In the market (600+ miles/week, looking to trade pickup for killer MPG)
 

What's up ladies and gents,thanks for having me. I am currently looking for a fuel efficient ride and I stumbled across this site that looks to be loaded with great info. I currently have a 2000 silverado with 275,000 miles turning 35's. I just started driving 600+ miles a week only averaging at best 14mpg:(. I was looking to pick up a prius but I'm unsure (I'm 6'1" 270lbs) what to look for or even if its my best bet, my main goal is to get some killer mpg's and reliability. There's alot of info on this site and I'm gonna get after it. Thanks again Jon:thumbup:

Welcome to EM.

Luckily we had a discussion on the best cheap cars to buy based on reliability, fuel economy, etc.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...art-27582.html

This Forum is a gold mine, you just gotta find the gold:cool:

thanks,I will check that out

Looking for new or used? Budget?

Welcome to the site.

I'm looking to spend 15k tops Mr.Metro

That's a healthy budget. Good for finding either a Prius, a VW diesel or a cherry used 1st generation Insight (the mileage champion, with a wad of cash left over).

The insight's are impressive, kinda funky but impressive. I have 3 kids I'm running around constantly with and think the insight might be to small.

Well being that you're a fair bit taller than me (I'm 5'9"), I'm pretty sure the Yaris is out of the question... but I will say that I traded a 16MPG pickup for my 40MPG car and have made my car payments (and saved money on top of that) with the gas I wasn't putting into my truck.

You don't necessarily need something that gets into the 40MPG range to make up for the cost of a newer vehicle. Newer Insights aren't bad, nor are the various Prii, but I would respectfully disagree with Metro about the VW's. Two different friends, two different sets of shop bills. Replacement parts are also not cheap.

You might also look at the Honda Fit. Reasonably small car with plenty of room inside. Anything with a manual transmission has the potential for more MPG, but they are hard to find.

If you want to get REALLY serious after you get a newer car, a fuel economy gauge will save you even more.

Good luck!

~Matt

14 MPG is about 25 cents a mile.That's $600 a month out the tailpipe. If you just tripled the gas mileage it would still pay for everything.
I'm a little over 6 feet and just under 210.
For reliability and no where near your budget an Echo would get you close to 40MPG and cost nothing near your budget. Yaris is the newer generation of the Echo.
Get out of the trap of super expensive transportation. Illinois is rough on older cars, you might consider looking further south for a good example.
The Echo has no timing belt (read expensive to replace). It ain't there to break. They are super reliable cars, and most maintenance is simple and inexpensive.

regards
Mech

Toyota echo

Here is one near Chicago, not sure how close that is to your location. Decent price and not bad miles. At 30k a year for your commute, if you take care of it it should go past 200k easy. Just make sure it was not abused(poorly maintained). 1/5th of your budget.

regards
Mech

thanks Mech,I will take that in to consideration.I'm 35 miles NW of the city in a small suburb called Hanover Park,I comute to the city 5/6 days a week with the week ends being crazy"200+mi.".

I've had 4 people in mine and 4 sets of golf clubs in the trunk. All about my size. Sold it a while back, averaged about 45 MPG. Mine was a manual with no AC. Back seat actaully had decent room for a 6 foot 200 pounder X4. Not bad for a guess, just 35 miles away. Been debt free for 15 years at age 63. You can't beat that feeling. Save the 12k (or don't spend it anyway). 600 miles a week on a 15k car and it wont be worth anything in 3 years.

reagrds
Mech

was yours a 4 door?

Nah, mine was a 2dr stripper, even manual steering, but I'm old and no kids around. I have a 2011 Fiesta that is 4 years old this November and just turned 26k miles. It gets about the same mileage but the back seat legroom is pitiful. It's a rebuilt salvage car, paid $10k for it with 3770 miles. It might be a little small for for a man your size. The Echo was surprizingly roomy.

regards
Mech

your best bet for resale value is a diesel especially if your buying used ,, if you find a diesel with 150 000 km on it it is barely broken in, and your mpgs will boost beyond belief i dont have a hybrid but would not trust them to go anywhere in the cold ,,

Around here the premium for diesel is 45 cents a gallon, around 15%. If your MPG is not 15% higher then there is no benefit in cost per mile. At 45 MPG in a gas fueled car, you would need to get around 52 in the diesel to have the same cost per mile.

Diesel repairs cost more, some have timing belts, and the rest of the parts wear out regardless of the engine type.

You got almost 300k out of a huge SUV, so that is a pretty good indicator that you take reasonably good care of your vehicles. Check out consumer reports frequency of repair records for owner feedback on the cars you are interested in buying.

