Efficient, cheap beaters! Used car ads: 35 mpg highway or more for $1500 or less

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by JSH

The average person in the USA drives 13,500 miles per year so that is about 7 months of driving.

That's 3 or 4 years of Miata miles for me!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Xist

Metro, how far away is the sedan?

It's well outside my beater radius... about 5r!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by freebeard

That's why I have a [free] bus pass and a bicycle.

I doubt those are much use in a place like Show Low, I know they weren't when I lived in Eastern Tennessee and was driving beaters.

No buses. Even if there was a bus it isn't like you can plan to drive and then switch to the bus if the car won't start and still make it to work on time. I can make it to work today by public transpiration but it takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours instead of 45 minutes.

No bike lanes. Just winding roads with 55 mph speed limits and about an inch between the white line and a ditch.

If I recall you are retired so it isn't like you have to journey miles to work each day, arriving on time, or risk being fired.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by JSH

it isn't like you have to journey miles to work each day, arriving on time, or risk being fired.

I read an interesting essay a few years ago along the lines of: "You have to be rich to drive a beater", based on that idea.

EG: people who have the kind of jobs (or bosses) that would see them canned for showing up late or missing a shift (eg. due to a breakdown) really can't afford to drive a $750 Miata.

Folks in that situation stereotypically keep sales of cheap new cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage going (...and the Spark, and the Versa before that car went upmarket with the latest redesign). Long loan terms (for super low monthly payments) and a generous warranty with roadside assistance prevent nasty surprises (and your nasty boss) from messing with your life.

Found it: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...n-a-cheap-car/

[JSH]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I read an interesting essay a few years ago along the lines of: "You have to be rich to drive a beater", based on that idea.

EG: people who have the kind of jobs (or bosses) that would see them canned for showing up late or missing a shift (eg. due to a breakdown) really can't afford to drive a $750 Miata.

Folks in that situation stereotypically keep sales of cheap new cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage going (...and the Spark, and the Versa before that car went upmarket with the latest redesign). Long loan terms (for super low monthly payments) and a generous warranty with roadside assistance prevent nasty surprises (and your nasty boss) from messing with your life.

Here it is: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...n-a-cheap-car/

That article sums it up pretty well.

I fell for the "Why buy a boring car when you can buy a cool car" logic on my first car out of college. I bought a 30 year old Porsche for $6,000 instead of something like a Civic. That car left me stranded a few times, wouldn't start some mornings, and the repairs were more than our limited budget could handle. Of course I was privileged in the fact that I had wife with a new truck and a motorcycle as back-up. Plus a garage full of tools.

[MetroMPG]

Your situation outlined another angle the writer didn't consider: one solution to owning a $1000 beater is having another $1000 beater available as Plan B.

[Fat Charlie]

But a $2k car is going to be somewhat more reliable than a $1k car.

Before I bought my Fit, I was looking at $5k cars- Civics with 100k on them, and well worth the money. But a $15k Fit with zero miles on it just looked like a better deal- a Honda with 100k is fine, but a Civic's clutch with God knows who doing God knows what to it for 100k? The Fit just looked even better.

[freebeard]

Of course I was privileged in the fact that I had wife with a new truck and a motorcycle as back-up. Plus a garage full of tools.

If you don't have a few Porsche stories you were doing it wrong.

If I recall you are retired so it isn't like you have to journey miles to work each day, arriving on time, or risk being fired.

I've been fired because they didn't like [my face?] When I worked for Symantec I had a bus pass and parking garage pass. The Notchback was reliable, 'til it wasn't. At NextStep Recycling it was bus and bicycle for IIRC six years.

Thousand Dollar Car-The Bottle Rockets

[Xist]

I have bought popsicles and duct tape from Dollar Tree, but Dollar Tree duct tape is garbage!

The only new cars on Facebook Marketplace are too nice for a bum like me. A 2009 Pilot for $7,000?

Google said 17/23. My Accord is rated 20/28 and I had a 42.94 MPG tank, but with a Pilot I would aim for 30?

2014 Prius at a dealership for $10k?

Honestly, I would be tempted to look at one of the various Camries for sale locally, but I guess that I would get rid of my economical car, and keep the Accord for random projects.

2007 for $5,500, 2009 for $6,000, and scratched up 2011 [with 202,000 miles] for $4,500.

FuelEconomy.gov says that I would save $100 a year with a 2011 Camry, but I should save more in maintenance.

Mom has averaged one repair every two years on her Grandmamobile and it has a timing chain, but still, if I spend $4,000 for a car, and recover $200 annually, I may never break even.

Yes, it is 12 years newer, but almost has as many miles!

How about a $2,000 Fiat versus a $1,000 Honda?

[freebeard]

I've got four different grades of duct tape — garbage, Okay, 100mph tape and aluminum tape.