Considering bailing early...

I just bought a 2011 Camry for the lady so that I could not drive the truck as much.

Now I drive her old car(Mazda3) and she drives the Camry. Saves about $80 in gas a month which makes the payment not as bad(plus I keep miles off the truck).

 

We have a 2008 Corrolla for daily distance duty...around town about 28mpg, on the highway 33-35mpg. My bicycle gets about 60 miles a week, only have to fill my water bottle.

 

As was mentioned several times in this thread, trade if you want something else on a gut level, go hybrid if you are really interested in maximizing MPG, but do some math before you assume you are going to save some whopping big bucks.

For instance, I have a 2010 4wd, 4cyl, 5sp, SR5 with 16k miles and an avg of 21MPG for each of those 16k miles. At $3.29 (current price here in PA) I could save 6¢ per mile by trading to a 35MPG Civic. Both my teens drive Civics from the late 90's, son's is manual he is getting right about 34; daughter has an auto and is getting 32. At current prices, MPG, and typical annual driving I could save a little over $1000 a year.

If I went with a nice Subaru Outback, a car I considered before buying the truck I really wanted, I could save about 4¢ a mile, and less than $600 per year on gas.

So, I am looking at a realistic savings of about $50/thousand miles driven. The price of gas is a major pain, and I'm not happy about it either, but I can save more by other means before I trade my Tacoma for a Civic, Corolla, or even an Outback.

 

The new Elantra's are advertising 49MPG. I know what I'm buying my wife...

As for the gas price issue... Well just be happy you live where you live. I'm paying $1.16/Litre right now (roughly $4.25/gal) and I'm actually pretty happy about that. It was closer to $1.25 before I moved to Alberta!

 

Thanks guys for all the helpful advice. I prob wont sell the Taco, but spending like 1500 on an old 90s 2000 civic (SI FTW) might be a good compromise. Still open to all your wise opinions. Thanks guys!

 

I actually had a small 4x4 trailer and a hitch on my 2006 xb. Pretty useful if one ends up dumping the truck a hitch can be had for almost any vehicle and though maybe not great for hauling, will save you having to rent a truck those couple times a decade you would otherwise need to.

 

MOTORCYCLE!

 

This is the same thread that plays out like clockwork every time the gas prices spike. People left and right are dumping their trucks/suv's in favor of smaller, fuel efficient cars. Driving something more fuel efficient is a good idea in and of itself, but losing thousands on this type of knee-jerk reaction isn't beneficial. Do yourself a favor and REALLY look at the how much you'll save. Unless you're considering a Prius (which I know you're not) or a diesel Jetta, then I doubt the savings will merit the loss. Best of luck with your decision, and choose wisely!

 

^^. Motorcycles are the way to go, but not just any one. Keep the CC's low and dont buy new.

I ran numbers just for the hell of it.
If I were to purchase a new bike for 9,000.00, insure it for 250.00/year (600cc) and use it solely to commute to/from work (100 miles a week), the difference in savings would only pay off the insurance, in 8 months of riding. This is 45mpg bike using premium vs 18mpg taco using regular. I would have to keep, and ride, the bike for YEARS before I would ever get my money back on the bike itself. And that doesnt even include maintenance costs. Basically, it would have to be the main source of transportation, and I would have to get lucky w/ some warm winters to extend the riding season.

Obviously someone who has a significantly further commute (and warmer annual climate) would reap the benefits...not someone like myself w/ a short commute. Of course, you can't buy one just for economical reasons. ..... you have to buy it as a toy and have fun with it.

 

Just curious, is there a chip or something we can do to increase mpg..
I put a lot of miles on mine. Almost at 100k on it..
I would like to get more mpg without changing vehicles..

 

and I think back and remember my previous life in Europe. Current exchange rate calculations by Google:

1.68 (Euros per liter) = 8.79072551 U.S. dollars per US gallon

Of course back then I had a compact company car and a company gas card. lol

 

Bought the wife a 2010 Corolla S, she only puts about 6k a year on, we couldnt remember the last time we put gas in it. We had to check the bank statement to figure out the date. She gets a about 3 weeks to the tank.

