What the hell and I suppose to do with this....My 1996 Toyota 4runner delema

[Joeief]

I"ll try to keep this short, but with enough details so I can get some solid feed back from MMM community..

First off, HI my name is Joe and I am a recovering motorholic. In previous years if I mad $50K i'd have a $50K car (and sometimes a side motorcycle)....So stupid. PUNCH PUNCH

I'm off the wagon now, and drive a fully paid for (god I hope so) 1996 Toyota 4 runner..If I'm being honest it isn't normal its 100% brown rhinolined, lifted, mud tires..blah blah blah its kinda sweet and I love her. Runs like a top and has almost no issues especially for a 21 year old car. She's been the moon and is on her way back (moon is like 245K away, she has 255). There is no reason she won't make 300K miles.

However, she only gets about 12miles to the gallon, and I work 15 freeway clad miles from work (i've tried riding my bike, but I work at the airport and.....well you just imagine ridding your bike into a busy airport @ 7am)

What do I do? The lack of efficiency is madding to me but not other option (Sans MAYBE a 15K or less electric car has an ROI of under 2 years)

• Keep the runner till she dies
  Finance an Electric car
  Wait till you can pay cash for an electric car with over 150 mile range aka 2018 leaf.

OK so you can tell I want a leaf but I want it to be the smart move....


Quick facts -
$127k family income
no debt
small investment amounts

Basically if this were dave Damsey I'd be on "Baby step" 4,5,6.....But I'm not a baby damnit!


What do I do?

[Dicey]

You work at an airport? Simple. Public transit.

[Joeief]

I do :(
Public transit is lacking however....3hr commute. At $48hr (ish my time is worth) that is a daily COST (opportunity loss) of $288 and change.

Back story the airport is busy with traffic and the nearest bike path is 2 miles from work. Which again isn't a big deal I cycle well over 100 miles a week (in the summer) but i'd have to cross 3 6 lane roads and one free way with no bike lanes.

I ride to work once a month or so in the spring, takes about an hr, but it is a harrowing experience.

 I don't live in a NYC, SFO, LA kinda of area.

So most MMMs will say OK move closer. I agree, but the bike commute would still be a problem (have to cross same roads from the nearest community) distance isn't the issue (for biking), its the poor design of my city and cars.

[bugbaby]

Surely there's an affordable middle ground between your 12 mile/ gallon truck and a financed Leaf?

Sent from my KIW-L24 using Tapatalk

[Mesmoiselle]

yea, the last time I read an MMM post about cars, he was preaching the 2005-2010 Prius cars wasn't he? for like 5k?

[ToTheMoon]

Will the potential fuel savings cover insurance, depreciation, and the payment on a new to you vehicle?  If not, forget this plan and optimize in other areas of your life.   You obviously love and value your old paid for truck - so make sacrifices elsewhere to keep her.   If you get to the point where you come to value efficiency more, you will be willing to let her go, not add an expensive companion.

BTW I understand your truck love, my DH has a similar sounding 1996 Jeep he has dubbed "Truck Norris." :)

[daverobev]

$7k Nissan Leaf for a 30 mile roundtrip.

[hoping2retire35]

A $3k civic??? Or any other cheapish 10-15 year old car

[Tuskalusa]

I agree with optimizing other things in your life. If you spend $3-5k on a used fuel efficient car, you’ll be using 1 gallon of gas per trip, as opposed to 2 1/2. Let’s say gas is 3 bucks a gallon. That means you’re spending $3k + Registration + maintenance + insurance to solve a $5/day problem. I bet you can save $5/day somewhere else to balance this out.

[Daley]

I'm off the wagon now, and drive a fully paid for (god I hope so) 1996 Toyota 4 runner..If I'm being honest it isn't normal its 100% brown rhinolined, lifted, mud tires..blah blah blah its kinda sweet and I love her. Runs like a top and has almost no issues especially for a 21 year old car. She's been the moon and is on her way back (moon is like 245K away, she has 255). There is no reason she won't make 300K miles.

