Daily driver status-sellout or necessary?

$235 x 36 months = $8460. + $1500. = $9960.00 to drive that new "Toy", you have nothing at the end of three years.

A $1500 econo car would have made more sense, same fuel economy but no monthly costs....I hate car payments.

and $500-600 in fuel per month is alittle extreme

 

I Just Think Yer A Sell Out !!! :d

 

Well , a mans got to do what he's got to do to survive today !Sadly, I feel you did the right thing. The times ,they are a changing.....SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I always said a new car you make payments every month. With an old car you make repair payments when you want to . I never understood a lease . You pay on something you are going to give back.

 

For us its an 86 VW Jetta GLI, its good on gas but expensive to fix..it just turned 100K and we had to replace all accessories,head gasket,injectors,belts etc. the fix was more than the cars worth, so we'll just drive it to death..to balance (imbalance?) the other side, we'll have the 48 Caddy with the 530 MTS engine on the road pretty soon, with its smaller 56 Chevy gas tank. I will probably have to drill my own oil well....

 

5-600 dollar a month "IS" extreme! That's what motivated this decision. I'll save 250-300 dollars a month, pay $235 a month for the shitbox, and save a TON of wear and tear on the 67 GP that I've grown very fond of. Seems OK to me. You can't look at the $9960 to drive the turd. That's the "small" picture.

 

At $550 per month in gas, in three years you'll have spent $19,800 in gas.
At $235 per month for three years, plus the drive-off fee, you're at $9,960. Not counting gas.
You're getting more than twice the mileage...say your gas bill will be 40% the cost of the old car (half the gas bill would be twice the mileage, which would be 50%). 40% of the old car's gas, over three years, is $7,920. That's $17,880 over three years for gas and lease payment, for a savings of $2,080 total. (again, assuming you'll only spend 40% of your old gas bill).

After three years, you walk away from the lease car and get nothing for it at best, but possibly have to pay.
After three years with the Pontiac, you'll still have the Pontiac, and it'll be worth probably pretty close to what it's worth now. If you keep putting mileage on the Pontiac, will it decrease in value more than $2,000?

What's the insurance difference on the two vehicles? What about maintenance? Will you pay to have the new car worked on, where you'd do the same thing yourself with the vintage car?

-Brad

 

Good thing we aren't married, we would not have agreed on this decision.

 

I really agree with you, until now. $4.55 a gallon had me re-assess the thing. Saving over half of $1.50 gas ain't shit. Over half of $4.55 is. At least around here. But, I do appreciate ALL the responses. Well, except for that dickhead DeSoto's

 

.

and $500-600 in fuel per month is alittle extreme[/quote]


Not really!!

I know I pay over $2000 a month, between my wife, myself, and my tow truck. If we go traveling, or I have long distance tows, even more.

Our cars are easily $400- $500 each month in gas.

Its $20 a day just to take the kids to school. We try to hit every place on the way in or out, to save on trips.
It costs the same for me to go to the parts store, or anywhere else in town.

 

ZERO maintenance on the shitbox. And if you think the 67 GP will be worth the SAME in 3 years, you're NUTS. Absolutely NUTS

 

LOL.... Hey Wait... I thought i was The ASSHOLE of the board ?

 

No sellout....definitley necessary.....
Im actually thinking about doing the opposite! Leaving the 06 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 11 mpg turd at home and start driving the 52!! Not sure what the mpg is on the 52, but Im certain its better than 11mpg...

 

Luckily there's just enough room for TWO of us

 

I dunno, I guess I'm too stubborn to change. My daily is an 05 V-8 4x4 Dakota that's good for about 18 mpg if I drive it like I'm 90 years old and my 55, I just this past weekend put tunnelram on so now I get to feed 2 carbs.Dropped mpg to about 11.High test here is 4.29 and I run both on it. I refuse to give up to those bastards until my pockets are empty and even then I'll figure something out

 

Not really!!

I know I pay over $2000 a month, between my wife, myself, and my tow truck. If we go traveling, or I have long distance tows, even more.

Our cars are easily $400- $500 each month in gas.

