Whats a good car to buy for fuel mileage?

[JGoss]

What car gets good gas mileage, and is pretty reliable? I was looking for a Cavalier or Neon. I'm sure alot of people are doing this so maybe you could post your vehicle and mileage. I'd like to stay in the $4 or $5k range, so it would probably need to be a late 90's model. Maybe the foreign cars are decent? I should probably just use this money for fuel in my truck, but who knows how much higher fuel will get. This will keep the miles off my truck too. I drive about 60 miles a day so it will eventually pay off. Thanks

 

[rvaughn801]

Is it worth it?

In May of '03, when gas was hovering around $1. 50, I bought an '89 Toyota Tercel. 5-speed, 4-cylinder, manual steering. It cost me $250. It was smoking a lot (a couple of quarts over full of crankcase oil) and the muffler was rusted off.



I drained the extra oil out and put a used muffler on. It ran great.



I made a game of squeezing the best MPG out of it I could. Over a 5 tank average, it would flirt with 40 MPG. That required coasting down hills with the engine off and turning it off at red lights.



I drove it as much as I could drive a little two door car. I took it to Home Depot and carried 2x4s sticking out the window. I loaded it down with work tools in the trunk. I put 8000 miles on it in one year.



With gas at $2. 00 a gallon, I figured out the total benefit of driving the smaller car over my truck was $19. 99 a month. #@$%!



Liability insurance, license fees, tires, and all the other stuff add up fast. Batteries don't care if you drive 8k or 100k a year, they still go bad. Not to mention what you could be doing with your $4k or $5k if it wasn't tied up in a car.



After a year and a half I sold the beer can on wheels. It served me well, it did more than I expected. It was fun to drive. But I couldn't make the money work out.



None of our cars get over 26 MPG right now. And I'm not looking to trade off any of them. Just my . 02, your experience will vary.

 

[JGoss]

I understand what your saying, but here is my calculations at todays fuel prices.

I drive about 1200 miles a month. I'm getting around 17 MPG's in my truck, so thats 70 gals. x $3. 75/gal = $262. 50 per month. If I had a car that got 35 MPG's at $3. 05/gal. , thats $103 per month. With a savings of $160/month x 12 months, thats $1920/year minus the ins. , and up keep. Over 5 years thats almost $10,000 and 70k less miles on a truck that I want to keep for a LONG time. It may or may not pay off, but like you said, your experience will vary.

 

[DWeiler]

91 Acura Integra (1. 8Lt auto) just gave me 37. 5 MPG on my last trip to the lake(75MPH average),i been driving this beater besides my truck before the high price of diesel and before it has become popular to look at other alternatives than driving the "Big Truck". Its a great little run-about,very reliable and still gives me over 30MPG in the city. Yes it sucks not to drive the truck all the time but when i do it just makes me enjoy it a little more.

 

[rvaughn801]

The cheapest car? The truck you already drive!

My comments are not meant to discourage you from going out and driving a fun little car, and saving a little at the gas pump in the process. I just would call it "fun activity" instead of "saving a bunch of cash. "



I drove the smallest, cheapest most fuel efficient car I could and the cost savings was tiny. 17 MPG from your '03 sounds like your commute might not lend itself to high MPG driving. Remember that a small car's MPG will suffer the same or more percentage loss with stop and go traffic or A/C use. So you might want to use 28 or 30 MPG in your calculations.



A base Cavalier with auto and 60k miles on KBB is $4,500. After 70k miles it will lose about half that value, so you may want to include those dollars in your calculations.



The main thing that drove me to sell my Toy(ota) was the hassle factor. Little bitty tires only cost $30 each but they only last 15k miles. Big truck tires last 3 or 4 times that long. Standing around WalMart waiting for tires is not my idea of fun. It is not that much fun to be wrenching on little motors (or paying someone else to do it) and keep up with the "real" vehicle maintenance.



My Dad bought a VW Passat TDI for the 45 MPG and to keep the miles of his Suburban.



This is a very sweet running, nice handling little car.



Now he drives 45 miles each way to get it serviced at the dealer ($$$). The tires cost as much or more than my truck tires. The oil changes are $90. Dad asked about running some bio to save his IP, and I told him his PD motor has four (4) injector pumps. He said "Oh. "



I have never asked him, but I think now he considers it to be a "fun" car, not a "money saving car".



Cavaliers are great, TDIs are very cool, but keep your expectations realistic.



