Does it make sense to buy an econobox car for the high gas prices, or will that cost more in the long run?
Posted by Blu_yello_husky@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 235 comments
Last time gas prices reached an all time high under Biden in 22', I actually bought an economy for beater so I could still get around without breaking the bank. I ended up trading the car for a slightly newer, "better" economy car in 23', then i ended up selling that one outright in 24' because gas prices went back down and I didnt need the car anymore.
Well, now that prices continue to climb up to the $6 mark, I more and more kick myself for selling those compacts a few years ago. Should I buy another one now? Or is that financially stupid? Will i save more in the long run if I drop $800-1000 now on an eco-beater that gets 30mpg, or will it be cheaper to just keep paying $60-70 at the pump every week until the war is over? Thoughts?
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
Don’t buy and trade vehicles on current situations
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
The high price of gas might not be as temporary as it was 4 years ago judging by the looks of things. The way I see it I could buy a compact now and start saving on fuel now or I could wait 2 years and then buy one and save on gas then. Its a hard call to make with how unpredictable the economy is as of late
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
Yeah sure but then what are you gonna do when it drops in 2 years buy a supercharged v8 just because?
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
No. When it drops, If I had a car that i bought for fuel economy, ill just get rid of it. Or, as I said before somewhere, if I actuaply like it by some random chance out of left field, ill hang onto it and just park it in back until I need it again. But really the only way thats happening is if I manage to get my hands on a car I wanted anyway, just with the added bonus of improved fuel economy.
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
I just don’t think trading in and getting a new possibly higher payment based on current or year advance gas prices is smart. When prices were sub $2, did you go “geez perfect time to buy a raptor ?” I personally bought a gas guzzler and i knew i would have to pay sooner or later
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I dont buy cars based on gas prices, as a matter of fact, before it was $5/gallon, I never even payed any attention to what i was paying every time I got gas. Its because of this $6/gal BS that I have to consider getting a more efficient car for the daily commute in order to save me enough money that I can still afford to drive the nicer cars when the prices go back down.
And I wouldnt be trading anything or getting a loan on anything. If im gonna buy a low end econobox, im gonna pay no more than what a car such as that is worth. $1000.
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
So why didn’t you buy or trade in 2022 when gas was 50¢ higher than today?
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I did, I bought an economy car back in 22 for this very purpose. What i mean is, I dont buy inefficient cars just because gas prices are low. If prices are low, ill just drive whatever I feel like. If theyre high though, its where buying an econobox for my daily commute makes more sense. I got rid of it as soon as it wasnt needed anymore for saving on gas costs. Its not like my eye is always on the price of gas and thats what I go off when buying cars. I average around 2 cars a year anyway. The question is if it would make sense to make one of those a temporary economy car or not.
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
So yes low prices and high do influence choices.
I think you’re misunderstanding my very simple statement. If you really care than buy economy, if you don’t buy whatever gas guzzlers.
Financially, I wouldn’t be always trading in vehicles for a new payment so often
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I dont care when the price is lower than 4 bucks a gallon. Your black and white question has a gray answer.
And none of my cars have payments, nor will they in the future. Everything I have ever bought, beater or daily, has cost me $2500 or less. So buying and selling cars all the time doesnt add or take away to any of my monthly billing. The purchases and sales exist outside my bank account.
Rare-Bet-870@reddit
You can’t say “gas prices don’t matter but yes I did trade in” and “I don’t care” when they’re contradictory terms.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
You were saying it as if i buy more or less efficient cars in tandem with the current gas prices, which isnt true. I bought an economy car in the past because the prices were so high, but after they went back down I didnt go buy a gas guzzler on purpose just becayse gas was cheaper. I held onto the compact until I found a better car and then sold it so I could buy that one. It had nothing to do with gas prices at the time.
My last car I bought because I needed something heavy for winter, and I wanted something that had electric rear defrost. Gas prices were not a consideration at all when I made that purchase.
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
Have you sat down and actually done the math to figure out this yourself?
If I had to guess you’re losing money swapping all these cars around
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Regular fees are like 70 bucks, what are you talking about dude?
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
Registration fees ? Certainly in the thousand plus
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
What are you people smoking? Last time I bought a car it cost me $130 total for new plates and tags. And that was only because the car was from out of state so I HAD to get new plates. With just registration tax (tags) it only would have cost 60 to 70 bucks.
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
Just do the math. I promise you aren’t saving money trading cars willy nilly
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I still want to know how you got to one thousand dollars of registration fees. Thats crazy high. Most ive ever paid i think was in that $130 range, any time ive gotten a car out of state and had to pay extra for new plates
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
I don’t know what state you’re in but in my state you pay 7% reg fee on vehicle market value for a tag
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
7% of 1,000 is 70 bucks. Which lines up with what I said about reg only costing around $70 earlier.
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
Yea I just forgot you were buying cars that cheap.
I still think you should just buy the gas lmfao. This is wild
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Probably will unless something really great lands in my lap for dirt cheap. If I could get my hands on any running LF9 equipped car in decent shape for less than a grand, id be floored. Others like a 4 on the floor skylark with the 2.5l or mustang ghia with the 4 banger would also be chances I would jump on if they crossed my desk for less than a grand
Alarming-Research-42@reddit
He must be referring to sales tax, which is collected during registration. But a $1000 shit box won’t cost thousands on sales tax.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
So people are actually out there paying thousands of dollars a year on registration tax for their cars? Why??
Alarming-Research-42@reddit
No. Sales tax is only collected the first time it is registered with a new owner. After that, annual registration is a couple hundred bucks at most. I was simply guessing that the thousands of dollars in registration fees the other person was talking about could only be the initial registration, which includes sales tax. But even then, the sales tax would only be several thousand dollars of the sales price was tens of thousands.
AgitatedHat5620@reddit
I just didn’t account for OP buying $1000 cars lol. Completely brain farted
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I cant say ive ever had to pay anything extra outside of tabs when I buy a car. Is that a dealership thing then, or perhaps a loan thing? Ive never paid it and i would assume the DMV would have made me if it was required
cubanohermano@reddit
I do it in NYS with shitboxes and I haven’t paid more than $400 for everything lol
PK808370@reddit
Sounds like OP spends about 10 tanks of gas on a car, so… it may work out.
OTOH, seems miserable to me to constantly change cars based on fuel prices.
rilesmcjiles@reddit
I think they would be trading cars every 10 tanks regardless.
umrdyldo@reddit
You need to stop buying and selling cars per gas prices.
We won't see lower prices till maybe next year if not end of 2027.
Buckle up.
KiraDog0828@reddit
And unless you’re both very lucky and the best car trader on the planet, you’re going to lose much more on those car transactions than you’ll save on gas.
