I am caught in a bit of a dilemma. The price of gasoline is $4/gallon and I drive a truck with a v8 that gets 15 mpg in the city (which is the only kind of driving I do). A hybrid would save me money in gas by doubling or even tripling my mpg, but my truck is paid for.
Mathematically, it makes no sense to buy a more efficient car. I work from home 2 days a week and only put about 150 miles per week on my truck...using 10 gallons of gas per week, 40 gallons per month. That equates to $160 a month in gas with no vehicle payment. If I purchased a new fuel efficient vehicle, I would have a payment of at least $300 and use about $55 a month in gas, if I continued to drive the exact same way. That would be $355 a month until the car was paid off (lets just say 5 years).
If I keep my truck, I am using $160 a month in gas. Now my new car, if I bought it, would not begin to pay for itself until after the vehicle was paid off. After that, assuming the price of gas stays static, I save $105 a month. That is $1260 a year in gas savings, AFTER the vehicle is paid off. Considering that I would be spending more than twice in car payment and gasoline the first 5 years of car ownership, I would have to have the car more than 10 years to start breaking even. The real savings would be if I drove a lot more but my wife and I have adjusted to driving less each week and it has not been a real hassle. I bike more and walk more than I did and I actually feel better, although I am a lot sweatier in the summertime.
I would like to hear your opinions on the subject. Are you in a similar situation?
1 comment:
maybe something you haven't considered is buying a cheaper motorcycle. Good on gas, monthly payment is low, and you still have your truck if you need it.
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