I need a more fuel efficient vehicle.

[Arkaign]

Man, I remember your thread where you were about to buy the Focus *sigh* I can relate, though, to not having many alternatives during a decision of such importance (time/budget/credit restraints). Hey, at least it's not a Neon, it would have died by now. Have you eaten any tires/brakes/cv axles yet?

Looking at your formula in the OP, you would save $400ish a month by doubling your fuel economy. This means almost $5k/year, and if you kept that job for say 4 years, that's $20,000!! Considering it's nearly 100k miles/year on a 5-day work week, you'd put 200k miles on the car during that time. You are the supreme candidate for a fuel-efficient reliable vehicle such as a Prius or 40mpg+ 4cyl.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
according to craigslist, there are VW Beetle's that are TDI. the jetta TDI can be had as low as $10k for a 2003 model (in my area) and the beetle TDI for $13.5K. both get 35/44mpg. still, it's weak compared to a hybrid.

i think i heard there's one main gripe about the prius...its parts take a long time to get here so if you get into an accident, even if it's not your fault, you still suffer cause you have to wait a while for the parts to get here. the civic doesn't have this same issue (or not to the same extent).

They are also totalled very easily. Check out Ebay for all the salvage titles with very minor damage.

 

[dawheat]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: evident
honda civic 40mpg hwy ftw... or the toy corolla... there's really no other choice for regular fuel vehicles that get as high mpg as those two. I drive all highway and i'm about to settle on a 4cyl accord coupe, because i feel a little bit safer driving a vehicle a little bigger, and i'm willing to sacrifice 5mpg for that

Civic actually got better safety ratings than Accord - due to the active head restraints, which only help in rear endings and just have to do with the curvature of the seat back.

Anyway - you won't get 40mpg in a Civic at 90mph on the highway. OP - probably won't break 35mpg at the speeds you drive. To get the 30mpg city rating, you'll need to Grandma it. The 5-speed auto has to change gears a LOT to keep you going, the engine is very torque-less.

Civic LX manual with 60/40 hw/city driving, I'm right around 34mpg - that's with generally 77mph on the highways and driving normally in the city. On a few long trips I've taken, I've easily been in the high 30s (37/38). For 15K its a decent car with pretty good fuel mileage.

Crunch the numbers and see if the mid to upper 40 mpg in a Prius works out over the 7K price increase over a Civic/Corolla/etc over the first several years of the car. I don't think you see as much of an increase with hw driving in a hybrid since you're not taking advantage of the regenerative features.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: dawheat
Crunch the numbers and see if the mid to upper 40 mpg in a Prius works out over the 7K price increase over a Civic/Corolla/etc over the first several years of the car. I don't think you see as much of an increase with hw driving in a hybrid since you're not taking advantage of the regenerative features.

Bingo - a hybrid just doesn't provide as much benefit if you're doing nearly all highway driving

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: dawheat
Crunch the numbers and see if the mid to upper 40 mpg in a Prius works out over the 7K price increase over a Civic/Corolla/etc over the first several years of the car. I don't think you see as much of an increase with hw driving in a hybrid since you're not taking advantage of the regenerative features.

Bingo - a hybrid just doesn't provide as much benefit if you're doing nearly all highway driving

he says he does 60% city driving in his 1st post after the OP.

 

[Demo24]

well, I'm going to throw out a Mini. Gets some nice mileage figures and would be rather fun to drive. Although I dunno if it's big enough for you.

 

[Adul]

isnt there an accord diesel in the pipeline that will do like 50+?

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/car/398955755.html

Whoops, didn't notice the airbags had been deployed, pass sorry...

 

[exdeath]

The old Honda CRX's are supposed to be pretty good, like 40+ mpg, if you want something cheap you can buy in cash. I don't know much about them but they were supposedly one of th most fuel efficient gasoline vehicles ever made.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: exdeath
The old Honda CRX's are supposed to be pretty good, like 40+ mpg, if you want something cheap you can buy in cash. I don't know much about them but they were supposedly one of th most fuel efficient gasoline vehicles ever made.

It's nearly impossible to find one with <200K on them or seriously riced to death

I had an 86" CRX SI, loved it.

 

[Eli]

I really like the idea of buying a reliable, fuel efficient used car with cash... That would save me the most money, no car payment and no full coverage insurance..

However, I can't break down. That's the only issue.. I can't deal with fixing the car. I'd need to buy two.....

LOL.. Hey, that's not a bad idea.

 

[BUTCH1]

Hopefully your employer is compensating you well for the miles your asked to drive,
and taking into consideration how much the excessive miles are going to cost you
when you factor in depreciation....