 

Also consider some cars will require Premium fuel. How will a 4runner be any better?

Check out Imprezas.

OR

Look at buying a junk 2k car to get back n forth.

 

I got my wife a Jetta TDI Sportwagen last August. We found a guy who just started working at the Hyundai plant down the road from us, and peer pressure / corporate culture / incredible deal on a 2 door Genesis coup made him buy one and dump his 2010 Sportwagen. It gets around 42 mpg on the highway, and we love it.

A buddy of mine did a bunch of cost analysis on buying a motorized 2 wheel of some sort, and figured out that with his commute, a Honda Ruckus was the best bet for payback in a couple of years without crazy numbers in the calculations like 200 miles of commute, 10mpg on the truck, and $8 gal gas. He drives an 06 4Runner V6.

I would second the sportbike thing, but I have a feeling the OP wouldn't be able to afford the insurance payments. 19 years old + sportbike = almost as much a year as the bike costs new, assuming the bank owns the bike and he has to have full coverage.

 

I cant use a motorcycle. Insurance too high and I have to carry things

 

insurance too high???? !!!!! WHAT!? I guarantee you you've never paid less insurance on a garaged pedal car than I do on my bike. Wife and I together is 150ish a year.. like 75 dollars a half. 2 bikes and riders.
Put full coverage on a bike that gets totaled when tipped in a parking lot and yea, its a grand or 2. Stay away from fairings and its less than 200. I mean hell, I bought an xb9sx (naked) the only bike in progressive's book was an xb9r (faired). they wanted 2500 for 6 months, called a geico that had the 9sx listed. $250.. new with collision.

And as for carrying things, I assume you mean large things every day. I have some like 30 litres or more of panniers for carrying my things. But the biggest things I've carried are my golf clubs and a sheet rock square. 55 mpg with my idle screw backed out to knock out some engine popping on deceleration. Wife gets about 110mpg. INSANE! *crf 230. When I ride it it gets about 85. And yes a crf 230 WILL pull me down the road at 70 mph. Though It probably severely limits its life.
It does a 0-60 with me (200lbs at least with gear) on it in about 8 seconds. Better than my scion. Not quite as fast as my truck. But 0-45 is probably a bit faster. I mean really.. 110. How can you beat that?

 

Ive seen kids in late teens to early twenties paying 1k+ for bike insurance. So I'm sure thats what he's referring to. I agree that insuring a 250 wont hurt nearly as bad as trying to insure a gsxr750!

 

Wife's used '06 civic is my DD.. (she works from home).. Truck is our beach car. Try fitting a toddler, 2 standup paddleboards, a cooler, tent-canopy, and a bunch to beach gear in a compact car..

Accord and civic will never fail u....

 

i drive almost 80 miles a day sometimes. My 2010 4wd isnt the best a gas milage at all. im looking into getting a 1984 bmw 318i, which gets almost 30 miles a gallon. ill still keep my taco for the beach and stuff on the weekends

 

Yeah. I'm just saying insuring anything with 2 wheels for a 19 year old will be painful I'd imagine. When I was 24 and single, and got a quote on a Honda CBR600 for full coverage, it was $500 a month. I bought a Ducati Monster for less money, brand new, and the insurance was $60 / month for the same coverage. Go figure. Almost 10x more for a sport bike.

Agent said it was b/c the Monster is considered a "sport tourer" by their classing system, and as long as it's under 1000 CC, a sport touring bike is cheap insurance. Also, the Ducati had a dramatically lower loss history than any of the Japanese sport bikes. Guy said that fully 50% of Japanese plastic clad sport bikes that are insured are declared a total loss in the first 6 months of ownership.

That was just my experience. I still have the bike, and I'm now 28 and married, and the insurance is like $29 a month. The bike is also 4.5 years old.