Author Topic: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine  (Read 2558 times)

coachfrigo

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Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« on: March 18, 2018, 09:55:17 AM »
Was a car salesman for 3 months or so up until recently. Glad to be out. But while I was in, one common theme among "frugal" people was that they'd be frugal to buy a new car with better gas mileage. Yeah, nothing better than spending $400/mo. to save $20/mo. in gas!

I can't wait to start my little side hustle of financial coaching, rather than being forced by my boss to not say anything when these people spout these delusions.

CoffeeR

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2018, 10:02:07 AM »
It is not unusual for people to purchase a new car to get better mileage, a new house to lower electricity bills, etc. The math always never works out. In general the cheapest car to drive is the one you own.

Indexer

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2018, 05:23:16 PM »
The one exception I've seen was a friend who had a long commute and drove a truck with a big V8. We did the math one day, and he could buy or lease a new Honda Fit and save more in gas than he would spend in car payments. I think he was getting <10 miles to the gallon, gas was $4.00 at the time, and he had a 40 mile commute each way.

His truck: 8 gallons/day X $4/gallon X 20 work days/month = $640/month on gas.
Fit(40 mpg): 2 gallons/day X $4/gallon X 20 work days/month = $160/month on gas.

Difference: $480/month.

Obviously, buying a used Fit or shortening his commute would save even more. He did shorten his commute a few years later.

Just Joe

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2018, 08:52:48 AM »
Yes, I recall someone dumping a gas guzzler during the $4 years ago and taking a beating on the price. Then went out and bought something more frugal that came with a brand new payment book. Every step of the way was expensive. I think they've had a good half dozen vehicles since then. Any excuse for a new(er) vehicle.

slugline

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2018, 09:40:16 AM »
In a similar way, I've found it funny to hear stories of people driving out of their way to fuel up at a gas station that's cheaper by a few cents per gallon.

BJacks

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2018, 10:28:03 AM »
My husband just spent about six grand doing 'upgrades' to his truck. The thing he kept telling me was that 'it would get better gas mileage'.

Dude, I don't feel like frontloading your gas mileage savings on something that will take us 40+ years to break even on.

It was paid for with overtime money. He traded many hours of his life for this upgrade and even I traded a full 24 hours of my life so that he could have that.

So dumb.

Just Joe

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2018, 12:59:30 PM »
That's why estimating TCO of any vehicle can be so enlightening. Then compare that to a few other vehicles. Once a person realizes that their favorite large vehicle will consume $50K of fuel during their ownership, perhaps a little light will go on.

Tires, oil changes, fuel, etc.

The Fake Cheap

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Re: Gas Mileage Is A Big Concern Of Mine
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2018, 07:01:59 PM »
In a similar way, I've found it funny to hear stories of people driving out of their way to fuel up at a gas station that's cheaper by a few cents per gallon.

This one really gets under my skin.  Gas prices* go up here by 2 or 3 cents per litre and people have a stroke...but few give a damn about how fuel efficient their vehicle is or actually driving as little as possible. 

*Possibly interesting side note, gas prices are regulated in my province (NB).  That means the gov't sets a minimum and maximum price each Thursday.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!