Just sold my Mazda, which MADE me money. - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

1337 · 05-13-2009, 12:58 AM

So, last year, my girlfriend decided to go to the University of Tulsa, while I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I wanted to visit her regularly, but to fly to Tulsa, I would need to drive two hours from Champaign to Chicago, park at O'Hare, go through security, and get on a $250 round-trip flight. Given my love for driving and thrifty personality, I decided to drive to Tulsa instead, a ~1150 mile round trip.

The miles started adding up quickly on my 2002 Mercedes C230, and I was getting well under 30 MPG, while fuel cost over $4 during some of my trips. I want to keep the C230 for a long time (at least through the next 3 years of college and possibly grad school). So, to avoid wear and tear on the C230 and to save gas, I bought a Mazda Protege for $2800.

I drove the Protege 15000 miles in 6 months, and I absolutely loved driving it. I'd get in the Mazda, turn on some audio books on my iPod, and before I knew it, I would be in Tulsa. The driver's seat was still comfortable after the 8.5 hour drive.

I averaged 35.9 MPG in the last 90 days and a bit less through the lifetime. It took me a few tanks to develop good hypermiling techniques on this car (and to get the ScanGauge in). I'm a little too lazy to calculate my exact expenditure, but the average fuel cost over the 6 months was about $1.75. With 15000 miles and 35.9 MPG, I would have spent ~$730 on fuel.

On one of the trips, I got rear ended. The other driver's insurance company told me to get an estimate of the damage, and they would write me a check. I went to *every* body shop in town for an estimate, and I sent the highest estimate to the insurance company. $1700, cha-ching! The damage was barely noticable, but I technically needed a new bumper cover, some fender work, and a new trunklid. I spent $1.79 on rubbing compound, and most of it buffed out.

Today, I sold the car for $2800. Cash.

So, I sold the car for exactly what I bought it for, spent $730 on fuel, and made $1700 off of the accident. Even factoring in oil changes and spark plugs, I *MADE* almost $1000 by owning this car and driving it 15000 miles!

Oh, and my girlfriend is transferring to University of Illinois next year, so I no longer need the car.

cfg83 · 05-13-2009, 01:33 AM

1337 -

Sounds like a win-win-win-??? situation. I lost track of the number of wins.

CarloSW2

RobertSmalls · 05-13-2009, 06:50 PM

Congrats. Are you planning to buy another one, or swap a 1.6L manual into the Benz?

SVOboy · 05-13-2009, 07:23 PM

700 bucks on oil changes and spark plugs!?!?

1337 · 05-13-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOboy

700 bucks on oil changes and spark plugs!?!?

No. Take a look at my fuel log. I spent about $730 in fuel for 6 months. I drove 15000 miles, or 12 round trips from Champaign, IL to Tulsa, OK in those 6 months.

1337 · 05-13-2009, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Congrats. Are you planning to buy another one, or swap a 1.6L manual into the Benz?

Probably neither. I just don't drive much anymore. I drove 15000 miles with the Mazda to visit my girlfriend a lot. But, she's coming to University of Illinois next year, so I might drive a total of 5000 miles in the next 12 months. I still love getting great fuel economy, but the cost of a second car wouldn't be offset by the coming year's fuel savings. (unless someone rear-ends me again)