Auto options due to rising gas prices

Early B.

My wife has a Jeep Grand Cherokee that drinks gasoline. It's paid for, and has over 100K in miles on it. Right now she spends $500 - $600/month in gas, and prices will continue to escalate. I know I'm not the only one who's been thinking about unloading a gas guzzler, so what have you guys thought about?

From a financial perspective, should we suck it up and drive this Jeep until it falls apart? Or do we assume another car note? Anyone have any mathematical formulas for this kind of thing?

I used to own a motorcycle and thought about getting one again, but I'm older now and more cautious (i.e., I've become wussified).

We live in a metro area, so scooters and such aren't practical. We also live in the suburbs where mass transit is not a viable option.

What to do?

dragon1952

Definitely not worth risking your life over (i.e. motorcycle). I would definitely get rid of the gas guzzler though. Plenty of fine autos that can average 25 or more. My little '98 BMW 3-series gets me there in style, is fun to drive, is one of the safer cars to drive and averages 25, although it does require premium. Just an example though.

RuSsMaN

http://www.smartusa.com/

avguytx

Those are cool little cars but that would scare the hell outta me driving that on I35 in DFW traffic back and forth to work! I feel the crunch...my Dodge Ram Quad Cab sucks for mileage but it's almost paid for and I'm not going to "take it in the brown" on trading it in. I'm just going to buy a basic econo-box car (i.e Honda Accord or something) to drive back and forth and keep the truck parked.

Early B.

dragon1952 wrote: »

My little '98 BMW 3-series gets me there in style, is fun to drive, is one of the safer cars to drive and averages 25, although it does require premium.

You should have gotten a Benz.:p

My little '98 MB gets me there in style and averages 25 MPG, too.

My wife is accident prone, so I really like the added safety of an SUV (I assume it's safer). What about a baby Volvo? Any other safe car options?

dragon1952

I pulled up next to one of those in Corvallis, OR one day. Wow....talk about tiny. I would NOT want to be in freeway traffic with that, or on ANY road in S. Cal.

EDIT: Not the Benz of course

Jstas

I was gonna park the Lightning and buy either a 4x4 F-150 or a Harley Davidson F-150 (4 door Lightning). Oh wait, I'm going backwards again, ain't I?

shadowofnight

Not giving my V8 up anytime soon, or the huge interior room. I had motorcycles for so many years , and ended going in friends trucks on hunting trips or basically anywhere a group of us was going together.

Even after getting my Toyota 4x4 , it wasnt large enough or powerful enough to carry more then 2 people with all the associated gear.

So basically I feel obliged now to be the driver now , when I wasnt all those other years. Even with a trailer full of quads and and motorcycles...I dont even notice it back there...the Toyota was wheezing in the steeper mountains.

I just drive a bit less now, and plan multiple destinations per single trip now.

Rivrrat

Rather than buy an econo box, I cut my commute. I now drive 9 miles a day. That's 3 gals a week in my F-150.

I'd start riding my mtn bike, but there's too many hills for my fat backside to handle.

As for the origional question, at 5-6 bills a month, it wouldn't ttake long to pay for a used economy car.

rskarvan

Early B. wrote: »

My wife has a Jeep Grand Cherokee that drinks gasoline. It's paid for, and has over 100K in miles on it. Right now she spends $500 - $600/month in gas, and prices will continue to escalate. I know I'm not the only one who's been thinking about unloading a gas guzzler, so what have you guys thought about?

From a financial perspective, should we suck it up and drive this Jeep until it falls apart? Or do we assume another car note? Anyone have any mathematical formulas for this kind of thing?

Ok... lets due the math....

A $30K vehicle will have a $500/month payment and will still use $200/month gas. Total cost = $700/month.

Your old JGC may use $500 of gas but it has no payment. Total cost = $500/month.

IT IS ALWAYS CHEAPER TO DRIVE YOUR OLD CAR THAN TO BUY NEW!!! (even considering gas prices)

george daniel

Early B. wrote: »

My wife has a Jeep Grand Cherokee that drinks gasoline. It's paid for, and has over 100K in miles on it. Right now she spends $500 - $600/month in gas, and prices will continue to escalate. I know I'm not the only one who's been thinking about unloading a gas guzzler, so what have you guys thought about?