Its $20 a day just to take the kids to school. We try to hit every place on the way in or out, to save on trips.
It costs the same for me to go to the parts store, or anywhere else in town.[/quote]

Yeah, except Groucho works from home and is not driving kids to school or paying for his wifes gas or towing. Yeah, he might be running errands and "semi"retirement stuff" but......I figured out with the amount of money he says he's spending on gas that he's driving almost 82 miles per day. At that rate he's going to be way over his milage allowance for his lease.

 

For better or worse, you've made the decision. I never buy new, but always buy something 3-4 years old to drive another 4-5.

I've gotten plenty of the "why don't you buy a $1,000 beater" comments as well. I'm no executive, but when I go to see clients, take people to lunch etc. I can't drive up in some shitbox. It doesn't make my company look very professional. My family also has to be happy and safe. A '74 Pinto won't cut it.

Besides with the weather up here and the shitty drivers, I would not want to drive an old car I care about. I can get a new fender for my wife's Nissan at the wreckers if it gets smacked. Finding a cherry fender or repairing my '49 Ford fender with grafted on '56 Olds wheel surrounds is another story. Drive the Toyota, save the '67 since it sounds like you're putting on a lot of miles.

 

I bought a 93 Chevy pick-up,that gets about 20-22 mpg,as a daily driver. Just put my old pick-up up for sale,cause it got about 12 mpg! I have to buy my son a small car or truck to putt around in,cause i'm still paying for his gas til he starts his job,next week. I still can't see buying a new car,with payments,as opposed to driving an old ,paid off,cheaper insurance,car though!!!
It's not like you have to drive 50 miles one way to work,like I do....

 

Just got paint on my '73 Mercedes 220D. It's one of the last /8 cars with the clean bumpers and vent windows. In late '73 they went to the impact bumpers and the 1 piece glass with the big mirrors.

I drove it quite a bit 2 years ago and it'll get in the low 30's for mpgs. Of course diesel costs more, I've been considering a vegetable oil tank.

I love to drive old cars for the summer and I think the Benz is going to look really classy so it's my compromise. There are a few other old cars out there that can really get the mileage too. I'm impressed with whoever said they have a Karmann Ghia that gets 32mpg. I didn't know they were that good.

Now, not to stir up too much shit, but all the numbers that everyone has been crunching are assuming that gas prices will stay the same for the next 3 years. And while the doom-and-gloom people think it'll probably go up, I'm not so sure.

When tech stocks were doing good, everyone got in on it, until the bubble burst and the market tanked. Then the real estate market went up, with mortgage bundles looking like the next best investment. That took a shit, now commodities are the hot new investment. Oil is one of them, scrap iron is another, gold is another (been hearing a lot of radio commercials from jewelery stores looking to buy gold teeth!? Kinda creepy)

I get the feeling that the oil futures market is going to get overcrowded in the next year or so and gas will settle back down into the low $3 range. Just gotta wait it out until the next hot Wall St. investment comes along.

 

I opted for this thing because the bumper to bumper warranty lasts as long as the lease. If it's a mistake, it sure won't be my 1st

 

These are tough times, but you know what you do when times are tough? You do what Alex Gambino did, and put a 3 x 2 setup on your machine!

FUCK BIG OIL!!!!

 

Groucho is *definitely* nobodys fool, I'm sure he did his homework and to suggest otherwise is sillly.

This is a *tough* PERSONAL decision to make.

My 2 cents, my dailiy was totalled last year by a drugged driver hitting me head on. My car was a very fuel efficient car, very boring, very reliable. I got around 19-21 mpg city, around 32-35 hwy. My "new" daily gets 11 or 12, but knock on wood for $1600 its gotten me around for a year with no repair issues. I figure I saved the $225/mo payment(3k down 225 for 60 mos. 2.9% interest) 60 or 70 a month insurance, depreciation of 10% a year(good resale) so $120 a month, and around $50 a month tires/sched. maint/etc, they ream you. All told it came out to 450 or so a month.

The money I've saved not owning a new car has let me put more dough into my '51 Ford. I pay an extra $100 or so a month for gas but I figure I'm still coming out ahead, and I have a vehicle I can tow with and haul rear axles and store parts without worrying if it gets dirty or not

To each his own.

 

You're also basing the decision on the price of gas today, and that it is still going to be this high in three years.

It's summer, the prices always go nuts. The dollar is also weak, and speculators are driving the price of a barrel way up as well.

