On 5/16/2016 6:53 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 5/16/2016 3:57 PM, Don Y wrote:

cost of fuel is only one of the variables ... how much to get a mile
down the
road is the bottom line. AAA says..
http://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/u...Costs-2015.pdf


The metric is "miles per GALLON (of fuel)" -- not miles per DOLLAR.

People get hung up on mpg and ignore cost to own.

Sure, but the comments in this thread have concerned MPG.
If you want to address TCO, then you have to look at cost of
maintenance, insurance, registration (many places treat vehicles
as "property" so a new car can cost hundreds per year to register
while anolder one can cost close to nothing), etc.

You'd also have to consider opportunity costs/time value of money
(that could be *growing* instead of depreciating), risk valuation
(you're less likely to get dragged into a lawsuit for running over a
toddler if you don't drive a car!), effect on the rest of the economy
(what sort of a factor does the auto industry have on YOUR job),
cost of your time (you can walk "for free"), etc.

The price of gas goes up so people sell the paid off gas guzzler and go into
debt thousands of dollars to save $4 a week on the fuel cost.

That, of course, depends on what the gas guzzler is costing you!
A 30 year old vehicle that already has high maintenance costs
doesn't look any *better* when you consider its fuel economy!

If you drive 10,000 miles a year, at 25 mpg you'd buy 400 gallons but at 35 mpg
only 285 gallons. So, you save 115 gallons. Yeah, that justifies buying a new
economical car.

It suggests you have an additional $500/year (at $4 gas) to put towards
your "new" car budget. I took *my* car off the road cuz I wasn't putting
1,000 miles / year on it! I could take a cab for less money (per mile)
than operate my vehicle.