My ideas for saving on fuel:

1. Rent a small car on vacation. If you have the urge to haul something, resist that urge!

2. Trade with a friend who needs a truck for home improvements. Drive the friend's fuel sipping car to work, while he drives your diesel guzzling truck to Home Depot. Repeat until you run out of friends.

3. Peruse Craig's List to share rides. Offer to haul items to places you are already going for fuel money.



There are bound to be more. Have fun shopping, I hope you find a sweet little ride.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

As others have noted, operating and maintenance costs can minimize any potential cost savingts from running a small, second car. Since a traffic accident every couple years is "normal" in many urban areas, you could find the hospital bill to far outweigh any savings from driving a car that is less safe than your Turbo Diesel.



Perhaps your efforts and money could be well spent in maximizing the fuel mileage and efficiency of your Turbo Diesel. Avoid huge mud tires, lift kits, extreme injectors and such power adders. Look for something like the TST PowerMax-CR or Smarty that adds timing and use a moderate power-adding setting. Keep road speeds moderate and watch your driving habits. Hope this helps.

 

[JLandry]

I drive a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid to and from my day job and have averaged 50. 3 mpg since new. I drive the Dodge one day a week to keep it from getting too jealous (or rusty).



I can't wait until someone comes out with a small diesel powered hybrid that gets 75+ mpg!



John L.

 

[zstroken]

I have a 2001 dodge intrepid, 140K 2. 7 and the car will get 29-30 consistently on interstate runs, worse tank I have every had was 23. 5. This is a big car lots of room, comfy back seats, huge trunk, only complaint I have is the rear seat won't fold down so you can have larger storage. I had a spirit that was used just like the toyota, got 32 pretty much all the time, and I have had 8 tires in it, all sorts of engine parts, etc, etc.

For me the beater cars have paid off. The spirit I bought for $250, put in a quart of lucas transmission, and rear brakes, and drove the car about 10K, until it was crashed, pulled out the front, put in a new headlight and drove it for 2 more months, until the fuel pump(I guess, never checked) quit. Donated it to volunteers of america.

The intrepid we bought as a salvage title for $3250, with 70K on it. I have put just over 70K on it in just over 3 years. Have put brakes on it all the way around, two new tires, 4 new hubcaps, did the fluids at 100K(transmission, antifreeze) put a $100 thermostat housing on it and that has been it. I used to drive about 700 miles once a month for work for about a year. Work paid the mileage, the car was paid for with that. I look at it also, I have 85k miles less on my truck, and have saved a good chunk in fuel.



I cost around $125 a year to plate, and we probably pay 5-600 a year for insurance on it.

 

[DWeiler]

Another note to my earlier post as well is that this beater/run- about car that i have is my wife's first car,she had it when we married so there is a advantage in our situation,then we bought her a 2002 Chevy trailblazer because she need 4x4 to run out to her parents acreage in the winter. We never got around to selling it and it is kind of nice to have the extra vehicle when i working on my truck---no rush to finish or problems arise when wrenching on it,i still have a vehicle to drive. Do what you think is right for you/situation---PS diesel is at 1. 15litre today-----THATS 4. 37 US gallon:{:{:{

 

[nickleinonen]

PS diesel is at 1. 15litre today

i put $100 in at 1. 179/liter today... sad day

 

[JGoss]

My wife has a Jeep Grand Cherokee which gets about 15-16 MPGs. I work nights, she works days, so we will both be driving the car. We live in the country, so 4 out of our 60 miles is in town. Thanks for the replies, but I'm still looking for a car.

 

[ceastmen]

Honda

I've own a Honda Accord 2003, it averages 35-37 mpg. consistantly.

I do all of the maintenence, oil changes, air filters, brake pads, belts etc.

The manual that came with it is excellent!

I recently got a CEL @ 137,500 cost me $82. 50/ 1 hr labor for the latest software updates which cured the CEL.

By far the best car I have ever owned, it's 100% stock.

I drive it 85 miles per day to work and back, day in and day out Winter / Summer.

Some of my Co-Workers have Accords or Civics with 250,000+ miles on them, most sell them at 300,000+ miles still running good.

My 2 cents

Chuck E.

