In 2 years... still no payoff
 

I have done some numeric analysis on owning an extra economy vehicle. I bought an economy car two years ago and have been keeping track of fuel usage since. I have saved 1400 in fuel driving 31,000 miles. The VW has put on 18000 of the 31000 miles. My other two cars are not built for economy, an Econoline and a Windstar.

I have a purchase price of 2000 on the VW I figure another 1000 in repairs, service and insurance. Perhaps in two more years I will break even. Glad that I didn't start with a new or late model Prius.

Buying an "economy" vehicle rarely pays off. I bought my Mustang to save "wear and tear" on my F-250, and to save it for when I need 4WD or when I need a "truck" to haul stuff. I may break even somewhere around 2022. Meanwhile, I've got a fun ride that's averaged over 29.5 MPG since I bought it. :D

Hi Dave, I was your shoes a few years ago, had a vehicle that was getting in the teens and another in the 20's, but wanted more, hence the olds cool diesel.:cool::snail::cool:

It all depends on what car you get. you may get a car that is in need of some serious work or you may get one that's perfect and your old one need a ton of work...

i went from a 03 Escape that cost me $3000 in repairs in less than a year, some of it was regular maintenance but still. I got a Civic and am saving about $90 per month and so far i haven't put any money into repairs. To me this car was a huge benefit but I guess if i bought a "lemon" it would be different

Long-term and short-term payoff is important too. My pickup was paid off, but when I got my Yaris, I ended up with a $161/month payment and $20 more a month for insurance.
Of course, I'm getting about 2.5 times more miles per gallon, and basically "made my car payment" plus saved $111 in the first 3 months alone.

Long term, I'm spending ~$13,000, but short term I'm saving myself $40 a month, and with my limited income, that makes all the difference in the world.

I drive crazy miles for my job, I bought my Civic for $9,000, my truck was costing me big time in fuel.

So at 16MPG in the truck, and 36MPG for the Honda, In 2 years and 55,000 miles I have saved $6,500. I figure the savings in fuel alone is paying for the car, and at the end of the day, I have a car worth at least $4,000 no matter how many miles are on it.

So, I've already broken even or better.

Yep numbers would look different but with two drivers we have about 7500-8000 miles a year each and get another 2000 cycling, mostly commuting.

Your VW is worth more than $0 isn't it? The current value of the car plus the fuel savings might have you in the positive already. While the car may not be money in the bank, it can easily be sold for money in the bank and should be considered an (depreciating) asset.

Why do you need 2 vans? Can you sell one?

Don't forget to factor in depreciation. How much less would your Econoline be worth if those 18000 miles were put on it instead of the VW?

This is a major factor whenever computing savings. The value of the vehicle and its depreciation. Also helps that really economical cars depreciate a hell of a lot more slowly than gas guzzlers.

Of course... the vans will still depreciate when not being used, just a bit less. If you sold the van to avoid depreciation and bought the VW to replace it, you'd see positive savings, already.