RevolutionaryPlan272@reddit
Unlikely with the vehicles he’s buying. A $1500 beater is probably still gonna be worth $1500 after another 20-30k miles, as long as it still runs good, so it really comes down to how much he drives. I dropped 5k on a diesel golf back around Christmas, and it makes sense financially, because I drive 3-4k miles a month. If you’re only driving 200 miles a week, probably not so much
Historical-Green-463@reddit
It makes sense until the engine or transmission blows up
SusheeMonster@reddit
Cars are depreciating assets and my pastor says that drivers don't keep them long enough for the appreciation to sink in
GloweyBacon@reddit
Why do you think this? Any proof?
pgregston@reddit
Just every expert on the global petroleum supply chain says it will takes months if not years to turn the wells that got closed due to the storages all being filled etc etc. Is this convincing?
Historical-Green-463@reddit
Yeah “experts” are never wrong
A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot@reddit
Every petroleum expert in the world. Do your own research.
BigPapaJava@reddit
They have also concluded that current oil and gas market prices are somehow detached from the reality of just how bad the situation is on the ground.
Every time the President says something, it moves markets via all the bot-driven trading, even if nothing changes or it contradicts what is actually happening there.
Hash-82@reddit
We're insulated because we are still exporting, and that won't change.
However, as we export, our prices go up due to supply / demand.
Our petroleum industries have been making a killing for the last month.
Petrochem is about to start raking it in.
umrdyldo@reddit
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/no-full-hormuz-flows-until-first-half-2027-uaes-oil-giant-says-2026-05-21/
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Thats what they said 4 years ago but 2024 gas was less than $3 a gallon. It'll start to go back down as soon as this stupid war is done with
VegaGT-VZ@reddit
How long did the last war we started in the Middle East take?
Tony-cums@reddit
Exactly. The Middle East has been at war for centuries. That’s why nobody with an iq above room temperature chooses to stoke those embers.
Hash-82@reddit
Wasn't a choice.
Iran was weeks away from having enough weapons grade to core the nukes they built a decade ago.
And, we found out they had ballistic missiles capable of hitting London from Tehran when they hit Diego Garcia.
That's what the "12 Day War" was about June 2025.
They damaged the enrichment facilities, but didn't destroy the U234 stockpile.
BigPapaJava@reddit
They were supposedly “2 weeks away” from having working nuclear weapons since 2008, per Bibi Netanyahu on numerous, numerous occasions over the years. That was a propaganda tool to justify US action against Iran for Israel.
Hash-82@reddit
They've never been close to 90% until last year.
In 2008 they were <5%. Which was just barely high enough to run a nuke power plant.
The Mossad had been keeping their research scientists weeded out up until about 2015. That's why the "top level" scientists that were killed last year didn't matter.
The Iranians have all the research done.
All they've needed since 2020 were techs and time.
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
Hmm, maybe we shouldn’t have backed out of the deal that was keeping them from making weapons grade material.
Hash-82@reddit
We were paying them money that they were actively using to fund nuclear research.
It was a poorly structured agreement with no real oversight.
I'd like to say it was "better than nothing", but we were literally underwriting their enrichment research.
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
We weren’t paying them anything genius. And there was international oversight.
Hash-82@reddit
You need to go back and read the terms of the JCPOA. Also read the compliance reports.
The US paid $1.7B that was actually owed to the Shah's regime - but, went in the IRGC's pocket.
Further, $100B in frozen assets were being released in stages - which went directly to to nuclear enrichment.
They got at least $50B of that.
Iran never complied with inspections.
IAEA Inspectors from the US, Britain were never allowed in country - a direct violation of the agreement from the start.
Iran continually blocked access to sites, delaying and sometimes outright refusing access to sites.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Even if they did have nukes, so what? North Korea and Russia have had nukes for decades and we arent at war with them. Lots of bad people in the world have nukes, Iran would just be another one. I dont see the point in fighting the inevitable. Now weve just made it worse by antagonizing them, now when they finally DO get nukes, we'll be the first ones on their shit list. Great job Donald, you really thought that one through.
BigPapaJava@reddit
The problem was that a nuclear Iran would not have left Israel as the sole nuclear power in the Middle East.
Iran funds, trains, and supplies Hezbollah and other organizations to carry out attacks on Israel without the Iranian flag directly attached.
Israel was worried Iran might turn over a nuke to one of their terrorist proxies to use against them (unlikely) or use the nuclear deterrent to stop Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” expansionist wars and genocides in the region.
Hash-82@reddit
India and Pakistan are ME.
>> Israel was worried Iran might turn over a nuke to one of their terrorist proxies to use against them (unlikely)...
Very likely. Not a full nuke. Dirty bomb.
The Iranians are not about power or influence. They want to burn it all down.
Look at who they fund and back. Houthis, Boko-Haram, al Shabaab, 3 Islamic states in Africa, the Islamic State in the Sahel... That's before we even bring up Hamas or Hezbollah.
But, with their ballistic capabilities, they'll launch their own nukes.
IRGC are not like North Korea or Pakistan.
Their destiny is Yawm al-Qiyamah. End of Days, Hour of Resurrection.
Hash-82@reddit
NK hasn't made a decade yet.
Not that it matters. The mentality is different.
Kim Jong Un is a royal pita, and he's a little crazy. But, he doesn't have a death wish.
The Iranian leadership are hard-core true believers. They literally want to end the World. It is their destiny.
Keep in mind these people have killed 40K of their own since Jan 1.
And they killed about that many last year.
As a percentage of the population, even Stalin wasn't that bad.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Ahhh, you've drank the kool-aid i see
Hash-82@reddit
LoL... that's one of my favorite sayings. 🍻
VegaGT-VZ@reddit
If Trump told you a hot bowl of shit was a nutritious breakfast you'd beeline to the nearest public toilet. Reality.exe has been deleted from your recycle bin.
Hash-82@reddit
Not hardly.
Trump is a narcissist, and can't spell "Constitution".
Maybe if the other side could put up something with more brain activity than a sock puppet, he wouldn't have gotten elected.
VegaGT-VZ@reddit
Yet you have full faith in his small military operation. The path Trump took to get here is completely indefensible. We'd almost be better off just letting Iran have the nukes and staying out of the region entirely at this point.
Hash-82@reddit
No. They miscalculated badly.
Trump still doesn't understand the IRGCs motives, and Iran's military capabilities were greatly underestimated.
The only real hope is that the general population will rise up. And, there is a lot of discontent.
But, in the last 16 months, the Basij have killed nearly 100,000 Iranian civilians. That tends to take the fight out of a population.
All the Iranians are going to do is stall.
And, anything we do militarily is going to hurt 92 million people that we are not at war with. We're only fighting about 400,000 at this point...
depending on which side the actual Iranian military comes down on.
But the Iranian Army/Air Force/Navy is less than 1/2 the size of the IRGC Army/Air Force/Navy.