From a financial perspective, should we suck it up and drive this Jeep until it falls apart? Or do we assume another car note? Anyone have any mathematical formulas for this kind of thing?

I used to own a motorcycle and thought about getting one again, but I'm older now and more cautious (i.e., I've become wussified).

We live in a metro area, so scooters and such aren't practical. We also live in the suburbs where mass transit is not a viable option.

What to do?

Brad,, I'm in a similar situation,,just located a little further south of the city,,my wife is resisting the idea that we swap cars for work,as mine is much closer,and she drives the "Pilot",which I bought for her, and she's 3 times the distance,hence increased fuel cost's. Our fuel costs are about 400-500 month combined. Hopefully the local politicos' wiil go ahead with the "rapid rail" for the metro/surbaban areas,,but we are still 2 years away. Alot of my staff members are now car-pooling with each other.I just try to keep both cars in tip-top shape,,oil changes-tune up/tweaks,tires etc,,last time I filled up it was 3.49/gallon :mad:

TroyD

Much as I hate to admit it, Templeton is right.

BDT

bobman1235

rskarvan wrote: »

Ok... lets due the math....

A $30K vehicle will have a $500/month payment and will still use $200/month gas. Total cost = $700/month.

Your old JGC may use $500 of gas but it has no payment. Total cost = $500/month.

IT IS ALWAYS CHEAPER TO DRIVE YOUR OLD CAR THAN TO BUY NEW!!! (even considering gas prices)

That assumes the Jeep needs no work (being an American car with over 100k miles, I'm sure it does) and will last forever and not strand you somewhere when it breaks down.

rskarvan

bobman1235 wrote: »

That assumes the Jeep needs no work (being an American car with over 100k miles, I'm sure it does) and will last forever and not strand you somewhere when it breaks down.

Even if the JGC requires $2500 of repairs every year (highly unlikely)... it is still cheaper to drive the Jeep than to buy new.

Early B.

bobman1235 wrote: »

That assumes the Jeep needs no work (being an American car with over 100k miles, I'm sure it does) and will last forever and not strand you somewhere when it breaks down.

Yep. And by the summer my wife might be paying $700/mo. in gas or more.

I think we're screwed, either way. Now I'm back to re-visiting the motorcycle option. What about one of those three-wheeled cycles? They seem more stable than a typical bike. I fell off my motorcycle more than once when I owned one.:eek:

Good ideas about conserving fuel, though. It's inevitable.

Early B.

Something like this Harley.... maybe $150/mo. note plus about $25/mo. in gas.

rskarvan

I hear the trikes are incredibly boring to ride. I think you'd be far more happy with a Saturn Sky.

rskarvan

Other options to consider: "The Hydrogen Boosted Gasoline Engine"

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/the-hydrogen-boosted-gasoline-engine-cga.htm

www.Water4gas.com

mule

I had a similar issue, my work truck a dual wheel crew cab f 350 gets 15 mpg, I bought it when I had boats. The crew cab made it nice for pileing friends in and going places with the boat (we used to do wakeboard demos at private clubs)

I really don't need a crewcab any more so I thought about going to a smaller truck with better fuel economy. My trucks paid for but if I traded for a new one I would end up borrowing about 20,000.

Instead I bought a off lease volvo v70 xc for 20,000, it gets about 23 to 25mpg and I can throw my tool box in the back and use it for work when I don't need to carry a lot of stuff. It saves me a lot of money on fuel and keeps the wear and tear down on my truck which is a lot more expensive to replace than the car.

I figure in the long run it will pay for itself because of fuel savings and equity in 2 vehicals instead of one.

Ah... I forget what my point was... hell maybe I didn't have one... sorry

Strong Bad

I'm glad I got rid of my Explorer when i did. I love my '08 Honda Accord. I'm averaging about 12-13 miles per gallon more. I did the math and although I assumed 4 more years of payments (still had 1 year left on the Explorer), it just made sense for me to go this route.

