Best Daily Driver Car/Truck ?

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I'm getting screwed with this truck. I'm averaging 13 mpg on avg! Only when I drive 65 mph I can touch 17 mpg. And on top of that, I'm not going to be relocating like I thought I was, which is the main issue here.

So, I'm thinking of trading this vehicle in early, much earlier, and moving to something more economical. I need to be in the low to mid 20's at least for MPG. This will be the craziest thing I've done, but I'm thinking that I'll make up the loss over the 5 years in gas mileage. These are the cars/trucks I'm thinking of:

1. Honda Accord V6 Coupe
2. Tacoma ( I know a guy that works at Toyota)
3. Mustang GT
4. Acura RSX ( don't like the fact that they burn oil)


None of these are the most fuel efficient, but I need something VERY reliable with moderate to good performance and decent gas mileage. I'm NOT going back to a Corolla.

Honda avg's 30mpg on the highway, Tacoma 22mpg and the Mustang 25mpg. I was thinking of waiting until late fall of this year if I were to buy the Mustang. Their have been many people that have been extremely dissapointed with teh gas mileage of the Ram. 13mpg is ridiculous.

[ February 08, 2005, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: buster ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by buster:
I'm getting screwed with this truck. I'm averaging 13 mpg on avg! Only when I drive 65 mph I can touch 17 mpg. And on top of that, I'm not going to be relocating like I thought I was. So, I'm thinking of trading this vehicle in early, much earlier, and moving to something more economical. I need to be in the low to mid 20's at least for MPG. This will be the craziest thing I've done, but I'm thinking that I'll make up the loss over the 5 years in gas mileage. These are the cars/trucks I'm thinking of:

1. Honda Accord V6 Coupe
2. Tacoma ( I know a guy that works at Toyota)
3. Mustang GT

None of these are the most fuel efficient, but I need something VERY reliable with moderate to good performance and decent gas mileage. I'm NOT going back to a Corolla.

Honda avg's 30mpg on the highway, Tacoma 22mpg and the Mustang 25mpg. I was thinking of waiting until late fall of this year if I were to buy the Mustang. Their have been many people that have been extremely dissapointed with teh gas mileage of the Ram. 13mpg is ridiculous.


I have a Tacoma 4x4, az-4 and a Mitsubishi Outlander.

I would say the Outlander is the best daily driver, comfort and cost per mile wise.

Tacomas are nice too as long as you can leave it stock. The Accord is nice but I like to go fishing or be able to haul stuff in the back so the Crossover SUV fits into my life very well. The other two vehicles sit in the garage and wait there turn to play.. it's sad.
 
buster: Don't have a clue what you look like, but I know you would look good in one of those new Mustang GT.
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If you want to haul something or go fishing, get a Jeep.
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Saturn VUE with honda 3.5 V-6/5 speed tranny. 250 horsepower. 20k with rebates. gas mileage 28 on highway. 24 in city

[ February 08, 2005, 07:49 PM: Message edited by: Cutehumor ]
 
Those Honda products are reliable and have pretty good safety ratings. I have a 1994 Toyota P/U and it's great (if I never get in a wreck knock-on-wood.)
 
I think it is hard to beat a Honda or Toyota when it comes to dependability. I have seen a few Toyotas with engines shot due to sludge problems. The V8 don't have that problem but lots of the 4 and 6's do. Thats what switched me from Toyota to Honda. The V6 honda sounds nice. I am very happy with the 4 cyl accord. Lexus V8 is really the tops but I am building a new home and it is not in the mix right now.
 
You'll lose your shorts trading in that truck. Get yourself a brand new 2005 cavalier 5 speed for $8000 new, and keep the truck. Or, get a 1994 Tercel for $1500 for a commuter car. You'd save more money either way. You've already babied the truck from day 1, why give it away?
 
Since the EPA rates your truck for 13mpg city/17mpg highway, your mileage sounds about right. I'm guessing you didn't check that before you considered a big V8 in a big 4WD truck?
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However, I'm thinking the depreciation hit you'll take with a 1 year old truck would be about the same as if you kept it for at least another year and paid for the gas. How long have you had it?

IMHO, I'd get some real world trade in values and run some numbers before I'd jump off the deep end again. If you're lucky, maybe a private party will pay top dollar for it.

[ February 08, 2005, 08:39 PM: Message edited by: 427Z06 ]
 
Going on the "cool" factor I would say Mustang.

Now if you are serious about saving money and being economical may I suggest a VW Jetta TDI with a manual tranny,my brother has one and he gets 48 mpg highway,unsure what the city mpg is but talk about economical...
 
quote:

At 13 mpg over 80,000 miles at $1.80 a gallon he is will spend $11076.00 compared to $6545.00 at 22mpg on gas. He has some room to deal on a trade and still come out in the long run. Plus any one of the 4 vehicles he's looking at will probably incur less maintenance cost and lower insurance rates. Spending $1400 on a used gas mizer is a option but spending $8000 on a Cavalier(I,ve already heard a few 05's that sound like they are 10 yrs old)is not a wise option. If he is not satisfied with the Dodge and I don't blame him, his best option may be to trade now while the truck is still in excellent condition. Like I said in the long run he will likely come out ahead. I just traded my 04 4x4 Dodge Hemi for a 4-Runner and it may well have been one of the happiest days of my life. Had I known what gas prices were gonna do I probably wouldn't have bought the truck to begin with, hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck on your deal Buster.

