Thoughts on a fuel-efficient vehicle for ordinary driving...

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
Right now, I am driving my F250 StuporDuty 4x4 5.4 everywhere I go, about 25k miles per year.

I get about 13 MPG, which drops to 9 if I keep towing speeds reasonable (last year towing the CJ to western TN and back, I got 8.9mpg for the whole trip)....if I push the speed when towing (to 75-80 from 65-70), I drop to about 7 or 7.5. That isn't as bad as it sounds, as I rarely tow more than a hundred or two miles from here. I don't tow enough on longer trips to make a Diesel pay off for the MPG vs. cost and maintenance.

Tonight I've been playing around with numbers, thinking of something like a Toyota or S10 4 cyl/manual small truck, that I'd be able to drive about 10,000 miles per year, instead of the big truck. (I plan to get a V10 over the winter, which will will cost me another 1 or 2 MPG non-towing, towing should be about the same from what I have read).

I just can't make the numbers make enough sense to do it. Even if my MPG goes to 25 or so. I figure I'd sink about 5k into something reliable and presentable (for work service calls). What with insurance (liability only), maintenance, plates, etc...I would just as soon pay the extra 1500 to 2k per year in fuel and drive the big truck.

Anybody gotten a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle and actually saving money? I am self employed, most of my service calls are highway or suburban driving of 10 miles or so.
 
Sounds like you've already figured it out. The only way to actually save money overall is to get the vehicle for practically free. Otherwise it takes an extremely long time horizon to make it pay off, like 5+ years. You're better off just buying the fuel. The best thing that better MPG does for most folks is make them feel a little better when they're standing at the pump, and for some people that makes it worth it to them.
 
Roughshod said:
Sounds like you've already figured it out. The only way to actually save money overall is to get the vehicle for practically free. Otherwise it takes an extremely long time horizon to make it pay off, like 5+ years. You're better off just buying the fuel. The best thing that better MPG does for most folks is make them feel a little better when they're standing at the pump, and for some people that makes it worth it to them.
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yup...i want to get rid of the landrover, but i owe too much on it, and the negative equity i have in it would zero out any fuel mileage benefit i see. best i can do is suck it up, fill the tank (at 80 bucks every 3 days) and throw any money i have left over (yeah right) at the loan and try to get this (worst purchase i have ever made) paid down.
 
Stayed up late last night looking at trucktrader.com... Only good thing about the gas prices is the market is getting flooded with what I want, and prices are down!! :)

Last time I looked online, I found four that I might like in a 400 mile radius...last night....probably 25 within a 100 mile radius. :D
 
It 'can' work out for you. But you have to know your limits and your driving style and you needs as far as vehicles go... If you can comfortable buy a $1500 DD and do some work on it, you can come out ahead..


The one thing not mentioned is how far you drive a day. You say 25k that sounds like a lot. How much is DD vs trip/tow rig duty ?

Also not mentioned is the opportunity cost of having 2. Just the simple benefit of having the 2nd vehicle. My tow rig is older but better suited to towing, and my DD was cheep and is doing well for me. (got 31.5mpg highway back from NY)

It really all depends on the car you get. If you factor in things like cost of tires, brakes, etc.. on truck vs beater car.. it might be different...

Also factor in what happens when your tow rig/truck is spent.. say 200k ? Do you buy a new one ? (spend $$ on that) vs if you used it less now.. it will last longer over the long run..


Here are my numbers.
Just purchased new (2me) Ford Taraus. I paid $1600, spent $400 on tires, $200 some brakes, $200 tune up/juice A/C So that ? $2400 so lets call it $2500... I'm getting 26mpg with it DD. I drive ~50miles round trip per day. So that's ~2gals of fuel per day. so $8/day to move the car.

My truck is tired but has many parts replaced on it.. It gets 8-10 towing my setup depending on what and how fast. With the gears and motor it will only get 12ish empty. So.... But it's paid for. So that would be ~4gals of gas to drive the truck... = $16 /day..

So I save $8/day driving a car.. That doesn't count other road trips etc.. (I just went to NY and back and got 31.5mpg, yes that was at 65 w/ CC on but the truck will never get that or even come close)

Bottom line you have to do the math for you and your driving needs and habits, and what you expect out of each.
 
yager said:
You say 25k that sounds like a lot. How much is DD vs trip/tow rig duty ?

That's mostly running around....I am self employed, and run service calls all day long. Can't really plan trips to be more efficient...I drop and run when the phone rings I get paid well for that, but I do some driving.

yager said:
Also factor in what happens when your tow rig/truck is spent.. say 200k ?
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Uh-oh, my DD/tow rig is pushing 200K....
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Another thing to concider is how much room you need. Not sure what kinda service calls you make, type of equipment and so on you have to have with you.
If I had to drive my Van to work it would cost me near $50 a day, while my car costs me $13 a day. Over a two week period that saves me about $250, or roughly $500 a month. So I could easily justify a new car if I needed to.
If you need the heavy duty of a 250 type truck then I would look at an early modle Dodge and go with the alternate fuel idea. Traveling around you might be able to score several places as fuel stops.
 
What about digging around for a small diesel truck for the DD, and converting to veggie oil? Of course said trucks are hard to find - but their is lots of info about doing a conversion w/ older Toy trucks etc... e.g., buy an imported front clip from a Hilux, swap it in, and drive that, esp if you can do WVO.
But then you have to balance out the huge PITA and up front cost of getting that vehicle.
 
Actually, running w/ Chip's idea - if you are interested in a WVO conversion - perhaps you could get an 80s Benz 300 td wagon. My fam had one for 15 yrs, it consistently got 30+ mpg and I could fit a whole drumset in it and still have room for 3 buddies, lol.
Won't win any races but you get lots of room w/o the crappy MPGs. I know those wagons are a popular conversion vehicle - the guy my dad sold it to (w 375k on the clock) bought it just for that.
 
It seems like small pickups just don't get very good mileage for having such small engines. Maybe it is due to the aerodynamics. I don't know what kind of service work you are doing, but could you get by with a car that has a decent size trunk? 4 banger cars seem to get better mileage than 4 banger pick ups.

I was planning on selling my Tahoe over a year ago and replacing it with a car. I fooled around too long, and now would probably have to damn near give it away, so I figure I might as well drive it into the ground. I have recently started driving my Samurai to work, the store, parents house etc. The speedometer cable broke, so I don't know what kind of mileage it is getting.
 
Also figure in Insurance, and yearly taxes if you have them. IT might not be much if you have basic insurance coverage, or if the vehicle is older and not much taxes on it but it adds up just the same.
 
Well if a pickup is needed (bedspace) then an older diesel LUV or Isuzu would be just the thing! Or a VW Rabbit diesel pickup bed.

Otherwise if you could work out of a trunk / rear seat, pickup up a small car like a 97 or older Corolla / Prism. I bought a 93 Prism (corolla) for $1700 that gets me 35mpg.

Compared vs my 12 mpg Land Cruiser, $6300 a year in gas vs approx 1/3 of that so I will save 4k per year. So my cash flow will be repaid in 6 months...

I know John Barclay picked up a new Electric Van down in F'ville for $7500 that has a 35-40 mile range and zero in gas. Not bad if your commute is pretty local and the van has plenty of room inside.
 
SHINTON said:
I know John Barclay picked up a new Electric Van down in F'ville for $7500 that has a 35-40 mile range and zero in gas. Not bad if your commute is pretty local and the van has plenty of room inside.
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But how much did his electric bill go up?
 
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