YeahIGotNuthin@reddit
They didn’t hit Diego Garcia.
Hash-82@reddit
One was off course, one was intercepted.
Point was, Diego Garcia was twice the ballistic range they were supposed to have.
The could hit Tel Aviv, Berlin, or London with a nuke from interior Iran.
They could put one on a freighter and hit DC from the middle of the Atlantic.
BigPapaJava@reddit
Perhaps. but only if it was aimed at Cairo.
Hash-82@reddit
LoL
reidft@reddit
They've been "weeks away" for decades, stop gobbling up the propaganda
frisbm3@reddit
And guess who keeps them from crossing the finish line? Your boy, Trump. China and Germany have both agreed that it's necessary to stop Iran from having nukes. Do you think their leaders are morons too?
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
Did China and Germany invade this year?
frisbm3@reddit
Has the US invaded anyone this year?
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
Ok smartass, has China and Germany joined in this dumbass air campaign over Iran? Nope because it was not necessary.
JSTootell@reddit
The Director of National Intelligence:
Asked for comment, Gabbard's office referred to those remarks. In her March testimony to lawmakers, Gabbard said the intelligence community "continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003."
Hash-82@reddit
Tulsi Gabbard has zero Intelligence background.
She should have stayed an elected representative.
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
Are you unironically using the “weeks away” excuse? Lmao. They’ve said that for literally decades.
DULUXR1R2L1L2@reddit
2 weeks? 20 weeks? 2000 weeks? They didn't say how man weeks lol
BigPapaJava@reddit
Earliest documented video of Netanyahu making that claim to call for a U.S. War with Iran was 2008.
He repeated it again numerous times whenever he wanted us to be do his dirty work against the Iranians.
Tony-cums@reddit
Oh boy. You’re one of them. Ok.
Hash-82@reddit
By "one of them", do you mean someone who worked in the ME in the O&G industry?
Cos, yeah... you'd be right.
Tony-cums@reddit
Someone with a low iq is what I meant. Not surprised you didn’t understand that.
Hash-82@reddit
I know what you meant.
It's a good way to get banned.
JustAnotherFNC@reddit
Let me guess, they would have stored them right next to Iraq's WMDs.
Hash-82@reddit
I worked in Iraq. There's a little base about 50 klicks West NW of Baghdad called Taji.
That was Chemical Ali's base. He was Saddam's cousin.
Do you wonder why he was "Chemical" Ali?
He had Sarin, VX, & Anthrax (sold to him by the US) along with mustard and chlorine gasses that the Iraqi army used against the Kurds in Halabja and other places around Erbil.
Chemical and biologicals are WMDs.
PawPawsLilStinker@reddit
Was it during ottoman rule?
Brilliant_Comb_1759@reddit
The Ottoman-Safavid Wars, The Arab revolt. 1916-18, and WW1 are a few.
Gladiz1972@reddit
I still will never forget 2020 when everyone was sitting home like ducks in April or May 2020 I went to a Shell station here in Miami 1.49.9 regular unleaded
frisbm3@reddit
Not how decimals work.
Gladiz1972@reddit
whatever it was 1.49 9/10 a gallon under $1.50 a gallon the price of a hot dog and soda at Costco .
frisbm3@reddit
Easy way to write it is 1.499.
Gladiz1972@reddit
You get the point
umrdyldo@reddit
Ukraine war is on year 4 or something.
Gasoline futures showing $3 gas early next year.
BigPapaJava@reddit
People working the industry in the region have warned that the futures markets are delusional and completely decoupled from reality at the moment.
Every time the President tweets or says something, the bots handling the majority of trading take it at face value to move the price up or down.
So far, this has worked because stockpiles in most countries are good for about 3 months.
deanmass@reddit
Watch the basis, not the prices.
Hash-82@reddit
No way. Maybe late 2027.
It's going to take a while to recover from shut-in, and rebuild transport infrastructure.
umrdyldo@reddit
https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/energy/refined-products/rbob-gasoline.quotes.html
Hash-82@reddit
I don't care what they think.
The people that do O&G for a living say it ain't gonna happen.
frisbm3@reddit
Lots of energy traders are making a killing right now betting that prices stay high for longer!
Living_Fig_6386@reddit
The short term expectation is that it will continue to rise at least until a few weeks until the end of the debacle. Then it should stabilize for a bit, but probably not come down until the global oil stockpiles are refilled and the facilities in the middle east that were hits during the conflict are repaired (4-8 months). Then the prices should decline to something just a bit higher than before the debacle. They won't go all the way down given that the Iranian regime was bolstered, and US influence in the region diminished (we've begun drawing down troops in the region and in Europe, a lot of our local facilities have been destroyed, and the US has antagonized traditional allies and is expected to operate at a significant disadvantage at least as long as US policy remains unfocused and belligerent). We generally expected increased prices and volatility for the foreseeable future, and the US is rapidly becoming the most oil-dependent country so it makes sense that we'd be more affected, and it's also a clear asset to target to affect the US).
Long term, the expectation is that the prices will stabilize a bit while demand decreases in most of the world, but they should jump in the next 20 years or so as the reserves decrease (we hit global peak in 2005, and later in the US due to fracking, but we're on downward trends on supply and upward trends on cost to extract again).
Sea-Rip3902@reddit
I disagree. Prices will never return to “Normal”
Hash-82@reddit
There's going to be a lot of global oil production and distribution that will be in a bind for months after the war is done. Neither production or distribution like start / stop / start cycles.
The US will not have problem of production - we can handle that. But, we'll be exporting more for the next two years to fill global need. Supply and demand dictate we'll have higher prices for a while.
jules083@reddit
I love buying cars based on gas prices.
Right now is the best time to buy a used truck if you're in the market.
Bought my little gas saver Ford Fiesta back when gas was cheap.
RVAEMS399@reddit
I got a Fiesta ST back in 2019 and absolutely love it. They’re great, and I use maybe 10 gallons of gas a month.
spiritual_stoner@reddit
this^
boatsnhosee@reddit
Where are you finding a $1000 car that isn’t a giant repair bill waiting to happen ?
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Well, my first compact in 2022 was 600 bucks and it just needed brakes and a filter. 2nd one needed some electrical work and a tune-up. Im sure i can find one within a few days that I can get up and running within a week of buying
xTheGame69@reddit
$1,000 car is still going to be registration and insurance too
Going to be at least $1,300 to get going
That's 216 gallons of gas at 6 a gallon.
Just to break even.
So if you're filling up 20 gallons a week that's 10 weeks.
I guess this kind of question really depends on how much you drive. I don't go through 20 gallons of gas in an entire month but I know I don't drive a lot
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
How much are you people paying for registration fees? $300 is crazy high for tabs. Last time I paid my reg, it was $55. Last time I bought a car, I had to get plates AND tabs and it was still $130. I dont know where that 300 comes from but it certainly wont be that high.