When you buy a higher mileage (odometer) car I have found that the fewer options the better. All of those "conveniences" can really become expenses when they stop working.
I have seen cars scrapped for a couple of bad power window regulators @ $450 each.

People here have recommended good cars as choices, but you are a big person and that must be considered in your choices as well as the safety of your precious children when they are passengers.

regards
Mech

"Friends dont let friends buy Volkswagen."

this made me lol!:D

Sage advice from Old Mech, as usual.

600 miles a week: how long is that going to go on? That's the kind of commute that makes a moving worth considering, if it's a long term thing. It's a lot of transportation money and irreplaceable time lost.

to many people try to FIX whats not broken

I should loose 150 miles in about 6 months hopefully. Mama and I have talked about moving to a few areas that are closer, the ones with with good schools are out of my pay range.

Diesel VW's are the best kept secret in economy, it seems, and highway cruising is where they really shine. I recently had a 56 mpg tank with an average speed of 56 mph. If you're interested, check out the TDI clubs for info on models. You do have to stay on top of the maintenance, but they do hold their value well, and will last as long as the body does. 300K miles is nothing for these engines.

I am with most of the suggestions here.

1. 99-2006 Honda Insight , if you can figure an alternative way of transport for when you actually need to drive more than 3 people this is the way to go, I have sat in the back of the insight (6'2) but it is neither safe nor comfortable, you would need to remove the IMA components per the thread on insight central and then install a jump seat.

2. Toyota Prius - Any year, any version is economical if you need more than 2 passengers most of the time.

3. Any 5speed econobox. My cobalt xfe driven slowly can top 50mpg in the summer but any cool weather drops economy massively. Geos, hondas, really anything works well with a 5speed manual. Echo, Fit, yaris, certain Scions, older 4 banger cavaliers & pontiacs all come in MT variants.

4. Chevy volt, this car once it gets over 70,000 miles ends up selling for less than $16,000, this summer 7000 of them come off lease, do the math it might be as cheap as a newer eco box later this year.

5. VW diesels, the VW can be an option but unless you find the amazing 1994 diesel VW that requires little maintenance, most will require YOU to have very good mechanical skills to perform regular maintainence. If you can do the maintenance yourself they can be a pain but are economical, if you need OTHERS to do the maintenance they will really SUCK every 100,000 miles or so.

6. Not really an option for you but the MIEV & Think EV are only $8995 in some areas of the country, it only drives 60 miles in warm weather at a time though.

Going back into the 80's if you can find one that runs there were many decent FE econo-cars, from diesel versions of normal fords, VWs & Toyos to Chevy Sprints and the like.

It will be up to you, the best and only option for highway is the Honda Insight. The only other car to come close (non-hybrid) is the 1970 subaru 360 (and of coarse the various older Honda lean burn models) and also only if you get it running right and even then its like a 2 cycle motorcycle in many ways and not for the faint of heart.

Good Luck
Ryan

7. Second gen Insight...
It can seat 5 if the middle rear passenger has a short spine or no head.
It likes corners. It likes them so much that it is a bit nervous on the straight bits, but higher than OEM tire pressure alleviates that somewhat.
(16" rims help too)
It is quite pretty when compared to something that's not.
It is almost as economical as a big Prius.
It is almost as big as a big Prius.
It is a hell of a lot cheaper than a big Prius.
It is a lot bigger than a Prius C (but less economical)
It is a love-or-hate car. Test it, who knows? You mght just love it.
It is safe and reliable and has very few issues.
It is discontinued and the stocks seem to deplete slowly. You could get a good deal on a new one, you may also find an almost new one within your price range.

I love mine... oh, I'm 6', 90 kg, wide in the shoulders, and the seat is not as far back and not as low (adjustible) as possible; you should fit easily.

sounds good Press Enter,I'm not ruling anything out.I usually turn my own wrenches on my vehicles and stay on top of maintenance fairly well

Well I ended up with a 98 camry 2.2 4 popper show stopper lol

So, not stock, and for no good reason? :) How is that working out for you?

A camry can work for you.

If you decide to keep looking, here is my thoughts: At 270 with kids, passat tdi. Everything will feel too small. Coming from a truck will magnify this effect. I'm somewhat lighter than you (but with kids also) and I've driven everything else suggested, all going to feel too small.

Ideal would be a low mile 1996-97, or figure out a way to swing the current generation. Another option is an escape or camry hybrid, but they'll get less mpg.

I'd love to have a '96-'97 Passat TDI, but it is without question the most desirable model, so expect to pay almost as much for a good one as you would for an early CR model ('09+).

She is all stock 118,000 miles no rust with the automatic.I just picked it up yesterday and im looking forward to tryin it out.My kid named it The Old Lady lol

I will keep this in mind