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  1. Member Bob G.'s Avatar
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    Jan 2013
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    Milton, Vermont
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    6,087
    #81
    Something else to think about when driving a 2nd car for work and leaving your truck, etc sit all week: mice and other rodents have all day to plan their attack on your house, vehicle, boat, shed, etc. A co-worker drives a scooter to work when the weather is nice and not winter as he only lives 1.5 miles from work. He had an issue with the heater flapper thingy on his older Nissan Frontier and took it to a shop to be fixed. A whole sh*t load of money later, they tore the dash apart and took out the mouse nest that was blocking the mechanism from working. I'm ok driving my truck everyday!!
    2006 Triton TR-21 XD, Mercury 225 Pro XS, S/N 1B287870

  2. Member
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    Feb 2013
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    Clarksville, Ohio
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    #82
    My commute is 150mi round trip daily. My previous commuter car was a Toyota Corrolla it got totaled in April due to hitting a deer, I paid 2,750 for it 3 years ago with 130,000 on the odometer. My insurance paid me 2,950 on the totaled vehicle. I went and found another 2000 Corolla with 140,000k on it and paid 3,000 for it.

    IF you can find a early 2000's Toyota buy it.... they are close to bullet proof and if something does break repair don't cost a arm and leg.

  3. Banned
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    Oct 2006
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    Aintry, KY
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    25,975
    #83
    Quote Originally Posted by BigSexyPhoenix View Post
    What does driving one at a time have to do with anything? If his fuel costs are up, spending several grand to save a couple of bucks a day hardly ever works out to the good. He still has to buy the second car, insure it and pay taxes on it every year regardless of which one he is driving. If you have it all figured out, do the math and tell us how many years he would need to own the second car to reach the break even point.
    I take it you don't have a commuter car, so you really don't know. There's way more to it than just gas savings.

    I can't do the math for this guy, as I have no idea what kind of truck he buys, his driving habits, how long he likes to keep trucks, etc. All that plays into it as well.


    I know for my situation, I like to spend about $30k on a used truck that has about 20,000 miles on it. I get rid of it at around 120,000 miles. Prior to the commuter car I'd hang onto a truck for about 4 years, so $30k every 4 years...works out to about $7,500 a year.

    By having the commuter car, I can hang onto a truck for about 10 years now, so $30k every 10 years...works out to about $3,000 a year.

    The commuter car, I purchase for about $10k and it comes with about 80,000 miles already on it, I run it for about 6 years before getting rid of it at 180,000 miles...works out to about $1,700 a year


    Looking at truck value alone (and not considering trade-in or remaining value):
    No commuter car - truck = $7,500 a year
    Commuter car with truck - $3,000 + $1,700 = $4,700 per year

    That's a rough estimate, if you go into to further details the numbers work out even more in favor of having a commuter car.



    As for maintenance....
    Before the commuter car the truck was having 25,000 miles a year put on it, that's 5 oil changes a year and tires every 2 years. Oil change is $40, set of tires are $1,000. 5x$40/oil change = $200 in oil changes per year, $500 per year in tires. $200 + $500 = $700 per year

    The truck now gets about 10,000 miles a year on it, that's 2 oil changes a year, tires every 5 years. Oil change is $40, set of tires are $1,000. 2x$40/oil change = $80, $200 per year in tires. $80 + $200 = $280 per year

    The car get about 15,000 miles a year on it, that's 3 oil changes a year, tires every 5 years since car tires last longer. Oil change is $30, set of tires is $700. 3x$30/oil change = $90, $140 per year in tires. $90+$140 = $230 per year

    As for gas......
    Truck averages 16 mpgs, prior to the commuter car at 25,000 miles a year that was 1,563 gallons of gas a year...at $2.60 right now that's $4,064 a year, at only 10,000 miles a year that has gone down to 625 gallons a year which at $2.60 is $1,625

    Commuter car averages 30 mpgs, at 15,000 miles a year that's 500 gallons a year which at $2.60 is $1,300

    So in summary on fuel,
    Truck only - $4,064 a year
    Car and truck - $1,625 + $1,300 = $2,925 (savings of $1,139 a year)

    The extra insurance is pretty much nothing, you list one of the vehicles as a secondary vehicle and it doesn't add much, plus the low value of the commuter car helps give you a very low premium as well. I think I pay an extra $300 a year for the commuter car.