No, if I bought a car at a grand, once it was all said and done, tabs and insurance paid, it would be closer to $1200 after a tank of gas and an oil change.
I am currently in between jobs, so my weekly mileage is skewed, but my last job i drive around 200 miles a week. The job ill be starting in June ill be doing closer to 300 a week, and its a metro job so those will be city miles as opposed to country/highway miles.
Charnathan@reddit
But this calculation DOESN'T factor in that you still have to buy gas for your new car too; just a wee bit less. So take the total gallons per week that you have to buy now and subtract it by how many gallons your new car will cost per week. That is your actual weekly savings; not including whatever you lose/gain wheeling and dealing for your new car, plus the difference in taxes and insurance.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Hey, if i can drop my gas costs from $70 a week to $40 every 2 weeks, thats a win for me
Charnathan@reddit
What would require that the real world MPG performance 42.8%($30/$70) better than your current vehicle. So as an example, of your at 15 MPG real world now, your new car would have to be about 26 MPG real world to get that kind of savings. If your current car does better than that, then obviously the new car would have to be even more efficient.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
My most efficient car gets 22mpg on average. If I got a stroke of good luck and was able to find myself a car like a buick skylark with the 4 banger and 4 on the floor, those get up to 44mpg, which would double what I get currently, plus insurance would be cheaper because its not a luxury car.
Charnathan@reddit
That's not break even.
Ongoing Savings=(current weekly fuel expense) - (new improved weekly fuel expense).
So for your calculations to be accurate, they would have to be using 20 gallons per week LESS than they were before. So assuming the new car is 33.33% more gas efficient, they would need to already be filling 60 gallons/week. And both of those assumptions seem extremely overly optimistic to me.
Personally I just kept my econobox from 2003 (28 MPG at best) and also have a family SUV (that still gets 23 real world MPG). I haven't even pulled the econobox out the driveway yet since the Iran business started as I only fill about 15 gallons every two weeks as it is. It's just not enough driving to care.
AlaskaGreenTDI@reddit
But your break even doesn’t include the car having residual value. OP can sell it when done just like the last one. It’s the reg and insurance where the sunk money can be.
banananas_are_sick24@reddit
That break even is also entirely wrong, 216 gallons of gas has to be the difference between the old car and new car
Mysterious_Muffin23@reddit
The car market is incredibly different than it was 4 years. We've been car shopping and have been unable to find anything reliable under $8,000. More power to you if you want to drive a s*** box, but your best investment is to buy a nice Prius and just learned and enjoy it.
MNmostlynice@reddit
It sounds like OP and I are alike. Have the repair knowledge to find a beater with issues and turn it into a reliable vehicle with some elbow grease and a couple hundred bucks. My most reliable vehicle I have owned was an $800 Subaru Forester that needed brakes, a battery, plugs, and wires. For under $300 more than the purchase price and a weekend of work I had a 250k mile “beater” that was trouble free for 2 years and 25k miles and I sold it for $1500.
Educational_Bench290@reddit
Yeah, years ago bought a K-car wagon for $200 from co-worker, took about $800 to get it in the road. Got 2 years commuting 85 mi a day out of it. (85 total miles: I'm not nuts). But... I'm 71 now and need peace of mind, so I buy new and go 200k miles.
boatsnhosee@reddit
I can work on my own cars but time is valuable and parts aren’t necessarily cheap. I spent more replacing work suspension on my truck in my driveway than OP’s whole estimated vehicle cost. My Volvo needs an engine mount and the one mount costs more than your $300.
MNmostlynice@reddit
Volvo is on my short list of vehicles I’ll never own for that reason. I’m very selective on my beater brands and research parts for fixes before I buy anything. Cross reference rockauto, Amazon, eBay, and car-part to find the best value
cdsbigsby@reddit
It saves you so much money having the ability to work on your own cars. My current daily driver I bought wrecked from an impound lot auction in June of last year and fixed it myself, I'm all in less than $1300 on it.
MNmostlynice@reddit
There are very few things my vehicles go to the shop for. I’ve probably saved $10k+ at this point on repairs.
FlyingDutchman9977@reddit
What are you driving now, and do you plan to hang onto it? Because the best savings would be to sell what you currently have, and use that money to buy a more efficient car. If you have a truck or SUV, you'd probably break even buying an eco box with a similar age and mileage. If you want a truck, SUV, etc., as well as a more efficient daily, then you split the different and have two older vehicles. A truck can hold up really well if it's just being used over weekends, especially if you can do some of your own work
Historical-Green-463@reddit
Where are you finding a car that gets 30 mpg for $800-1,000? 1997?
Even if you spend 50% less on gas, that’s only $140 per month. Then factor in insurance, maintenance, repairs, and the cost of the vehicle itself and you’ll probably lose money in the end.
Redbulldildo@reddit
You need to commit to whatever you do, buying and selling that often is far worse for your finances.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Buying and selling cars is my life. In 10 years ive almost had 20 cars. I buy one i like, and if i still dont like it after a year, I sell it and get something different. If I end up liking the car, I keep it. I currently have 4 cars I alternate driving for different purposes. Getting a compact wouldnt replace any of those, it would add to it, as a temporary addition unless I liked the car by some miracle and decided to keep it
Redbulldildo@reddit
So you'd buy another car to still drive the fun ones often? That definitely does not sound cost effective.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
No id buy another car to take up my daily commuting until gas prices quiet back down and I can afford to drive the other ones daily again. You guys on here are acting like cars that arent driven cost money. If I dont drive them, they just sit. Its not like I have to pay for a car im not driving. Id only be paying for the economy car id be dailying until gas went back down.
Arabadullah@reddit
You still need to register and insure them, and then there's regular maintenance. Yeah you're not filling up a car you don't drive, but let's not pretend it's 100% cost free.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I take the insurance off of the cars im nkt driving, and registration cost isn't automatic, I need to go into the DMV each year to do that, so if I know ill not be driving a car for over a year, I just park it, take insurance off and dont pay tabs, and there you go, it can passively sit in the front yard and cost me 100% nothing for as long as I want.
Arabadullah@reddit
Yeah fair enough. If you're fine just leaving a car for a while, why'd you sell your more efficient beaters in the first place though? Seems silly to me to buy and sell cars in lockstep with rises and falls in gas prices.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Because I didnt like those cars and saw no reason to hang onto cars I might never use again. While they don't cost money to sit there and rot, they do cost space. I have been told im only allowed to keep my cars on the dumpy side of the property; and well that area is limited to 4, maybe 5 cars tops. Taking up one of those spaces with a shitbox gas-getter ill never drive seemed like a waste, especially when I could sell it and get money to spend towards the next car.
