Keep the Tacoma and buy Civic???

Should I buy a cheap 4 door $3k Civic for daily commute? Found this article online and have the same question. My goal is to SAVE money and keep the Tacoma. I LOVE my truck!!! BTW My 2006 Tacoma is paid off. I drive about 50/60 miles a day.

Looking for input and experience from fellow Tacoma World folks.

http://www.moneyunder30.com/commuter-car-with-low-mpg-for-long-commute

 

can you save money even after accounting for insurance on 2 cars, plus maintenance?

 

In the long run, obviously you would save money b/c the civic will get reasonably better MPGs. Like Jester said though, if it costs $3k it probably needs some type of work done to it, and you would also have to pay for the insurance for 2 vehicles.

 

Exactly!

Take the money you would be spending on the civic and bank it, drive your tacoma until your ready to buy new again and use funds that you saved by not having a second vehicle?

 

Actually just read the article, pretty good advice / info.

 

It would be different if I bought a 2nd car to keep and to enjoy; like a muscle car. The Civic would only be for daily commute. To rack up miles. The insurance and taxes would be extra expense added to upkeep.

 

I guess the X-factor is if your truck is the only vehicle in your household and the 2nd one is a peace of mind in case your truck is broken.

That said I'd imagine one of the 2 vehicles would get a reduced insurance rate due to few miles driven. Not sure what the thresholds are.

 

If you buy a cheap Civic and add it to your insurance and only carry liability you may be suprised how little it adds to the bill in the end. When you add the second car you will get a discount.

 

I have a tacoma and a civic and won't have it any other way. My civic gets 37 mpg and my truck gets 14. I drive 70 miles round trip each day. I haven't figured up the cost on gas, insurance, etc... But I wouldn't want to put that many miles on my truck and pay that much for gas every week. I have had the civic for 9 years now and can't imagine not having a little beater to drive back and forth to work in. Just my opinion.

 

I average about 18/19 mpg.

 

Now I have thought about getting a used 2005/06 TSX for about $8k. Should be worth keeping for long time.

 

I doubt you are going to save $3k worth of gas to offset the cost of the car and maintenance and insurance and license renewal costs to make it all back.

$3k buys a lot of gas, not counting all the other costs. Brakes, tires etc.

 

I actually had a civic that I bought from a buddy for about 3K and a 2nd gen for almost 2 years for that exact reason. Civic needed a transmission, but had low miles. I drive about 35 miles round trip to work 5 days a week. Long story short-no I would not recommend it. Between insurance and maintenance, I saved very little money and felt like I never got to drive the truck. I would say, choose one or the other. Whatever is cheaper.

 

I say do it. I have an 05 civic and my taco, and a powerstroke. But the civic gets mid 30s for mileage and its super cheap to maintain. Plus for long trips its more comfortable than the taco and costs about half to drive.

 

I think you are adding a layer of expense that is not needed. Your truck is paid for. 3000 is basically a years worth of fuel. Rough calculations, it costs you $11 a day to drive back and forth. 60 miles at 19mpg. A civic at 37mpg would cost you 5.75 to get back and forth. So say you save $5 a day. 250 average work days a year, you saved 1250 in fuel. So it takes 2.5 years just to justify the 3000 to save gas. Now add 2.5 years worth of maintenance and insurance, the payoff is probably closer to 3.5 years and that is break even, no savings. In 3.5 years a 3000 civic, is going to be worth little or nothing. My advise, you love your truck, drive it. If you had 100 miles per day the math comes up a lot different and maybe there is justification, but not at 60.

 

I have a civic as a secondary vehicle. The cost of maintenance for the civic is a lot less than the tacoma. Replacing tires is only 400 bucks compared to the 1k+ for the truck.

 

My truck is almost paid off (two more payments) and I am thinking about picking up a car as DD. I drive about 65 miles round trip everyday.

 

I too drive about 50-60 miles a day for work. I bought a $2000.00 1993 Toyota Corolla with 175000 miles on it. It averages about 34 mpg. It now has 230000 miles on it. Only thing I have had to do is put a new clutch in it. If you can afford to have a truck that you really only use on weekends or for fun then go for it. You will save alot of wear and tear and gas money.

 

Iv been in the same situation trying to decide if buying a 2nd more economical car would work but when I crunched the numbers it would take years to recoup the initial investment. IMO the only real advantage to buy a commuter car would be to keep miles off the truck but for me I couldn't justify having a 30k truck just to off road on the weekends and drive a crappy commuter during the week so I just DD my truck.

 

x2

besides driving in a taco everyday is much more enjoyable than a crappy car