Keep or sell gas guzzler 'because its paid off'

[Daox]

Another quality and humourous MrMoneyMustache (a financial / early retirement site, great stuff btw) article strikes again. What to do if you have a gas guzzler, keep it or sell it because its paid off? I cut out the math parts, but its all there in the link.

It’s Never too Late to Ditch your Gas Guzzler | Mr. Money Mustache

Some good quotes:

When I hear people describing their beloved trucks and SUVs, I often hear comedic phrases like, “it’s not that bad, actually. I get 17MPG in the city”, or, “on the highway, I can get 22-23 MPG consistently”.

Those are good figures for a dump truck or a school bus, but when you’re talking about a vehicle that is regularly used to transport fewer than 10 people, they shouldn’t even enter your realm of consideration. Reasonable fuel economy starts at 35MPG (US, highway), and much higher is possible. The Honda Insight 2-seater from the early 2000s, for example, regularly returns over 70MPG in combined use, yet you can buy a nice 2001 one on the used market for about $5000. If you commute alone or have no children, this may still be the ultimate car. Take that, Prius!

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Let’s put it another way: Switching from an SUV to a car, will save you enough to buy a new luxury car every ten years, or an excellent used car every four years.

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This is a point that cannot be stressed too strongly. There is almost no possible case for driving around in a sub-35MPG car. And yet the roads are full of them. Virtually all of the drivers are broke, and they can’t afford even the fuel bills for their cars. And yet they continue to buy more gas guzzlers for themselves. It’s the biggest source of mass insanity in the modern world, and yet people still buy these ridiculous cars for themselves every day.

If you have a side business or a very large family that requires major cargo capacity occasionally, it is usually much more cost effective to own an efficient car for most of your driving, and a second behemoth vehicle (an early-2000s minivan for example) for the rare hauling events.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

If I had a paid-off gas-guzzler I'd consider a Diesel swap

In certain cases, a guzzler ends up as the only option for some customers who need a vehicle with an enhanced cross-country ability, since compact (S-10 Blazer, Isuzu Rodeo/Amigo) and subcompact (Chevrolet Tracker) SUVs are nearly extinct back there with the crossover-type SUVs trend. By the way, an uncle of mine consistently got 42MPG with an old Suzuki Vitara he retrofitted a Volkswagen 1.6L early Diesel into.

[slowmover]

Most folks aren't "set up" to understand the costs. Buying a new cheap "econo" car every three-five years is their plan . . and they're never out of debt, either. For them, a decent 20-mpg sedan that was paid off would be better.

For someone with a little more savvy (and mechanical interests), then, yes, I easily agree with the above about an older model. Anything EPA averaging under 30-mpg isn't a good idea, overall.

But selling the suburban house and moving into the city makes most sense of all. And to a major metro with decent public transportation. The "future" is down to about [5] North American cities.

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[oil pan 4]

A mini van pulling a trailer full of fire wood, hahaha.

[Frank Lee]

If you have a side business or a very large family that requires major cargo capacity occasionally, it is usually much more cost effective to own an efficient car for most of your driving, and a second behemoth vehicle (an early-2000s minivan for example) for the rare hauling events.

I do own a pickup. It rides very nice, is loaded with amenities, and many people would daily drive it in a heartbeat. I refrain from ever driving it unless I have a task outside the capability of the car (or bicycle, etc.) because I really don't like feeding the beast. Additionally, I don't feel like I need to daily drive it to impress the opposite sex, or to prove my manhood, or to feel safe on the road, or to show off to the people at school or church or wherever.

It's paid off but there are more reasons to keep it. One is, my owning it keeps it out of the hands of those who would daily drive it (as a couple of people who inquired about buying it would have done. It's never been advertised for sale). Another is, even though it's a one-owner, well maintained vehicle, the resale value is **** so as long as I have legitimate use for it, the path of least resistance (cost, effort, convenience, capability, etc.) is to simply keep it.



Can the Tempo pull that trailer? Yes but mostly no. Can I get those big bags on or in the Tempo? Yes, but mostly no. Can I find alternatives for the pulling and hauling? Yes, but mostly, no.

[redpoint5]

Great, another website I'm sure to get addicted to and spend way too much time reading instead of getting my work done.

Originally Posted by slowmover

But selling the suburban house and moving into the city makes most sense of all. And to a major metro with decent public transportation. The "future" is down to about [5] North American cities.

You have that backwards. The rural areas are the cheapest places to live, and public transit is more expensive (in the U.S.)

I can get a nice steak dinner for $9 in Enid OK, or 1 Stella Artois (because they don't have craft) beer in Miami FL. If you look at the cost of living, there is a very positive correlation with population density. When you look at public transit, it's always in crisis. Between outrageous fares and additional property taxes funding these infrastructures, they are still always complaining about not having enough funding. A month pass on the Portland MAX runs $100. For the same money, I can get 800 miles of wherever the heck I want to drive in my marginally fuel efficient TSX (I spend ~$135/mo, and have never ridden the MAX).

Cities won't be the cheap living option until farmland is more valuable than the suburban home that would otherwise occupy it. This would require a population much greater than we have now, which seems unlikely given the slowing in the population growth rate.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

A mini van pulling a trailer full of fire wood, hahaha.

You're right, why bother with the mini van??? I've pulled trailers of fire wood with my Civic VX in the winter because it got better traction then my parents Ford Ranger, still averaged 39.9mpg with the tank of gas that I spent towing and hauling.

[LeanBurn]

So if I understand this correctly, I should ditch my fully paid for (as of 8 years ago cost $15k) 4x4 1997 suburban that hauls a family of 6 around weekly, tows my 5000lbs and 3500lbs trailers around in the summer that consumes fuel equivalent to a 2000 AWD Chevy Astro for a:

Mini Van that would save me roughly $600/year in fuel, cost me another $15K to purchase and also acquire another vehicle (rent/purchase) to pull my trailers around???

Hmmm.....the math seems a little fuzzy there...



(P.S. the Corolla is the DD and other when I can use it)

[Ryland]

It's all about using the right tool for the task at hand, there are a ton of pickup trucks out there that have a lot of miles on them and the bed of the truck looks like new, the receiver hitch has never been used and the passenger seat has only been sat in a few times.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by slowmover

But selling the suburban house and moving into the city makes most sense of all. And to a major metro with decent public transportation. The "future" is down to about [5] North American cities.

Future? No, that's the dead past, when people had to live jammed together because communication was limited to the speed of foot, horse, or sailing ship.

The future lies in figuring out that most of us don't actually have to move our physical bodies to and from an office every day in order to make a living. So you can keep the suburban house if you like, live in the country (as I do), or even choose to be an urbanite. (Gawd knows why anyone would actually want to live in a city, but different strokes...)

So I can (and have) work in (that is, for employers & work teams nominally based there) Silicon Valley and Europe while living in northern Nevada, and keep on working for my local clients while I (temporarily) lived in either of those places.