ShtupidDelivery@reddit
Just get a Prius and keep it forever
ActionJackson75@reddit
I did, a couple months back. It’s gotta be cheap cheap to make sense, and only if your current daily is really bad on gas, and only if you can insure it really cheap.
For me, the 17mpg premium in my LR4 vs 2000 for 32mpg (also premium) means the ~3000 miles since have saved me about 83 gallons since then, for about 375 dollars, but the car also needed about 600 in maintenance and 40 in insurance since then. I might break even by the end of next year
reidft@reddit
The best way to do it is to switch for a hybrid/EV. I went from a 12mpg SUV to a 100mpg+ PHEV, the gas cost alone covered the new payment, and the savings on long distances made things a lot easier. Went from a $500 gas trip back home to $150
ActionJackson75@reddit
See I know you’re right but I am allergic to car payments, can’t risk it
reidft@reddit
Same, ended up selling it because of how much I hated having a payment. Which sucks because I genuinely loved the car
eatwindmills@reddit
Americans saying 30mpg is wild to me lol, 70mpg is what I’d consider as good
162630594@reddit
You can get a pretty good used motorcycle for $2k or so and get at least 40 MPG, if not way more
racinjason44@reddit
I have done the math for my own situation. I need to have a full size truck for towing and transporting motorcycles. It would be nice to not have to drive it every day, but after figuring in purchase, insurance, registration, maintenance, it doesn't pencil out and I am better off just daily driving a truck.
Organic-Motor1969@reddit
My wife and I think about getting a truck to haul our bikes and boat (to destinations far away) instead of just leaving them where they are and enjoying them...but, the math just doesn't math. Plus, hauling that heavy stuff is f-ing crazy expensive right now. Better to just ride/boat into the sunset.
racinjason44@reddit
Dang. I race motorcycles and have been doing it for a long time and there is no way to do that without having some sort of tow rig. Some of the tracks I go to are a 370 mile drive each way. It's never been particularly affordable but now each weekend is costing $50-$120 extra in fuel compared to last year.
bmonksy@reddit
I did the math on this about 15 years ago when gas prices spiked. I couldn't pay for a used econobox with fuel savings even if it used no fuel at all.
SaveJeanie@reddit
You need to buy a good, affordable car and stop trading them in/selling them every 5 minutes.
Own_Shallot7926@reddit
It's simple math. Grab a napkin and a pen and do it yourself.
Let's say your current car gets 20mpg. You drive 400 miles a week and use 20 gallons of gas.
If you got a more efficient 30 mpg car, it would use about 13.3 gallons per week to drive 400 miles. You save 6.7 gallons. There are 52 weeks in a year. A gallon of gas costs $5. 6.7 times 52 times 5 = $1,742 savings per year. Substitute your real usage to get a real $ savings.
How much would it cost to insure and maintain a second car? If insurance is more than $150/month then you're already losing money.
TLDR you probably can't save more than literally a couple dollars per year with a second, cheap and efficient car. I wouldn't bother.
Organic-Motor1969@reddit
Nailed it.
Gladiz1972@reddit
Funny a few years ago Musk used to manipulate markets his own Tesla stock and that dogshit Doge coin whatever that is now you have the Pres basically doing it on a daily basis enriching himself and his family look at his personal account they did 3500 trades in the first quarter he is manipulating the oil market ,S&P 500 individual stocks anyone remember he was recommending PLTR recently and what about the Doordash delivery person at the Whitehouse making a delivery this all makes Nancy Pelosi look like Mother Theresa in terms of trading .
ColinOnReddit@reddit
It's always smart to have a carolla. New. Old. Doesn't matter. I got 50mpg in my 2024 yesterday. Not a hybrids. Hybrids only make sense for local driving, btw. Once you hit the 4 lanes, it's a dumb car.
Organic-Motor1969@reddit
You will not "win" by buying and selling a vehicle with better MPG, even over the long run. EV owners are not "saving" money by not using gas as much as they are saving in other ways. Yes, they are not held hostage to fluctuating gas prices, but they are subject to fluctuations in electricity pricing and they still have the initial up-front cost.
If you are truly concerned about gas prices and the cost of transportation, then you should consider the alternatives: carpooling, mass transit, etc. This is the biggest cost saver in the long run. Tested and proven, time and again, but considered "inconvenient" and not very "alpha" by Americans.
erik_salvia@reddit
Gas prices will never stay low. Ever. Buy another economy car and keep it until it falls apart
blessedbelly@reddit
Bro are you serious?? You buy new cars depending on gas prices??? SBuy a car that gets the mileage you like and stick with it for Christs sake
geoabitrage@reddit
This time under Trump, everything is expensive, and economy is ruined. Now he wants to be PM in Isreal. Are thre any fast track to expedite his accommodations? Thanks MAGAT movement
Living_Fig_6386@reddit
This seems a little silly to me. Implicit in the question is a preference for less efficient, more polluting, and higher cost (to fuel, maintain, and quickly to buy) vehicles. 30 MPG? -- that's not even good gas mileage these days.
If the cost of fuel doubles for a year (or even two), will the marginal difference in price be worth the cost of owning another car? Probably not. At least for another decade, oil's going to hover in the general vicinity of the price it was before the debacle (though possibly more volatile). You might as well drive what you have now and suck it up, then get something more modern and efficient (and probably not using gas) when the time comes.
crashbumper@reddit
Depends on your current mpg. I just went from a car that gets 18mpg, to one that gets 42. If you have that kind of an opportunity it can be worth it. But to go from 30 to 35? Maybe not so much. "Until the war is over" is wild to consider; at what point has any war in the last 20+ years been over in a reasonable time?
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
The war in Venezuela started and ended in like 48 hours, so theres that...
The current mpg i get with my most efficient car is around 22mpg. I got 25 one time somehow but usually its around 18-20. The cars id be looking to get would be between 27-40mpg depending on how lucky I got with finding the right car at the right time with the right engine. If I really struck gold and got my hands on a diesel model caprice or oldsmobile, I could be getting up to 50mpg in exchange for paying a little extra for diesel fuel instead of gas. But thats unlikely. Those diesels are quite rare and even rarer to find in running condition.
crashbumper@reddit
Depending on your definition of "beater" and what kind of creature comforts you need, my favorite beater has been the 93-97 Corolla. I bought one with 154k, drove it for 6 years until about 315k, and in that time I averaged 35mpg like clockwork (I logged every fill up and service). I think I got it for around $2500 from the original owner and it was really clean. Super cheap parts and really easy to work on.
Automatic_Mulberry@reddit
How much do you pay now for gas? Do you currently have a car payment? Could you sell your current car for enough to cover what you owe on it, if anything? How much would a new car cost? How much would gas for the new car cost?
What is, in short, the total expense of your current car compared to a different car?
