Recommendations for a new used car

RenegadeT

RenegadeT

no shirt,no shoes,no dice
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We just bought the wife a brand spanking new Toyota mini van last year. It's purpose included the standard soccer mom duties and then drive back/ forth to work a few times per week. Work used to be 10miles away until a much better opportunity popped up in the fall, 50 miles away. Now after putting 17k on the van in one year, we're toying with the idea of getting something a lil more gas friendly. I'm dd'ing my 98 cummins ram, so driving the van when she takes the fuel sipper car would still be saving fuel costs.
She won't be driving junk, it needs to be reliable, and have the ability to haul 2 adults and 3 kids ages 8-10. What sort of cars might fit the bill?
 
Not a Mazda5. We love the car but the whole "microvan" thing is just way to small for anything more than 2 adults and 2 kids.
 
Jetta with 3 kids in back?...maybe a Passat.

Just got the notice that a station wagon is out of the question. An SUV is preferred, but a car would be ok.
 
Hybrid Escapes are pretty good vehicles. They get mid 40's MPG around town. I had a V6 Escape it got about 23 MPG . I liked it a lot. Never personally owned a hybrid but i know a few people that do with no complaints. May be a little small but anything big enough for 3 people in back may not get the mileage you are looking for.

My girlfriend has a 08 Liberty. It's a pretty decent vehicle. Little bigger than the Escape. Gets about 20 MPG
 
HAPPY said:
Hybrid Escapes are pretty good vehicles. They get mid 40's MPG around town. I had a V6 Escape it got about 23 MPG . I liked it a lot. Never personally owned a hybrid but i know a few people that do with no complaints. May be a little small but anything big enough for 3 people in back may not get the mileage you are looking for.

My girlfriend has a 08 Liberty. It's a pretty decent vehicle. Little bigger than the Escape. Gets about 20 MPG
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I'll second the Escape. I drive an 08 v6 for work and I really like it. If I was in the SUV market I'd be looking for one.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
I'll second the Escape. I drive an 08 v6 for work and I really like it. If I was in the SUV market I'd be looking for one.
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I wish I had mine back for a daily driver.
 
What does the van get for MPG? I doubt your going to see a drastic improvement in whatever you get. Unless isn't a hybrid or a small car.
 
I like the escape...but think it could get a little tight if all the seats are filled...if not, it'll be just fine. Or jump the next size up to the Edge, my chick has an earlier non-ecoboost 3.5 in hers and pulls 24-25mpg's highway...and I can fit comfortably in all 5 seats (6'5" 330lbs). Hell, it even sees more time as a parts getter than my rigs...had 2 205's and 2 203's in it a few weekends ago...and it'll handle 4 36x14.5 TSLs with no problem.
 
Take a look at the VW Touareg TDI. Averages 25-28mpg, nice, roomy, somewhat affordable. In the next year I'll be trying to decide between that and a diesel Grand Cherokee for my wife.
 
I kind of agree with BigBody here. The van probably gets roughly 20mpg, so to improve on that by enough of a difference to make the purchase worth while, you are going to need to look at small/smallish cars and most likely hybrids. My BIL drives a 4-door Honda Insight (hybrid), and has measured 44mpg city, and close to 50mpg on the highway. They have put two people in their with one kid and all their stuff for the beach a few times. I guess it is bigger than I thought.
 
Yes, the van gets low 20's, so any new vehicle in our fleet would have to be hitting better than the 40mpg range. This all started when she was asking me what hybrid SUV's are out there. I think its pretty limited to Ford and a Lexus, and then I'm not sure what mpgs they achieve.
I'm trying to talk her into a smaller car, but she's been in an SUV or minivan for too long, doenst think she would like to drive a car.
Regarding number of passengers, the reality is that any time all 5 of us are in a vehicle, it will be the van. There are a few times 1-2 other kids are added to the school dropoff or pickup routine, that would have to be a van day for her.
 
