What really is a frugal car?

[SC Maintenance]

Someone will buy the Bolt because its cute.

Having said that, for someone that only drives 8000 miles a year, your fuel cost is going to be so little the ROI on a EV is likely forever. Electricity is cheap, but not free.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

So many owners have defaulted on their car loans, right after the battery dies. They've even asked the lenders where they would like my broken car towed to, instead of seeing it repossessed a few months later.

 

[ProbeGT]

The Corolla will likely sell for right around $5k once you include the tax, tag and title. The Bolt will be right around $12k all in.

The Chevy Bolt would probably be worth around $6000 by the year 2032. Just a SWAG of a guess, but with just over 120,000 miles I think $6k is a reasonable estimate. So that amounts to about $2 a day in depreciation.

These prices sound steep even in these highly inflationary times. That Corolla is worth 2-3K with all that work needed and you will likely discover more issues once you start driving it. I'd hold out for a better deal.

Not sure what the Bolt is worth today but there is no way it will be worth 6K in today's dollars in 2032. By then the battery will have died and the car will be worth scrap value.

 

[TomYoung]

These prices sound steep even in these highly inflationary times. That Corolla is worth 2-3K with all that work needed and you will likely discover more issues once you start driving it. I'd hold out for a better deal.

Not sure what the Bolt is worth today but there is no way it will be worth 6K in today's dollars in 2032. By then the battery will have died and the car will be worth scrap value.

Both cars will be worth zilch in 2032.

 

[Lubener]

You are making a science project out of this.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I would buy the Corolla. I had a fairly new one that was used by a large hospital in my town and it had well over 200,000 miles on it when I sold it and it ran perfect. I have owned several Civics and they have been absolutely trouble free. I wouldn't touch the Bolt due to low production numbers and questionable reliability.

 

[eljefino]

If you're working as a mechanic by proxy, by beating a car into the ground doing uber/ pizza delivery, an old prius or corolla is hard to beat. But you're giving away your time keeping the thing running. Mass market cars are great for this considering parts availability and the repair knowledge base. Around here is a definite price floor for 2nd gen prii as the doordash people buy them all up.

Capt W hits a great point about fixed costs of registration, insurance, parking, etc. Depending on your accounting methods you can include depreciation or initial (used) purchase price. It's great to have a legal car you can hop in without it sitting there draining your account doing nothing.

 

[wag123]

One reason that I would stay away from the Bolt is the bad habit GM has of discontinuing parts for vehicles while a large number of them are still on the road (the Volt for example). The Bolt is potentially on the the chopping block, they discontinued it and then changed their mind last year.
Stay away from anything manufactured in the Daewoo factory. Nothing good has ever been produced by them that I am aware of.

 

[atikovi]

If you're working as a mechanic by proxy, by beating a car into the ground doing uber/ pizza delivery, an old prius or corolla is hard to beat. But you're giving away your time keeping the thing running.

An EV would be great for this. Virtually no maintenance. Recharge overnight for a fraction of the cost of gas.

 

[GR_CoB]

Stay away from anything manufactured in the Daewoo factory. Nothing good has ever been produced by them that I am aware of.

While driving my frugal (and likely the last one on US roads) Kia Sephia, I crossed paths with a Suzuki Reno. Which is known as Daewoo Lacetti outside of US. Two cheap and unappreciated econoboxes surviving against the odds in 2024...

 

[jeepman3071]

Frugal to me means a cheap car that has good mpg and is easy to repair. If I had to make a fiscally responsible car purchase on a low budget I'd be looking at an older Corolla, Camry, Civic, or Accord.

 

[wag123]

While driving my frugal (and likely the last one on US roads) Kia Sephia, I crossed paths with a Suzuki Reno. Which is known as Daewoo Lacetti outside of US. Two cheap and unappreciated econoboxes surviving against the odds in 2024...