The actual arithmetic is left as an exercise for the OP.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I wont be selling any cars to do this, itll be a temporary addition to my fleet if I do get it. Maybe ill hang onto the car if I like it after prices go down again but thats unlikely. Thats alot of math youre expecting me to do and I probably wont do it. Ill just have to male my decision unless someme talks me out of it first
whatisakafka@reddit
It sounds like you just want to buy another car and need an excuse to do it. Only you have all the information to actually answer this question in a logical way
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
Im going to buy another car by the end of the summer regardless. The question was more to frame of if it would be worth it to make that purchase an economy car or not, or if it wouldnt make sense to do that if the cost of another car would be more than that of the cost of gas with my current cars. If its a waste of money ill just get what I wanted anyway, but if it will actually save me significant amounts in the long run, I might reconsider...
Automatic_Mulberry@reddit
Well, okay. But the math has your actual answers to the questions you posed.
sexchoc@reddit
It makes more sense the more you drive. I only drive about 100 miles a week. My suv gets 17mpg. At current gas prices a $1000 30mpg car would take me close to 2 years just to offset the cost of title, tag, and insurance compared to my suv, assuming I sold the car for what I paid for it.
Graflex01867@reddit
I figure I’m paying an extra $500 a year in gas for my current car, so no, buying a beater econobox for me doesn’t make sense. Depending on your fuel prices/fuel economy, it might or might not help.
ThirdSunRising@reddit
Just keep a reasonably economical car you can live with full time.
You don’t need to drive a tiny crackerbox to save gas. Switch from your truck to even a nice luxury sedan and you’ll fly down the highway in comfort at 30+mpg and the price of gas won’t matter. A 4 cylinder accord coupe for example is a very comfortable car with extra space and plenty of speed, that can cruise at 80+ miles an hour and return 30+mpg doing it. Why torture yourself? Get a nice economy car.
Your mistake was switching back to a gas guzzler. Low gas prices will always be a temporary condition. As will high gas prices.
So. Do not get a tiny economy car. Get an economical car that’s good enough you won’t mind keeping it when prices fall again.
stlcdr@reddit
Do the math.
Rough napkin math (12k miles per year, 20mpg vs 30mpg, with a $2 increase in gas per gallon) you will save around $34 per month. It’ll take 29 months to break even on a $1000 car.
BigPapaJava@reddit
How much do you drive a year?
Figure that, then figure up how much gas that costs you now with your current MPG vs what the econobox would get.
So… if you’re doing 24,000 miles a year in a 20mpg car, you’re buying 1200 gallons a year. If you’re getting 30, it’s 800 gallons. If you get to 35, then it’s 686.
How much would 400 gallons of gas a year, or shoot 33 gallons of gas a month, cost you? If you pay $6 in CA, it’s a difference of about $200 a month. If you pay $4 in cheaper areas, it’s only $132 a month,
NightHawk819@reddit
Sounds like a good excuse to buy a motorcycle. Honey, I HAD to buy the bike, gas is SO expensive. I'm just being practical.
TactualTransAm@reddit
It would be a logical choice to buy a vehicle that suits your needs. If fuel mileage is something high on your need list then that's okay, because even when fuel prices go down you'll have something that gets good mileage. However, if the idea is just to save while the prices are high it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I own a few vehicles. I've got my daily driver car, good fuel mileage, little 4 cylinder with a decent trunk for groceries. Then we have a minivan for the kids and I have an SUV if I need to pull my trailer or need 4 wheel drive.
Mr-Zappy@reddit
If you’re buying a new car anyway, get an efficient one. If not, unless you’re driving A LOT, just wait.
Regular buying and selling is usually the most expensive thing you can do.
Esclados-le-Roux@reddit
Get a used electric. Save money now AND later.
The only difficulty is finding one.
Middle-Gas-6532@reddit
OP is talking about $1000 beater cars and you are recommending a purchase of upwards of $20k
KnoWanUKnow2@reddit
You can get a used Nissan Leaf for significantly lower than $20 K. A Leaf isn't a great car, but it'll compare well to a $1000 econo-box.
Of course at the rate that data centers are being built, electricity rates are rising along with gas prices...
Top_Midnight_2225@reddit
Problem with cheap Leaf models is that their batteries are at the stage of 'almost useless' for a commute.
My commute is about 52km each way...the Leaf would get me to work, but it won't get me back from work unless I can charge there.
I'm tempted to buy one very cheap, and then buy a new battery pack and install DIY as I've seen a handful of videos on it and it appears simple enough.
But that's close to 10-13k CAD for a third car, just to SAVE money on a commute. Add another $125-150/month in insurance...maintenance...I'd be looking at a 3-4 year break even point.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
My budget for this is 1 grand tops. Ill be needing to replace one of my other cars this fall due to rust and I need to save the majority of my funding for that. And even then my budget limit for that will only be $3500-4000. A quick search for used electric (and I dont even have a charger at my house, so id need to spend money on that too) brings up the cheapest available being $19,000 for a 10 year old model S. No way in hell am I affording that. No, I need a dirt cheap little dodge omni or something that sips gas and takes a beating with minimal insurance expense.
toybuilder@reddit
If your range needs are modest, old Nissan LEAF ("Leash") with 20 - 40 mile range can be found for about $1,500. Was less before The War. A year ago, some in rough shape were like $800.
Tony-cums@reddit
And the massive depreciation. Buy used at least.
SoftCryptographer314@reddit
That’s what they said lol, “get a used electric”
Tony-cums@reddit
Reinforcing his point.
SoftCryptographer314@reddit
There’s tons of used model 3s around me for sub $20k
Interesting_Debate57@reddit
It's not hard to find one. Just poke around on carvana for a few days.
Odd_Interview_2005@reddit
Im gonna make some assumptions
6.50 gas
15,000 mile per year
20 mpg old car
40 mpg new car
In "old car" your paying 32.5 cents a mile for gas your going to spend 4,875 dollar per year on gas.
In "new car" your spending 16.25 cents a mile. Your going to spend 2,437 dollars a year in gas.
In new car your going to save $2437 a year in gas.
A new econobox car is going to be 18,000 usd to 25,000 usd. Lets call it 20,000, lets say you finance it for 5 years at 3.9% your gonna end up paying about 2 k in intrest. So 22k. This means its gonna take about 9 years to pay for the car at 6.50 a gallon.
Now obviously ive skipped on insurance and some other payments
If you believe that the gas prices will be 6.50 or higher over the next 9 years buying the car is a good idea. If not. Then its a bad idea
xampl9@reddit
Time to start shopping for a V8. People will be dumping them at bargain prices.
deanmass@reddit
Used Nissan Leaf.
Infinite_Incident107@reddit
You buy and sell cars based on fluctuating gas prices?
You might want to bust out a spreadsheet and calculator.
I'm willing to bet you've spent more money doing that then just keeping what you got and paying a little bit more for a few months or year.
rilloroc@reddit
But what car you wanna drive, and keep that bitch forever
A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot@reddit
The price of gas doesn't dictate the value of a used car.
