Struggling with math, please help

[Stubby79]

Engineers! Ha!

[redpoint5]

$11k



https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/...396838162.html

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by spacemanspif

I have a cost to own spread sheet where I track costs on the cars and know that hers costs $0.12/mile while my focus costs $0.06/mile. Figuring that she won't do as well as mine on the next car due to a more traffic heavy commute I'm guessing the next car will be $0.08/mile. With the value of her car I think we are looking at around $8200 out of pocket for something along the lines of 2014 Hyundai (sister bought one this summer for ~$14,000).

Wife's car is 2005 Subaru Legacy GT that runs on plus/premium, gets a pretty consistent 20.X mpg and she drives 25,000 miles/year.

How many miles does your wife drive in a typical day? I'd get a Chevy Bolt if I put that many miles on a car in a year. Not only is electricity where I live $0.02/mi, but there are practically no maintenance costs except for tires and wiper blades. Owners describe it as being quite a fun car to drive due to quick acceleration and firmer suspension.

BTW, my signature has a cost of ownership spreadsheet in it. You can input values for a gasoline vehicle in one half of the spreadsheet and compare it to an EV on the other.

[spacemanspif]

I have a clickable link in my sig if anyone's wants to dispute my cost of ownership please critique my formulas. The "cents for mile" is strictly for fuel, not the rest of the car ownership. All cars will come with their own maintenance issues and all so I'm not worried about those. Was just running the exercise to see how long it would take a more fuel efficient car to pay for itself if we got her a new car. The plan would be to buy a used car cash and sell the LGT to offset the cost. Figure $6,000 to sell it, buy a car around $14,000 and see how long it would take to recoup the $8,000....which is a really long time for a car costing approximately 8 cents/mile.

I need to look into the fusion but my "old school" nature likes the idea of just an engine, trans and wheel and no extra stuff to gum up the works. As time goes on it looks like we are destined for hybrid drives and turbo engines so my idea of simplicity is clearly outdated and fading away.

[spacemanspif]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

How many miles does your wife drive in a typical day? I'd get a Chevy Bolt if I put that many miles on a car in a year. Not only is electricity where I live $0.02/mi, but there are practically no maintenance costs except for tires and wiper blades.

BTW, my signature has a cost of ownership spreadsheet in it. You can input values for a gasoline vehicle in one half of the spreadsheet and compare it to an EV on the other.

Plug in EV would be nice but we have no where to charge outside at out apartment complex. Her work has like 2 stations so if they are taken for the day she's got no charge to get home and back.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by spacemanspif

I have a clickable link in my sig if anyone's wants to dispute my cost of ownership please critique my formulas. The "cents for mile" is strictly for fuel, not the rest of the car ownership. All cars will come with their own maintenance issues and all so I'm not worried about those. Was just running the exercise to see how long it would take a more fuel efficient car to pay for itself if we got her a new car. The plan would be to buy a used car cash and sell the LGT to offset the cost. Figure $6,000 to sell it, buy a car around $14,000 and see how long it would take to recoup the $8,000....which is a really long time for a car costing approximately 8 cents/mile.

I need to look into the fusion but my "old school" nature likes the idea of just an engine, trans and wheel and no extra stuff to gum up the works. As time goes on it looks like we are destined for hybrid drives and turbo engines so my idea of simplicity is clearly outdated and fading away.

If you can sell the LGT for $6,000, a high mileage Pip (it's a base) is only ~$7000+. You would be break even after ~30k miles, and be ahead after that, assuming you're paying $1.90/gallon.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=193701370

Or spend a little more and get a lower mileage/cleaner car. Break even would be at ~120k miles.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=193799025

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by spacemanspif

Plug in EV would be nice but we have no where to charge outside at out apartment complex. Her work has like 2 stations so if they are taken for the day she's got no charge to get home and back.

Gen I Volt!

If your wife gets a charging spot, that's gravy. If not, the car gets pretty decent fuel economy. I've never driven one, so no idea if they are any good.

I'm in the same boat now in that there is no way for me to charge at the apartment. My parents are only 15 minutes away though, so if I got a Bolt, I'd just charge it at their house every couple weeks.

[Grant-53]

Our family is in a similar situation. Our 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan is a V6 with 136,000 miles, just in time for the transmission to go bad soon. It is 2 miles to mother's night job, the only two children still at home take the bus to school, and the shopping mall is 10 miles away on the other side of town. I am the only cyclist in the family. Holiday visits require 3-4 hours on the interstate with no direct bus connections. My wife and I both can drive a 5 speed trans.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by spacemanspif

I have a clickable link in my sig if anyone's wants to dispute my cost of ownership please critique my formulas. The "cents for mile" is strictly for fuel, not the rest of the car ownership.

Very nice spreadsheet and record keeping. Your Excel skills exceed mine.

A numbers guy like you will make a good financial decision based on needs and wants.

[spacemanspif]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Very nice spreadsheet and record keeping. Your Excel skills exceed mine.

A numbers guy like you will make a good financial decision based on needs and wants.

Thanks, you're welcome to steal the formulas if you want. A quick Google on "if/then" formulas had me off and running. It all started back with my old Saturn when people would rag on me for driving an old car, I wanted data to back up my "when your car is as cheap as mine we can start comparing luxuries"; so when I bought my Focus I started the spreadsheet, and copied it for the Legacy. Since I buy all the parts for the cars it's easy to keep track, and my wife has been pretty good about giving me gas receipts and writing the miles on them for tracking purposes.

I guess she's dropped the idea tho, she's decided that we'd be better off keeping the money in our pockets than into a newer car. My Focus will succumb to rust soon and maybe I'll look into the Fusion or Prius for a replacement...the only thing the next car needs is an automatic trans so both can drive both cars in case 1 needs service...I'm not happy about it but she just doesn't like driving with a clutch.