IMO selling rebadged Daewoo produced vehicles caused the downfall of Suzuki in the US. Suzuki's own Japanese produced vehicles were (and are) actually quite good.

 

[ecotourist]

We have a 2007 Accord in very good condition which costs very little to be available as a second car. It's mechanically sound but still requires coolant changes, brake and clutch fluid replacement, oil changes every couple of years, etc. It's worth so little that depreciation is almost zero. We drive our Accord very little because we mostly drive the Tesla.

A 2007 Accord if in good condition would be a frugal purchase.

 

[Cujet]

An EV would be great for this. Virtually no maintenance. Recharge overnight for a fraction of the cost of gas.

But the cost per mile may not be as epic good as it first seems. Depends on EV choice I think. Clearly some Uber Tesla owners torment the battery packs and experience early and expensive battery failures. The Bolt won't be better or easier to deal with for delivery or Uber use.

 

[macarose]

These prices sound steep even in these highly inflationary times. That Corolla is worth 2-3K with all that work needed and you will likely discover more issues once you start driving it. I'd hold out for a better deal.

Not sure what the Bolt is worth today but there is no way it will be worth 6K in today's dollars in 2032. By then the battery will have died and the car will be worth scrap value.

You need to read again what I wrote. That's the maintenance that I estimate it would need over the course of 8 years.

 

[MrGraybeard]

A note about cost per mile, the calculations can be wildly inaccurate if you are not able to predict. But there is no way, within vehicle class, to change the real world numbers much. As insurance, depreciation, mx and so on are costs that we all pay. We can drive a 40MPG car 20mph slower for 56mpg. A savings that wastes so much time, the 2 work-weeks lost per year by going so slow end up at a rate of $3 per hour savings.

The same goes for electric cars. The bolt can't make road trips in reasonable time. And a Bolt's $13K street price battery has an 8-10 year expected life and some fire risk. Don't expect to skate around this cost. It will be built into depreciation or actual.

In the end, I think the truly frugal are better off with a used prius, and don't keep it so long.

+1 for the Prius, particularly the Gen 2 (2004-2009). Find a cheap one with a dying battery and install a replacement inside of 2 hours.
Wife has driven a 2007 Touring model for 12 years. It gets 48 mpg, seats four comfortably and if necessary can haul a surprising amount of cargo with the hatchback. As an appliance vehicle it's hard to beat.

 

[sw99]

Well, I have a 2008 Corolla CE, a 2009 Corolla LE and a 2009 Corolla Martix Base . You probably know what I would say...

 

[GR_CoB]

IMO selling rebadged Daewoo produced vehicles caused the downfall of Suzuki in the US. Suzuki's own Japanese produced vehicles were (and are) actually quite good.

Agreed. Their 2006-2013 Grand Vitara for example still looks good, and I see tons of them still on the road. Owners say they're pretty reliable, and parts are plentiful despite Suzuki not being in US.

 

[Brons2]

Please don't say that to me. I'm trying to sell this one for $10,900.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV LT electric for sale - Powder Springs, GA - craigslist

This Kinetic Blue 2017 Chevy Bolt 2LT has 45,000 miles. The battery was replaced under the recall with a brand new one at only 20,000 miles, and the warranty on it is good until June 2029 or 120,000...

atlanta.craigslist.org

On a serious note, the book on it was $10,800 with a $530 buy fee. I bought it not only because it qualified for the credit, but also because it was one of the very few which didn't come in a humdrum gray, white or black.

I've owned at least one since 2022 for my family. If you're looking to balance cost, features, and safety it's definitely the best vehicle out there.

Can I trade in my Navigator, and use the federal tax credit at point of sale?

 

[Pepsibottle1]

Whenever someone asks what they should consider, I typically give them the same two answers - both the textbook definition of frugal.
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla

Lose the bolt, keep the Corolla and profit
edit: these days you could sell that old Corolla for a lot more than you think - used car prices are still on crack