What really is a frugal car?

[oilboy123]

I bought my 2016 Focus S sedan 5speed manual in Dec 16. This saved me a ton of money commuting 60 miles a day to work. I just retired last year. It will stay my daily driver for as long as keep it going.

It has not needed much to maintain. Figured I would throw in a domestic in the mix......

 

[bovine1]

What engine do you have in your Focus? I'm thinking of a manual Focus if my 05 Camry croaks.

 

[oilboy123]

What engine do you have in your Focus? I'm thinking of a manual Focus if my 05 Camry croaks.

2.0 flex fuel. Which is just the gas non turbo. Actually a Mazda motor. It is not really considered fast, but it is zippy, and handles well. I actually have a Steeda rear sway bar that helps it handle better. Problem is it was working a little too well. I broke one of the bar mounts that came with the sway bar.

Really the Steeda bar should be matched with a front sway bar. But a lot of people on the Focus forum said it worked well with the rear bar. I think it is now doing a little more work than the front bar now. It broke right at the bend in the bar bushing bracket. I just ordered some Focus/mustang billet brackets which should solve that.

It is a decent car, with the manual trans. The one thing I don't like is the trans is a little clunky matching engine speed going up and down the first couple of gears. I originally thought trans just needed to break in. But I have105,000 miles and it is still the same. Motorcraft, or Amsoil trans fluid feels the same.

They are cheap to maintain.

 

[bovine1]

2.0 flex fuel. Which is just the gas non turbo. Actually a Mazda motor. It is not really considered fast, but it is zippy, and handles well. I actually have a Steeda rear sway bar that helps it handle better. Problem is it was working a little too well. I broke one of the bar mounts that came with the sway bar.

Really the Steeda bar should be matched with a front sway bar. But a lot of people on the Focus forum said it worked well with the rear bar. I think it is now doing a little more work than the front bar now. It broke right at the bend in the bar bushing bracket. I just ordered some Focus/mustang billet brackets which should solve that.

It is a decent car, with the manual trans. The one thing I don't like is the trans is a little clunky matching engine speed going up and down the first couple of gears. I originally thought trans just needed to break in. But I have105,000 miles and it is still the same. Motorcraft, or Amsoil trans fluid feels the same.

They are cheap to maintain.

Music to my ears. I don't want a turbo.

 

[oilboy123]

I should add the sway bar bracket that broke is the one that come with the Steeda bar. Not the stock one. The bar is stout, the sway bar bushing bracket is not.

 

[Brons2]

Bolt will be absolutely worthless far before 2032 if battery kicks out(likely). Between then and now normal depreciation.

Low info post. The replaced batteries have a warranty until 2032 or 150K.

 

[alarmguy]

My definition of a frugal car is one that you don’t have to take out a loan for.
If you do need to take out a loan, then I would say it’s one that you don’t have to take out a loan for longer than 36/48 months max.

 

[97prizm]

I drove two cars that easily represented the rolling spreadsheets of automotive ownership.

The Beater : A 2006 Toyota Corolla with 136k miles.

The EV : A 2017 Chevy Bolt with 45k miles.

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.

So a $7000 difference between the two.

We have really low utility rates here (7.5 cents per kWh) and also a nearby CCS charging station that's almost never used and is free for two hours of charging. All told the Bolt only costs us a penny a mile.

The Corolla? It's about 11 cents a mile. But I get 10% off with my Shop Your Way credit card so the difference between the two is only 9 cents a mile.

That would mean the break-even point between the two for fuel consumption would be 700,000 / 9 which equals 77,777 miles. About 7 years of driving.

But how about depreciation? Well, in 8 years the Corolla would be worth maybe around $2800. Throw in the tax, tag, title, fees, and registration renewals and it would only cost about $1 a day in depreciation.

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.

Now let's talk maintenance!

The Corolla will likely need two sets of tires. Two sets of front brakes. One set of rear brakes. An alternator. One complete AC replacement kit. Two wheel bearings. Twelve oil changes. Six air filters. Three cabin air filters. And about $50 in cleaning supplies. Total cost? Maybe $1000 to $2000 depending on how much you do yourself.

The Bolt? If the steering rack holds up you're a-ok. The tire costs will probably be twice as much. There are more coolant related changes. Probably twice as many wheel bearing replacements. If you avoid that rack going bad the costs may equal the Corolla.

My question. Would you buy a Honda Civic instead? How about a Daewoo Lanos?

Since Daewoo pulled out when early 2000s? Some GM part sharing some not.

 

[PandaBear]

My answer is always: what does your local uber driver use to make a living? That's always the right answer.

 

[Skippy722]

My answer is always: what does your local uber driver use to make a living? That's always the right answer.

All our door dash people have late 90’s/early to mid 2000’s cars that have… character. Except for the dude who pulled up in an absolutely pristine Escalade EXT.

There was also the lady in the new Chevy crossover who thought it was hilarious 4 machinists would be blasting “I kissed a girl” so loud you can hear it clearly in the parking lot.

 

[53' Stude]

Toyota Yaris I’m probably buying.