Buying a Second Vehicle

[pachipres]

We are looking at buying a second vehicle. We live in Saskatchewan, Canada.

We have 3 dependent children at home-ages 17(6 foot 1 teenager) 11 year old boy and a 7 year old boy that would be ferried around in our current vehicle. I am a homeschooling Mom with many homeschool activities that I bring the children to. I have plans to build a cabin in the next year or two with land that we have purchased and paid for. We also are planning a trip to either British Columbia or Ontario in 2013.

My husband uses our main vehicle (1998 Camry LE, 276K) for travelling to work. He commutes 166km round trip per day about 10-12 times per month. It is a contract position that pays very well-can clear $700 per day.  He also gets paid $86 per day for gas mileage. We currently have a second vehicle, 1994 Mazda Van (225K) needs a new motor at the cost of about $2600CAD and burns oil which makes us uncomfortable with the environmental consciousness. We could still drive it for awhile now but it doesn`t feel right to.  Any options on this issueÉ
 
We have thought about not fixing the Mazda van and buying a second vehicle that would be more economical to run for my husband to drive back and forth to worth rather than the Camry and I would keep the Camry to run around in the city with.

We have rewiewed the article posted on the website regarding purchasing economical cars.

We value any comments and advice here please!

Also, we are pretty close to FI-my dh is 57 though-have over 980 K invested with no debt.  Our expenses can be high at times probably averaging 4500-5000 per month in the last 12 years(have been tracking this long).  Goal is to get this to 4000 per month now that older two are more independent(have 5 children total).

Look very forward to your Mustachian Responses!
Sincerely,
Pachipres

[sowantere]

A four year old toyota prius is about 14k used in the states.  If you can find one local and not buy from a dealer it may be worth it to you.  I have had one for 4 years and have not had one thing break on it.   The timing belt is a chain so it is extremely cheap to maintain.  Toyota just came out with the prius c base model for 19k US brand new.  There is a Canadian taxi service that runs nothing but prius's with over 200k miles on theirS cars and has not had to replace a battery.  This is a great long distance car and with the savings in gas plus what your husband gets paid in mileage a small car payment may be covered.  I am a fan of paying in cash.  You sound like you have a large income.  You may want to think long term and just buy outright and save on interest.

SowantERE

[pachipres]

Thanks for replying to me.  So do you think it isn't worth putting 2600 CAD into a new motor for the Mazda van.  I have been thinking alot about this since I posted.  On one hand, the van is too big to be driving errands and homeschool events in the city yet it is so nice to take to the cabin(2 hours away) put 2-3 kids plus a large dog.  I am torn as what to do.  I will look into what you suggest though.  Does anyone else out there think it isn't worth sinking money into a new motor for this 1994 van-just put a new muffler on it last summer.
Looking forward to others opinions as well.
Thanks,
Pachipres

[Bakari]

I think in general replacing a motor is a good choice, and I don't know why people don't do it more often.  You end up with -essentially- a new car (the motor being the most expensive and most complicated part) but for way less than new car cost.
However, in this case, since the vehicle is too big for your needs anyway, I would replace it.

Unless everyone goes up to the cabin every weekend, its not worth running errands in a van just to have 2 hours of slightly increased comfort every once in a while

[Bethany J]

I wouldn't fix the van, just sell it as is. I traded in my gas hog Chevy Traverse for a 2008 Toyota Prius. Highly recommend the Prius, I love it! The gas savings are really nice (driving my kids to school and back = 60 miles per day).

[pachipres]

Thank you Sowantere and Bakari for your responses.  We took the Mazda 1994 van in and the mechanic told us it just wasn't worth putting a new motor in it since there were so many other things wrong with it-it was going to cost us 5K for this. So for now we are holding off on buying anything. I have been inspired by MMM blog and this forum to strengthen my frugal musckles and so I am prsently without a vehicle and taking the bus with my two boys and biking.  My dh and I appreciate you taking the time out to respond to our post.

[Bakari]

Thats the best option of all!  Sorry for not suggesting it, wasn't sure it was realistic for you.

Thanks for following up on the thread, its always nice to hear how things turned out

[jaspel]

I live near Minneapolis, Mn and would not buy a hybrid.   To my understanding cold weather kills efficiency, especially on shorter trips.  Long trips in my 2006 4cyl 2.2 chevy malibu get around 36mpg with a light foot on the freeway, even in the winter.  Also, do you plan on using it for transporting building supplies to the cabin?  The 4cyl Saturn Vue or a toyota matrix comes to mind.

Hyrbird cars are just too expensive for me to own...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYpIjnBGL-E

[elysianfields]

I live near Minneapolis, Mn and would not buy a hybrid.   To my understanding cold weather kills efficiency, especially on shorter trips.

While it is true that a colder car is less efficient, your understanding is misinformed.  Here's a guy who lives in Minnesota, is a complete Prius geek, and achieves excellent gas mileage:  http://john1701a.com/

Furthermore, Toyota engineers designed the Prius with a thermos to hold hot coolant when the car is turned off.  When you turn the car on again, the hot coolant is pumped back into the engine to warm it up and thereby improve fuel efficiency.

[Bakari]

????????????????????????????????????????????

You posted the same question before:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/needing-vehicle-advice/

I mean, I understand if maybe you've been trying what you said last time (biking) and it isn't working out, and you are reconsidering a new car... but... you literally posted the exact same question, word for word.
Whats that about?

[Daley]

????????????????????????????????????????????

You posted the same question before:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/needing-vehicle-advice/

I mean, I understand if maybe you've been trying what you said last time (biking) and it isn't working out, and you are reconsidering a new car... but... you literally posted the exact same question, word for word.
Whats that about?

Check the date and time stamp. It looks like a "oh crap, I posted in the wrong board" moment. I wonder if arebelspy has super mod powers capable of combining the threads? I can't remember if SMF can do that or not.

[arebelspy]

Merged and deleted duplicate first post.

Good catch Bakari and I.P.!