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Old 07-18-2017, 12:31 AM   #33 (permalink)
roflwaffle
Master EcoModder
 
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,490

Camryaro - '92 Toyota Camry LE V6
90 day: 31.12 mpg (US)

Red - '00 Honda Insight

Prius - '05 Toyota Prius

3 - '18 Tesla Model 3
90 day: 152.47 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SH@UN View Post
This is why I try to explain to people, if you spend $5k-$10k more on a car to get 5-10 more mpg, the car will never pay for itself unless you keep it 20-30 years, and even at that it's gonna need some good repairs by then. Food for thought. Kinda like people who buy a new $8k-$9k motorcycle so they can save on gas. It will NEVER pay for itself if that's the only reason you get it.

Get something cheaper and mod it if need be.
I think you'll need to repair any car over 20-30 years. But yeah, 5-10mpg better for $5k-$10k has a long payback period at current gas prices.

At the same time, if gas goes back to $3-4/gallon for a few years, or you find yourself having to drive more, the payback can speed up a fair bit.

I guess another way to look at higher MPG is a hedge against higher oil prices, even if the payback could be decades at the current rate.
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