 20,000 per year, and fuel is more expensive, and my mileage is worse than that currently, so the numbers look even better.

The issue I\'m considering now is this:

I could buy a beater in the sub-$3000 range and it\'ll pay off in ~2 years ... if it lasts that long without repairs. Replacement value in two years will be an additional $2000 or so.

or ... I could step up to the $10-12,000 range and sell it in 2 years hopefully only losing $3000 worth of value and having a more reliable vehicle, but less in my bank account.

I don\'t know, but I gotta do something.

Ever hear the song \"$1000 Car\"? ... good stuff ... <!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZdC5ggYbwc\">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZdC5ggYbwc</a><!-- m -->
The chorus: \"Why did I ever buy a thousand dollar car?\"

There\'s no way to win this game!

 

[bowhunter]

My last beater car was a 1998 ford escort zr2. I bought it for 80$. I put a timing belt in it and new plugs for $53. I got from 28 in winter to 33 in summer and drove it for 97,000 miles only adding brake pads, tierod ends,and a thermostat for about 60$ total. When I wrecked it I got 300$ for scrap. I am now driving a 1995 buick regal. I paid 150 for it and had to change the trany which made my total about 500. I have put 65000 on it and only changed brake pads,thermostat, tierod ends, and a rusted brake line. It has 190,000 on it now and much more to go in her. I get 26 in summer and 22 in winter.

I have the skills to work on my own cars and Ebay has parts cheap.

I might not drive the nicest cars to work and as my everyday beater but I save a lot of money by doing it my way. I am not trying to impress anyone with my fancy ride. I have more cash for my hunting hobbies