Ran the maths, commuter car won't save me enough :(

"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44)
02/04/2014 at 18:05 • Filed to: None

Was wondering with my new job that forces me to drive about 30-45 minutes to work, if it would be worth it to get a cheap beater to drive back and forth instead of my Sonoma.

So I popped on to Kijiji to look and found this older but clean looking CRX.

The car is $500 obo and it says it runs but needs a few little things (terrifyingly vague), but that's not the focus here.

I started crunching the numbers on what it would cost/save to get one of these. With my Sonoma's brutal fuel economy, the CRX would likely get double the mpg. This sounds good but the drive is only about 20 km after all. Given mpg, fuel cost, and distance it is likely to save me barely enough in fuel to pay for the cars insurance. After purchase of the car and likely the ~$1000 plus to insure it for the year it would take over three years to even break even. No commuter car for me, unless it is racecar too.

DISCUSSION (29)

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:07

That CRX could be a "racecar" for the road.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:08

what about devaluation on the Sonoma from driving it as a commuter?

if I could break even on buying a cheap commuter I'd garage the MR2 in a heartbeat (especially since I wouldn't mind something with a backseat).

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
02/04/2014 at 18:09

True, but with money as tight as it is I don't think I can get another car unless it will save me some dough.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:12

but if the fuel savings is enough to make you break even then you get to have 2 cars one of them being a sweet CRX

bet you never thought of it that way did you.

Dunnik > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:13

Wow, a first gen.

Awesome potential autocross beater/cruiser bang for your buck here.

But as a compact car from, what, 1985? it's not exactly modern DD material.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
02/04/2014 at 18:14

The Sonoma doesn't really have all that much value to begin with but I want to keep it in good shape, sentimental. Needs to haul things and get threw the snow for a while yet.

Casper > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
02/04/2014 at 18:14

If the car is really new, the greater factor for devaluation is simply age. If the car is approaching it's depreciation plateau, then mileage also probably doesn't greatly diminish value, so it would take a lot of miles to reduce the value significantly which means you didn't spend x for that time, so you would have to calculate how many days it would take to justify the other vehicle... then think about the deprecation that would continue on the now parked vehicle.

It is rarely logical to duplicate your depreciating assets to save in another area. The real key would simply be how badly you wanted another vehicle and deciding if the money was worth the fun/enjoyment.

A bit of a tangent from your original statement, but it circled somewhat. What generation MR2?

jariten1781 > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:14

Well, you also save on less depreciation for the Sonoma. Plus the insurance on the Sonoma would drop in price due to less miles driven.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
02/04/2014 at 18:15

It will hopefully break even, no idea on how much insurance is for one of these things.

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:15

Yup. That's what I found with my last $500 car. Also it ended up being a lot more than $500 total...

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > ddavidn
02/04/2014 at 18:18

That's another big guess, I mean the body looks good but who knows about a 29 year old motor.

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:21

I bought a 1982, ended up with a "bad carburetor" although I haven't proven that due to not wanting more money thrown at it...

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > jariten1781
02/04/2014 at 18:22

Sonoma is about at its plateau for milage. Plus its a beast to ensure anyway.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > ddavidn
02/04/2014 at 18:26

Tough one, nice instagram by the way!

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:33

Little known fact: I love coffee.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > ddavidn
02/04/2014 at 18:34

And I love fishing, my hipstergram lacks vehicle stuff for the most part, lots of fishing though.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Casper
02/04/2014 at 18:38

That makes sense.. though I am rarely stirred to buy a new car so I didn't even consider those factors.

1990 JDM Turbo with only 102kkm's. (that's ~4000km's per year for those playing at home)

I bought it for half of what it’s worth so depreciation is not a huge factor.. though if I keep it low there’s a slim chance I can profit from it if I ever need to sell it.

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:38

Yeah, not too much auto-related stuff for me to capture around where I live. Any CRX I see has chopped springs and a fart can...

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > ddavidn
02/04/2014 at 18:40

Me too, there is one for sale here that is flat black with green rims, ugly as hell. The turbo makes it sounds good though

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:43

Yeah, I have a few that look like that buzzing around here too... But it's hard to hear a turbo over all the terrible exhaust "systems"...

Casper > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
02/04/2014 at 18:43

Nice. The turbo SW20s are fun. Drive it, race it, enjoy it. They are a blast in autocross.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > ddavidn
02/04/2014 at 18:45

This one actually has a full exhaust I think, ricer on the outside, racecar on inside.

ddavidn > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 18:48

Interesting. I've seen a couple of those, but they're definitely in the minority.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Casper
02/04/2014 at 19:15

I've had MR2's for 8 years now :P

Sadly no regular local Autocross/Motorkhana events. There's a Hillclimb club that I'm keen to check out though.

Casper > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
02/04/2014 at 19:16

Yeah I really want to do more hill climbs next year. They are just so much fun... but also a bit riskier for my DD. I would prefer to setup a dedicated racer again so if I break it I don't have to ride the bike to work involuntarily.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Casper
02/04/2014 at 19:34

my thoughts exactly. I'll be going as a spectator hopefully this Sunday if I have finished moving house. Otherwise I'll have to wait a month or two for the next event.

Brian, The Life of > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 19:40

Hello, LeMons starter kit!

WHERE is this?

awe46m3zcp > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
02/04/2014 at 20:43

I'd call your insurance company. When I bought a second car my insurance actually went down. Heres why.. They both fell under the less than 7500 miles a year policy, which cut the rates way down.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Brian, The Life of
02/04/2014 at 21:01

Lethbridge, Alberta Canada!