Beater high mpg second car?

Not sure if this is the right place to post this question.

My taco gets 18-19 mpg. Not the absolute worst. Not great. Is there any sense of getting a beater car, like a old honda civic, for commuting to work and groceries and stuff? That way I can use the Taco to tow my boat and haul shit. I'd save money on gas as well as saving wear and tear on it.

I drive about 17-18k miles per year. Gas is $3.60 ish.

No, I'm not starving for gas money, and I really like the truck. This is more of a thought experiment.

 

FWIW consider the cost of registration and insurance on the car as well as any additional parking or storage fees you may have. For the added monthly cost of registration, insurance, and maintenance I found the break even point of having a commuter was more than I drive.

 

I was considering this when I drove a tundra and a quick excel sheet cleared it up for me. Add up the cost of a new vehicle, the registration, the insurance, the maintenance costs, and the gas used in both vehicles. The math doesnt workout unless you drive absurd miles.

 

I'm at 11mpg with armor and tires. Really thinking about a Corolla or something. I live on a mountain and one round trip to work seems to be a little less than 1/4 tank.

 

@RocketTaco Thanks for the input. What was the cost of the second car in your calculations?

 

Gas is under $2 here.

If you need a 2nd vehicle a gas sipping econo box is a good choice.

But if you are expecting to have a fast ROI of TCO based on fuel savings given the costs of all things Cali........

 

Honda ruckus

 

Would 67 miles just one way to work and back be considered absurd? Cause I’m def getting me a beater car

 

We have a Tacoma and a Prius. It works out.

 

I had to get a car after daily driving my 96 2.7 for 7 years. Moved to AZ a couple years ago, now commute includes a 12 mile 6% grade stretch. Was tired of going 50- 55 mph up the mountain in 4th gear. Also am enjoying 33 mpg as opposed to 15- 17 with the tacoma.

It might not always make perfect financial sense to buy a 2nd commuter car, but sometimes can just make life easier. At least I stuck with Toyota.

 

I dont remember but just off the top of my head, if you buy a car that gets roughly 30 mpg and your truck gets like 17 mpg you will only save $1500-$2000 a year. You will be hard pressed to buy, register, and insure a car to save that amount.

 

Like stated above title, insurance, storage, maintenance is going to cost you more than you will save on gas. If you get a 2nd car might as well get something fun like a RWD luxury saloon or sports car.

 

Yes approaching absurd. 140 miles a day if you work even 200 days a year is 28,000 miles a year. If you work 5 days a week for 50 weeks giving you 2 weeks off thats 250 days a year and 35,000 miles.

 

I was considering this because of my driving for work but the 15k I put on my truck a year will take a long time for a new engine compared to the $6k i'll need for a decent second car.

 

A 15mpg Tacoma replaced by a 30mpg $3000 Corolla will take about two years of 60 mile round trip daily commutes to save enough gas to equal just the purchase price of the Corolla. That doesn’t include the added maintenance, registration or insurance costs of a second vehicle. A daily driver is a good way to keep miles off a nicer vehicle but not really a good money saving technique.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, will keep daily driving the Taco

 

Buy a bike, get a reliable used one for 2k that gets 50mpg. I pay 220 in insurance plus registration a year. Won't save you much money but it's fun as shit

 

I have a 17 OR that I lifted added large tires, a Decked System and finally a GoFastCamper. With all that done on the highway I am getting about 14-15 MPG’s. It certainly isn’t a money saver all the time but I now drive a 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT, gets 33 MPG plus and to be honest it’s a lot more fun to drive. Two cars isn’t right for everyone but for me it’s the right choice. For the record I actually have a 1978 FJ40 that’s a Pavement Princess too hahaha. I enjoy cars and driving what can I say.

Long story short I save a quite a bit in gas and wear on the truck and big tires but insurance, registration, ext kinda cancels it out. But, it’ll certainly make your Taco live longer.

 

Not to mention if you have a second vehicle your first one is sitting which isn't good for it either to sit. I'd rather put the money that buys the second car in a savings account towards a new truck and then the operating costs of the second vehicle will balance you out.

Granted if you just want an additional car that serves a different purpose than thats another story.

Like it was mentioned above a motorcycles always an option

 

Hmm...been there, done that. You won't save any money, quite the opposite!
Unless you get it for a song, never have any work done and junk it when it starts having problems (it will).
Even then I'm skeptical.

If you think Toyota stealership service is exorbitant, try having work done on a motorcycle.

Bought a mint 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic, for $3,800 in 2007, at that time it had 3,300 miles on it.
Helluva deal and I couldn't pass it up. Not my first bike by any means.
If you want a motorcycle, that's the way to do it. Used, low miles, (relatively) reliable Japanese bike.
Lots of guys have their mid life crisis and buy a new bike. $$$$
Then unload it cheap when the money starts hemorrhaging and they find out it's not for them anyway.
Or maybe riding a motorcycle in traffic scares them. It should. ANY accident at speed is gonna be real bad.


So, I got a service manual and taught myself how to do all the wrenching. It's never seen a mechanic except for inspection.
Insurance is a little over $200 bucks for liability.

But parts need replacing from time to time, and they're very expensive.
Nothing on a motorcycle is as robust as on, say, a Tacoma. Lot of things WILL need replacing, adjusting, whatever.
Everything is out there for all to see, exposed to the elements, and will need cleaning, lubing, etc.
Servicing is a bear. Things are laid out for compactness, not ease of service.
The valve clearance check on mine is, from what I've been able to gather, like changing the timing chain on a Tacoma 4.0 V6.
Changing a tire is a knuckle buster of a job. The sidewalls are far stiffer than tires for "cagers" (what bikers call vehicles with 4 wheels).

Yeah, I get 50 mpg at times. For the miles you'll likely ride it (weather permitting), it won't offset even registration, insurance, inspection.

I love mine, but Nah, having a motorcycle is for fun, not practicality.
And a hobby if you want to do your own wrenching.

Save that money for your next truck.
Good luck.

Please forgive the lengthy, sorta off-topic reply.