Vote: Have gas prices affected your car-buying decisions?

I have owned a truck as a primary vehicle for work and towing for years. It’s a 2001 F250 w/V10. It’s paid for and it only gets around 13/14 mpg around town.
This spring I purchased a used Sable that gets 25mpg for my primary trans. My wife drives it for work and I took over the old 96 Neon as a work/around town car and the truck sits parked most of the time. I see a lot of folks around town who have done the same thing.
Last fall we purchased an RV in a resort. It was a wise choice, for us. It’s just too darn expensive to pull an RV anymore. I sold our 5th wheel in the spring. Now we travel a couple hours a weekend to our resort and still use less gas than if we took just 1 trip to the Rockies at the end of the summer, as we used to.
I hate paying insurance and upkeep on 3 vehicles…but what do you do. Noone wants a big truck anymore and I still need something to tow my boat or to haul lumber for projects or large items for the house. Thinking of downsizing to a Crown Vic or something of that size that would pull my boat and then just getting a 5×8 trailer for hauling. I just don’t know if I could get good enough mileage to make it worth the swap. Of course, I look at bottom lines so the insurance savings of only having 2 vehicles would be factored in, but would the mileage be there?? I can’t afford to buy new, as I don’t want a payment on a vehicle.

Still pondering and takin’ it up the keester at the pumps….

I get along fine with 2 small cars and a family of four. On the rare occasion I need to hall something from home depot that won’t fit in my car, I can rent their truck for $20 or have it delivered.

We have downsized and have changed our driving habits from driving less to lower speeds. It will also affect how We vote as we think more drilling should be allowed!

I year ago I took my fathers old civic as a 2nd car ‘beater’ to park downtown and use for the abbusive daily commute, because he got a new car. My IS300 sits in the garage waiting for special occasion drives. with 196k on the civic and 82k on the IS300, I plan to try and make it 10 years (2018) before I purchase a new car. That will put me at 14 years without a car payment, lower insurance premiums, and lower A.V. taxes. That is a much better plan than ditching for a hybrid. If Lexus or whatever the next big car manufacturer is has not figured out how to get away from gas or closer to 150mpg by 2018 something is seriously wrong with his industry. No flex fuels (E85 crap)! I want super desiel hybreds, battery cars, or Hydrogen. In the mean I will continue to SAVE money by not purchasing a new car. Gas would have to hit 10 bucks a gallon for the math to turn. By then employers will have people working at home.

Gas prices sorta affected which Ford Mustang my dad will buy. For a long time we knew that if the mustang was gonna be our convertible we would get the GT but we spent a week with the V6 and we like it better than the GT ’cause it’s better on gas, easier for my mom to drive, and it’s 10 grand cheaper than the GT.

I have a paid for 2004 Buick Rainer, I get about 18mpg in town and about 25mpg highway. I consolidate my trips so I can make several stops with one trip. I never jump in the car just to run pick up one thing at the store. These driving habits are not new for my family. We drive long trips because even at $4.00 to $5.00 a gallon for gas it is cheaper than trying to fly, rent a car and pay for gas too. I figure the smaller cars are fine for town but I have no desire to be on the highway with one. The traffic in the area I live in is very congested and speeding is rampant, I feel unsafe in a sub-compact when noone can drive the speed limit and obey the signal devices.

I can’t change too much more. I moved to a city so that I wouldn’t rely on a car after 9/11. I did buy a new car since that time. The car is five going on six and has 30,000 miles. I walk to work or take public transportation. I realize going as extreme as I have is not possible for famlies desiring low crime neighborhoods and good public schools. It is possible, however, to buy smaller and move in closer than one would have considered in years past. Yes, I do oppose the disection of the family farm into quarter acre lots. Still, the increase of gas prices has me wishing Mercedes would deliver the A Class to the US or an expansion of the 1 series from BMW to a four door. Also, visiting family has become more expensive and takes better planning.

Well it did for me. But it effected my choice two years ago.
My wife really liked big cars, trucks, and SUVs so when the time to buy a new car came I talked her into trying smaller cars. She ended up loving them. They are easier to drive and frankly more fun. We ended up with a Mazda3.
Everybody now thinks I was brilliant. Truth is I just don’t like driving boats.

Almost everybody who doesn’t have very much money when he/she want to buy a car watches what and how much is consuming.

