At what point does a small beater car add up?

[Sycostang67]

I wouldn't mind picking up an early 80's diesel mini truck, like a isuzu pup or chevy Luv. With the popularity of diesel though, prices on them have gone up. They seem to get 40-50mpg and they have a bed to put junk in.

As it sits right now, I fill my up my 93 once every two weeks to the tune of $120. One tank of fuel lasts me a full week of driving to work. Once my mustang is reassembled though I will be driving it a bunch. I never bothered to check the mpg of it but I doubt it's very good.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

I put $40 bucks worth of diesel in my Izuzu pup every 6 weeks. My commute is short, and I am getting 36mpg out of every tank. My IDI still gets worked, but only when I need to move something heavy.

 

[GOOSE]

I have had a bunch of people tell me the same thing, that's why I'm contemplating 3.55 gears for my IDI, It already gets about 2mpg less than my dads Taurus in town, is a lot more comfortable to drive, doesn't cost me a grand every time a deer runs out in front of me...

My IDI pays its own way, with the hauling and the fair fuel economy.

I think Brownie.........18mpg's

 

[ManicMike]

Since work is less then 2 miles away, I don't have the need for a small car. Plus if i just cruise along on the hwy the truck will see 18-19mpg, which I think is damn good for a 19 year old 6000lbs truck. I'm also looking into converting the rear tank for WVO use, to help offset some fuel cost on longer trips.

The 500hp mustang.. well let's say I rate that at 5 GPH (gallons per hour), I can drain that 15 gallon tank in about 3 hours (of racing). Though if I tune it on the lean side, it can turn about 18 cruising on the hwy (thank god for 3.27 gear's lol)

 

[benton]

my truck is parked with a blown trans it was gettin about 17 around town and in the 20s highway now im driven my old 86 f350 dually and im gettin about 8mpg around here and just plain crap on the highway i can watch the gauge go to E as im doin 55 on I80.

 

[rjjp]

I think Brownie.........18mpg's

I get that plus, even running it hard... My standard cab is a lot lighter than your crew cab though, I'm thinking about throwing in the wide ratio ZF5 (in my barn) and a set of 3.55 gears into mine, then save up some money and a set of 33's

 

[DragRag]

I drive a beater that gets 30 mpg highway, it only makes sense if you are just moving you ass around and maybe picking up a part or two. I got my cheapo car for next to nothing, and the insurance and reg is dirt cheap. It absolutely makes sense if you are putting down the miles like I am.

 

[The Warden]

PM sent.

Check your E-mail

Warden, I'd love to have a copy of those spread sheets.

PM me with your E-mail and I'd be happy to send it! That goes for anyone who's interested...hopefully it can help some people out.

I have to say, you guys talking about 2 to 3 mile commutes....wow!! My commute's 17 miles one-way (mostly on urban highways) and I consider myself fortunate. OTOH it's a rare day that I put less than 200 miles on a vehicle, although that vehicle usually belongs to my boss and I'm not paying the fuel bill OR making the vehicle payments

 

[biggin92]

my commute is twice a weak 20 miles round trip, i work a split schedule and take my work truck home, i work fri-sat off sun,work mon-tues,off wed and thurs so i cant complain,however i would still love to have an 80's isuzu turbo diesel pup those things are B A

 

[lotz]

i had my civic before i got the truck, ive only been driving the truck lately because the p/s pump is goin out in the car. but when that gets fixed i drive the truck back and forth to work (6mi round trip) then the car for longer runs. it gets about 38-42 on hwy.

 

[haligen]

The difference between my little scoobie and the dually isn't really that much. The WRX needs premium gas and even then only averages about 27mpg if I baby it. Might be time to look for a TDI.

 

[Agnem]

My Excursion has been averaging around 19 MPG. I have a 110 mile drive per day to and from work. That works out to a trip cost of just under $25 per day to get to and from work. That's a lot of money folks! That's $500 a month. My fuel bill for the whole family has been around $900 to $1000 a month. I try really hard not to think of what I could be doing with that money if I didn't have to buy fuel, because if I do it gets really painfull. That said, I've done the math and still don't feel I can win buying something that gets better mileage. I need something that I can trust to be reliable, so if I were to buy a higher MPG car, it would need to be a new or used one. So if I bought a new car for lets say $32K, I'd still have a car payment, and higher cost insurance per month. There is no way that is going to be under $500 a month, since fuel for it is still going to cost $250 a month. I'd just be giving my money to a bank instead of the oil companies, and they probably own the banks anyway. That plus I'd loose the collision protection, towing and hauling ability and interior space and leg room.

 

[SparkandFire]

I drive a beater for the sole purpose of keeping the miles and the wear off my truck...

Plus, this beater belongs to the company I work for, and as Towcat recently put it... "it's a pretty embarrasing company car"

But, the fuel don't cost me a dime and when it breaks I drop it off at the shop and say "FIXIT"

 

[BioFarmer93]

I'm really liking my old M-B 300D, it gets about 30mpg, and could probably do a little better if I tracked down a boost leak that it almost certainly has- I'm not too keen on the way M-B did their air piping connections on the '82 but it's not a big fix. Henry only gets driven a couple days a week now and/or for hauling to keep him limber & lubed.

 

[whenry912]

I have a 2007 Honda Civic that I bought when gas was $4 last time, now it is almost paid off. I drive 500 miles to Mass and back every other weekend, so the Honda has 90k miles on it already and gets 38mpg on the highway.

I drive the truck to work and around town, about 300 miles a week... it uses twice as much fuel as the Honda, but I am trying to keep the local miles off the Honda so it lasts to use for my long weekend commutes. I did drive the truck up to Mass recently and it got 20 mpg, not too bad for a truck...

So basically now I put 13k miles a year on the Honda (all highway) and about 12k a year on the Truck (mostly local)

Oh and my two daughters, 13 and 9, refuse to ride in the Honda, they DEMAND the truck