Thanks, you make a good point. A few things happend recently and the biggest is I'm not moving where I planned so that is a big factor. I realize I'll take some loss, but I'll roll that into the next vehicle and save on gas. This is only the second new car I've ever owned. BTW, 4Runners are great. Built like tanks.

[ February 08, 2005, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: buster ]
 
Buster....I told you to buy the Tacoma.

Don't get a Taco for gas mileage though. My 2004 4wd only gets 16-18 at 80mph.

As for the Corolla...I'd give anything to have the money to buy one. I'd have a Corolla S 5 speed silver in my driveway for the next 15-20 years.
 
quote:

Buster....I told you to buy the Tacoma.

Don't get a Taco for gas mileage though. My 2004 4wd only gets 16-18 at 80mph.

At 80mph the Ram is probably only getting 13 mpg.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Scooby:
Buster....I told you to buy the Tacoma.

Don't get a Taco for gas mileage though. My 2004 4wd only gets 16-18 at 80mph.

As for the Corolla...I'd give anything to have the money to buy one. I'd have a Corolla S 5 speed silver in my driveway for the next 15-20 years.


It seems we should buy what we can get by with instead of what we want...I'm certainly guilty of the latter. Money in the bank always seems to make you feel better than what's sitting in the driveway in the long run. Especially with the way our economy is going...it ain't gonna get any easier to live down the road. IMO.
 
quote:

Originally posted by buster:

quote:

At 13 mpg over 80,000 miles at $1.80 a gallon he is will spend $11076.00 compared to $6545.00 at 22mpg on gas. He has some room to deal on a trade and still come out in the long run. Plus any one of the 4 vehicles he's looking at will probably incur less maintenance cost and lower insurance rates. Spending $1400 on a used gas mizer is a option but spending $8000 on a Cavalier(I,ve already heard a few 05's that sound like they are 10 yrs old)is not a wise option. If he is not satisfied with the Dodge and I don't blame him, his best option may be to trade now while the truck is still in excellent condition. Like I said in the long run he will likely come out ahead. I just traded my 04 4x4 Dodge Hemi for a 4-Runner and it may well have been one of the happiest days of my life. Had I known what gas prices were gonna do I probably wouldn't have bought the truck to begin with, hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck on your deal Buster.

Thanks, you make a good point. A few things happend recently and the biggest is I'm not moving where I planned so that is a big factor. I realize I'll take some loss, but I'll roll that into the next vehicle and save on gas. This is only the second new car I've ever owned. BTW, 4Runners are great. Built like tanks.


A jump from 13-17 mpg to 31-35 mpg will save a heck of a lot of money fast! I bet there will be an $8K loss on trade-in already. The SOONER you trade, the more money you will lose, obviously. Keep it for now and cut your losses by getting a daily beater. Then again I cant figure out why anyone would ever want to trade in a car that still ran. Sell it on the streets if nothing else. Youd have to drive a Tacoma for years without trading it off.

BTW, Ive got a 15 mpg Tundra, a 2005 cavalier, and a 1994 Tercel. All of them together probably cost me less than a Hemi Ram, since I had a GM discount on the Cavalier. And the tundra is a 2WD V6. Im not about to trade any of them for anything. Which one do I drive? What day of the week is it?
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quote:

Keep it for now and cut your losses by getting a daily beater.

I just might do that. I car pool and drive my wife's car sometimes.


quote:

It seems we should buy what we can get by with instead of what we want...I'm certainly guilty of the latter. Money in the bank always seems to make you feel better than what's sitting in the driveway in the long run. Especially with the way our economy is going...it ain't gonna get any easier to live down the road. IMO

That is the truth.
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I struggle with being real pratical vs going all out with something I really like. (I love cars
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) In my case, I can deal with the Ram longer if I have to. I guess I'm looking for a quick, easy way out now that things have changed. I'll suck it up and do what I have to for now.
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You gotta look at this at a cost per mile to operate over the years you will keep the vehicle. Nuff said.
 
Personally I'd keep the truck and get into a Taurus or something of the sort.

$4K will get you into a good used '00 Taurus (or domestic) with 60-80K mi on it, and get 25-30 mpg all day long.

If you go with another smaller 4x4 pickup you will not get all that much better mpg.
 
Hard to figure the economy of trading in if we don't know what your annual miles are, how much of a loss you would incur by trading, but if you do get a 2nd car, you would have to factor in additional insurance and maintenance.
 
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