UTfball68 said:
Or jump the next size up to the Edge
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My wife drives a Mazda CX9. It is the same platform and drivetrain as the Edge. Big difference is that the CX9 has a 3rd row that folds flat for a larger cargo area. It is about the same as a minivan and probably gets the same fuel mileage as your minivan.

I cant see where the benefit would be in getting another vehicle. If you are only getting 15mpg better, how long would it take to actually start saving money?

You said 50 miles one way = 100 miles per day at a guess of 25mpg = 4 gallons of gas. If you get a vehicle that gets 40mpg at that same 100 miles per day is 2.5 gallons of gas. That is saving 1.5 gallons of gas per day. 1.5 gallons x 3.40 (gas cost today in Belmont) =$5.10 savings per day. $25.50 savings per week (5 days). That savings x 52 weeks is $1326 per year. If you get a $6000 vehicle, it will take you 4.5 years to break even based on today's gas price and the assumption that the van gets 25mpg and you get a vehicle that gets 40mpg.
 
sgtbriangreen said:
My wife drives a Mazda CX9. It is the same platform and drivetrain as the Edge. Big difference is that the CX9 has a 3rd row that folds flat for a larger cargo area. It is about the same as a minivan and probably gets the same fuel mileage as your minivan.

I cant see where the benefit would be in getting another vehicle. If you are only getting 15mpg better, how long would it take to actually start saving money?

You said 50 miles one way = 100 miles per day at a guess of 25mpg = 4 gallons of gas. If you get a vehicle that gets 40mpg at that same 100 miles per day is 2.5 gallons of gas. That is saving 1.5 gallons of gas per day. 1.5 gallons x 3.40 (gas cost today in Belmont) =$5.10 savings per day. $25.50 savings per week (5 days). That savings x 52 weeks is $1326 per year. If you get a $6000 vehicle, it will take you 4.5 years to break even based on today's gas price and the assumption that the van gets 25mpg and you get a vehicle that gets 40mpg.
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ding ding winner winner chicken dinner

It very rarely is more cost effective to buy an additional vehicle to save on gas.
As trade... maybe.
 
I feel like I read this thread not but a few weeks ago...

But I agree with everyone else, its never going to work if she has to drive something nice. I did this dance when I sold the XJ dd and bought the civic. There were other circumstances that made it not just about fuel economy, but even going from 17 to 36 mpg and only having a net cost of $2100 for the vehicle, it took years to break even.

That being said, its been a few more years and I'm very happy with the long term savings.
 
Tonys fuel savings.jpg
 
There is definitely a lot more to consider as you guys have already posted. My spreadsheet only accounts for the savings used in the daily commute though. Any additional travel (drive out to lunch during the workday, soccer practice, store, friends house, etc) will further increase the monthly fuel savings. If they were to buy a Honda Insight or something similar, then they would most likely have zero to very little vehicle repair costs for the next 5-10 yrs. If they do nothing and he keeps driving his Ram every day, then it is very likely that the Ram will have repair costs over the next 5-10 yrs given the age and mileage on the truck.
 
drkelly said:
There is definitely a lot more to consider as you guys have already posted. My spreadsheet only accounts for the savings used in the daily commute though. Any additional travel (drive out to lunch during the workday, soccer practice, store, friends house, etc) will further increase the monthly fuel savings. If they were to buy a Honda Insight or something similar, then they would most likely have zero to very little vehicle repair costs for the next 5-10 yrs. If they do nothing and he keeps driving his Ram every day, then it is very likely that the Ram will have repair costs over the next 5-10 yrs given the age and mileage on the truck.
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But your spreadsheet doesnt take into account the car payment. If they are paying $300/month for that insight, if they put that $300/month aside he can rebuild the truck before the insight is paid for.

Your spreadsheet is right though. If someone offers to give you a fee vehicle and cover all expenses of said vehicle it is always a good gas saving measure.
 
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