However, she only gets about 12miles to the gallon, and I work 15 freeway clad miles from work (i've tried riding my bike, but I work at the airport and.....well you just imagine ridding your bike into a busy airport @ 7am)

Granted, I'm with others on calculating ROI with the "new" vehicle, and a cleaner, more efficient vehicle would be good, and if you have to buy anything, a used Prius would be the way to go... but quite possibly one of the cheapest optimizations you could do right now is NOT TO DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY WITH FARGING MUD TIRES, SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET CLOSER TO YOUR RATED 18 MPG, A 33% INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY!

Learn to Hypermile. Use the proper tires for your primary driving conditions, at the size your manual recommends. Proper sized street tires will be considerably cheaper to replace as they wear, too.

Basically, leave the danged schmancy mudders off your truck unless you actually need them.

[Capt j-rod]

Gas is $2.50 a gallon... It is costing you $5/day to and from work. Look elsewhere for savings and choose wiser when the yota dies. Insurance, plates, payment all add up to a loss. We are suffering the same issue. Wife used to work 3 miles from home. Had to take a better offer 40 miles away. Yes I crunched the numbers and a non-compete clause prevents other options. I live in a very low COL area. Anyways she gets 17mpg on a paid off SUV. The next vehicle will be a Subaru Outback, but my current car has another 75k miles left in it. The numbers are all in and a paid off vehicle always wins.

[Daley]

A few extra thoughts to feed the fire, here:

1) You work at an airport, certainly it's within the realm of possibility to find a carpool in your area.

2) I know public transit is off the table, but what about airport shuttle services in your area as an employee?

3) Are you married? Does your SO own a more sensible car? Do they drive less in a week than you do? If yes on all three questions, then switch vehicles (after you get the proper tires on there)!

4) Have you considered a moped or scooter?

But seriously, though... if you keep that truck, it's a case of simple physics. Replace those ridiculous tires with a set of sensible highway tires, and learn to drive more efficiently. If you still don't have the original rims, go to your local equivalent of an LKQ Pick Your Part, find your set of factory rims cheap and used, and get some cheap, decent street tires tossed on there. If cost is a factor, sometimes you'd be surprised how nice a set of used tires you can find for dirt cheap. I'm running some beautiful Continentals on my RAV4 that I only paid $25 a pop for (with install) from a local used tire shop in the area.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

Used EVs would easily cover your commute and  at your salary I don’t see why you couldn’t easily afford one at $7k-$9k.

[hoping2retire35]

Well to the naysayers, yes if you only say it is "$5 a day" that doesn't sound like much but it is still $1250 a year whereas, it could be $300-400. So his ROI of buying a cheap car is 30-50%! Hard to beat that even in this market.

And all that is to say if he does it without selling his current ride and using the proceeds to purchase said ride. However, if he wants to carry all that inventory, that is his problem. He has been given the sensible advice.

[aperture]

I can't believe you are running your sweet baby into the ground by commuting with her.  She has something like 50K to 100K of precious miles left before you will have to say goodbye.  Those miles should be spent on your way to and from Moab, not going back and forth to the airport everyday.  Stop thinking of your truck as transportation and start thinking of it as a recreational vehicle.  Buy a second cheap beater for daily commute.  You will pay a few hundred extra in tax and insurance to have a second car, but you will add years of life to your truck. 

[driftwood]

The 4 Runner should be a toy only (don't commute, keep it for playing).  If you're going to take it to places far away to play, put boring tires on there (and put the mudders inside or on top) for the commute, then swap and have fun.  You are 'allowed' to have expensive toys/hobbies, your responsibility as a member of the church of mustachianism is to know the real cost and consciously pay it.

Commuting.... see the options above - carpool, prius, etc.

[zolotiyeruki]

one of the cheapest optimizations you could do right now is NOT TO DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY WITH FARGING MUD TIRES, SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET CLOSER TO YOUR RATED 18 MPG, A 33% INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY!

This.  Get a second set of road rims/tires for a few hundred bucks.  That'll pay for itself pretty quickly, not to mention it'll make your ride to work significantly more pleasant.