Considering bailing early...

What about a small sport bike, just to go back and forth to work?

 

I sold my '07 VW GTI to get the '06 Tacoma. Although the GTI does have all of the positives that you mentioned above, maintenance costs are through the roof. In the end you'll end up spending all your saved gas money on maintaining it, especially considering that you can't find even the most minor parts outside of the dealership or online retailers who charge about the same. Also, they're hit or miss as far as reliability. Please let me know if you're still swayed toward buying one, I can tell you every single issue that these cars have (i.e. cam followers eating the top of the engine, intake manifold tumbler flap failure, DSG transmission failure, 6 different revisions of the DV, super heavy carbon buildup on intake valves due to direct injection, dual mass flywheel failure,wheel bearing failure, etc.). If you get a GTI, get the 2008.5 model or later with the TSI engine. VW secretly fixed a bunch of issues without acknowledging to FSI engine owners that there were any issues in the first place.

Sorry, i know you said not to recommend the Honda Fit, but I love my wife's. It has great handling, pretty quick at 45 mph or above, has a super smooth gearbox (manual), rides nice, unusually roomy inside, and can be used for tons of activities. It currently serves as our kayak hauler (we have two 12' kayaks and one 17' tandem). Two years ago we used it for tent camping in Chincoteague and it carried about 700lbs of camping gear, food, beer, and kayaks about 400+ miles roundtrip, including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel twice. No problems whatsoever. It's also used as her daily driver. It's especially fun to drive on mountain twisties. I haven't had to replace any parts yet and we bought it in 2008. Just change the oil, spark plugs, etc. when the time comes. The only item outside of that was adjusting the valve clearances early, which was easy enough, and free

Edit: Oh yeah, and she's meticulous about keeping track of MPG. She's getting around 38-40 MPG on regular back roads to work every day.

 

Make sure you do the math, here, children. Keep in mind changing up vehicles costs money, and the new fuel economy probably won't offset that cost.

Let's say you get 16mpg, gas costs $5/gallon, and you have a 60 mile commute each way. All very extreme estimates imo.

120 miles of commuting both ways * 1 mile per 16 gallons * $5 per gallon = $37.50 per day in gas

Example, a sportbike getting 75mpg:
120 * 1/75 * 5 = $8 per day in gas

So riding a bike, you're really only going to be able to ride maybe 4 days per week, 9 months a year. Again, I think that's an extreme estimate - I bet you'll really ride it less than that. That's 4 days * 4 weeks per month * 9 months = 144 days per year of riding.

So if you drive those 144 days with your 16mpg truck 120 miles (most people don't commute _nearly_ that far...), it will cost you $5400 in gas.

If you drive those 144 days with your 75mpg sportbike instead, it will only cost you $1152.

So if you have a really long commute, worse-than-normal gas mileage, and you ride your bike instead at least half the year, you'll save about 4 grand. That might cover the cost of bike and some leathers.

In a more realistic example, say you only have a 20 mile commute round-trip, like most of us. That instead works out to $900 vs $191... That $700 saved doesn't even cover the cost of added insurance on the bike.

Anyway, it's worth taking the cost of switching vehicles into the equation. If you're spending even a couple of thousand on getting the next vehicle that you wouldn't spend if you don't switch, you may lose money.

 

I hear ya. If you're under 6', check out the compact Subarus. We have a 2005 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport that gets 26-30 mpg mixed driving. The Impreza 2.5i is similar. It's no slouch though ... 168hp 4 banger. Go for the manual ... Subaru's manuals generally better mpg than their autos. But their auto is a solid tranny too.

 

A much more typical example:
That same truck at 20 miles commuting per day, costing you :
20 miles * 1/16 gallons per mile * $5/gallon * (5*52) business days per year = $1625

Go to a 35mpg compact car. 20 * 1/35 * 5 * (5*52) = $742

So you save about $800. Better not get a very nice new car

 

I'm seriously thinking about getting a dual sport. I paid 3.69 this morning for 87.

I'll just stay off the freeways and take side streets to work...hmm..

 

1.33$ / litre in montreal today. About 4.75$/gallon.

 

The bike idea may sound good at first with fuel savings, but sometimes other circumstances arise.

Example:
Other motorist not paying attention pulls out in front of you during your commute. The airlift cost alone in my case $16,xxx for a 20 minute flight out of pocket because most insurance companies won't cover it. Then surgeries, time missed from work,etc.

Just something to think about.

 

If you drive or live out in the boonies, you can get air evac insurance for $60/year or so; they'll cover costs to fly you to a hospital of your choice. My girlfriend has it for her and her parents because they live out in the sticks.

 

I'm in debt because of a $12k helicopter ride too

 

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/images/bikes_enlarged/2011_enlarged/11_coda_bk.jpg

i did it! bought it today and will use it for my work week (4 days).

 

I bought a roadbike from Walmart for $160 , its made by GMC and its great for the money you spend on it.

