Buy a second vehicle?

[LukeS]

My vehicle is a 'mid-size' pickup, it is my first vehicle - I have had it for 6 years and currently have liability coverage for about 70/mo thru State Farm ( multiple policies discount with my folks ).  Unfortunately I only average around 16 MPG.  I perform all maintenance ( oil, tire rotation, filters, etc ) and repairs ( to date; water pump, brake hose, power steering line, upper and lower control arm, tie-rod end , headlight assembly , both fenders ).  All of the repairs except the water pump were the result of damage in collisions. I don't think the vehicle is even worth $1000 in it's condition and age.  I am perfectly happy driving it except that I know I could do better on gas with a car.

 I am hesitant to get rid of it entirely because I have a small fishing boat I like to pull to the lake in the summer ( a 1976 boat with a newer 25 horse motor, cheap to operate as far as boats go ) which I am not ready to part with.  I am interested in opinions on keeping the truck primarily for pulling the boat and very occasional use hauling tree limbs etc. Tags are about 80 a year, mechanically I believe I could keep it running very cheap.  Does anyone know a way to buy liability coverage by the day instead of month?

I don't think it makes sense to keep paying 70 a month for something that will only be used on weekends half the year.  What do you all think

[_JT]

What's the GVW of the boat+trailer? If it's an aluminum flat bottom boat (12'?) with a 25HP motor, chances are good you could pull it with a car.

[Eric]

I agree with JT.  Lots of good MPG cars have hitches that could tow a small boat.  Or you could add a hitch.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/12/08/turning-a-little-car-into-a-big-one/

[monarda]

Insurance goes way down if you don't drive your car many miles. We have two cars, and since we drive one less than 5000 miles per year the rates are super low. Our main car is a Prius, and the insurance cost for the second car is more than paid for by the gas savings. We do use the second car for hauling things often enough, making it worth keeping. I think our total annual insurance including both cars is around 300 or 400 per year.

[frugal_engineer]

That mileage is relatively low, but it depends on how far you drive it.  I agree with the posts above that you can probably tow a small boat with a car, especially if its in a flatter area.

However, before buying a car for better mpg, do the math on how much youre actually saving.  If you're going to spend $10k (+ another $500-$1000 for tax and tags) for something that gets 25mpg, you might be better off purchasing 2750 gallons of $4/gal gas and driving the truck another 44,000 miles.  44k miles in the new car is $11,000 + $7,040 (1760 gallons of $4/gal gas).

Obviously somewhere the lines cross and a new vehicle at a low enough price makes sense, just check the math.  Spending large sums to get a marginal mileage increase is usually inefficient.