Commuter Vehicle Thoughts - Freeway + County + Gravel

[oosik]

I've never had the "luxury" of owning two vehicles. I have a mile long, gravel driveway - then paved county roads. I've always driven what I purchased to use here on my 80 acres. Mostly pickups.

I retired MANY years ago and have owned pickups or utility vehicles( Jeep ) since retirement.

I currently own a Dodge Ram 2500 Power Wagon. I bought it new and it now has 28K miles. The overall mileage for this vehicle - 16.2 MPG.

I think the best mileage any of my past vehicles ever got was a tad over 20 MPG. Life goes on.........

 

[Rancher Ed]

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas.

Some quick numbers:

• Driving my current truck at 14mpg is roughly 1357 gallons/year and at $3.10 would be $4,207 - if gas goes up to $4/gal it would be $5,428
• Something getting 25mpg average would be 760 gallons/year and $2,356 to $3,040
• Something averaging 35mpg would be 543 gallons/year and $1,683 to $2,172

I have no idea what kind of kWh/mile (right units?) an electric option such as the Bolt would get at 80+mph for >50% of the drive.

Assuming I start with something gently used, I should be able to expect 5 to 7 years of use before a lot of components start to need replacement, etc. If I drive my truck it would need replacing in 3 to 5 years based on commuting miles plus evening and weekend use. In the current market I would be looking at $40k to $60k for a replacement truck to meet my needs with less than 75k miles. If I buy a commuter vehicle, I would have the upfront cost or monthly payments now but no truck cost in 3 to 5 years.

 

[Paystar]

I had a new gas VW Jetta and it was awesome. Would go places in winter my all wheel drive SUV won't. Cheap, fun to drive, good on gas.
But it did seem to go through a lot of sway bar links on our pot holed wash board roads.

Only got rid of it and went back to all Ford's because my VW dealer was horrible, did all kinds of damage to my two new VW's and VW Canada corporate would not even help me.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas.

Some quick numbers:

• Driving my current truck at 14mpg is roughly 1357 gallons/year and at $3.10 would be $4,207 - if gas goes up to $4/gal it would be $5,428
• Something getting 25mpg average would be 760 gallons/year and $2,356 to $3,040
• Something averaging 35mpg would be 543 gallons/year and $1,683 to $2,172

I have no idea what kind of kWh/mile (right units?) an electric option such as the Bolt would get at 80+mph for >50% of the drive.

Assuming I start with something gently used, I should be able to expect 5 to 7 years of use before a lot of components start to need replacement, etc. If I drive my truck it would need replacing in 3 to 5 years based on commuting miles plus evening and weekend use. In the current market I would be looking at $40k to $60k for a replacement truck to meet my needs with less than 75k miles. If I buy a commuter vehicle, I would have the upfront cost or monthly payments now but no truck cost in 3 to 5 years.

A properly maintained full size pickup will last 300k miles (on average). 5 years of your commute will put 100k miles on a vehicle. I don't see how a second vehicle with added insurance, maintenance, payments, and property taxes gets you much advantage, economically. I say pile the miles on the pickup and keep it well maintained.

 

[Rancher Ed]

A properly maintained full size pickup will last 300k miles (on average). 5 years of your commute will put 100k miles on a vehicle. I don't see how a second vehicle with added insurance, maintenance, payments, and property taxes gets you much advantage, economically. I say pile the miles on the pickup and keep it well maintained.

Excellent point. Here in Texas rust is not an issue so 300k miles is not out of the question. However, if it is my only vehicle I would likely replace it between 200k and 250k. Between evening chores, weekend trips, etc. my total annual mileage on my truck would be closer to 30k if using it for commuting which is where the 3 to 5 years replacement comes from.

If I had a second vehicle I would have no problem running to 300k miles or more as I could replace items on my on schedule, etc.

 

[Omega Woods]

Rav 4 or CRV

 

[dodge man]

I’d think cheap. Cars seem to be cheaper right now instead of SUV’s or crossovers. Hood Civic, Toyota Corolla or Camary but keep your eye out for a Ford Fusion or Chevy Impala. Ford Fusions also came in four wheel drive. My daughter has a Fusion and it get 30 mpg in mixed driving.

 

[paulsharvey]

We use Ford Explorers for work, good milage, comfortable, and as much as it pains me to admit, reliable. I put between 4000-6000 miles per month on it. Mine is a 4wd (kinda a odd 4wd set up, you dont choose 4wd, you have a knob to choose, road, eco, icy, trail). You can fold the rear seats down and even the middle set, and haul 5 ft material with the back closed.