Commuter cars. What would/do you own?

maulcruiser

maulcruiser

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Location
Bladenboro/Wilmington, NC
I commute 65 miles one way to work. Fortunately, I'm here 24 hours, so I'm not having to cover 130 miles in one day. I currently drive a 2020 Mazda MX5 back and forth, with the exception being the days I need to move more, then I drive my 96 Tacoma. The MX5 gets ~40-42 MPG's according to the dash. What my rub is I bought the car thinking I would do more with it regarding its abilities (aka carving corners, track days, the like). I've done none of that. So, while the car is still has low miles and higher value, I want to sell it and get a better commuting vehicle. I'm leaning to Civic/Corolla with less than 150K on it, with a price under $12K.

If you were going to buy a vehicle for such a purpose, what would you choose aside from one of those models? What have you had good luck with?
 
I'm a Mazda fan. They're good cars without the Honda/Toyota tax. Wife and I have owned a few Mazda 3's over the years. I've got a 2000 Mazda Protege that we've owned for probably close to 10 years that is still my DD with well over 270k miles.
 
My commuter is a 00 Civic. Paid for, cheap insurance, 30ish mpg, simple and reliable point a to point b vehicle that I can work on when it needs work.

I'd also be planting the 48/96 bug in the command/admin staff's ears. Several agencies here have switched and love it ;)

Duane
 
I'm sure I'll catch flak for this but..... My PT Loser was the best commuter I've had. Good gas mileage, manual, enough pep pass anyone I needed to, and enough room in the back to fit whatever I acquired on the way home.
 
CLRracer said:
I'd also be planting the 48/96 bug in the command/admin staff's ears. Several agencies here have switched and love it ;)
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Not trying to derail my own thread, but I will quit before I work 48 hours. This organization can't figure out how to manage our current schedule with training and such. I'd hate to see it where the second half of the shift is supposed to be an "easy day."
 
If I didnt need something I could haul junk in all the time that's 4wd,I'd probably be rollin in a 2000's 2wd ext cab S-10 or the like.
 
In my opinion, I have the perfect commuter car, a 2014-2016 Audi A6 TDI. 38mpg highway, 0-60 in 5 sec, AWD, 4 doors, huge trunk, super comfy, extremely reliable (once tuned/deleted, which is about $800), and you can pick em up for like $12-15k.
 
I bought a ‘08 Civic new when I first started my job. Granted I don’t drive that far to work, (~15 miles each way) but I drive it daily. I’ve only ever put a fuel pump in it, put brakes on it, and changed the oil 1 or 2 times a year. I should probably at least put some spark plugs in it now that I think of it. :laughing: Gets ~27 MPG, probably would do better with a tune up. It’s probably got 175-180K now, I honestly can’t remember. Clear is gone, paint is faded, headliner is falling, but I don’t care. I’ll drive it until the wheels fall off.
 
I have racked up some serious miles on many old sub $5k beaters. Anything in the Honda or Toyota flavor is hard to beat. Toyota Camry/Avalon is dead reliable and affordable to repair. Average 30mpg, 60k out of the tires with good rotations, do oil changes regularly and they just keep going.
 
Do you have a beef w/ the Mazda? What do you think you'll get out of the civic that you're not getting now? Just more space? The MPGs will be worse and the daily drive is going to be less fun overall.

Keep in mind that by the time you sell the car for maybe $18k if you're lucky, then buy the other one, then pay the tax and title transfer fee, then higher cost in gas you're not saving very much in money, and the sedans may actually be a higher monthly cost in insurance too.
Personally if I had that kind of drive then the driving enjoyment would be a pretty major factor.

FWIW I'm another Mazda fan too. Love my Mazda3 2.5L manual. Its just funner to drive than most other cars. Get a little less than 30 mpg.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Do you have a beef w/ the Mazda? What do you think you'll get out of the civic that you're not getting now? Just more space? The MPGs will be worse and the daily drive is going to be less fun overall.

Keep in mind that by the time you sell the car for maybe $18k if you're lucky, then buy the other one, then pay the tax and title transfer fee, then higher cost in gas you're not saving very much in money, and the sedans may actually be a higher monthly cost in insurance too.
Personally if I had that kind of drive then the driving enjoyment would be a pretty major factor.

FWIW I'm another Mazda fan too. Love my Mazda3 2.5L manual. Its just funner to drive than most other cars. Get a little less than 30 mpg.
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No, I don't have any beef with the Mazda. I love the thing, but I'm not a fan of not getting it's full potential out of it. Living on the coast of NC, our roads are pretty much straight, so there's a loss in the "fun" aspect of driving it. Space is limited for anything, but I knew that going into it.

