How bad is the hit going to be?

I quit reading after a bunch of people on the first page made really good points. Keep the truck, you will get hosed coming out of it new. The only way to offset that much negative equity would be another new (probably more expensive) vehicle and maybe a rebate, but you look at potentially raising your payment which will offset fuel economy gains. Also, you bought the truck you wanted, it is much easier to pay for something you want to drive than a "this makes sense" car.

 

BTDT and failed. You have to drive an insane amount of miles every month to break even on the cost of a 2nd vehicle vs. buying more gas for the Tacoma. Widen your focus from fuel costs to the total cost of operating the vehicle. Maintenance, repair, depreciation, insurance, etc. are a part of the total operating cost. How and where you will store the extra vehicle can also be an issue. Edmunds.com has good ballpark Total Cost Of Ownership info for comparing one vehicle against another, as long as it is not more than five model years old.

I agree that the employer should cover operating costs for job-related driving of private vehicles. The federal cost-per-mile reimbursement rate is a good baseline figure. It is probably a lot higher than you would guess. If they don't, you may be able to recover some of the excess cost when you file your income tax return. Keep detailed records. A hand-written mileage log is plenty good to justify the deduction.

Mike

 

Like driving the Tacoma? Feel safer in it than a compact? Have a better view of the road in the Tacoma? Keep it and enjoy it.

 

fixed



Buy a 92ish honda hatchback. Find a clean, unmodified one on CL for $2.5K Get 40mpg with liability ont insurance and then resell it for $2.5K when done. It is cheaper.

It's not the prettiest way to get from point A to B, but they are fun vehicles and very reliable.

 

Better run your numbers...

Loss on the sale - $2,000?
Tax and fees on the next purchase?

Add those together...

Now, need to take the incremental cost savings of the new car - example:
35mpg-20mpg=15mpg savings times miles driven times gas cost. It will take a lot of driving to make up the difference. Just make sure it truly makes sense.

 

My point, which you seem to have missed, was that it is not as simple as it seems.

Your suggestion makes some sense on the rust-free west coast (I miss it, after 20+ years in SoCal) but not so much here in the east where I and the OP live. Inexpensive 10 year old cars are most often rust buckets and can cost big bucks to keep on the road. My personal experience (in zero-rust southwest Arizona) was buying a used 45 MPG Geo Metro to save fuel instead of driving my 18 MPG CJ-7, driving 3000 miles/month. I never had collision insurance on either one, and I never did better than break even.

There are many variables. Each person must do the math for their unique situation.

Mike

 

Like he won't have a problem with the tacoma and he wont have to put money into it??

honda hatchbacks are the most simple and cheap cars to get parts for. 3K for a 92 tranny if you just shooting out a number for a vehicle you know little to nothing about.

slowmachine makes a good point being on the east coast, but I still don't see any reason why not, if you can find one in good condition.

If you can find one in ok condition then yes it is worth it, I know b/c I've "BTDT". For the price of 1)gas 2)depreciation of new vehicle with higher miles 3)maintenance costs on newer vehicles. These are all very good reasons to get a 2nd vehicle. If you think driving a new tacoma for commuting will save you money, you're wrong.