Get one of these:
Excellent choice
Asking for advice
- Thread starter mrjlube
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Excellent choice
Try it for a month or two with current car. If its still a go then go for a vehicle like a Prius. Might not be able to get one immediately.
Make sure the seat feels good. Your going to be in it a lot.
Make sure the seat feels good. Your going to be in it a lot.
That is like not doing you girl friend so as to save her for the next doer, but then the MPG could add up quickly.
It's a car that is easy to work on and known to run forever. You're being paid for mileage. It's a comfortable car. It's possibly been paid for for a while now. Only downside I see is fuel mileage.
I say run it a year and see how it goes.
I say run it a year and see how it goes.
If you're driving that much, get a second car. That way you have a backup car in case something happens. You don't have to get a Prius, but something in the 40-50mpg range would make a big difference. Normally I'd just say get a used car that's 3-4 years old because with a new car, you'll basically burn up the new car warranty in the first year. But pricing is crazy these days so it's hard to say. Even a Corolla or a Civic gets decent gas mileage.
I drive a lot of miles.... but not near that.
My advice is to buy a slightly used Hyundai/Kia... one with ~20kmiles.
Drive it until its close to 100k, sell and repeat.
That way you always have a car under warranty.
And as a bonus you get better fuel mileage.
In reality, I am a hypocrite.
I drive a '17 F150 Platinum.
Its big and comfortable.
I feel safe in it and if I have to spend that much time in it everyday I want all the creature comforts.
my.02
My advice is to buy a slightly used Hyundai/Kia... one with ~20kmiles.
Drive it until its close to 100k, sell and repeat.
That way you always have a car under warranty.
And as a bonus you get better fuel mileage.
In reality, I am a hypocrite.
I drive a '17 F150 Platinum.
Its big and comfortable.
I feel safe in it and if I have to spend that much time in it everyday I want all the creature comforts.
my.02
Those cars, all based on the Panther platform of fleet cars (Crown Vic, Grand Marq, Town Car) are well built, reliable, safe, and comfortable with average fuel economy.
IF I were the OP I'd keep the GM, but add another less expensive fuel efficient car for the job. Something relatively disposible, safe, and economical. Like a 1990s era Toyota or Honda subcompact or small sedan like a Civic, Camry, or Accord, etc. Very reliable gas sippers. Drive the snot out of it and preserve the GM.
The savings on fuel costs in year one will likely more than pay for the 2nd car, and you'll still be ahead and then far ahead in year 2.
IF I were the OP I'd keep the GM, but add another less expensive fuel efficient car for the job. Something relatively disposible, safe, and economical. Like a 1990s era Toyota or Honda subcompact or small sedan like a Civic, Camry, or Accord, etc. Very reliable gas sippers. Drive the snot out of it and preserve the GM.
The savings on fuel costs in year one will likely more than pay for the 2nd car, and you'll still be ahead and then far ahead in year 2.
This is my thought. You want to put as much of your mileage reimbursement into your pocket as possible.
There are liability issues driving your personal car for business purposes. You need to ensure you are properly insured. Incorporating is definitely something to look into.
Another thing to think about is range. Buying gas every 2 to 3 days is better than buying gas everyday.
No one ever takes my advice to buy a CPO Mercedes. Probably a C class or a GLA or something with good gas mileage. Their CPO warranty is unlimited miles but probably have some exclusion for business miles. But if you could do the CPO warranty, you could buy a 3 year old car with one year left on the warranty and then you'd have 3 years on the CPO for a total of 4 years and you could rack up 280k on the car and still be under warranty.
I would probably start off with one car, drive it for a year or two and keep an eye out for the same car with the same year. That way you know the problems that that particular car has and you can stock up on spare parts for both cars.
But who knows, the job might not last more more than a couple years so that's why the advice is to wait a couple years and see how much the OP wants to keep doing the same job. Probably makes sense to drive the current car for a couple weeks to make sure OP likes the job first before buying the 2nd car.
use your current GM for the job. You can buy a lot of gas for the price of a new car that gets marginally better mileage. Buying a new car to put ridiculous miles on seems silly to me especially if you only keep this job for a year or two...
Just my $0.02
Just my $0.02
Not sure yet
Two more considerations......
1) Will you be counted on for Winter deliveries "come sleet & snow"?
Think possible 4WD or AWD and 4 snow tires.
I grew up driving RWD vehicles all year long so I am NOT in the camp that says RWD cars can't go in the snow....but they can be limited.
2) How cherry is your MGM? It might be the perfect vehicle to grind away over 2 or 3 years. This Ford of yours likely isn't a religious artifact.
I just remembered how slow it was to sell the 2 or 3 cars I had which were "desirable". Nobody desired them.
Have you even gone on CV/MGM boards yet?
1) Will you be counted on for Winter deliveries "come sleet & snow"?
Think possible 4WD or AWD and 4 snow tires.
I grew up driving RWD vehicles all year long so I am NOT in the camp that says RWD cars can't go in the snow....but they can be limited.
2) How cherry is your MGM? It might be the perfect vehicle to grind away over 2 or 3 years. This Ford of yours likely isn't a religious artifact.
I just remembered how slow it was to sell the 2 or 3 cars I had which were "desirable". Nobody desired them.
Have you even gone on CV/MGM boards yet?
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When i had my 2000 with its long gearing, at 75 it was pulling close to 26 MPG. While not great, it was extremely comfortable on the highway and could steer it with one finger @ 75.
Now i have the Elantra, that gets 32+ driving "aggressively" and if i'm easy on gas a solid 34.5MPG+ on highway, and is peppy plus handles much better then the 4100 lb boat ever was... But, it is not as roomy, or maybe even as "safe".
the Sonata on the other hand will also pull 33 mpg under mixed driving, even more on the highway and is also alot quicker for merging and passing and its handling is also much better.
While i LOVE the panther platform, i believe its getting gray around the edges, and there are much better cars out there for your type of driving...
Now i have the Elantra, that gets 32+ driving "aggressively" and if i'm easy on gas a solid 34.5MPG+ on highway, and is peppy plus handles much better then the 4100 lb boat ever was... But, it is not as roomy, or maybe even as "safe".
the Sonata on the other hand will also pull 33 mpg under mixed driving, even more on the highway and is also alot quicker for merging and passing and its handling is also much better.
While i LOVE the panther platform, i believe its getting gray around the edges, and there are much better cars out there for your type of driving...
Bought it from original owners son (father's car and he passed) Its a 2004 I bought it 2 years ago with 23,000 original miles. Got new tires,brakes,changed trans,radiator, pwr steering fluid. Motorcraft 5w20 synthetic blend Motorcraft oil filter. New fuel filter,air filter. Runs great so far
I do like the car. I want to report back and let you know that I drove across Michigan yesterday and back and got 26MPG. Cruise on 72mph the whole way. I did not think I'd get that much.....very impressed with this thing. Thank you all for your input 
Did you call in to a national radio broadcast about this issue?
I had a co-employee that lives far away from the workplace. What she did was a carpool from an employee who lives just several hundred miles away from her house. From there she hops into another a car going towards to the workplace. She was Vice President of Public Relations that is why so took the job. Maybe, you should do that, ask someone in your workplace who lives at the same path as you do and negotiate for a carpool.
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