Sticker shock at the gas pump!

I've been driving way too much lately.  Although my fuel cost is going up by a significant margin, the net impact on my wallet is ~$30/month.  

I've been hunting for a more efficient car for a while, but in the current market it just doesn't make sense.

I remember in 2008, when we bought our Honda Fit, it was getting difficult to find a stick shift economy car on the lot because of gas prices. All of a sudden carmakers were importing hatchbacks again. I was looking back at the average gas price and it peaked at around $4.10 or so, which in today's dollars is like $5.35 for regular. 

I don't think carmakers are quite in the same situation as 2008 however - Ford can't just start importing the Focus and Fiesta again in any kind of numbers because of supply chain issues. EVs are around but again, not in any real numbers.

Watch the used EV market though, it is beginning to skyrocket right now. 

I might just be able to find enough dead Geo Metros in the wrecking yard to put together a few running cars to flip.

John Welsh said:

About 6 weeks ago I sold off a 2007 Prius with 160k and now watching the market I think it would sell today for $1,000 more.

It's starting to make me wish I'd taken a few more weeks to sell the black Volt!

We're at $4.05 in Vegas...............add $0.30-0.50 if you're in a the tourist corridor.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

I might just be able to find enough dead Geo Metros in the wrecking yard to put together a few running cars to flip.

Every time gas prices spike, that one guy in town with 6 Geo Metros (about half of which run) is convinced he's struck it rich.

Doesn't matter what town, every town has that guy.

5.39 for regular here. 5.89 for premium. California though. 

In reply to dculberson :

Agree!  Mine was sold in just 6 days and 2 of those days were very bad weather days so maybe like saying sold in 4 days and then sold to the second person to look at it.  I thought I was hitting the height of the market but it was all before Putin's War.  

I suppose on the flip side, its not like your gonna hear back from the buyer saying they got a bad deal even if xyz failed in the first month.  

I guy I might be the local "Geo Metro Guy" but instead Toyota Prius Guy.

I will probably be riding my bike to work as much as possible. The new eBikes out there really make it easy to bike commute if you're within 10 miles or so 

I thought I did good Saturday getting regular at  $4.76 when other stations were $5.20 nearby , 

 today  that would be 40 cents more......

full size Chevy Express van

Meanwhile, we're about 200 kWh net positive on solar generation over the past month even with the EV use. This is not being smug, this is a combination of "I'd never realized how much I'd stopped paying attention to the price at the pump" and "this is cool". I don't drive enough these days for gas prices to be a significant direct cost to me, but of course they'll affect the cost of everything else.

My bros kept asking if they should sell the Fiesta.  Its a 2017, stick, with 15,000mi. They don't drive it much. They kept getting offered what they paid for it months ago.

I said its paid for, keep it. If gas goes up, you'll wish you did. I reminded them of when gas was $5+ and people were paying $2,000 for clapped out Geo Metros?

In reply to Keith Tanner :

we are quite a bit in the negative up here in cold and grey Michigan. 

In reply to Appleseed :

I feel like there was a point where Geo Metros were going for like $10k again, am I misremembering? 

In reply to Erich :

I will happily admit we may be in the best possible location for solar power. And my array is sized to keep up with the AC use on my shop in the summer, which is significant. So it's way oversized for right now.

I'm not driving much lately with working from home, etc.  So I'm not too worried about prices from the car perspective (I've been filling the E38 about every 4 - 5 weeks).  SWMBO is still driving the Prius and she's not driving a ton either (but more than I am). 

I'm not looking forward to boating season though.  Of all the years for us to start with almost empty tanks (needed them empty to move them for a project over the winter) instead of storing with full tanks for winter like we typically do...  Our current travel plans there will definitely be subject to change depending on where gas prices settle out in 2 months or so. 

In reply to rslifkin :

I was talking to a 23ft powerboater yesterday.  He was speculating boat gas could be $6 this summer.  He's at a dock this year rather than trailer.  I advised him to spend the $20/each on a couple $5 gal utility jugs and bring 10 gal every outing.  

John Welsh said:

In reply to rslifkin :

I was talking to a 23ft powerboater yesterday.  He was speculating boat gas could be $6 this summer.  He's at a dock this year rather than trailer.  I advised him to spend the $20/each on a couple $5 gal utility jugs and bring 10 gal every outing.  

I've had the same thought, but I'm not sure our marina allows fueling at the dock.  And I'd be carrying an awful lot of fuel too.  Total tank capacity is 420 gallons

Got the Firebird out of storage this weekend. It may not sound like an economy car, but I get 25 around town and 33 on the freeway. Much better than my winter truck at 15 -16 no matter what I do. Last time gas was this much I was driving a Saturn which got 32 around town on a bad day. Could almost get 40 on the hiway but didn't want to drive that slow.

Prices around here are about $3.80/gal for regular. If they keep climbing, I'll add a fuel surcharge to cover the cost. BTDT

My glass manufacturer just added a 20% surcharge on the first of the month because of natural gas prices. 

I paid $3.69/gal to fill the Denali up 2 days ago in Upstate SC.  

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to frenchyd :

There is plenty of oil for the next several hundred years and more.  This is being driven by politics.  Enjoy.

Yes the situation with Russia is the prime reason for oil price spike. But if you do a spread sheet at these prices it's getting easy to justify solar and Wind generators. 
     Personally I just like the idea of plugging in in the garage rather then going to a gas station. It was 14 degrees this morning when I filled up. $90 will get me 1-2 days in the bus. 

I hate to bring politics to this forum but gas and oil prices started to rise the day after Inauguration Day when the Keystone Pipeline and oil exploration was halted by Executive Order.  Open up the energy segment of our economy and we can be self-sufficient.  We have more oil in the ground than OPEC.  We are still buying Russian oil.

Mustang50 said:

I hate to bring politics to this forum

Then don't

In reply to Mustang50 :

Gas prices were guaranteed to rise before that point.  The low prices through most of 2020 were an anomaly compared to 2019 and earlier.