Actually, economics played heavily in my Neon purchase back in 03. My old minivan was barely getting 21MPG and my truck wasn't getting but 18 or so. I was dropping $20 a day for my 140 mile roundtrip commute. After looking for a car I could fit in, and like, the Neon was an answer I could agree with. All told, initially, after factoring in my monthly payment, and insurance, and the gas used daily, I was still $40-50 ahead at the end of the first months. 4 months and 15,500 miles later, I was laid off. Luckily, I found new work much closer to home with a pay increase to boot! And the new commute was a mere 14 miles roundtrip. I quit keeping track of costs at that point.
Though I did joke about getting a Jeep Wrangler if I'd only known I was going to be laid off so soon after buying the Neon. In truth, I have developed a deep affection for the little car. It now has 70,000 miles under it (and on its third set of tires) and can still pull 32MPG numbers with no modified driving habits (through a mountain pass and with AC no less!). My son has it for now until I finish his truck.
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Originally Posted by trebuchet03
But that said, do people really buy cars for their economic savings? (keep in mind that SUV's STILL make up about half of the new car market share and almost all cost more than a Prius).
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