Yes, I'm looking for more space and to get the value out of it monetarily while it's still there. Book values on it are around $22-24K, and what I'm looking to replace it with will be less than $10K. Out of curiosity, I filled out a Carvana offer to buy it outright. They offered $19K to do nothing but hand over the keys. I can sell it for more than that privately. If I were autocrossing it every other weekend or something, I'd be much more apt to keep it. So yes, I love driving it, but I need to have a plain-jane commuter. And putting twelve grand or so back in my pocket is a plus. Gas cost is a wash, as the MX5 requires premium, and the Civic/Corolla is regular. They hold similar quantities of fuel. I'll take the marginal hit on mileage to have more space and more practicality. Insurance should drop since I'll be running liability only, whereas this car has full coverage.
 
I commute 150 miles a day.
My commuter of choice is my lifted 2018 Cummins on 35's, or my 85 cj7 on 40's and a 440 Mopar big block.

I like to burn dinosaurs.

Do the math and see if it makes sense for you to buy, maintain, insure, register, and put fuel in another car. For me it doesn't work to my advantage. Plus I enjoy driving either of my "commuters" and if I'm going to be in them for 2.5 hours a day it makes the ride more palatable than if I was in some dink 4 banger beater with annoying rattles and broken stuff that was making me insane because I can't justify spending money to fix the junk since it's a "beater"

Now an Indian Bobber on the other hand - I could make that work so long as I was certain I wouldn't encounter any less than capable motorist on my commute... Not happening. Cummins for the win
 
Clubbs said:
Do the math and see if it makes sense for you to buy, maintain, insure, register, and put fuel in another car. For me it doesn't work to my advantage. Plus I enjoy driving either of my "commuters" and if I'm going to be in them for 2.5 hours a day it makes the ride more palatable than if I was in some dink 4 banger beater with annoying rattles and broken stuff that was making me insane because I can't justify spending money to fix the junk since it's a "beater"
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This. I have thought about selling my car now that I have a nicer newer truck, but I just enjoy driving the car too much. My commute is only about 50 miles a day, but somehow I manage to put 20-25k miles a year on the car :D
 
you can say 'miata', lol.

It really depends on what you want. I have DD'd a 95 318ti and my wife's '12 Captiva 3.0 off and on for the past 3 years. the BMW is a toy, runs well but it is a 30yr old BMW and maintenance is required.

The Captiva has had ~190k put on it by us over 12yrs of ownership, and at 204k miles I've replaced 2 batteries, 1 alternator, and the CV axles. OEM brakes lasted to 135k. It's truly a 'get in it and go' vehicle that gets used for everything. Not documented but average lifetime fuel economy has been ~19-20mpg. Gets ~26mpg on the highway if you keep it under 70mph. At this point it would be very difficult to replace, but it's damn near worthless if we tried to sell it. I really think when you get to that point with a car its 'appliance value' becomes realized.
 
in 2012 I bought a 2008 Honda Accord with the 3.5-V6. It had 53K miles on it. This has been the most reliable car I've ever owned by far. It now has 235K on it and over the 12 years and 182K miles I think I've put about $1000-1500 in non regular maintenance into it. It's fun to drive, peppy with the V6. Comfortable and has just been a great car! we recently passed it to our last teenage daughter and I feel comfortable sending her down the road in it.
 
maulcruiser said:
I need to have a plain-jane commuter
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I DD the most plain jane commuter, a 2006 Toyota Corolla. Its got approximate 347K (odometer stopped at 299,999) and still gets 32 mpg. Base model, so no power anything. Its the cockroach of cars, it simply just keeps going. I'm sure you could pick up that model of corolla dirt cheap. They will all have faded paint, but if you don't care about looks, they are great A to B cars.
 
maulcruiser said:
[...]I want to sell it and get a better commuting vehicle. I'm leaning to Civic/Corolla with less than 150K on it, with a price under $12K.

If you were going to buy a vehicle for such a purpose, what would you choose aside from one of those models? What have you had good luck with?
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100% the correct answer.

If you want a smaller commuter car, get a civic/corolla.
If you want a bigger car, get an accord/camry.

Get the newest one you can afford and drive it in the ground.
 
maulcruiser said:
So yes, I love driving it, but I need to have a plain-jane commuter.
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It sounds like you are decided trading smiles per mile for cash. No shame in that, just not where I'd go.

Seriously though since you love the Miata I'd look at a Mazda3 6 spd. You can get a '16-17 hatch for ~12k and it will be much closer to that same same driving enjoyment than the civic. etc with the same amount of space. I bring 8' long things home from home depot all the time. The 2.5L is awesome, but that combo is rare and you'll take a slight hit on MPGs.
 
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