I won’t change what I have but I have been thinking that if I see a basic Neon for cheap, I may pick one up for everyday driving. I’m a year into a new job where I do significantly more driving than in the past, and even with the reimbursement rate raised to 58.5c/m, it’s still expensive to drive my ‘05 Subaru STi. The mileage isn’t all that bad all things considered (22-24 mpg most days) but general maintenance (tires, brakes, etc) is very expensive.

A late ’90s Neon would be great for my needs – about my only requirement is a stick shift. I’d be perfectly fine with a Sentra, Civic, etc; but those rarely can be had for as cheap as a Neon. The Neon offers good performance and great mileage (mid-30s are common) and the poor residual value makes it an obvious choice to buy used (not that you can buy one new any more)… and no exotic brakes and tires and mechanical components like the STi.

The irony is that my wife used to drive exactly the car I’m after (black ‘97 Neon w/stick), I’d be very happy to have that car back today.

Mind you, I’m certainly not willing to give up the STi any time soon, though…….

Here’s a fairly unpopular opinion. Yes, gas is more expensive but I think the impact for most people is minimal. If I take my gas guzzling Denali on a 1200 mile trip I’ll probably purchase about 80 gallons of gas. I’ll spend about $80.00-$100.00 more than a year or two ago. Whoopdi do!

As it is, I use about 40 gallons/mo so my extra out of pocket expense is about $40-$50 more per month. Sure, I’d like to not spend the money but I don’t see why people would rush out and drop $20K on a new Yugo? I am concerned about the inflationary effects though.

C

I sold my Honda Ridgeline pickup and bought a pre-owned VW Golf TDi. 99% of the time, I can haul everything I need in the Golf being it is a hatchback. I drive about 1000 miles a month and I am saving about $200 a month on fuel and insurance costs…enough to make the payment on the Golf (bought it used). And that is running BioDiesel B-99 at $5.39 a gallon which is about 50 cents a gallon more expensive than Sheik Juice in my area.

I have to agree with Chuck. I’m driving my 66 Dodge Charger. It gets 16mpg, which isn’t too bad for a 42 year old big block muscle car with a 4bbl carb. The car is paid for. I don’t plan on getting another car. I try not to make unnecessary trips, but the car doesn’t get any worse gas mileage than most modern full size trucks and SUV’s. It would be financial insanity to spend $20K or more for a hybrid, or any car for that matter just to save a few bucks at the pump. I’m paying an extra $15 per fill up over last year. Cheaper than a car payment.

In 2004 as the price began to inch closer to 2.00 per gallon, I did the math and found that we could nearly pay for a Honda Civic EX manual with the money we would save by not using our Toyota Tundra as a daily driver. At the time we were driving 30,000+ miles a year. The car turned out to be about the best automotive decision we ever made because it depreciated so little while saving us oodles of money at the pump. Our only disappointment was that it was geared so low that out on the freeway it was turning over 4000 rpm at 75 mph. That meant mpg figures of only 32 or so. Not bad…just not as good as the highway numbers of the time said. Nor was it as good as my old 94 Civic LX manual which routinely got 40mpg. Now we put in almost all highway miles so we traded the Civic in on an Altima 2.5SL. Right now, it looks like we may have seen maybe a slight loss in economy (1-2 mpg) but the extra space and comfort are nice, especially with kids.

We only have one small car now. So we aren’t going to replace it for the sake of saving money. However we will definitely be looking at the milage ratings next time around.

Like Mike in Minn I did the numbers for my in-laws on replacing their 9 year old Astro Van and replacing it with something small and renting a van for the occasion time its needed for their home business would pay off in a few years, as well as give them a better tax write-off.

can’t afford to buy a car, my exwife took care of that.

Hit the GSA auction in April and paid $5K cash for an ‘02 Olds Alero with 2.2 motor, well equipped and in good shape with 42K miles. Adequate power and room, with over 30 mpg on the highway. The ultimate rental car.

I wanted something I could feel glad I bought if gas prices continued to climb, as they have. Conserving capital, avoiding debt and saving gas: all three goals achieved. I considered a Prius or Scion XB, but my alter ego, the Incredible Cheapo, took over.

Other vehicles: ‘96 Astro (21 hwy) and Triumph 955 MC (52 hwy). I’m hoping choices in hi-mileage cars will improve in the next few years.