Also, not smart to buy cars based on the price of gas. Even if gas prices are lower, you're still spending more money for gas on a car with worse mileage.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
If the price of gas werent so high, why would I ever want to buy an economy car anyway? The only reason id ever buy one is BECAUSE gas prices are high. So if I dont base it off that, ill never have an economy car in the first place
kikiacab@reddit
I drive a 25 year old Corolla that burns a ton of oil and gets about 30 mph combined, do with that information as you will.
mechapoitier@reddit
The problem with oil is it’s crazy expensive compared to gas. The economics evening out all depends on how much you drive.
ratedsar@reddit
But when people say "burns" oil, they mean a quart in 3000 miles; not a 150 gallons in 3000 miles.
PlayingWithFIRE123@reddit
Try the Valvoline Restore and Protect oil. For a lot of people it helps the old Toyotas stop burning oil.
cvc4455@reddit
I think Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer helps with that too.
malykaii@reddit
This is a question for a spreadsheet.
Compare the mpg and miles you drive now in a week against the vehicle you'd want. How much is the difference per week. How much would swapping cars cost. Now how long will it take to break even.
Then comes the fun part, how long do you GUESS this nonsense goes on for.
CLSonReddit@reddit
Or, for the non-spreadsheet geeks, an AI chatbot. They are exceptional for quick mathematic “what-ifs”.
But yes, I agree it is a (simple) math question.
J-Rag-@reddit
Stop buying cars every couple years. Guaranteed you're wasting more money doing that than you would've on gas if you had just kept the the other car.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I didnt like the other car though. It sat too low to the ground, I hit my head getting in and out of it all the time and the seat hurt my back. It was also too light to drive in the winter and was a bare bones base model so I didnt even get FM radio. As soon as a better option landed in my lap, I took it. Then ultimately sold that one for similar reasons once gas prices went back down.
I like american luxury cars. If I am driving something lesser, its always because of a temporary reason like gas prices. Why would I keep driving a crappy old ford with 0 luxury features and a seat that hurts my back to sit in if gas prices werent high and I could be driving a cadillac or a lincoln instead?
OrangeSpotted@reddit
It will drop but not a huge amount would be my guess. Do the math and let it tell the story. My dd shitbox has saved me $1k a year and is still worth what i paid for it, let alone cheaper to maintain.
qkdsm7@reddit
This is almost like complaining going from a 30-35mpg Camry with a 14 gallon tank to something shiny and new that gets the same 30-35mpg but has a 22 gallon tank and bitching that it costs more to fill it up. ;)
Totally missing one big factor:
Miles/day.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I need to get gas once a week
random8765309@reddit
Don't buy and sell cars every time gas prices change. Plus how many miles do you drive?
But, you are spending $3640 a year on gas. The $1000 beater would need to get 28% better gas mileage to break even over the course of a year. So assuming you are getting around 21/mph now, a beater getting around 30mph would pay for itself. But the amount wouldn't be significant.
TweeksTurbos@reddit
What do you drive now?
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I have 4 cars but my main daily is a 1978 Chrysler cordoba, it gets the best fuel economy of all of my cars and is in the best condition
DFLDrew@reddit
You are trading the exact opposite I would. I was looking at EVs, then gas spiked. I don’t want to be bidding with everyone else. Looking at a sports car now. When gas prices normalize, I’ll look at updating my daily. “When the market is fearful, be greedy. When the market is greedy, be fearful”.
schmiddc@reddit
If you are commuting or otherwise putting a lot of milage on you car, it make sense to do it in a 4 cylinder sedan or an ev.
It just does..
I've been commuting in a paid off Toyota Corolla for years.. I don't feel the urge to sell it every time gas goes under 3$
LVAjoe@reddit
as long as you stick with it.
I stupidly bought a 4 banger (daily before was a 350z) for gas savings. and yeah I do get savings but now I have a car note that negates any savings and a cvt I gotta worry about. really depends on situation but if you got like a 98 civic and just run it into the ground I suppose you'll be saving money
reidft@reddit
Why in god's name would you get rid of a gas saver just because gas prices go down? They're always gonna go back up bro. It's like in 2015 when prices tanked and people ran out to buy trucks. Financially stupid.
Organic-End-9767@reddit
There are more reasons than just gas prices to buy a beater car. Do you like watering down your enjoyment of your nice car? Do you like slowly destroying your car that makes you happy in stop and go traffic? Do you like placing your pride and joy at higher risk for an accident due to some stupidity on a regular old day? I don't. Get a beater for all of those reasons and you'll appreciate the car that you have pride in that much more.
MountainFace2774@reddit
No, it does not make sense to buy a second car to save on gas prices unless you're putting a LOT of miles on it. It takes a long time for the gas savings to cover the cost of the second car. You'll have to run the numbers and see. If you're putting something like 40-50k miles a year on a car, then maybe. If not, probably not.
Using the numbers you gave us, you're paying $70 a week. In a year's time, that's $3,640.00. How much would you spend in an econobox on gas? The difference is how much you would save. If you can buy a functioning car that needs no repairs in a year's time (doubtful) plus tag and insurance cost for less than the gas savings, then maybe you'd save a little money. I don't see it happening though.
silicontruffle@reddit
If you drive like an average person, you're spending $2,750 a year on gas at now prices. 15k miles/yr at 25 Mpg and $4.59/g.
You'd need a high Mpg motorcycle to make changing vehicles make sense. Even if you got something like a Honda Fit that gets 45 Mpg you would only save $1,225 on gas in a year but you would probably pay as much for insurance, tax and registration. In reality, it would need tires, brakes etc too.
Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)
I drive sub 10,000 miles a year between 4 cars that all get between 10 and 20mpg, the most efficient being 22mpg which i get on occasion with my main car. Currently, depending on what car(s) i am driving in a week, I pay around $60 a week at the pump. Back in 2022, I was able to get by with only paying 30 bucks a week for gas, which cut my spendings in half, and I consider that a win. The car was also cheaper to insure because smaller engine, and didnt beed much in the way of maintenance because it was a supremo base model that didnt have anything that even could break amd cause problems.
N8ktm@reddit
I just did the math on this and it didn’t work out. Here’s the formula considering ONLY fuel cost. Registration, insurance and maintenance make this much worse. Commute miles = 8,000 miles/yr Gas cost = 5.50 Current car mileage = 16 mpg Econobox mileage = 40 mpg
Current car gas cost = 5.58000/16 =2,750 Econobox gas cost = 5.58000/40=1,100
So, saving 1650 a year and spending probably that much on tires, oil changes, insurance etc. remember that a lot of econoboxes use CVT transmissions that don’t last very long. One 4,000 dollar repair blows this whole idea out of the water.
