MPG decision....sell or keep?

This may sound like a stupid question, but need some advise from fellow Tacomites. I'll make this short.

Gas is creeping up there to the point where driving a truck as a commuter doesn't seem like the wisest thing to do. I have a truck for the occasional haul of trailer or wood haul and 4WD for the occasional winter storm. I like the truck, but not sure enough based on MPG. I have pretty much reset the maintenance clock on it since purchase (now has 90K), but now with gas prices rising and not projected to go down anytime soon. (I tried doing a search for this, but nothing came up.) So asking for opinions, and yes I realize there will be many. So sell or keep? If I keep, what are the reasons for doing so? (sarcasm certainly welcomed . In this climate, we need to laugh a little now and then).

 

I mean the resale prices have never been better, but can you buy anything that will save you money immediately that isn't a clear downgrade? I'm probably not the right person to ask anyway though, most of my vehicles are older than me and I would never finance a vehicle or buy one new. I daily a 1993 Land Cruiser, 13mpg average, I have a 60mi round trip commute haha

 

Unless you have something else to tow a trailer or haul wood, it might not be the best decision to get rid of it for something that can't.
Would be kinda funny loading a Honda Accord up to the roof with firewood.

 

I also wonder in my head if Tacomas history of resale value and reliability almost offsets the $ spent on fuel over the years of ownership the longer it is kept.

 

I personally can't be without a truck I need it to do the things I need to get done! That said, sometimes it's hard to seperate the needs from the wants! Everyone is different so I would say I you don't need it sell it!

 

It's in fact one of the only ways to get your entire money's worth out of it

 

And no car payments no matter the MPGs is money saved.

I daily a 2001 Wrangler since the weather here I'm San Diego is pretty good all year round. 12-13 MPG. I bought it used in 2009. Tacoma is for family time. Weekends and holidays generally, but it gets 15-16 MPGs unless towing.

I say keep it. Unless your good with a major downgrade or willing to drive a hybrid/electric that will get you some crazy MPGs.

 

What if I bought it expecting it to be worthless one day like every other vehicle and the value won't stop rising... at least that what happened with the Land Cruiser. My Chevy is certainly only going downhill and who knows what my Tacoma is doing, lately the classic car market (oh shit all my stuff is over 25 years old) is looking more like the housing market on paper, it fluctuates above predicted value but never goes down much at all.

 

You need to run the $$ numbers.

Once upon a time ago, I was driving an '04 GMC Sierra 2500HD with the 6.0L engine. It was not a fuel pig for a 6.0L, but highway was 16-17 mpg. My daily commute was nearly 150 miles round trip. Gas was pushing over $4/gal, I was filling every other day with 25+ gallons.......yeah, the fuel spend alone was $200-300/week. Ran through some $$ numbers, ended up buying a '07 Toyota Corolla CE (cheap edition). Then the truck was parked except for truck duties. The savings in fuel alone paid for the Corolla. Later, the Corolla was passed to my daughter as a college ride.

Yes, fuel is getting expensive. But it's no where near the peak.

 

I sold my 2000 Tahoe in 2009 when gas prices went way up. I purchased the Tahoe new and it was in great shape with 165k on it. WORST decision I ever made based on selling it because of fuel prices. If I could do it all over again that truck would still be in my driveway.

 

Welcome to the truck life. Embrace the suck.

 

Need more info but I find myself in the same boat but trying to justify not having a car. I have a 22 year Honda with 320k on the clock and she's getting tired. I put 18k a year on the car, at $5 a gallon it would cost me $200 more a month to drive a Tacoma 16mpg vs 28mpg. If I buy a new Honda it will be $800 to $900 a year for insurance so lets call that a wash for the extra costs of truck tires and truck maintenance plus I have to pay for the car. Not worth it in my scenario. I also put 10k miles a year on my truck but that's happening on top of my work commute and will be on my truck regardless if I have a car or not.

Now you could keep the truck and buy a beater car with liability insurance and pay for that car much quicker. I have no idea your financial situation or how much $200 in gas a month effects your budget. If you drive less than me your saving even less. I'm trying to justify replacing the ole Honda and 1st gen Tacoma with a new comfortable truck.

 

Similar story to my own. With my 34s, spindle lift & 3" suspension lift my Taco was getting about 13mpg on my 20 mile commute. Add in a young man's social life & I was filling about twice a week. At the time it was costing me $350 per month in fuel alone, this was when gas was nearing $4 in SoCal. I ended up picking up a used Chevy Volt plug in hybrid for $12k cash. Charging at work is free and the house I was renting had solar so the bill went up $5. My return on investment was about 42 months, and the last 2+ years have been "profit" compared to daily driving the Taco. Registration & insurance are paid by the fuel savings. In my case maintenance is nearly 0 since the gas engine only runs once every few months (2 oil changes in 5 years!?).

Run the numbers OP. Calculating fuel money saved between 2 vehicles is easy, especially if you're any good with Excel (remember y=MX+b?). Fuel will be your biggest savings, so project it out a year or 5 to see how much the difference becomes. Tires on a smaller car are laughably inexpensive compared to all terrains ($350 per tire in my case). Brakes are cheaper. Insurance is cheaper. Registration is cheaper. All of that is harder to compare, but the savings are definitely there.

A lot of this website will have you believe you need to drive a truck full time or else you'll be castrated & given a purse to carry. The fact is my Volt has moved furniture, firewood, building supplies etc etc etc. The truck is for camping and moving what can't fit in the electric car, this is to squeeze every dollar of savings I can from that depreciating asset before it's retired.

 

Truck is paid off. I was thinking of replacing with something like a used lower mileage Subaru Outback. Can tow and has 4WD with the MPG's high enough.

 

Y’all should sell me yaw trucks and then u can take the bus

 

Thanks for the offer....but my truck does not yaw sideways.

 

If a subaru floats your boat that makes sense. Not my cup of tea but were all different.