re: What factors do you use to justify a car purchase?

Thanks for the advice. My explorer is 13 years old with just under 140,000 miles on it. I added just under 20,000 miles last year which is about double my yearly average. I am on pace to match that atleast this year. That might not be many miles for some, but that is hurting me pretty strongly with gas rising and I'm only getting 16-20 mpg.

I've been doing the math and I can cut gas costs easily over $1500 if I get a car with 32-40 mpg. This is what really is prompting me to do some car searching. I don't want to get a new car or anything that will attract attention. I need a car that is economical