Want to get rid of your gas guzzler?
Posted on June 30th, 2008 – 1:16 PMBy Kara McGuire
If you’re sick of getting 15 miles per gallon, but you’re not sure if it’s worth it to trade your car in, Edmunds.com has a new Gas-Guzzler Trade-In Calculator, that figures out the pay-back period and fuel savings you’d get if you traded in your Suburban for a Smart car.
6 Responses to "Want to get rid of your gas guzzler?"
[…] Is it worth trading in your gas guzzler? Posted by Sam Glover on June 30, 2008 | Permalink Itching to get a more fuel-efficient car? Do the math, first. Is it worth trading in your gas guzzler? | Edmunds (via KaBlog!) […]
What a hoot! I get 17…and if I trade in for a car that gets 25 I save $29.75 per month @ $4.00 per gallon. So if it costs $3,600 to trade in my car my payback is 10 years…I need to drive more in order to make this decision pay off. Perhaps I should move to Credit River Township?
This sounds as smart as paying a point down on a 30 fixed mortgage…
Nope.
I need it to haul my boat, snowmobiles, ATV’s, motorcycles, and mowers for the cabin.
I’ve worked my entire life to enjoy these things, and frankly I’m tired of listening to hypocritical fools fill weak minds with drivel.
If I traded my 14 mpg pickup in for a 25 mpg car, it would take 240 months (20 years) to to recoupe my investment. Even trading it for a prius would take 147 months to break even. Guess I’ll be keeping the ol’ gas guzzler a while longer.
That’s a pretty stupid calculator. Its nearly impossible to pay off a new car on fuel savings alone, particularly if one’s existing car is old and valueless. A replacement vehicle CAN pay for itself, if you’re not buying new. In my case, back in the days of sub $2/gal gas, I paid for a VW Scirocco in gas savings in just one year. The car only cost me $500 initially, but was basically free, thanks to fuel savings, compared to the Jeep I had been driving.
I don’t think it’s a “stupid” calculator, simplistic, yes. In some ways it does support your own experience that simply choosing a less expensive (aka used) vehicle can make more of a difference than the cost of gas savings. I own a ‘93 Honda Accord with almost 175k miles and I still get 25 MPH in mostly city driving and I can’t think of a reason why I’d run out and but some new flex or hybred vehicle simply to save on gas costs. I also only fill up every 2 weeks or so so it would take even longer to see a payback if ever.
