Gonna park the 2003 Ram - Bought a new Dodge dart tonite

[E7mack96]

Got a promotion @ my job, and a new 54 mile each way commute (old jobsite was 14 miles) . Running the #'s on fuel, I decided to park the Ram for the weekly commutes and picked up a sweet lil Dodge Dart Rallye 6 speed with the 1. 4 turbo. . and I have already gotten 40+ MPG in the Dart. the Ram gets about 18-19 in commuting. Was spending $443-450 a month in fuel. the Dart will be about 186-190 a month, a solid savings of $250 a month. Its sad that fuel is soo much that it makes sense to get a car too, and can pay for it in fuel saving.

 

[jgillott]

Hey, congrats on the new Dart. I'll be interested to hear how you like it. When it was first introduced, I wasn't really that impressed with the looks, but they are growing on me. I have yet to talk to anyone who owns one so please keep us updated.

 

[E7mack96]

I'll say this. . I stall it alot. . I'm used to the grunt of a diesel... LOL. . But it is nice so far. The interior is good. The wife loves the accent lighting too. I'll add more info as I think of it.

 

[JDerrig]

I think I always stall those cars too since I can't hear the engine running and can't tell what the engine is doing! They're just too quiet!

-J

 

[Dl5treez]

I stall my TDI all the time, too. But for my commuting it pays for itself, literally, in the savings over driving the big truck(s).

I'll say this. . I stall it alot. . I'm used to the grunt of a diesel... LOL. . But it is nice so far. The interior is good. The wife loves the accent lighting too. I'll add more info as I think of it.

 

[Simplysmn]

TDI's are sweet for driving our 12 has a little over 12 ,000 on it sense June of last yr get's get mpg wife is putting 3 to 500 a week on it

 

[rscurtis]

Hopefully it will live up to its past namesake- one of the best cars Chrysler made in the mid to late '60's IMO.

 

[crabman]

60's Slant 6 Hemi almost bullet proof

 

[Prairie Dog]

60's Slant 6 Hemi almost bullet proof

And smooth. I had a 69 for a while and when you came to a stop people in the car would ask if it's still running.

 

[jgillott]

Did the Slant 6's use oil like the GM 6's of the era? We had 2 vehicles with the GM 250 l6, a '67 C-10 and a '76 Nova. Both used quart after quart after they had a few miles on them. I remember the '67 got much better after my father rebuilt the head, but it still used some.

 

[Mark31]

A lady at church was looking at an old uggy (the next step beyond ugly) faded-out green Volaire with a 100k on it that maybe had been sitting unused for a while. Following her, I saw a little blue smoke out of the tailpipe of that little falling-over six. She didn't take my advice, bought it, and put another 100k trouble-free miles on it. She then repeated this same saga with a Dodge something-or-other with a Mitsubishi V6 in it. Mark

 

[Regcabguy]

Hopefully it will live up to its past namesake- one of the best cars Chrysler made in the mid to late '60's IMO.

I inherited my folk's 71 Dart Swinger. Two-door hardtop with black vinyl roof. That car got 21 mpg every tank around town and hauled arse with the 318 ci. Sold it to my buddy who's wife promptly totalled it within 6 months. That was back in the late 70's. I was an idiot to sell that car.

 

[Shadrach]

My 03 sits a lot as I only live 5kms ( 3 miles ) from work and driving the CTD would be too hard on it especially in the winter. My daily driver is a Jeep Liberty. Although not the most economical vehicle I like the 4X4 part and it saves wear and tear on the 3500. The reason I got it and not something better on gas is I traded my old Dodge for it. For years I drove n old D350 daily as I couldn't justify the extra expense of a 3rd vehicle. For a while I even walked to work until the company moved. Although I like being close to work it is always hard on the vehicle. Shad

 

[E7mack96]

I have also owned an old 1974 Plymouth Valiant (dart variant) I bought it from a lil old lady in 1988 or so with just 24,000 mileso n it. . it was a creampuff! We also have a 2004 Jeep liberty Columbia edition 4x4 too. . The wife drive it. but we are shopping for a replacement for that too. looking at a 2010-2012 Chevy Equinox. .

 

[rbattelle]

I drive a Honda Civic most of the time on account of the cost of fuel. I have saved thousands in fuel costs over the years. But not driving the truck makes me appreciate it all the more when I get the opportunity.

-Ryan

 

[ABennin]

My DD is a '87 D150 with the leaning tower power with a 4 spd. It starts on the coldest days, easy to work on, parts are cheap, and has the cost comfortable bench seat I ever sat in. I put a stack on it because I was tired of patching the exhaust together otherwise it's stock.

E7mack96
My aunt bought a '11 Equinox with the 4 cyl. front wheel drive. She likes it and gets better milage than the minivan. She hasn't had any problems with it so far. Her favorite features are the remote start and heated cloth seats. Although I doubt you need the heated seats in FL. :-laf

 

[MChrist]

Ok, the bean-counter in me is talking now... you said you save $250/ month in fuel, which is $3,000/ year. If you still have insurance on your truck, then you will have additional insurance for this new car. People rarely take depreciation into account, but it is safe to say that you really aren't saving as much as you think. In fact, you may actually be spending more than you are saving since your new car will probably depreciate about $4000 the first year, $2000 the second year and so on...

Hate to be a bummer. . blame the bean-counter in me.

 

[E7mack96]

I took all that in account as I am a bean counter too. . Just on fuel, I save 250. I know there are other costs, but I get to drive a new hyper efficient car too. And we wanted a 3rd car for backup as the 2 are getting old.

 

[E7mack96]

ABennin, the wife likes your input regarding the Equinox

 

[jgillott]

I took all that in account as I am a bean counter too. . Just on fuel, I save 250. I know there are other costs, but I get to drive a new hyper efficient car too. And we wanted a 3rd car for backup as the 2 are getting old.

Pardon my lack of knowledge of the new Dart, but it is Gas Direct Injection correct?