    So taking into account just vehicle value, maintenance, gas, and insurance:
    Truck only:
    $7,500 (truck cost per yr)
    $700 (truck maint. cost per yr)
    $4,064 (truck fuel cost per yar)
    $0 (no extra insurance cost)
    $12,264 per year




    Truck and commuter car:
    $3,000 (truck cost per yr)
    $1,700 (commuter car cost per yr)
    $280 (truck maint. cost per yr)
    $230 (commuter car maint. cost per yr)
    $1,625 (truck fuel cost per yr)
    $1,300 (commuter car fuel cost per yr)
    $300 (extra insurance cost for adding commuter car to policy)
    $8,435

    $12,264 - $8,435 = $3,829 savings per year

    Those numbers are with gas at $2.60/gal, as that price per gallon goes up the $3,829 savings per year goes up.

  4. Member
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    Aug 2004
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    SE WI
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    11,071
    #84
    Quote Originally Posted by Fish Boy View Post
    Well I hate to do this and possibly have my man card revoked but I'm looking for a used car to use on my daily 80 mile round trip to work and home. My tundra is running me about $130 in fuel just during the week for work and I'm kinda leaning towards just leaving it hooked up to the boat and maybe for some winter use. I'm 6'4" and about 250lbs and would like to spend about $8k or less what do you guys suggest?
    A piece of advice is don't buy on gas mileage alone. Had a Chevy Cruze that surprisingly was a nice little car and for me was comfortable. Found a swinging deal on a new Honda Civic LX (base model) and jumped on it. The mileage was fantastic.....41 consistently with summer gas and the performance was overall decent. But.......it was noisy as hell, the seats were horrible, stereo absolutely sucked and the CVT drone make me tired of it quickly. While the mileage was great, I hated the rest of it and traded it on a Buick Regal. The Regal gets 32-33 mpg but is quiet, rides better, has more power, and overall is a much nicer car. For what you're looking for, I'd look for a midsize car of any make you want and lose the couple mpg but be happier overall.
    2019 Ranger Z520C DC / 250 Pro XS 4 Stroke

  5. Member
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    Dec 2017
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    Benton, ky
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    47
    #85
    My 2016 silverado sits in the driveway now unless it's the weekend or I am pulling the boat. I put 52,000 miles on in the first year. Lost way too much value last year. I bought a 2007 Impala with 147,000 miles last October, and it just rolled over 172,000 miles today on my way into work. I drive 80 miles round trip in a day now, and man it is so worth it. Knowing those miles could have been on my truck is insane to think about. I'm getting to the point where I can sell my truck for a little more than I owe, and that's a relief in itself. And the Impala hasn't skipped a beat. Best $3,000 I have ever spent. Now I have a truck that will last 10-15 years before I trade it in, and a car that will last at least through my truck payments.

  6. Banned
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    #86
    Quote Originally Posted by Dpierce4 View Post
    My 2016 silverado sits in the driveway now unless it's the weekend or I am pulling the boat. I put 52,000 miles on in the first year. Lost way too much value last year. I bought a 2007 Impala with 147,000 miles last October, and it just rolled over 172,000 miles today on my way into work. I drive 80 miles round trip in a day now, and man it is so worth it. Knowing those miles could have been on my truck is insane to think about. I'm getting to the point where I can sell my truck for a little more than I owe, and that's a relief in itself. And the Impala hasn't skipped a beat. Best $3,000 I have ever spent. Now I have a truck that will last 10-15 years before I trade it in, and a car that will last at least through my truck payments.


    For some reason it's hard to convince people to make the leap. Once you do it you realize how great it truly is.

  7. Banned
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    Apr 2014
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    Winston-Salem, NC
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    871
    #87
    Check out Copart. You can purchase a "salvaged" vehicle. I'd stick with hail damaged vehicles. You can pick up a solid car with cosmetic damage for a pretty low fee. Buyer beware though.

  8. Banned
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    Jan 2006
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    Twin Lake, MI
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    887
    #88
    Went through the same thing couple years ago. Hate driving cars. Sold my Silveradoand bought a RAM EcoDiesel. Gets 27+ mpg at 70 mph. 29+ at 60 mph. Just made a trip to Northern Michigan for a T. Averaged 19 mpg for the trip pulling my Phoenix 721.

    NOTE:. Also have GDE Tune which bumps the power, improves mpg, and reduces DEF consumption.

