I need some opinions guys. I've been using my 2004 F150 to commute to work and that commute has grown from 6 miles per day to 50 miles per day. Needless to say gas mileage isn't great with the 35" mud tires and Gryphon and it's emptying my wallet faster than it is filling up. My wife commutes in her JK, but she only has a 5 mile round trip.

So I need some options on a good used commuter car. I'm thinking about a 2000-2005 VW Jetta TDI, but they're hard to find and if they have less than 200,000 miles on them they are way over priced. What are some options you guys would recommend? It's got to be less than $10,000. I would like something at least a little fun to drive because part of the commute is a country road. Any opinions and/or comments are appreciated.

 

just commuter car I would look at a focus.. My wife has a saturn Ion that gets over 35 mpg on the freeway but its a very uncomfortable car that I've always hated. You could get a focus that almost new for 10 grand infact you could get a new one for 15.. My cousins kid is looking for a jetta in that range. cant find anything but junk..

 

Def a focus... good strong reliable car... I would get that for sure. Like Jethat said... you could almost buy a new one and absolutely find one with low mileage and nicely equipped

 

It's just too bad this is not available here... http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ive/index.html

Try this instead... http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...=p4506.c0.m282

 

Just drive the truck. You would be paying more on the car and insurance than you would be just driving the truck.

 

That's good advice, really! It WILL cost you more to drive an additional vehicle than it would if you just kept driving your truck. This is true, I think, even if you pay very little for the new ride.

About the only way you're going to save money in the long run is to sell your truck when you buy the new vehicle.

- Jack

 

From a pure financial point of view, spending more than about $3k on anything that gets even 30mpg is going to cost you more money than you will save in fuel. Make a spreadsheet so you understand your real costs and potential savings. 50 miles a day at say 12mpg and $3/gallon of fuel is only $270/mo. A $10k loan for 5 years is $200/mo. You would need something that got about 43mpg to break even with fuel savings and that does not include insurance costs.

You bought your truck because you like driving it. Suck it up.

 

My girl has a Focus and we love it. I'm 6'4" and it's a comfy ride for me. We are getting 31-35 mpg town driving and 41-45 hiway with it. You have to drive conservative to get those numbers though. The little 2.0 4 banger has more gumption than most realize. It's not under powered at all and frankly, it'll run off and leave my 4.6 SCrew. Hers is an automatic SE which is the middle model. Here's one in yer neighborhood. These kinda look like a sporty wagon or hatchback. If you have cash, I would carry minimal insurance and call it a throw away if it gets totaled.
http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1629462266.html

 

Exactly.

What I did to save money on gas is ride in the vanpool to work. I save depending on the price of gas $270 (give or take) a month. Plus I save wear and tear on my vehicles. I ride to work for $94 a month. Can't beat that.

 

I put a little over a 1000 miles on my truck each month. I bought it because I like it and need it every day. I hauled some stuff yesterday with it that I could not do with a car. What does your wife drive with her 5 mile commute? If it gets 10 MPG better then you swap with it and let her drive your truck. Then you would not have to buy a third vehicle.

 

Mid to late 90's ford ranger, 5spd, 2.3L 2wd...

close to 30mpg highway, mid 20 around town. Known to last 300k+ miles, and you can find them from 2000-4000 pretty easily. Very cheap and easy to maintain.

 

No, it isn't true. I paid $350 for my car. It paid for itself in the first month alone (including insurance) in fuel savings alone, but that's when diesel was $4.50 a gallon.

Greenbuck, he said his wife drives a JK... which is a new Jeep Wrangler.


ccoll, your best bet is to find something you fit in and are comfortable in. I spent $350 on my 1997 Cavalier, drove it for 10,000 miles (240K to 250K) before it had any problems, put in a new headgasket and timing chain, and it's been good ever since. I get about 30 MPG on the highway, but it's only a 3 speed auto. It's a turd and ugly, but it's relatively comfortable for what it is. But I know that if I were to be much taller, there's no way I'd fit. I'm 5'10 and have the seat almost all the way back. And spending $10K is crazy. Keep it under $3000. Less is better here. Remember, it's just a beater car.

 

The cars I used to buy for $350 never lasted more then a week with me in my younger years.. lol.

 

ah ok... wasn't familiar with the terminology

 

I didn't expect mine to last this long... When I had the headgasket done, I told the mechanic if the motor doesn't look good with the head off, it's done for. Everything looked great under there.