I looked at it from a weekly cost perspective, monthly, yearly and over the life of the vehicle. Besides, when the tranny died in the Explorer and I got it repaired, it just didn't feel and drive right. It was a ticking time bomb in my mind.

TroyD

The only 'right' answer is the one that is right for you....

However, in my case, I have a 99 Dodge pickup that is in good shape. Lousy gas mileage but, it's paid for. Been paid for for 5 years. So for me, it's cheaper to keep her. YMMV

BDT

ohskigod

I'm there, 1991 GMC Sierra pick up, 17 mpg at best (with a 6 no less)
still, it runs like a champ, and its paid for so gas price be damned, its still cheap as hell.

sucks2beme

Of course the real answer is, if everyone downsized, gas would go down
(maybe). That's what happened in the 80's, then we all got comfortable
and bought SUV's in the 90's. Of course, the real answer is for more
office based jobs to go home based. I've been working from home for 10
years. I only go places when work is paying milage, or a bit of shopping on my time.
We screwed up when we didn't go alternate fuels after the first two
gas crunches.

Fireman32

I am so happy with my Toyota Yaris. I average between 38 to 41 a gallon. And my commute is 2 miles so a tank lasts forever. Last time i filled up it was 3.35 a gallon and now it's 3.60.

Strong Bad

TroyD wrote: »

The only 'right' answer is the one that is right for you....

BDT

Exactly!

Phasearray

rskarvan wrote: »

Ok... lets due the math....

A $30K vehicle will have a $500/month payment and will still use $200/month gas. Total cost = $700/month.

Your old JGC may use $500 of gas but it has no payment. Total cost = $500/month.

IT IS ALWAYS CHEAPER TO DRIVE YOUR OLD CAR THAN TO BUY NEW!!! (even considering gas prices)

What if Gas prices continues to go up and he sales his old Jeep and buy an used sedan?

rskarvan

TroyD wrote: »

The only 'right' answer is the one that is right for you....

However, in my case, I have a 99 Dodge pickup that is in good shape. Lousy gas mileage but, it's paid for. Been paid for for 5 years. So for me, it's cheaper to keep her. YMMV

BDT

Thank you for purchasing a fine UAW built vehicle!!!

edbert

Early, I was in nearly the exact same situation you were. We were scheduled to payoff my wife's 2000 Grand this month. This past November we were looking at gas mileage, cost of upkeep, insurance and future depreciation. All things considered, we ended up buying a 2005 Altima 3.5 with low miles for a really good price. The overall payments were lower a couple hundred dollars lower, it will be paid off in less than three years, it is still under factory warranty, it gets a LOT better gas mileage, has overall lower upkeep costs and will last a lot longer all things considered. My wife had to sacrifice a few things like leather seats, heated seats and a few other things, but she still has plenty of power(it's actually faster), lots of room and it's a fun and sporty car to zip around town in. I would sell it, and get yourself a nice used import sedan. All of them are fairly similar when it comes to size, power and mileage but they all drive quite differently.

Good luck man and hopefully everything will work out in the end.

Demiurge

Kegger in Alaska, IMO.

TroyD

rskarvan wrote: »

Thank you for purchasing a fine UAW built vehicle!!!

RTR , you just can't help yourself can you??

Lemme put it this way, it will be the LAST UAW built vehicle I'll buy. It is inferior in every way to any of the foreign vehicles that we have owned. In the past 13 years we've owned a Volvo, 2 Nissans, a Dodge and a Kia. The Dodge has been the worst.

All said and done, the Kia has been the best.

BDT

rskarvan

I'm right there with you Troy. I've got two Chevy's and a Jeep and they will be the last 3 UAW vehicles I will ever buy. Don't get me wrong... all three have been fabulous, problem-free vehicles.... but, by the time they need replacing, the BIG 3 will be Toyota, Honda, and Kia and the only thing left of UAW will the organized Casino workers in Vegas.

- RTR