Well the time has come and my son (16yo) is now driving! Passed his driving test last week. I purchased a new 2012 Scion XB and it has been my daily driver for the past 2-3 years. My intent when I purchased it was that I would pass it on to my son. Well, the time has come.

So now I am left with my OBS as a daily driver. I don't work far from home so the gas is not an issue to get to/from work. It's all the other driving! Weekends, running around, etc.

I need a truck for towing my small 24' fiver (7000#) and fishing boat (3500#).

That leaves with some options on what to do.....

1. Keep my OBS and use it as a DD and just deal with the gas expenses
2. Purchase a new/newer truck as a DD and sell my OBS
3. Purchase a gas saver car/suv for DD and keep OBS for towing needs

Thoughts? I'm sure some of you have crossed this road before.

Thanks!

 

option 3.no contest.car though.4 cylinder.
suv option is pointless.might as well go with option 1 instead.

here's mine.35mpg

 

considering the following three....included MPG, price, and current financing incentives

2015 Toyota Corolla Eco gas: 25c/34h mpg.....$22,825 starting 0%/60 mos

2015 VW Jetta gas: 25c/34h mpg.....$17,325 starting 0%/60 mos+$1000 cash back

2015 Jetta clean diesel: 31c/46h mpg.....$21,640 starting 0%/72mos

2015 VW Golf Sportwagon gas: 25c/36h mpg.....$21,395 starting 0.9%/72mos

2015 VW Golf Sportwagon clean diesel: 31c/43h mpg.....$24,595 starting 0.9%/72mos

 

Jetta TDI hands down. Amazing car

 

From a econ standpoint, rarely does a new car save you money over a paid for gas guzzler... I vote cheaper DD, with money to spare to take that '92 to a new level.

In all seriousness, screw a car payment.

 

yeah,i agree.id never consider paying that kind of coin for something that depreciates so quickly.i would just run your 460 truck first.even though it's a guzzler,as 94 stang pointed out above,non of those options would ever save,which is (or should be imo) your objective.
the above car of mine is a '98 honda civic.i payed 2k and put another $500 in it.
it's not only the price of the car but the insurance too.with just liability on the beater and 35 mpg combined with all the driving i need to do,it's saved me a crap load already,not to mention putting needless miles on the truck (money maker) which is always good.

 

+100, unless you are made of money why would you buy a new 2nd, 3rd, 4th car, if you got that kind of money to burn then just drive the OBS.

 

Agreed. Do the math. Say you take $20k and buy a car. You still have to fuel it and insure it. Take that $20k and divide it by say $3.50 a gallon. Thats 5714 gallons. Multiply that by say 10mpg in the '92 and youve got another 57,140 miles on the truck.

If youre buying a dd, make it a cheap, realiable and used car. And...drive the dd for preservation of your OBS more so than for economy.

 

/\ as some said above, look for poss a used car on CL. I would look at one of the 4 cyl Fords (Fusion, Focus, Escape?). One of my friends and co worker has an 07 Focus with 428000 mi on it (no, not km haha) that still runs like a watch.

 

Option 3 if you are looking to SAVE money but buy a USED car. Buying NEW will save you Nothing.

 

We're on our second Escape (1st Gen). Damn useful lil' vehicle, although a few repairs are a pain. The 4cyls are gas misers & the 6s have got a lot of torque & give mid 20s in MPG.

 

Option 3 is going to be your best bet.
Just retired and sold my 95 ranger I picked up an 08 mazda 6 with a 2.3 auto and its a peppy little car to drive good gas mileage and saves my 97 crew cab for weekend pleasure usage.

 

Obviously this will be your decision, and you are just asking for thoughts, so here are mine.

1. This is the choice I've made. I drive my '97 F-250 CCSB with a 460 as my daily driver (except in the summer when I drive my '71 Bronco because it's more fun)

2. I tried that route with an '08 F250 and an '02 F350. I hated both of them and was glad to finally upgrade to my '97 a couple years ago. I can't see myself ever owning anything truck newer than a '97 F-250/350 for the rest of my life.

3. My commute is about 5,000 mi / year, so I could save about 330 gallons of fuel a year by getting a 30 mpg econobox (actually a lot less less since I drive the Bronco half the year, but I'll ignore that for the comparison). So that's about $900 / year at today's gas prices. Subtract insurance on another vehicle and the savings are a lot less, let alone having to maintain another car (OK, maybe less maintenance cost on the truck balance that part out). But even if there is a small savings, to me it's not worth the extra hassle of another vehicle, especially one that I probably won't like to drive as much as my truck. On the other hand, if you get a car you really like driving, then you can look at it as not wearing / rusting out the truck as fast and maybe justify it that way. But in reality, unless you drive quite a bit, the savings aren't that big.

 

Man I wish I only commuted 5,000miles a year. That is 4 months for me. LOL

For me it is a no brainer to have some sort of "commuter". I do on average 25k a year. My "commuter" is a 04 ranger(4.0 v6, 5 speed 4wd) that Averages 18mpg so that is approx $3400 a year in fuel costs. If I were run my 460 truck(10mpg) it would be 6200.

I actually like my ranger SO MUCH I drive it all the time(even have a plow for the snow). I put about 1500 miles on the 460 truck last year. Only taking it to shows, events and out on nice days. But I also have a Fusion,Lightning, Bronco, & F250 that driven too.


I guess is what we are trying to say is....... How far do you drive, what would the "savings" be between your truck and a car. Factor in payments, fuel costs, maintaining, insurance, reg, etc Then decide what works for YOU

 

My $0.02

New car won't save any money, used car might. Nor am I a fan of any of the options you listed.

A 2WD LB CC is a big not so maneuverable pickup, for me there would be two other aspects I'd be after. Easier to park, and 4WD. Already having a 92 F350 I'd pick up a 92-96 Bronco to go with it and use that as a putting around rig.