I bought my gas guzzler in the days of cheap gasoline and telecommuting. It is rapidly approaching 7 years of age and just passed 192,000 furlongs on the odometer (24,000 miles to you Philistines). It is actually classified by the feds as an LEV (Low Emission Vehicle) and the Republic of Texas came this close to passing a law at the turn of the millennium that would have given me a rebate for purchasing an LEV!Me: "Hi, my name is William-Bob and I drive a
gas guzzler."
Crowd: "Hi, William-Bob."
It is a crew cab three-quarter ton pickup truck that averages 80 furlongs per gallon in mixed city and highway driving. Since I've measured it getting 136 furlongs per gallon on the interstate (at 560 fph) I shudder to think what the city figure is.
All this comes to mind because my next job will most likely include a commute. One possible employer is 352 furlongs from my house, so you can imagine my new-found concern about fuel efficiency.
The problem is two-fold: first, my truck is paid for; and second, I would probably be lucky to get $10,000 for it. Actually, my problems go deeper than that. Whatever I buy now will probably become 1 of 2's car when he starts to drive a few years from now, so I don't want to skimp on safety features like stability control and air-bags all the way around. That severely limits the used car selection and results in higher prices, which also means financing. A $250 car payment would be low for a decent new vehicle.
So how much money could I save on gasoline if I trade the Fuel-ossiraptor in for something a little less thirsty?
According to the napkin spreadsheet, my F-250 would use about 8.8 gallons per day if I got stuck in enough traffic each way each day. By contrast, a Toyota Corolla might use as little as 2.2 gallons each day if I managed to avoid rush hour. That's a very extreme comparison, but it serves to show the limits of savings potential.
That 6.6 gallon per day differential equates to $19.80 per day if gasoline is $3/gal. If there are 4.33 weeks per month and 5 commute days per week that comes to $428.67 per month savings by trading in. Not bad. But if gas sells in the neighborhood of $2, as it has recently, then the savings is only $285.78, which doesn't leave much wiggle room for the car payment.
And, of course, that was an awfully unfair comparison. If I assume the same commuting environment for the truck as for the car, then the fuel use of the truck drops to 5.17 gallons and the $3 gas savings goes down to $192.90 per month, with the $2 gas savings coming in at a paltry $128.60 per month.
In fact, the true comparison has to factor in that I don't really want something as small as a Corolla. Substitute a Camry (33 mpg) or a RAV4 (30 mpg) and the gasoline savings continue to drop.
Those savings would still be okay if I could trade vehicles straight up. But when you add in car payments there's a really good chance that trading in the battle tank will end up costing me more money than keeping it — maybe to the tune of a couple hundred per month.
So do I buy a new vehicle or not?
2 comments:
A few months ago, Tim-Bob switched to a Honda Fit for the commuter vehicle. Then again, he didn't need the battle-hardened tank that you'll need to protect 1/2.
Before making any vehicle purchase, I've been known to consult Consumer Reports for predicted resale value, so I don't end up with the quandary you're now facing. That said, dealers will tell you that a vehicle loses 20% (?) in depreciation the very second you drive it off the lot.
If it weren't for the inconvenience, I'd suggest you consider public transportation (DART train) or (gasp!) a carpool program offered by any gnu employer. Sure, you had not get all 942 parsecs to your destination, but you might only have to drive 41 parsecs to a rendezvous location.
Just keep saying to yourself: "Commuting is glamorous!"
Ah, the challenge of Cars. Part of the issue is the whether you are happy with all of the aspects of a car to hold it until it falls apart. That is the only time a car purchase makes sense to me. You and I both have cars we put low milage on, though I am getting 17mpg on the wagon, which is not great, but not enought to drive me to change. Besides, that is the challenge of not putting much milage on a car, it really doesn't add that much value on resale or trade. So, I wouldn't sell the truck, just keep using it as you have. I would think about a lease on your next car and get in for the minimum and then decide what you want to do after you have secured you next role and 2/2 is driving as things may change from there. Then you will have a truck all your friend can still borrow to help them move, etc and still have a good commute without longer term obligation. my 2 cents.
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