Looking for my next work car

After my divorce I am left with a 2013 C300 AWD that I have no use for and to top it off is upside down on its loan.

I cant sell it without dumping more cash into it or trading it in.

My 2011 Elantra was such a great car, I managed 240K without any issues and very little maintenance, it went to the ex in the settlement. Now Hyundai has introduced the new Ioniq Hybrid that can get as much as 59 mpg.

It seems I am shopping for one.

Basic math here is I have a current loan on the Mercedes which sits and loses value daily.

The Hyundai can be had at 0% APR and, compared to the 15mpg the Expedition gets, will save me 75% of the fuel I use. By the way, my work cars average 50K a year. If I use a tank a day at $60 in the truck and now drive the Ioniq my fuel bill weekly should go from $300 to $75, saving $900 a month. This covers the repayment, insurance and maintenance.

The end result is I gain a new car with all the bells and whistles and get rid of the Mercedes monkey off my back.

Depreciation is irrelevant, as I will wear it out in 5 years, no matter what it is.

Is my logic sound?

Insurance? But yes, if you drive enough, and your other options are crappy MPG, the car will buy itself. The math breaks down when you realize that you can get a 7 year old economy car that gets 40mpg for maybe $7k. Do you save enough gas to make that price differential up?

Are you expensing this car? What does the IRS pay for mileage these days? Last time I looked it was $0.56/mile. It seems like you could actually make money on the deal.

But the real comparison is vs. another Elantra. Price difference vs. fuel cost difference.

Also, perhaps if you are entirely dependent on your car to make a living, maybe buying a first-year, high-tech car isn't the best option. Based on your previous experience, it seems like you can almost guarantee an Elantra won't strand you or keep wasting time at the dealer getting it fixed.

If this was me, I'd buy the Elantra. No beta-testing new tech, and even at 50k/year 40hwy vs 56hwy doesn't amount to very much.

Local Hyundai dealers are offering new '17 Elantras for $14k. Just saying.

mazdeuce wrote: Insurance? But yes, if you drive enough, and your other options are crappy MPG, the car will buy itself. The math breaks down when you realize that you can get a 7 year old economy car that gets 40mpg for maybe $7k. Do you save enough gas to make that price differential up?

50K a year... I would think that the math on a brand new Hyundai that gets that good a mileage would pay for itself in both gas and worryfree driving. How long with a 7 year old economy car last without needing some big repairs under that kind of usage?

In reply to mad_machine:

Ok then a 50k mile three year car. Someone else eats the first half of the depreciation and it just costs you 1/5 of the life of the car. You can do all sorts of games with this. What it comes down to is the most reliable trouble free years are the first 2-5, and you pay for that in depreciation. There's nothing wrong with that. I like new cars. But from a purely financial standpoint there is a better way. Aussie isn't your normal driver, so maybe the normal rules don't apply, only he knows.

As a business car, it is fully deductible.

Used cars mean less life, 2 years old 50K means I will only get about 200K rather than 250K. Mind you my go to cars for years have been retired P71s, I just want something better to use as my office for 12 hours a day. I am not getting younger.

Elantra at 40 mpg vs Ioniq's 60 is still 50% decrease in projected fuel savings. Off the top of my head at least $300 a month

Used cars also have higher interest on payments say 3 to 5%.

I doubt it will be cheaper at my mileage to buy the used Elantra, besides I have done that, something different is welcome. Elantra was a base model with manual, the Ioniq will be a fully loaded tech head model.

BTW I actually average 60K of work miles a year so I am playing it conservative on my numbers. Add to that about 30K in the other toys and trucks for my gross annual mileage.

And that's why I said you might buck conventional wisdom. Although 3% on 15k for 36 months is only something like $600, which is much less than the depreciation, and if someone said "I'll give you $5k to buy a car every four years instead of every five" maybe it would be worth the hassle?
For what it's worth, I suck at this game. I logic myself into sensible cars and then end up with weird expensive crap anyway.

mazdeuce wrote: Insurance? But yes, if you drive enough, and your other options are crappy MPG, the car will buy itself. The math breaks down when you realize that you can get a 7 year old economy car that gets 40mpg for maybe $7k. Do you save enough gas to make that price differential up?

The way Steve wears out cars I suspect used is not terribly feasible.

If I buy used I will end up with something RWD, manual and high maintenance.... I know you get that issue.

If I didn't have this Mercedes albatross around my neck it would change things too

I did it, pulled the pin on my 2017 Ioniq, white, SEL, nice electronics package, no powerhouse but it rides, handles and drives just fine for the miles I pile onto a car.

Awesome seats, zone climate control, everything runs off my Android phone, reversing camera (which takes time to adapt to) 6 speed auto and enough room for my demands.

Zero down, 0% interest, and they traded my C300 sight unseen for what I wanted out of it.

Now for the fuel savings to rack up.

Congrats.

Six months and 13k miles ago I bought a used Prius and I have liked it even more than I expected.

1000 miles to date and averaging 50mpg, but the battery still seems to be increasing as it gains miles so I expect that average to increase further.

I drive about the half the miles you do, but even for me that math works out.

What do you do that involves that much driving? I always wondered who was the first owner of those 2 year old cars with 100k on the clock and now I know

Outside sales for me. 60-200 miles a day, 5 days a week.

2000 miles in, went to the dealer for a complimentary oil change and wash, they loaned me a Genesis 5.0 RWD for a few hours. Damn what a sleeper, luxury and 420hp. I am a fanboi

Update at 7500 miles, no issues and mileage is close to as advertised

I think you made a wise choice but then I would always prefer the main DD to be new, reliable and massively economical which you seem to have with this purchase. Keep us updated. Oh and by the way I am the complete opposite of you. I work 2 miles from my house and put on roughly 5-6K miles a year between 3 cars. Last year I put only 1000 miles on the Miata and that's driving it to work daily and fun rides when it's nice out. I put it away for winter too which is roughly 5-6 months out of the year.

I hate you guys with your sensible yet interesting cars. I drive alone 95% of the time and drive an AWD 6.0 Yukon

Part of me wants a Prius (with my NRA, 2nd Amendment and "Fear Your Government" stickers on the back!)

I also have a 5.4 Expedition... 

39K in, not a single issue, car runs great. I will note that the fuel savings have been much lower every day the temperature stays below 32, as soon as it hits the defreeze zone the batteries must function better. Its not a big deal but I would have liked to be aware of this.

Otherwise, simply amazing and it can even be decently nimble, the Michelin tires have handled this tough Winter very very well.

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date. Interesting to hear real world reporting of new tech, ever better with the miles going up fast!

Good to see you posting.

Another update aussiesmg? 

We saw one of these yesterday and it may get on the short list.  Really interested in the plug-in, but local dealers don't have certified techs and so can't get the plug-in or pure EV version.