We already own 4 cars with a combined total of 16 cylinders, however, none are great paragons of fuel efficiency and two are turbos requiring premium fuel. Since 2 of the 4 have over 160,000 miles, we are researching now. We began by setting parameters, but they keep changing as gas prices rise. I started with “minimum of 32mpg highway”, went to 35, now I am looking for 40, if even achievable today by gas powered cars that anyone would actually want to drive. The Mini might be closest, but I do not like its cramped interior – still looking, no rush. Our “fleet” average is about 29-30 today, so we are not in bad shape compared to some.

I drive a 05 Duramax, gets 18mpg around town and 28 on highway what more do you want.

Lower diesel prices come to mind. Still, those are amazing numbers, Roy. Are they your averages?

Fuel concerns have always been foremost in my automotive decisions in the past 20 years. Right now, with a ‘06 CR-V(25mpg comb.) and a Mini Cooper(34.5mpg. comb.), I’m looking to consolidate my household into a one car family in 2 1/2 yrs. Since there’s only 2 of us, something a bit larger than a standard Mini but smaller than a CR-V would suffice. Something like the Clubman S(upcoming Mini SUV), or a potential diesel or hybrid Lexus IS, 1 or 3 series BMW would be OK, if they met my 30 mpg combined minimum requirement. However, they must be a driver’s car first, seeing as I’m living on the Central California Coast(a.k.a. twisty road central).

Hey Don, I know exactly what you mean. Most of my family comes from the Santa Rosa to San Francisco area so I’ve done alot of visiting out there. Some of the roads going from the coast to the valley are the crookedest (a word?) roads I’ve ever seen. Just keeping up with the local populace requires some pretty fair skill and the right car. Otherwise us flatland midwesterners just have to pull over and let ‘em by. I think the worst-or best- road was the Scaggs Springs road which runs from outside of Stewart’s Point to Sonoma Lake. Try it sometime if you’re in the neighborhood and you’ve got some hours to blow. It would be better than a roller coaster in the right car (your Cooper for example).

That’s a big 10-4! I’ve already written it down and I’ll be up in Napa(Sonoma) in 2 weeks. Two absolute twisties I take regularly are the Ca. 58 from Santa Marguerita to McKittrick. The last part is about 30-40 consecutive hairpin turns, with no guard rail and then there’s the road from Ojai (Ca. 33) heading into the Big Valley that breaks up into 3 great adventures after its beaten you half to death with endless up and down hairpins. Both roads have great asphalt so there’s nothing to blame but your own self!!!

We have 2 four cylinder cars; an ‘04 Subaru Legacy wagon for bad Ohio weather/cargo needs, and an 2000 Honda Accord sedan. Both cars, size-wise, fill necessary niches for our family. Fuel economy has always been a priority in our car purchases, and we have driven 4 cylinder cars for years. The way we have chosen to deal with rising gasoline prices is simply to cut back on our discretionary driving. If gasoline stabilizes somewhat, we’ll probably (when necessary) replace our present cars with similar size 4 cylinder vehicles and continue to watch our discretionary driving. If gas gets to $6-$7 a gallon, however, it is possible that we may factor further down-sizing/hybrid possibilities into our future car replacement decisions.

I have been driving a 1985 VW diesel for several years now because I could not find a respectable mpg in the new efficient cars being produced. You cant tell me that the automakers that were producing 40+ mpg cars in late 70’s can’t produce those same mpg cars today. My Jetta is roomy… Are the car makers in bed with big oil? A friend told me of his 60’s merc V8 that the factory kept sending him warnings that the carburetor was faulty and risked fire. They wanted him to bring it back for a free exchange. The trouble according to this guy was that his 60’s V8 full size was getting him close to 50 mpg, I bet they want that carb back! Why can’t they or aren’t they producing higher mileage cars today? Until they do, it doesn’t pay for many to buy new.

I traded my Silverado in for a Mazda sedan once I found a dealer to give me more than I owed. Net is that I spend so much less in gas it pays for the car payment, and the $450 truck payment is gone.I will simply rent a van or pickup on weekends when I need to. Or stack the Mazda with Thule racks.

CJ I like the way you think…kinda like me.My small SUV days are over. I’ll rent when I need a big vehicle and smile as I pass the gas pumps in my Mini.

I used to be the one accelerating most slowly from the stop light, and approaching the stop light carefully, to conserve gas. Now I see many people doing the same thing. The people I notice most likely to rabbit start from the red light seem to be very young, the people with the most at stake in conserving gas. I wish they would take it easy on the pedal, and not waste so much gas stopping and starting.