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Started By
Message
I own a truck, should I buy a commuter car?
Posted on 4/30/21 at 8:56 pm
Posted on 4/30/21 at 8:56 pm
Anybody have some good rules of thumb about when this makes sense?
I put about 20k miles a year on my truck. I love this truck and want it to last forever. The truck would still see 8k miles a year from hunting, hardware store trips, so fuel savings isn’t incredible. I think fuel savings and additional insurance would be a wash.
I’m programmed to think such a purchase is frivolous, but the numbers have me feeling differently.
I put about 20k miles a year on my truck. I love this truck and want it to last forever. The truck would still see 8k miles a year from hunting, hardware store trips, so fuel savings isn’t incredible. I think fuel savings and additional insurance would be a wash.
I’m programmed to think such a purchase is frivolous, but the numbers have me feeling differently.
This post was edited on 4/30/21 at 9:38 pm
11
Posted on 4/30/21 at 10:17 pm to turkish
Buy a sports car to go with the truck...
Posted on 4/30/21 at 10:30 pm to turkish
To save 12,000 miles a year on your truck might not be worth it ,depends on how many mpg you’re getting.
You could buy a Toyota Hybrid Corolla or Prius and get 52 mpg,
Wife has a 2016 Prius and gets 52 mpg,we’ve never spent a nickel in repairs except for new tires at 65,000 miles and a 12 volt starting battery.Oil changes are every 10,000 miles.Has almost 97,000 miles.
Depending on the difference in mpg and insurance the math might work,especially if your goal is to keep your truck as long as possible.
You could buy a Toyota Hybrid Corolla or Prius and get 52 mpg,
Wife has a 2016 Prius and gets 52 mpg,we’ve never spent a nickel in repairs except for new tires at 65,000 miles and a 12 volt starting battery.Oil changes are every 10,000 miles.Has almost 97,000 miles.
Depending on the difference in mpg and insurance the math might work,especially if your goal is to keep your truck as long as possible.
Posted on 4/30/21 at 10:43 pm to LSUA 75
quote:Pics?
Wife has a 2016 Prius
Posted on 5/1/21 at 6:26 am to turkish
I used to drive about 35k a year and at those numbers it paid off for me to have a ~$6k commuter car. Don't remember the numbers exactly but it was easy to figure out.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 9:00 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I guess the part that isn’t easy is estimating depreciation costs for the two cases.
1. Over 5 years, 100k miles on truck
2. Over 5 years, 40k miles on truck, 60k on car, plus cost of car.
1. Over 5 years, 100k miles on truck
2. Over 5 years, 40k miles on truck, 60k on car, plus cost of car.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 12:13 pm to turkish
In both cases you have to assume you will keep both until they are dogged out and completely worthless.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 2:04 pm to turkish
quote:
I think fuel savings and additional insurance would be a wash.
And the fact that you have to buy another car...
Posted on 5/1/21 at 2:11 pm to turkish
Don’t underestimate the value of driving a vehicle daily versus letting it sit. I’ve got a 2010 pickup that doesn’t get cranked except on Sundays for church. It seems like there’s always something minor popping up on it—dry rotted wipers/tires, burned out lights, etc. It gets about 5K miles a year, but I have spent a lot of time each year fixing things due to it sitting still most days.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 6:34 pm to armsdealer
quote:
Buy a sports car to go with the truck..
I kinda did that backwards... and then some. Bought a truck to go with the sports car, then bought a race car so the truck would have something to pull and not feel under appreciated.
When I write my book, The Top 10 Ways to Burn Up Your Money (that doesn’t involve girls, booze or drugs), I hope that you’ll all buy a copy... so that I can afford the 911 GT3 that I’ve had my eye on.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 6:46 pm to turkish
quote:
I guess the part that isn’t easy is estimating depreciation costs for the two cases.
1. Over 5 years, 100k miles on truck
2. Over 5 years, 40k miles on truck, 60k on car, plus cost of car.
Here is a very easy calculation - the depreciation on a car that you don't purchase is 0.
This is the easiest question ever. Buying an additional car adds cost and saves nothing.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 7:21 pm to Jag_Warrior
quote:
bought a race car
Whatcha got? You ripping around VIR?
Posted on 5/1/21 at 7:47 pm to turkish
It’s actually pretty easy to quantify...
Let’s assume the truck gets 20 mpg. The new car gets 32 mpg. Even if not exact, let’s assume a 12 mpg difference.
You mentioned the car would see 12,000 miles per year, difference of your current 20k on truck vs future 8k.
12,000 miles per year, at a 12 miles per gallon difference, is a savings of 1,000 gallons of fuel per year.
ETA: This math seems off here as I checked it against the overall totals. (1,111 gallons in the 20k case; 444 gals and 375 gals in the truck/car case). I’ll leave the rest of this information to try to figure out where I went wrong.
At the following fuel prices, here’s what’s justified on fuel savings alone (assume car payment + insurance...which sometimes can be a wash for a 3rd vehicle):
$2.00 - $167/mo
2.50 - $208/mo
$3.00 - $250/mo
So figure around $200/mo just on fuel savings. Depending on the current age of the truck, depreciation, avoidance of excessive maintenance, tires (particularly if off road), etc. are all other factors that could be considered.
However, in general, you could buy a very nice used commuter vehicle for $200/mo and break “even”, while saving that wear and tear on the truck.
Somebody let me know if my math is wrong or I missed something.
ETA: Checked my own math and seems wrong.
Let’s assume the truck gets 20 mpg. The new car gets 32 mpg. Even if not exact, let’s assume a 12 mpg difference.