In the next three years, some or all of that could change--one way or the other.

I prefer to be the optimist and think it'll change for the better.

How much do you think the GP will devalue in three year's worth of driving? Just curious.

-Brad

 

I should have mentioned that I've been upgrading my Ford to daily driver capable...and I figure it gets around 11mpg, same as the OT daily , but I can't be sure since no fuel gauge/odometer, just best guess from prior experiencce.

If you want to drive, y ou'll always have a car payment, wether its a certain amount every month for a new car, or varying amounts to fix an old car, it's never free and it sure ain't cheap.

Unless you're an a-hole like 70% of the drivers in so cal (made up the stat )and don't have insurance or a license.

 

The GP WON'T devalue at all in 3 yrs of driving, unless it deteriorates from exposure to the elements in that time. Which is another reason I'm doing this. I dig the car. It's in really good shape. But, I wonder, in the SoCal sun, what it'll be like sitting in my driveway for the next 3 yrs.

 

i'm selling my daily, 65 riviera gs. i love the shit out of that car, lots of good times, lots of history. i can't afford to drive it and continue building cars. it's a sacrifice.

if it doesn't sell for what i'm asking i'll just tuck it away for a couple years. now i have to find me a shitbox with a/c.

 

two words...

CAR
COVER

 

Again, thanks to all for a lot of good input

 

Hell, now that it's not my "daily", it'll live in my garage when not being driven. Or, I may sell it and use the "do rey me" towards another Hot Rod.

 

A Toyota??? Excuse me while I take away your little (made in China) American flag.

Jus curious... why? Which model? And which American (well... North American these days) cars do you also consider, test drive or debate over? Why not a "Merican" car?

Here's a handy little comparison that used car buyers can now use that show the "real world" fuel economy of cars and trucks by the 2008 standard of how fuel economy is tested. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectYear.jsp As someone else pointed out... an '05 Vette with a 6spd gets 26mpg on the highway... and it ain't no fuggin Camry!!! For the "budget" concious a '05 Stang with a stick and a V8 gets 23mpg and you can at least do a donut or a burnout if the need arises. Heck... even'a '05 Chrysler 300C with a "Hemi" gets 23mpg on the highway... and it's a Hemi dude!!! If you want to save a little more... a nice used '02 Camaro or FireChicken with a V8 and a stick gets 25 on the highway and rips down the 1/4 mile.

I'm not questioning your personal patriotism but how could you... or for that matter... how could a lot of "Americans" keep buying "foreign" goods these days while we are watching our own economy and our identity slide right into the crapper? Someone care to remind me again who "our" biggest competitor is for crude these days? Here's a hint... it's _hi_a How did they build nearly their entire economy... from our short sightedness and by some of our own fellow countrymen trading short term profits over there into long term disasters over here? Who really buys American cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, campers and is the overall largest consumer group in this country... the working middle class that has been seeing this shit go on for far too long. (They also pay a LOT of taxes and fees that go seemingly unoticed) They build hot-rods and drink beer... and they invented going for the "Sunday Drive" for Chrissakes!!! My Grandfather would be sorely depressed if he was alive today to see what he fought in a war for and worked so hard for his family and for future generations for from the 1920's through the 1970's being sold off for scrap and the quick buck daily in this country. It's people like my Grandfather, your Grandfather or maybe even your Father that built the cars that this website glorifies each and every day... they bought them new, the polished their chrome and some of them even turned them into Hot-Rods and drove the crap out of them. Anyone that knows the history of Hot-Rods... especially traditional Hot-Rods knows that it was post-war America that got the party started... and as the World War Duece vets are passing off into history every day so is our national pride and our national heritages, traditon and honor. (Sorry for the rambling rant but the last thing I wanted to hear today, the day after Memorial Day is about another one of my fellow Americans buying a Japanese Car... it breaks my heart. ) To our friends and fellow HAMB'ers that are still involved in the US Auto Industry or at least what's left of it... I wish you all the best.

For some reason I don't think this will be the last gas prices related thread to be on the HAMB in the future... which SUCKS!!!

P.S.>>> If you really want a good laugh... watch what GEO Metro's are selling for on ebay... unBELIEVEABLE!!! (Wait until they start getting the repair bills for them... the Asian car makers always seem to get the last laugh)