 

[JGoss]

Several guys at work have Hondas, Nissan,etc. and they love them. Most usually have high miles with minimal maint. done to them. I have been driving an 83' W 150 with a slant 6. The truck drives pretty good, but maybe gets 15 MPG's. My neighbors buying it, so that will help with buying a car. Thanks for everyones post, I just needed to see what cars were good and which ones to stay away from.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've own a Honda Accord 2003, it averages 35-37 mpg. consistantly.

I do all of the maintenence, oil changes, air filters, brake pads, belts etc.

The manual that came with it is excellent!

I recently got a CEL @ 137,500 cost me $82. 50/ 1 hr labor for the latest software updates which cured the CEL.

By far the best car I have ever owned, it's 100% stock.

I drive it 85 miles per day to work and back, day in and day out Winter / Summer.

Some of my Co-Workers have Accords or Civics with 250,000+ miles on them, most sell them at 300,000+ miles still running good.

My 2 cents

Chuck E.

Your Honda's doing much better than mine. I average 25-27 out of my '98 Accord with manual 5-speed. One thing we do have in common is that in the event of an accident it's gonna be quick with no lingering for weeks in the hospital. Your '03 is more substantial than my year,but still not much of a match for the suv's and trucks out there. I do appreciate getting back in the CTD after driving my deathtrap.

 

[ScottLauer]

He he. I am the proud owner of a recently purchased 84 Mazda B2000 truck. Ok So I won't demean all Real trucks by calling it that. A ... not sure what it is. Besides being an under powered, noisy, rusty and tuneless(no radio!) it gets 27 MPG. It has enough room in the cab to fit me comfortably(I'm only 5'11 when I wear my two inch heels) and I only paid $200 for it(thats to register it as well)



It seems like I drive about 250-300 or so miles a week(what can I say I'm a traveling type of guy) so lets say 250x4=1000 miles a month. MY truck usually only gets 15 (lea foot-itis) so at 66. 6cool X 3. 79 = $252. 41 now take 27 MPG which is only 37. 7 x 3. 10 = 116. 87 So in a little over 2 months the Mazda will have paid for itself.



Oh and I should mention that since I bought it outright I have the title and can have liability only on it. and being 20 yrs. old and being rated on a 2002 truck with full coverage(financed) is expensive!! So my ins. only raised by like $14.



Besides when all the girls see it the first thing they say is "awww thats so cute!" and I need all the help I can get.

 

[JWendt]

Another one you could look at but alot of people laugh about are the old VW Bugs. I currently have 2 at the moment. They both get 30-35 mpg and the is mainly city driving. ALOT of stop and go. But what should i expect i live in Atlanta. They not expensive to buy there cheap for up keep and repair and like most people on here you can do all the work/mod them yourself.

 

[The patriot]

I sold a Saturn a while back . It was a stick and I got 40+ MPG almost every tank.

I'm looking at a Prius for the wife right now. The old Crown Vic is almost $50 a tank. #@$%!

 

[TBurow]

cavaliers, saturns tend to be cheaper and easier to get parts for. i have had several sohc saturns from 94-99 with 5 speeds 40-45mpg, auto's 35-40 mpg. dohc auto's 30-35 mpg manual 38 at best. cavaliers 30-35. have a 99 neon now 2. 0 sohc auto 28-32mpg. my 96 5 speed passat gets at worst 45 and at best to date 63mpg all highway. just remember diesel will be cheaper than gas in the summer when there is no demand for home heating oil, i would get a stick vw diesel, or a saturn, i personaly have had several of both with over 300k miles on each.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

Maybe somebody will bring back the Steam Engine for vehicles. They burn Firewood and Coal, don't have to go to a gas station.

 

[The patriot]

cavaliers, saturns tend to be cheaper and easier to get parts for. i have had several sohc saturns from 94-99 with 5 speeds 40-45mpg, auto's 35-40 mpg. dohc auto's 30-35 mpg manual 38 at best. cavaliers 30-35. have a 99 neon now 2. 0 sohc auto 28-32mpg. my 96 5 speed passat gets at worst 45 and at best to date 63mpg all highway. just remember diesel will be cheaper than gas in the summer when there is no demand for home heating oil, i would get a stick vw diesel, or a saturn, i personaly have had several of both with over 300k miles on each.

I've enquired about the diesel Volkswagens. The Passat is supposed to be coming out this summer.

I always take what VW says with a grain of salt.

I waited almost 2 years at one point, then bought the Cummins. :-laf

My plan was to buy/make a bio fuel processor if I got one of these.

There are plenty of restaurants around here that would be happy to supply me.