How would you keep your losses at a minimum with vehicle replacement?

[goodoldan]

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?

 

[revelational]

@goodoldan Personally I'd suggest the Toyota prius. It's a bit more expensive than the camery/civic but it has some of the best gas mileage (I think the best actually) for a car. Also Toyota is the most reliable vehicle manufacturer in terms of just about every reliability rating so you'd be saving the most on repairs, gas mileage and also the prius depreciates substantially slower than a typical vehicle. Average depreciation I believe is just over 50% in 5 years and the prius is a little over 20% in the first 5 years. Considering your mileage you will experience higher depreciation but less relative to another car. Also this one should last over 300k if you take good care of it.

 

[goodoldan]

@revelational If I could get 5 year old cars at 50 percent off like the pre pandemic days, I probably wouldn't even be worried about strategy on getting another car.

Less depreciation is something to look into regarding the Prius though.

 

[revelational]

@goodoldan Toyota's are highly desirable used cars so they hold value really well, but that also means as a used shopper you'll be paying close to new prices. That is the other end of the knife of low depreciation. I'd still suggest even without a good discount you pick one up if you expect your existing car to fail or become unreliable soon. It should last you for many years and keep your costs low which is worth the extra upfront cost. If you are looking for a good deal broadly go to a car auction and pick up a repossession from the bank. It's where dealers buy their cars wholesale and prices are pretty good right now considering the high repo rate at the moment.

 

[goodoldan]

@revelational Good idea on the repo auctions.

 

[lukeworsham]

@goodoldan I used to drive a lot - I bought a used Prius from hertz (sounds crazy, right). 60-250k miles… no issues. 48mpg.

They are the best used cars. No one beats on them. The best part is there is almost no maintenance. I changed exactly one set of brakes. Unless you have a performance or amazing locate car, hybrid is the only way to go.

Just get one with leather.

 

[mc_squared]

@lukeworsham How do you buy cars from Hertz?

 

[lambo53]

@mc_squared You can use a car buying app, they post their vehicles there, and im sure their website has a tab or contact information for that process.

 

[mc_squared]

@lambo53 Interesting, thanks!

 

[flyingsquirrel256]

@mc_squared Yes after 500 people treated it like a rental car...

 

[mc_squared]

@flyingsquirrel256 I mean, I take better care of rentals than I do my own, because I don’t want to owe them money for any damages!

 

[anonymoususer]

@goodoldan Okay, so we want to find the least expensive way to have a reliable car when we include both gas mileage and insurance. I'm not sure charging it is always going to be viable. So any EV is out. We can also simplify this by assuming you'll just drive the thing until it's too unreliable to be viable and is no longer worth much of anything.

Lets start with the obvious: Toyota. A Prius touring would probably be one of your best bets if it's comfortable enough for what you need. If that's not comfortable enough, a Civic or Camry won't be. That leaves the Avalon hybrid. Better gas mileage then you're getting now.

Now, the best way to minimize the cost of the vehicle will be to get the oldest one you can. This seems surprisingly cheap at $24k for a 2014 with only 27k miles: https://www.carmax.com/car/25106697

So I guess the system you might be looking for is to find the oldest car you can with low miles that fits what you're looking for. The next step would be to investigate the overall reliability of the car. Maybe the Avalon Hybrid's are crap and that's why it seems cheap. If not it might just go a million miles. Toyota's are prone to do that if taken care of.

Just make sure to have a mechanic inspect the car before purchase. Especially an old but low mileage car. Make sure things like the steering wheel, pedals, and other "wear and tear" items on the car are consistent with something that mostly sat in grandma's garage for a decade and only drove to church and back.

 

[goodoldan]

@anonymoususer I should have mentioned I hate sedans and basically need a hatchback anyway for what I do.

I think a Prius is a hatchback, or at least some are.

 

[anonymoususer]

@goodoldan Most hatchbacks with a short wheelbase and dinky suspension is going to have problems. That leaves you with Station Wagons. I couldn't tell you which would be your best bet. Seems like they'd all be expensive to drive that much. What about the Fort Transit? Do they make that in a diesel?

 

[goodoldan]

@anonymoususer Way too big for what I need.

 

[carolus]

@goodoldan Get a hatchback like a civic and golf then. As the previous commenter said, they have shorter wheelbases so the ride won’t be perfect on the highway, but it should be fine.

Frankly, saying you hate sedans, need a hatchback, but a wagon is too big, is being too oddly specific. You need to make compromises somewhere. There isn’t a perfect answer.

Any vehicle smaller than a wagon/sedan is going to have worse ride quality. And not meet your other criteria. You specified out all options.

 

[goodoldan]

@carolus Yeah, it's just sad that nobody makes a comfortable and quiet economy size hatchback. Comfort and quiet shouldn't only come with massive size and poor fuel efficiency.

 

[rhid1985]

@goodoldan The subaru impreza is exactly and comfortable, quiet economical hatchback

 

[firefly7777]

@goodoldan If you just wish your current car was quieter and more comfortable, i would look into replacing the entire suspension. It would be way cheaper than a new t and would make a world of difference in road noise and comfort

 

[goodoldan]

@firefly7777 I'm planning on doing that in the next couple of months. It's all original and has 210,000 miles on it.

Even when it had 27,000 on it, it wasn't a smooth ride. For a simple work commute it was fine. 800 miles in 14 hours would get a bit old.