fuel efficiency and $$$ savings ??

MYBAD79

MYBAD79

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sunny Florida
ok, was thinking about buying a more fuel efficient daily driver.

Did the math based on regular fuel being $3.50 and premium $3.80, 20000 miles per year....

i need 800 gallons a year based on 25 mpg (20000/25) that I get now ... 800x3.5= $2800 for gas (regular)

now, most newer fuel efficient cars require premium, and i am thinking 36mpg is pretty good....

20000/36 is 555 so i need 555 gallons at $3.80 which is $2111 ... not even $700 saved.... wow....

now, my current DD is happy with mineral oil so an oil change every 5000 miles is $15, most newer cars need synthetic so an oil change is $35 , that's $80 deduction on the $700 savings so now we're close to $600 ....

so ... what am I missing here ? ? ? ....unless I'm having a total brainfart and miss something I'll be driving my '93 Mustang until it falls apart.... :bonkers:
 
You overlooked the sales tax, and the license fees, and the vehicle registration, and the INSURANCE on a NEW car....comp and coll alone will more than double your rate you paying now...so add another 6-800/year on the budget....we HATE Progressive, but it's the cheapest around at 550/year to drive the Escort...and that's just liability at 10/20, Florida min coverage....

:crutches:

I drive my 40 y/o vette for another good reason....collector car insurance....screw the fuel economy....
 
yes, the sales tax plus regristration fees.... so where's my incentive to buy a newer fuel efficient car ? LOL

the example above is assuming 20000 miles a year, I drive less than that, probly 15000 so my savings on fuel would be even less, maybe $450 a year :tth:

so maybe I should go junkyard shopping for a 2.3 Ranger engine so that I have a spare when mine dies.... it's at 180000 miles now LOL
 
I dunno about Ranger engines, but I had my wife's Escort blow the engine at 150k miles, and a friends' wife's car blow hers at 151k miles Linda's went at speed so was totaled....Vicki's went on startup so block was saved....

my last work van went 300k and still running 318 Dodge....

oh, due to history of the Escort engines, they are now very high priced in junkyards on the order of 800 bux....
 
scooter3.jpg
 
Sounds to me like you're not missing anything. Just about the only way the argument works is if you compare it to the cost of buying and using a brand new dump truck as your DD.
 
I think you're asking the right questions. I doubt that you'll see savings if all you do is take a perfectly good car and replace it with a more efficient perfectly good car.

If saving money is the focus, I think you need to ask the same questions when your current DD needs to be replaced. My current DD only gets 20 MPG and I do intend to replace it with a more fuel efficient one; in about 130k miles :rofl:
 
Did this math before myself.

Couple of things to consider:

You can get a 37mpg car that runs on regular...Ie: Chevy Cobalt

Think gas prices will stay around 3.80? Do the calculation out 5 years and use 5.00 per gallon.

When I looked, I was comparing my Expedition which gets 13 to 15 to a 35 to 40mpg car. Your mustang obviously does better than my Expy.

There is less maint cost on a new car than an older car. If you can do the work yourself, then you save a bunch. Most people can't, so it can be expensive to get a trans repair, etc.

Most people who own their current car will get whacked by interest expense if they have to finance the new car.
 
My current DD is a 2000 Sunfire GT 2.4l 5 spd that gives me between 28 & 32 mpg it has 300,000 Km (186k miles) and I hope to get another 2 years out of it (25 -50,000 km per) and then my DD will become my 77 Serria with a 350 TPI setup. I'm not buying a new car for a DD.
 
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
 
big2bird said:
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
Click to expand...

hehehe....you are almost there, on my email list you can pick out K Mc Kmac and there is a guy I known for 1/2 a century, and so he lives just 3 miles from work one way....for over 40 years....
his daughters each make, along with their husbands...mid+ 6 figger incomes...corporate CPA's.....THE ONLY man I have known to survive in private industry unless owning the operation, and have jack shit to look at....

:crutches::friends:
 
big2bird said:
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
Click to expand...
Even closer.
Ride bike to work all year long, I put 30$ of gas in the KIA on busy months.
I actually use it mainly for the Vette restoration :bonkers:
That being said, I might do something one day about that pesky "engine check" light that have been on for 4 years...
 
big2bird said:
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
Click to expand...

nah... 10-15K miles a year is not excessive, I'm convinced I drive way less than the average....

another example: just drove a Audi A3 2.0 TDI during a trip to Europe in December.... 40mpg is easy, even at 120mph it still got way more than 30mpg... (actually I drove it legally at over 130mp/h) ... now, even at 40mpg there's really not much savings over my Mustang that burns 87oct cheapo gas that is 60 cents/gallon less than Diesel....
The A3 is a great car but $30000 .... wtf ???

guess I'm perfectly ok driving my Mustang back and forth to work or the lumber yard..... for the weekends I have the '79 and the '06 vert.... both not good on gas but plenty smiles per mile.... :D
 
My daily driver is an 85 chevy K10 flatbed,305 GM crate engine,carbed,auto with over drive. 50,000miles on the motor,120,000 on the truck. cheaper than driving my3/4ton 4x4 diesel,way cheaper than driving the vette.
 
MYBAD79 said:
big2bird said:
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
Click to expand...

nah... 10-15K miles a year is not excessive, I'm convinced I drive way less than the average....

another example: just drove a Audi A3 2.0 TDI during a trip to Europe in December.... 40mpg is easy, even at 120mph it still got way more than 30mpg... (actually I drove it legally at over 130mp/h) ... now, even at 40mpg there's really not much savings over my Mustang that burns 87oct cheapo gas that is 60 cents/gallon less than Diesel....
The A3 is a great car but $30000 .... wtf ???

guess I'm perfectly ok driving my Mustang back and forth to work or the lumber yard..... for the weekends I have the '79 and the '06 vert.... both not good on gas but plenty smiles per mile.... :D
Click to expand...

In the Wash DC region for decades the average for the town was 10-12k/year.....moved here, and found out the average is....

double that 25k/year......largest city in the country, area wise, and the joint IS spread out, that's for sure.....and so it seems whatever you need to buy is on the other side of town, 15+ miles one way.....

:rofl::bonkers:
 
MYBAD79 said:
big2bird said:
Get a job closer to home. At 22 MPG, my pickup lasts 2 weeks on a tank. Meh.
Click to expand...

nah... 10-15K miles a year is not excessive, I'm convinced I drive way less than the average....

another example: just drove a Audi A3 2.0 TDI during a trip to Europe in December.... 40mpg is easy, even at 120mph it still got way more than 30mpg... (actually I drove it legally at over 130mp/h) ... now, even at 40mpg there's really not much savings over my Mustang that burns 87oct cheapo gas that is 60 cents/gallon less than Diesel....
The A3 is a great car but $30000 .... wtf ???

guess I'm perfectly ok driving my Mustang back and forth to work or the lumber yard..... for the weekends I have the '79 and the '06 vert.... both not good on gas but plenty smiles per mile.... :D
Click to expand...

for the last 5 years I've driven 31K miles (50 Km) on my sunfire for work and 12 K miles (20 Km) on my Silverado Diesel
 
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