You mentioned the car would see 12,000 miles per year, difference of your current 20k on truck vs future 8k.
12,000 miles per year, at a 12 miles per gallon difference, is a savings of 1,000 gallons of fuel per year.
ETA: This math seems off here as I checked it against the overall totals. (1,111 gallons in the 20k case; 444 gals and 375 gals in the truck/car case). I’ll leave the rest of this information to try to figure out where I went wrong.
At the following fuel prices, here’s what’s justified on fuel savings alone (assume car payment + insurance...which sometimes can be a wash for a 3rd vehicle):
$2.00 - $167/mo
2.50 - $208/mo
$3.00 - $250/mo
So figure around $200/mo just on fuel savings. Depending on the current age of the truck, depreciation, avoidance of excessive maintenance, tires (particularly if off road), etc. are all other factors that could be considered.
However, in general, you could buy a very nice used commuter vehicle for $200/mo and break “even”, while saving that wear and tear on the truck.
Somebody let me know if my math is wrong or I missed something.
ETA: Checked my own math and seems wrong.
This post was edited on 5/1/21 at 7:54 pm
Posted on 5/1/21 at 8:19 pm to LSUtigerME
That math is a savings of 225 gallons a year using those number. At $3 gallon that’s $56.25/mo.
20k miles/ 20 mpg = 1,000 gallons @ $3 = $3k
8k miles/20 mpg = 400 gallons @ $3 = $1.2k
12k miles/ 32 mpg = 375 gallons @ $3 = $1.125k
Savings of $675/ 12 = $56.25/mo
The only savings is going to be tires/maintenance. The fuel won’t offset the insurance.
My truck tires are $1,700 vs say $500 in a car assuming no crazy wheel size. Oil change in my truck is $119 vs no idea but assume $50 in a car.
20k miles/ 20 mpg = 1,000 gallons @ $3 = $3k
8k miles/20 mpg = 400 gallons @ $3 = $1.2k
12k miles/ 32 mpg = 375 gallons @ $3 = $1.125k
Savings of $675/ 12 = $56.25/mo
The only savings is going to be tires/maintenance. The fuel won’t offset the insurance.
My truck tires are $1,700 vs say $500 in a car assuming no crazy wheel size. Oil change in my truck is $119 vs no idea but assume $50 in a car.
This post was edited on 5/1/21 at 8:25 pm
Posted on 5/1/21 at 9:27 pm to turkish
This would only make sense if the price of gas doubles. That said, the 100,000 maintenance cost on a F150 will surprise you, particularly if you have platinum plugs. Couple thousand to do everything the manual recommends.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 9:50 pm to jwn0002
Yeah realized I flubbed it all up, but didn’t want to delete it.
Looking at KBB, a 5 year old truck with 100k miles vs one with 40k miles is worth about a $10k difference.
While the fuel savings is not a lot, $600/year is not “nothing”. For a typical married male > 25 and a 3rd vehicle, that’s probably close to the cost of insurance. I pay a little less than that for my primary vehicle.
If you want to save that depreciation, you’d just transfer it to your commuter vehicle. While it is actual money out of pocket/cash flow, it could be justified. A brand new Honda Accord (LX) would lose about $12k in depreciation over the first 5 years. Obviously, if you go smaller, or older/used the depreciation would be even less. In the same way, if you extend the timeline of the truck, the depreciation loss gap also closes, although not very rapidly (for example the gap between a 2016 or a 2013 was still $10k). The cost of maintenance also starts to climb after those first 5 years/100k miles.
ETA: Revised new Accord depreciation to $12k and clarified LX/bottom tier.
Looking at KBB, a 5 year old truck with 100k miles vs one with 40k miles is worth about a $10k difference.
While the fuel savings is not a lot, $600/year is not “nothing”. For a typical married male > 25 and a 3rd vehicle, that’s probably close to the cost of insurance. I pay a little less than that for my primary vehicle.
If you want to save that depreciation, you’d just transfer it to your commuter vehicle. While it is actual money out of pocket/cash flow, it could be justified. A brand new Honda Accord (LX) would lose about $12k in depreciation over the first 5 years. Obviously, if you go smaller, or older/used the depreciation would be even less. In the same way, if you extend the timeline of the truck, the depreciation loss gap also closes, although not very rapidly (for example the gap between a 2016 or a 2013 was still $10k). The cost of maintenance also starts to climb after those first 5 years/100k miles.
ETA: Revised new Accord depreciation to $12k and clarified LX/bottom tier.
This post was edited on 5/1/21 at 9:59 pm
Posted on 5/1/21 at 10:41 pm to turkish
I had this dilemma in 1996. I bought a 1991 Civic, for $2700, drove it from BR to NO for almost 5 years, then sold it for $2500.
I would have kept it but I moved to FL and could only take 2 vehicles. I did enjoy that 36 MPG against 15, though.
I would have kept it but I moved to FL and could only take 2 vehicles. I did enjoy that 36 MPG against 15, though.
Posted on 5/1/21 at 10:51 pm to SuperSaint
quote:
Wife has a 2016 Prius
Pics?
Everyone knows what a Prius looks like.
Posted on 5/2/21 at 8:58 am to turkish
Am I alone in that my primary variable is “Do I really want another vehicle on my property?”
Posted on 5/2/21 at 9:05 am to Powerman
quote:
And the fact that you have to buy another car...
Of course. My point was that one pair of pros/cons basically cancel each other out. Looking for input on others and how to evaluate them.
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