  9. Member Ohirolina's Avatar
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    Jun 2004
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    Port St. Lucie, Fla.
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    7,305
    #89
    This one is my Wife's. She just went to Ohio and back and averaged 35 MPG. It has a 2.4 L.This is the LT2 model. Leather, moon roof, power seats etc. 5 Speed.

  10. Banned
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    Nature Coast, Fla.
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    #90
    2017 SLT Ram 1500 with Hemi...mine gets 21 mpg everyday driving. Does even better on the highway, and no, it's not a misprint. Just did a 600 mile round trip pulling my boat to the Keys and back and got over 16 mpg.

  11. Member
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    Dec 2017
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    Ohatchee, Alabama
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    78
    #91
    I was in the same boat as you but with a T ahoe that I drove on my sales route and it wasn't a deal breaker until I took over another territory which came with a higher car allowance but the gas was ruthless. I started out looking at used cars and quickly (after talking to my mechanic) narrowed my search to either a Honda or Toyota based on his opinion. He said if I bought a Nissan , Kia , Hyundai etc be prepared to work on them around 100 k miles . Then came the issue of finding clean , low miles used Honda or Toyota . Well after the interest rate thru my credit union to buy new I did exactly that . This little joker gets it done (32-35 mpg) I went from spending $60 every day and a half to $33 (bone dry) every 3 days. Here she is .
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. Member
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    Lebanon, Missouri
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    #92
    Check out the Chevy Impala

  13. Member
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    Sep 2016
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    Loudon, TN
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    237
    #93
    Gave up my man card a long time ago. Bought a Corolla with 150,000 miles about 5 years ago for $3000. 2000 model has a timing chain, manual transmission, and gets 40 mpg. I drive 70 miles a day just to work and back. Just the routine maintenance and she just keeps on running. Always keep a truck for weekends and towing. I couldn't afford to drive a truck every day.
    2000 Champion 186
    '98 Yamaha 150

  14. Banned
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    #94
    Don't know how someone could question wanting to get a car to rack the miles on. You could buy a new truck and have 150,000 miles on it before it's paid off and you're going to worry about tires and insurance costs on the car

  15. Member rodney_h's Avatar
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    Feb 2009
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    Tacoma, Washington
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    #95
    I am in the search for a good small cheap work vehicle, there is one additional cost I must figure in. Them liberal tax crazy, homeless people loving, safe injection site supporters of the City of Seattle and King County have passed a Regional Transit Authority Tax on us that taxes my vehicles, boat, boat trailer, campers at a new price mot at blue book value. I live in Pierce County where we by majority where against that tax. On a good note Amazon and the workers of Seattle forced the City Council to do away with the Employer Head Tax.
    G3 HP180
    Yamaha 115 4 Stroke

  16. Member
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    southern Indiana, along the Ohio river
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    #96
    Quote Originally Posted by Bronzebackfive View Post
    Don't know how someone could question wanting to get a car to rack the miles on. You could buy a new truck and have 150,000 miles on it before it's paid off and you're going to worry about tires and insurance costs on the car
    This is exactly why I bought my 2003 Rav4, I waited a very long time to buy the new F150 I own and my plan is to keep it new and under warranty as long as possible. I drive 116 miles round trip to work 5 days per week plus the area I live in has limestone quarry's everywhere which equates to stone hauling trucks everywhere, it doesn't take long for the flying rocks to mess up a paint job, headlights, windows......on and on. The Rav4 had 107k miles on it when I bought it, its small and doesn't have much power but it keeps going and the all wheel drive is great in winter weather. I drive my truck when I pull the boat or any time that I feel like stretching my legs while I'm driving! Having a separate work vehicle works for me and I have no complaints!

  17. Banned
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    #97
    Quote Originally Posted by Bronzebackfive View Post
    Don't know how someone could question wanting to get a car to rack the miles on. You could buy a new truck and have 150,000 miles on it before it's paid off and you're going to worry about tires and insurance costs on the car
    Exactly.

  18. Member larryhyco's Avatar
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    Semora, NC
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    #98
    I drive a Jeep Cherokee Sport about 130 miles a day to keep the miles off my truck. My Jeep has about 346,000 miles on it.

  19. Member
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    #99
    Look at a Volkswagen jetta, diesel...and amthe kia elantra. Used both are getting 40 to 50 mpg

  20. Member JC25's Avatar
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    Sep 2005
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    Hickory, NC
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    #100
    bought the wife a Jetta for her work car (home health). Now I drive her acura tl to and from work... the Tahoe stays hooked up to the boat now and that makes me happy

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