Throw some commuter car ideas my way...aka what car.

I'm going through the candidate list myself, but always find that I missed one. Here's the situation.

I'm moving to Atlanta sometime in the next 6-8 weeks. My wife is going to now have a very short commute to work, like 3 miles. Me...OTOH...will now likely have a commute of 35-45 miles each way, mostly highway. Still not completely sure, but that's a high probability.

With a commute that long, I'm likely going to give my wife my Leaf. I'm probably still in range of what it can do, but would be pushing it if I were doing all highway driving. So I'd need a reliable efficient car I could just beat to death. Therefore, I'm thinking I'll buy something 2 or 3 years old where the initial depreciation hit has been taken. But the car should still be low miles.

So what car depreciates quickly or has a low buy in cost when new (i.e. a 2010-2011 model I can get for a steal now), is dead nuts reliable and highly fuel efficient? Likely some kind of cheap economy car so that my net loss after I'm done beating it is less.

This sounds like a job for the Elantra or its Kia equivalent.

Since you have already had a Honda Fit and had good luck with it, how about another one?

Used Volts are out there.

One of the "three Es": Exige ... Elise ... Evora

Okay, you're not ready for that level of awesome, how about a Pontiac Vibe?

Yes, the Fit is near the top of the list. My wife's current DD is a 2011 Kia Forte hatch, which we do like. But it's an auto and I'm somewhat disappointed with the mpg, which come in around 30mpg. I'm looking for 35+ on the highway.

David, Don't tempt me...the Exige is a Toyota engine after all...

Klayfish wrote: I'm moving to Atlanta sometime in the next 6-8 weeks. My wife is going to now have a very short commute to work, like 3 miles. With a commute that long, I'm likely going to give my wife aBicycle.

Fixed?

Sounds like a typical korean or american C or D class car. You have to be more specific!

In reply to Vigo:

Yes, those cars are part of the list, but just narrowing it down. Maybe another good way to put the question is what reliable and efficient car has the steepest depreciation curve in it's first 2 or 3 years? I'd rather beat a car that was $15k new in 2012 but only $9k now.

My new Mirage was under $14k new but the less equipped model is closer to $12k. Cheap enough new to look anyway.

I'm getting 38-45 mpg on my commute, depending on how strong the wind is blowing.

You original post makes mention of Atlanta and a 35-45 mile commute.
Where I live 35-45 minute comute would take 35-45 minutes. If in Atlanta, this could be 2-3 hours.

How long are you expecting this comute to take?
Are you sure you want to get rid of the automatic trans'ed Kia?

You say you are getting 30 and would like 35 mpg.
If this is an Atlanta comute, I hardly think you will get 30 mpg.
Either way, it likely does not really mater that much. You will not be putting on enough mile to notice the difference.

If you put on 40 miles each way, 80 miles per day for 260 days a year (5 days x 52 weeks = 260) = 20,800 miles.
20,800/ 30 mpg = 693.3 gallons x $4gal = $2,773.33
20,800/ 35 mpg = 594.3 gallons x $4gal = $2,377.14
$396.18 savings in year #1.

I would not take on new car debt for this kind of "savings".

Ding ding winner!

Klayfish wrote: I'd rather beat a car that was $15k new in 2012 but only $9k now.

You just described my base model 2012 Fiat 500. I briefly considered trading it in on an Abarth until I found out they'd give me $9k for my flawless 23k mile car. Thankfully, I don't want to get rid of it anyway.

NC Miata, Mazda 3, Kia Rio, Hyundai Elantra or Accent

Also maybe checkout the Honda CRZ

Well it sounds like you'll be spending a lot of time in your car, a Cadillac DTS or Lincoln Towncar may be the way to go.

gofastbobby wrote: Well it sounds like you'll be spending a lot of time in your car, a Cadillac DTS or Lincoln Towncar may be the way to go.

Honestly this. I have a 70 mile each way commute. I did it for 3 years in a Smart and the last two in an Abarth. And it was just fine. But I have this stupid cheap Crown Vic LX Sport that I'm working the bugs out of before the S2S rally and gas mileage be damned I'd rather commute in that thing every day. If I could sell my Abarth for what I owe I'd just flog the crown vic to death. I still love the Abarth, and when I want to play its fun to play with but a nice big comfy auto is quite nice on a boring highway commute.

I'd look for a Mazda2 or a Fiat 500. I like spending time alone in very small cars.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I would not take on new car debt for this kind of "savings".

Who said he was taking on debt? His wife is getting the Leaf... I'm guessing this means the '11 Forte Hatch could be traded in for a similar priced car that gets better mileage.

And Prius is the answer here. It's still going to get 45-50mpg in traffic, and the savings using your math above are going to be around $1K/year or more.

Probably no on the large cars. The DTS is a nice car, but I prefer smaller and more nimble cars for my commute. Just not my style. Plus they're thirsty and reliability is not stellar. Ditto on the Town Vic.

ProDarwin, you're right, there would be no debt taken on. The Forte would be sold/traded and I wouldn't need to finance the replacement (or a very small amount of it). The Prius and Insight are on the list, but they're autotragic only so that's a big downside. Though I plan to either bring the Miata in my avatar with me, or if the wife forces me to sell I'll get another when we get there. So that would be my manual car, which I'd use a lot.

I'd be worried about build quality on the Fiat. Mini Cooper is a thought. The non-S versions have been reported to get well over 40mpg with moderate hypermilling. Reliability is decent, much better than S models.

A lot of it would come down to bang for buck. Looking for that car that takes a huge depreciation hit in the first few years, so I can pick one up for a song.

Has the CRZ fallen in price?

High depreciation hits crappy cars like Pontiac SUVs, high-dollar luxury barges and minivans. The Prius is actually the #1 car for NOT loosing value, followed by the Mini. Reliable cars that are good on gas hold their value. Weird huh?

Kia (and Hyundai) is making a name for itself and it's cars are holding value. Honda has a reputation for quality, and their cars still hold value. Toyota took a hit recently to their reputation, they might be seeing the worst depreciation. Perhaps a Corolla is the answer.

Chevrolet Sonic turbo

how "appliance" level are you willing to go? Versa level?

VW TDI?

I have been commuting to work 45 miles each way for more than half my life and this is where i am at. You have to be comfortable and it has to be fun. Also realize that with the amount of miles you put on the car it loses most of it's value. The mpg is important but is it worth it to spend money on a newer fuel efficient car that can't do a burnout? i have had many commuting hot rods and right now i have a G35 sedan and it is my favorite. I bought a solid used example and it gets 25 MPG on the highway. I could have went with something newer in the 30 mpg range but I justified the G35 with the low used price and the WAY higher fun factor. By the way before this I built a B13 sentra SE-R with a small GT28R turbo for the commute. That got about 32 MPG on the highway and was a lot of fun but not as comfortable as the G35. Every thing is a compromise and you just have to prioritize what is more important. After the sentra i needed heated seats ans RWD.