At what point does a small beater car add up?

[trapper]

hell my beater is my Suzuki Sami which gets almost 30 mpg's and is 4wd haha

 

[towcat]

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

you must have forgotten my commute. if I hit every red light it takes me 5 minutes to get to work.
I did get an alternate vehicle due to the fact my CC dualie doesn't even get a chance to warm up and that is death to a diesel.

 

[lotz]

i almost forgot about the piglet too. 1981 honda twinstar, 200cc, my uncle gave it to me when i was 15, mom wouldnt let me get my license till i was 18 and have put abouy3K local miles on it every summer since, at 80 mpg it get the job done well.

 

[jam0o0]

I have a small efficient car to get me to work 60 miles round trip. it gets 3 times the gas mileage (33) at the speeds i drive in the traffic i have. my truck has 4.10's and it's not exactly easy to navigate 5 lanes of doubasses like the little car. added bonus is i get to race the little car once a month. and the truck gets fewer miles on it. buying more cars rarely makes $$ cents. but i'm happy i have the little cheap car.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I see about five death accidents each night on the local news.

Without exception, the fatalaties are always those driving/riding the little toodle-around cars.

I like plenty of steel around me and between myself and whatever might hit me.

The piddling difference in the cost of a little fuel compared to being turned to hamburger is a no-brainer for me.

 

[91idi]

as long as i can afford the diesels i drive them but i love the studburban. 16mpg and being able to park some cars inside of it and still have the middle row up is fun. i pulled the trailer up to work today with her and she loved it(265,000 miles on the 350)

 

[fx4wannabe]

My F350 pretty much just sits in the garage now. I got a little beater ranger that I drive everyday plus I have a bike too. I can fill up the ranger and the bike for around $70 and get me about 550 miles. I am doing good to get that many miles out of both tanks in the F350 and its $150 fillup. I paid $1250 for the ranger and put 40000 on it since I have had it. Very much worth it. Plus this way I can keep the miles of the truck I care about.

 

[bike-maker]

I have an 87 Honda Accord that I bought off of my Uncle 7 years ago for $1000. I thought it would have grenaded by now. 150,000 miles later (the odometer is now at 290k), she still runs great, and gets 28 mpg. My truck costs almost exactly twice as much to drive. At 50% WMO, the truck is just as cheap as the car. But I'd rather drive the crap box Honda into the ground than my truck. And it's really handy to have a spare vehicle.

 

[GOOSE]

Maybe I am an IDI ****** but a thousand bucks will go into my truck before it buys me a beater in the near future as my truck will surely make the money back. Maybe its nonsense and I need to mature up at the age of 37 but my truck is like part of my personality, I am more comfortable in it than anything else going down the pike. I guess thats worth the extra fuel to me. I would, however, thoroughly enjoy a Jetta TDI 6 speed or a Honda XR650L dual purpose street bike as a means to curb fuel consumption. Too bad neither one is in the cards right now.

 

[towcat]

I see about five death accidents each night on the local news.

Without exception, the fatalaties are always those driving/riding the little toodle-around cars.

I like plenty of steel around me and between myself and whatever might hit me.

The piddling difference in the cost of a little fuel compared to being turned to hamburger is a no-brainer for me.

for three years I handled the remains of fatal wrecks in the county.
i get to see a shrink for free already but three years is the most you are allowed to work that position. you see alot that will rattle you badly.
I've come away with two pearls of wisdom that I tell all my friends and family.
one is easier to follow than the second one.
1)drive a vehicle big enough to win most arguments with other vehicles. (my current beater is a diesel powered 'burb 4x4)
2)the hard one is this one. tell the ones you love that you love them daily and never leave home angry. you may not have a chance to make peace later.

 

[haligen]

2)the hard one is this one. tell the ones you love that you love them daily and never leave home angry. you may not have a chance to make peace later.

Definately one to live by. I've seen enough crazyness to last a lifetime. To easy to get snubbed outta this life not to cherish your loved ones.

 

[The Warden]

2)the hard one is this one. tell the ones you love that you love them daily and never leave home angry. you may not have a chance to make peace later.

Truer words have never been spoken. You never know when the time you see or talk to someone will be the last.

 

[drivintrucks]

I couldn't help but add my 2 cents. Ultimately the decision comes down to money. I love all my trucks, but averaging 20-25K miles/year, I ended up selling my daily driver and picking up an '01 civic HX n 2008. The problem with some of the previous posts is what is considered good fuel economy. At some point in time, we forgot what good mpg really is. The big three advertises 24mpg as good mileage now. This little honda, a couple thousand $ investment, averages about 42-44 mpg in mixed driving. Takes 10.5 gal to fill up. It's quick and actually fun to drive. Again, I am a truck guy to the bone, but my pride takes a backseat to Exxon raking in $12 billion profits every couple months. A colleague bought himself a new F-150. Fills up 3 times a week, 36 gal tank. $400/mth in fuel. Geez, to me that's insane. Comes out to be $140/mth in the honda. And let's face reality, fuel prices are never going to go back to $1/gal, probably not even $2.

So there is really no wrong answer. It comes down to money, if you got it and don't mind burning it, then by all means keep driving that 15mpg truck. But for me, I don't have the extra money and the savings were real. The car was paid off quick, the insurance is not expensive, and registration (in PA) is a fraction of the CC. I still have my trucks and use them as needed. But this Honda keeps my pocket a little heavier.