ProDarwin wrote:
Someone help me understand... if you were doing a job where you drive for a living, and having a more efficient vehicle means more $ in your pocket, wouldn't you want the absolute most efficient vehicle you could get (Insight/Prius)?
Fuel economy =/= overall economical operation. Owning a $2000 Corolla outright rather than paying for a $20000 hybrid every month. The way I go through crapcan beaters, I actually went and added it all up once, I've spent less than $1k on cars in the last 4 years, not counting gas and insurance.
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
ProDarwin wrote:
Someone help me understand... if you were doing a job where you drive for a living, and having a more efficient vehicle means more $ in your pocket, wouldn't you want the absolute most efficient vehicle you could get (Insight/Prius)?
Fuel economy =/= overall economical operation. Owning a $2000 Corolla outright rather than paying for a $20000 hybrid every month. The way I go through crapcan beaters, I actually went and added it all up once, I've spent less than $1k on cars in the last 4 years, not counting gas and insurance.
Right, but hybrids are cheap enough now that gas comes into the equation. It's no longer $20k hybrid, it's $6k used hybrid. Whether the premium over a $2k beater (for a typical person) makes sense depends on how long you plan on delivering pizza.
Old Honda Civic hatchback. I honestly think this is what they were designed for.
As far as economics of the deal...being able to do your own repairs is the most cost effective method.
I am currently on my 5th clutch in 10 years, but the real fun is that they were all,except the first one, lifetime guarantee! Brake pads, water pump, alternator, timing belt, axles, bearings...all lifetime guarantee!
Personally, I would steer away from any interference engine. Break a belt on my car and I have the tools to fix it in 20 minutes in a parking lot, break an interference engine belt and you throw the durn car away.
Comparing my current car with a 50mpg, $20,000 car my figures show that after 10 years I would not have hit break even for 2 more years and a total of 290,000 miles! This is assuming absolutely no repairs,including tires and no difference in insurance.
Bruce
Alan Cesar wrote:
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
ProDarwin wrote:
Someone help me understand... if you were doing a job where you drive for a living, and having a more efficient vehicle means more $ in your pocket, wouldn't you want the absolute most efficient vehicle you could get (Insight/Prius)?
Fuel economy =/= overall economical operation. Owning a $2000 Corolla outright rather than paying for a $20000 hybrid every month. The way I go through crapcan beaters, I actually went and added it all up once, I've spent less than $1k on cars in the last 4 years, not counting gas and insurance.
Right, but hybrids are cheap enough now that gas comes into the equation. It's no longer $20k hybrid, it's $6k used hybrid. Whether the premium over a $2k beater (for a typical person) makes sense depends on how long you plan on delivering pizza.
Or a $4-5k hybrid in the case of the insight or the rare 1st gen prius (Which is within the budget requirements of the original post)
My car costs approx $0.051/mile in maintenance, repairs, and depreciation combined.
It costs $0.120/mile in gas (30.4mpg average).
Buying a hybrid can easily drop that second number by 0.04 or 0.05. That's pretty significant when you rack up miles for a living.
I guess I'm a bit cynical when it comes to such things, what are the odds of the $1000+ battery deciding to die? I know the Honda is still a good car with a dead one but I've heard the Prius goes NUTS without it. Or the $1000 CVT.
Very low. This has been beat to death on the internet. The battery in the Prius is extremely reliable.
A refurb replacement is <$1000. At $0.05/mile difference, you could replace the battery every 20k miles and still break even.
The battery in the Honda is less reliable... but very DIY friendly and cheap to refurbish.
