Beater high mpg second car?

I drive ~80mi a day to work and back.

Did some calculations and it would only save me $1400/yr in fuel costs only (more if gas prices increase)...so it would be 2 years before reaching a break even point on a cheap beater.

 

Haha not untill the freshly rebuilt d16 blows.

 

Get a Suzuki DR200 for $1500 and get 90mpg on that thing.

I would walk into the gas station with the change in my pocket and put .60 cents on the pump, would last me days. As long as you don't do highway that thing can get you anywhere at 55mph no issue at all.

 

134 a day man. A 1.5hr drive each way.

 

Yep it is hence that is why I am getting a Beater car! Plus there’s 4 of us that car pool together most days, so that helps a lot!

 

I used a beater to commute to work before I retired a few months ago.
A crummy 2003 Malibu with only 85,000 miles on it and it was starting to nickle and dime me to death.
And to think I bought it new for my wife back in the day. It was properly maintained.
Traded it in rather than have a private sale on my conscience.
Get something else as your beater commute vehicle. Something reliable. Ha.

To be fair, the engine was perfectly fine and I regularly got 30 mpg.
Everything else was cheap and nasty. Always something to be fixed.

Man o man I'm loving my new-to-me 2006 Tacoma (58,000 miles, new frame!) after driving that Malibu.

I kinda like the bicycle idea.

 

That's the question, like if I get a decent running civic for 2-3k it would be super cheap to insure and register. I also tow semi regularly, sometimes around 60 miles for fishing. So the wear and tear on the truck is also something I'm keeping in mind. But based on a previous poster even a 2-3k beater car won't beat out on gas savings, so it would really be more on wear and tear.

I live 17 miles from work and I actually have ridden my bike. Yep, 34 miles a day. But then a bus smashed my bike and that killed riding for me. One of my new year's resolution is to ride again......

 

Good thinking on the Civic.

 

Just one more remark about motorcycles and I'll drop it.

The rubber in motorcycle tires is formulated for grip.
Realistically, you might get 10,000 miles out of one.
Assuming you check it often for proper inflation.

Don't get a flat tire.
You ain't got a spare.
And you ain't patching it by the side of the road.
Not unless it's a moped.

If the bike's got any weight to it, getting the wheel off is your first problem.
Then there's getting that stiff tire off the wheel. Got your tire spoons with you? I thought not.
Patch kit? Compressor?
Make sure your triple A membership is paid up.

If I wasn't intimately familiar with the condition of everything on my motorcycle, I'd never have enough confidence to use it for a daily commute.
Which I did in summertime, weather permitting, pre-retirement.
Just saying.

 

My girl friends car died so got her a 92 corolla, 100k mile little to no rust
Just do a few maintiance repairs ever once in a while
gets 35 plus mpgs

Only cost $1100

 

9th gen Corolla. They usually sell for 2-5k depending on your area, and I average 32mpg with combined highway and city in my 03. It has no balls but it's the best grocery-getter you could ever ask for. Extremely cheap to fix them up too. I tend to take the Corolla vs the Taco on road trips to save on gas, and because the maintenance is easy and cheap, even at 257k miles. Civics are great but they're the same concept, only you'll feel like you're in a more familiar place in a Corolla. You could also get a motorcycle, but depending on if you have kids or your climate etc, that might not be a good option. Oh, and insurance on this car is dirt cheap. I could sit here and list a million reasons, but if you have a long commute to work or don't want to rack up miles on the truck, etc. the 03-08s are the best bang for your buck in the beater world. Better yet, find someone who doesn't know the value of one, I bought mine for $900 because it had 227k miles on it and the lady thought it was due to die any day.

 

Now that I have my very own Tacoma, I get that.

I lived in Greenville many years ago. Augusta Road. I still miss it, especially in the wintertime.
Oh, and I miss the frantic crowds rushing to the grocery stores for bread, milk and toilet paper whenever they forecast snow flurries.

Love that quote in your sig. I'm thinking Lake Jocassee.

 

Buy a cheap Motorcycle and daily it to work. It's what I was considering should I really need to pinch pennies. Though, my wife who is stalking this thread may say otherwise lmao @gasparic104

 

I should also note that I have a Yaris I daily and just picked up a tow rig.

It is nice to have a second vehicle if you do your own repairs, modifications, and upgrades because you'll always have something to drive to the parts store or work while your truck is half taken apart

 

I have an 08 Impreza 2.5i as a second car. It's the first time my wife and I have had two vehicles so it's been nice. It's needed some work but I picked it up cheap so it's not the worst thing. When it's time to do the timing belt I'll be pulling the heads as the gaskets are weeping oil (common, not the end of the world). A lot of people won't buy these cars, or have a sour opinion of them because of the head gasket issue but really, once it's fixed with a quality gasket set you'll never have them off again. It drives great in any weather, averages 29mpg, has lots of room (wagon) and seats 4 adults with ease. With a hitch and roof racks it's tough to justify keeping the truck around, We'll likely end up selling both and buying a new Impreza or Crosstrek to share later on.

Does it save me any money? absolutely not. Would take many years in fuel savings just to break even on the purchase price alone. Never mind insurance, repairs, maintenance etc.

 

I had an 08 2.5i and hated it besides the winter drifting. Major valve seal oil leak or blowby or something, about a quart of oil every gas tank. Also my mom had a 2011 Forrester, same shitty motor. Not buying another one of those pieces of shit.

 

Damn, that sucks. I've definitely heard about the oil consumption issue. I changed the oil when I bought it, coming up on 5000km and its still at the full mark. I still check every time I fill up because I'm paranoid.

So far I've fixed:

-Corroded VVT solenoid plug. Day after I bought the car I had a bunch of angry flashing CELs. Pretty sure this is why the previous owner dumped it off cheap.

-Power steering pump. Previous owner had the original changed at a shop. I found the actual problem was dry/cracked return and feed lines with loose pinch clamps.

-Dead HVAC blower. Wiring for the motor is right above the passengers feet and easily damaged. Easy fix.

Still rather have it than all the other econo boxes I test drove.

 

What do you think your monthly or annual cost of owning one is? In terms of maintenance and insurance etc.

 

Don't buy a VW whatever you do. I had a '16 Jetta for a while and besides the 26 city and 42 highway it sucked.

 

So agree. There is a reason you can find newer audis and VWs at very low prices. Unreliable and OEM parts are expensive.