I drive my own vehicle about 65-75 thousand miles a year with the job I have now, and I intend to keep this job forever. I get the IRS reimbursable rate (currently 65.5 cents per mile) which is tax free, and I get an hourly rate too. After fuel, I make about 35 dollars an hour, and 2/3rds of that is tax free.
I'd like something that smooths out the bumps better than what I have now that is quieter too.
With my car having been paid off for 8 years, I'm in that spot where purchase price doesn't really impact my bottom line, but if I get another vehicle, especially at today's prices, that will eat into my take home pay.
The cheapest option is to just keep the current car running as long as possible. It's averaged 36 mpg over the 10 years and 180 thousand miles I've had it (lately I've been getting 39-40 mpg) so it's ideal for this job... it's just loud and the bumps are rough.
If I were to get another car, it seems the mileage would kill the resale value if I kept it for 2-3 years. Let's imagine I buy a 5 year old car with around 50 thousand miles on it with a purchase price of 25K. After 3 years and 210 thousand miles, it's now 8 years old with 260 thousand miles on it and might sell for 4 grand. I'd be spending 7 grand a year above what I'm spending now.
I'm sure I can keep this car serviceable for less than 7 grand a year, and I'm sure nicer cars wouldn't get the mpg I'm getting out of my car, so lower mpg would be another cost of a smoother, quieter ride.
Does anyone have a system for getting into another vehicle that mitigates the most loss?
I'd like something that smooths out the bumps better than what I have now that is quieter too.
With my car having been paid off for 8 years, I'm in that spot where purchase price doesn't really impact my bottom line, but if I get another vehicle, especially at today's prices, that will eat into my take home pay.
The cheapest option is to just keep the current car running as long as possible. It's averaged 36 mpg over the 10 years and 180 thousand miles I've had it (lately I've been getting 39-40 mpg) so it's ideal for this job... it's just loud and the bumps are rough.
If I were to get another car, it seems the mileage would kill the resale value if I kept it for 2-3 years. Let's imagine I buy a 5 year old car with around 50 thousand miles on it with a purchase price of 25K. After 3 years and 210 thousand miles, it's now 8 years old with 260 thousand miles on it and might sell for 4 grand. I'd be spending 7 grand a year above what I'm spending now.
I'm sure I can keep this car serviceable for less than 7 grand a year, and I'm sure nicer cars wouldn't get the mpg I'm getting out of my car, so lower mpg would be another cost of a smoother, quieter ride.
Does anyone have a system for getting into another vehicle that mitigates the most loss?