My$0.02
TheWhogg@reddit
Buying for the duration of the war is dumb. It will end by either Iranian surrender or Trump boredom of it in a couple of months. You can’t amortise the transaction cost on that time.
Buying because you have a long term policy of driving the least car you reasonably can makes more sense. If you are permanently in a beater (and I bought my first decent car at 35, still only 40% of the average MSRP) you should save money.
The most relevant question is now good you are at keeping a cheap car safe and running. My wife’s bester cost us a negative amount over 4 years till she wrote it off. But it would have been false economy if I was paying the dealer for minor but expensive stuff.
Brainfewd@reddit
I did this math roughly the other day.
I currently do about 17k a year driving on my daily driver truck that gets average 21mpg. It cost me $1400 a year to insure it.
If I drove a 2nd gen Prius at 48mpg average for 14k of those miles, and it cost me $900 to insure (rough guess, might be less, but I figured I’d base the math higher). And then added 3k truck miles + insurance (can’t sell it, use it to plow my driveway and tow cars here and there).
The math is break even around $6 a gallon or so (it’s currently 4.60-ish here). But that doesn’t include the cost of buying the econobox at all, or any maintenance costs or parts associated. Realistically, to make the addition of another car worth it, gas would probably need to be $7+ a gallon in my area, and the real ROI would probably take 2-3 years minimum, considering selling the car and getting some of it back at the end.
MNmostlynice@reddit
I have a 2005 Silverado that gets 14mpg on a good day and I’m considering the same for the time being. I fill up about every 7-8 days. I’m no stranger to shitbox economy cars and I love getting junk back on the road. You can buy something that needs work, drive it for a year or two, and sell it for more than what you paid for it.
ratrodder49@reddit
I’m strongly considering buying a motorcycle for my daily work jaunt because 40+ MPG, so
Much-Appearance01@reddit
Bought an 03 Honda civic ex manual and it gets around 37mpg… been a life saver for me during my commutes. I do all the maintenance and repairs myself if it matters
Mysterious_Muffin23@reddit
We just replaced our '05 Honda with another '05 Honda, found one with moderate miles, a clean title, one owner, dealership maintained. Six CD changer and a tape deck. Going to the local resale shop for a music haul this weekend.
espressocycle@reddit
You know you could just drive a more efficient car all the time, right? With modern hybrids there's really no downside anymore.
whatisakafka@reddit
You need to sit down and actually do the math on how much you'll save on gas vs your current car, then factor in any increases to insurance costs, the potential maintenance costs, and any other factors that can be measured in dollar amounts.
I doubt it's worth it unless you're currently driving an H1 or something
xTheGame69@reddit
It doesn't make sense to go out and spend money
If you were already planning on buying a new car or have to for another reason that's a different story
But you have to factor in how much money you're going to be spending on the new car
Every dollar you spend is $1 you could have spent on fuel
So for some cars even if you are going to be saving a turn on actual gas the amount of money that you spend up front to get into that car might have meant another 50,000 miles of driving your old car.
Just do the math
stacksmasher@reddit
It depends on if you can find a good old Honda Civic lol! Mine has 330,000 miles and doesn’t even leak oil lol!
pgregston@reddit
Do you need help with math? It’s pretty straightforward. Weekly miles, divided by price per gallon difference takes how many weeks to equal price of econo box. Back in 2023, a friend offered me their Prius C as they were leaving the country. I was driving 400 miles a week in a car getting 32/mpg. The Prius C was rated at 48/mpg. My math said that if I got three years out of the Prius it would pay off. Well it gets 50/mpg or better when I really pay attention. It’s over 300k miles and still a beater, and I’m ahead overall. Like maybe $1500 but accelerating thanks to my gummint leadership not doing the math.
Robert_Hotwheel@reddit
Gas prices always have and always will fluctuate. Buying and selling cars based on the price of gas is idiotic and wasteful.
The_Tipsy_Turner@reddit
Might be a good post for r/theydidthemath
experimentalengine@reddit
Or OP should just do the math, it’s not a particularly complicated problem (but the answer is usually no, it doesn’t make sense to buy a different car for the money it saves on gas)
Additional-Fuel-7756@reddit
If you drive 10k miles a year, assume $6 gas, at 20 mpg you spend $3,000 a year, at 30 mpg you spend $2,000 a year. If you lose $5,000 on the trade up, it will take you 5 years of $6 gas to make it worthwhile. If gas is $3 it would take 10 years to payoff that trade imbalance.
Don’t get emotional with your purchases.
CosmoKray@reddit
I had a lady that worked for me a long time switched cars according to gas prices. Went to a big Caddy sedan to a small two door. Then back to large car in 18 months. Back and forth for 20 years. Lost tens of thousands of $$$$. Always bought new also which caused even higher losses. But, she was happy.
Beard_Hero@reddit
I think the bigger question, when considering finances, is why would you give up something more efficient for something less efficient regardless of what the fuel cost is? If one gets 20 mpg, and the gets 40 mpg (random numbers for ease of math), then one car is twice as expensive to operate as the other no matter what the fuel pricing is.
If you're budgeting $xxx monthly for gas then choosing a vehicle based on that, you're working in the wrong direction with your maths.
MyIncogName@reddit
I don’t know
outline8668@reddit
Maybe, but you can do the math on what mpg you're getting now vs what an economy car might get x miles plus any insurance differences.
cactusjackalope@reddit
Used EVs are an absolute steal right now, even with gas prices being so high, because the tax credit expired and a lot of leases got returned in the past few months. Charge at home for a few bucks, never go to a gas station again. And no maintenance. I still have my truck but if I’m not hauling something, I don’t have to drive it.
DD_CD@reddit
At $6 a gallon versus $3 a gallon, how long will it take to pay for that new car with a 10 mpg improvement.
Farafel62@reddit
Unless its some extreme swap like trading Hummer H2 for a Corolla probably never. The cost of registration alone is like the price difference of many many gallons of gas.
S7alker@reddit
Low gas prices are against the norm and investor wishes. Either buy and do the best for your hard earned dollar or get what you want but don’t complain later when the inevitable happens.
FreidasBoss@reddit
Do the math. What’s your current cars MPG, how many miles do you drive each month, how much do you owe on it? Do the same for the “new” car. 9 times out of 10 it’s more cost effective to keep your current car.
jolsiphur@reddit
Take whatever amounts you were paying weekly before the war in Iran. Subtract that from how much you're spending on gas now.
That's the amount of money extra your current vehicle is costing you due to gas prices.
Then determine how long that will take to equal the cost of getting a beater.
Judge from there if you think it's worth it.
Low_Rough5778@reddit
Guess it depends how good you are at buying and selling! I can’t deal with people so I just trade in like an idiot, but if you can get back most of what you put in and confident in finding reliable replacements you can keep trading to your hearts content!