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
Hopefully your employer is compensating you well for the miles your asked to drive,
and taking into consideration how much the excessive miles are going to cost you
when you factor in depreciation....

eh, probably not. I'm still making good money though, at least for something so easy.

It would be in my best interest to just pay this Focus off ASAP and drive it until it won't drive anymore.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

55mph is a sweet spot for the Prius if you must do higher speed driving, 35 is best in town. If you use P&G between 30mph and 40mph you can hit some pretty outrageous. For example

how the hell do you get 38 mpg in a ranger?

 

[ViviTheMage]

I would take a Jetta TDI in a heartbeat! so much torque w/ 50+ MPG.

You could allways get a hybrid, those are neat.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

55mph is a sweet spot for the Prius if you must do higher speed driving, 35 is best in town. If you use P&G between 30mph and 40mph you can hit some pretty outrageous. For example

how the hell do you get 38 mpg in a ranger?

Hypermilers are insane about stuff like that. They will actually turn off the engine on long coasts.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Aimster
Just buying another vehicle is going to put you negative 10k even if you sell your current car (just a guess).

You won't save a penny in the end.

I guess overall, this is true, but I would be driving a new car at least, lol.

I worry about my current car breaking down. It also bugs me that I piss so much money away in gas, I'd rather piss it away to something tangible.. like a new car.

whatever you do, do not ask for advice on fatwallet's finance forum. i swear some of those guys' sole comfort in life is the size of their bank account and how austere a life they can live in order to increase the size of said bank account.

 

[sniperruff]

i'd buy a low milage early 2000 corolla. cheap and it'll run for miles and miles sipping gas without any fancy gadgetry.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i'd buy a low milage early 2000 corolla. cheap and it'll run for miles and miles sipping gas without any fancy gadgetry.

Honestly, unless this Ford starts having problems, I don't see myself going backwards.

This car already has 110,000 miles on it, 14,000 of which I have done in the last 2 months. If I keep it for another year, it will have over 200,000 miles on it... 2 years, over 300,000.

It's not realistic for me to buy an older used car with potentially more miles on it, I don't think.

Although, I do realize it's a tossup with any used car. Maybe I should look at maintenance costs more.

Brakes, tires, timing belts, cv joints, fluids...

 

[Alessandro]

I just bought a 2005 Corolla CE with 23k miles for $11.8k, which is getting 37 MPG highway and 32 city (by me calculating, not manufacturer rated) while blasting the AC in 95-100 degree weather. You could do a couple of years older and save much more as well probably. Thought you might want a data point.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'd think that a Honda Insight would get the best mileage overall, as it's rated to get 60 MPG on that highway.

If you don't want a hybrid, I'd recommend a MINI. Mine is getting 37 MPG in mixed city/highway driving, which is quite impressive considering considering that it isn't even broken in yet.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Some magazine reviewed a Jetta TDI and got 50MPG. Plus, since it's a diesel, you can dapple in the world of cheap vegetable oil fuels. Don't try to go with making 100% your own fuel though, it's nowhere near well-researched and is more up the alley of people with beater diesels that break down anyway. Mixing 20%, perhaps, but ROI is up to you.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
I'd think that a Honda Insight would get the best mileage overall, as it's rated to get 60 MPG on that highway.

If you don't want a hybrid, I'd recommend a MINI. Mine is getting 37 MPG in mixed city/highway driving, which is quite impressive considering considering that it isn't even broken in yet.

Insights vary depending on the speed driven. My manual transmission Insight gets about 80mpg + at 50 - 60mph, 70 mpg at 70 - 75mph, and 60 - 65mpg at 80mph+. Stop and go driving hurts it the worst, but I have never seen anything below 50mpg even in the worst stop and go situations. The CVT version gets slightly lower in all conditions.

 

[HannibalX]

We are averaging pretty close to 50MPG in our Prius....

....My only issue with the TDI is that it's a VW, and I would be concerned about it. I can deal with mechanical issues, but electrical ones are beyond me.

Are you kidding? You didn't buy a TDI because you can't tackle electrical problems so you bought a Hybrid instead?

I'm sorry but I don't follow your logic.

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

We are averaging pretty close to 50MPG in our Prius....

....My only issue with the TDI is that it's a VW, and I would be concerned about it. I can deal with mechanical issues, but electrical ones are beyond me.

Are you kidding? You didn't buy a TDI because you can't tackle electrical problems so you bought a Hybrid instead?

I'm sorry but I don't follow your logic.

VW and many Euro cars have been plagued with electrical problems for DECADES. The current Jetta and Bug are no exception.