 

Noted. Thank you sir.

Youre making me reconsider. Thank you.

I like the way you think. I will look into my account and see where I can save.

I am a lightfoot...for the most part.

19, part time jobS, and they require me hauling stuff. Also insurance.
Thanks for all the input guys. Keep them coming. Sorry I havent been responding, Ive been away. Also Im on valium and ibuprofen. My gf and her aunt were squeezing the puss out of an extremely infected finger. They were squeezing it out of my finger nail...God.

Keep the ideas coming guys, youre all awesome.

 

ford focus, ford fiesta (mazda 2), nissan versa, chevy aveo, toyota matrix...

if you want a crazy high mpg the geo metro 3 banger gets like 50mpg or something like that!

 

Dont those metros suck?

 

I found a 1991 suzuki swift on craigslist for 400$. It was a 2 door 1.3 5sp manual with 42xxx showing on the odo who knows what number is supposed to be before the 4 maybe a 2 or maybe a 3. Ive had it almost a year now and have put around 10,000 miles on it. I put about 150$ into it when i first got it for tune up parts and struts and my best tank was 45.4 mpg. I was averaging 17 in the truck on my commute to work and that was before the s/c and lift and tires so who knows what it would be today. I figured out that my fuel cost for those 10000 miles is roughly 715$ but if i was still driving the taco it would be 1970$ from using premium. So 1970-714-the 400 i spent on the car-the 150$ i used for parts and driving my little shit box has saved me over 700 dollars in gas and over 10000 miles on my truck which i can put no dollar amount on. Best mod for my truck to date and this thing is a beast in the snow we have now.

 

I paid $3.35 yesterday for gas, almost a month ago the experts said its a "given" that gas prices will be $4 by this summer, now a few days ago those same experts updated it to $5 this summer!
You are now paying for the gasoline thats refined and in the storage when crude prices were lower, BUT when they refine the new higher priced crude, you will see the price somewhere between $4 to $5 a gallon.
If you don't believe me watch the heating oil prices, when you see heating oil prices up above the gasoline price then you'll know for sure that gasoline will go higher, thats because they refine heating oil very quickly and have a hard time keeping up with demand for heating oil. ( Just looked, heating oil is at $3.45 )
I expect gas will be between $3.89 to $4.29 by Memorial Day and somewhere around $4.75 around July-Aug.
I have a great investment tip, invest in small local business, or open a small town business or store, people won't be able to travel long distance to do their weekly shopping, so they will shop at close, in town .
Like my town doesn't have a food strore, the closest one is 12 miles away, if someone would open a local food store, or a bakery , or coffee shop they would make out!

I keep telling you guys hard times are coming, but you all lable me as crazy, food and cotton is up, but you don't see the higher prices yet cause the current inventory is still on the shelves, but by the end of this summer you will see the new produced goods with MUCH higher prices, I suggest to stock up on coffee, sugar, canned goods, clothing, shoes, ,,, use any extra money you have and stock up on the basic items you need and use, save at least 6 months of your income, stop buying things you don't need!
I am just trying to help you guys! I am not crazy this will happen!

 

Yaris is probably not up your alley, but we traded one for the Taco and really liked it (manual ftw). Really peppy.
But for the price, Corolla is close and imho the all-round best car out there. Looks like granpa's car, but hard to go wrong with good mileage, low cost, roomy and space in the trunk for 3-4 body bags. More if cut up small.

 

Some of you guys are over reacting. Something to think about, the price of gas went up in 2008. There were several folks selling their trucks for a loss to buy something like a Yaris, Corolla, Civic or Prius. When gas went back down late 2008, those same folks turned around sold their eco boxes to buy another Tacoma; talk about taking a bath. You will never realize the savings in gas when you factor in the loss you will take selling your truck. If the pinch in your wallet is being felt by higher gas prices, consolidate trips and practice better driing habits. It's been proven time and time over that selling your current ride to buy an econo car during a gas crunch doesn't lead to overall savings for the customer. Just like in 2008, the price of gas will only rise so far to where the market will bottom out as demand falls; which it will. Demand will always fall when prices rise to high....welcome to capitalism. We might be looking at under $2 a gallon gas for sometime if prices get to high just like in late 2008. The whole panic at speculation of $5 a gallon gas is exactly the oil giants want....for you the consumer to feel trapped. Car dealers like Toyota love it too....you just fill their pockets with cash. Keep your truck; cut back on those extra trips to McDonalds and Starbucks.

 

Run the numbers first and things to consider:

How much will you lose bailing out of your loan?
How much will you spend renting a truck to haul stuff?
How much will you spend having stuff delivered instead of picking it up?

How much do you REALLY save with the better gas mileage vehicle?

Once you're done it better come down positive in favor of the econobox unless you're underwater on your loan or you do a lot of hauling. Once you know that, though, consider intangibles and how important they are to your life. You can't take that little econobox 4wheelin' and camping in the back country, for instance.