Hello fellow mustachians! We are late 20s, no kids and finally decided to move out of state, something we have dreamed of doing for several years. We decided this is the best time before we have kids. So, we want to evaluate everything and do all we can to save more each month after the move. One big area we need to figure out is vehicles. We have a 2008 Ford Escape and a 1987 GMC Sierra.
First question, we want to get a more fuel efficient vehicle. Our 2008 Ford Escape is getting high in miles.. At 180k now, had it 6 years and been a great vehicle. When we move, they charge a $400 first time registration fee.. We're thinking either to sell it before we move and buy there(avoiding that high fee) or sell now and purchase new car before moving. We have been looking at a Toyota Prius.. The 2008 models get 48 MPG and 2005 gets 60MPG! That's amazing, our escape gets about 25 MPG. Any other options with that good of MPG we should consider? We want to spend around $5000 max. Or should we just keep the escape until it dies out on us?
Another vehicle question, any suggestions for more fuel efficient trucks? It's a V6. We bought it for $700 but made a mistake taking it to a mechanic and they charged us $1400(which didn't make any difference in performance) We will sell it before moving but we will have to get one for doing our lawncare work. Was thinking an s10? They seem better on gas. We rather not spend more then $3000 on a truck though. Any opinions of fuel efficient trucks in a lower price point? It will only be used to do lawncare jobs.
As far as our actual move, we plan to move using Budget truck, doing it all ourselves. I believe cost was about $800, 16' truck. My parents were going to drive our 1 vehicle down (with our dog) and we would pay for their return flight. Gas I'm estimating at $300 and were driving it straight there(Ohio to FL). There return flight I'm estimating at $120. I don't really think there's any other cheaper options regarding the move.. We will sell most our furniture and buy slowly after we move from garage sales and Craigslist. Any advice on out of state moves would be great, it's about a 1200 mile move. We will pack lunch/snacks for the drive down and no hotel costs since driving straight there.
Once we get settled in I will do a new case study and budget post. I know there are still areas for improvement. Any suggestions especially about the vehicles would be much appreciated! Thanks!