Right now with rising gas prices I’m sure a lot of people are thinking is it worth trading in their current vehicles for something more fuel efficient? The answer, it depends. It depends on what you drive, it depends on what you plan on buying, and it depends on how much you drive.
Would it be wise for us to replace our 2000 Ford Focus or 1999 Toyota Corolla with newer models? The 2008 versions of our cars would be $14.2k and $15.6k respectively according to edmunds. And we could sell our cars for $4.1k and $4.5k respectively according to KBB. So it would cost us probably $10k to upgrade either car.
Unfortunately according to the fuel efficiency for the 2008 models, are pretty much the same as we are getting now. Ford Focus is 24 city/35 highway, and the Toyota Corolla is 28 city/37 highway. So we would basically be getting the same as we are now. So we wouldn’t be saving anything.
However, if we had lower fuel efficient cars it might be worth it. It depends on how low the mileage is and how many miles we drove. If we drove 12k miles year and had a car getting 20 mpg compared to 25 mpg, it would be 600 gallons/year versus 480 gallons/year. The difference would be 120 gallons x $5 = $600/year. Of course this number increases or decreases depending on mpg and miles driven annually.
When would it become worth it for you to trade in your car?
3 responses so far ↓
1 Sara at On Simplicity // Jul 13, 2008 at 4:11 pm
On a slightly different note, I’m dying to get a scooter for the awesome fuel efficiency and general coolness. But I can’t justify the non-monetary cost of making my drives riskier (I don’t always trust other drivers to always look out for me) just to save a few bucks.
2 Shanti @ Antishay // Jul 22, 2008 at 12:10 am
This is a great question… if I recall correctly, Trent at the Simple Dollar did a detailed analysis of one couple’s situation over this exact matter. It was probably a month or two ago…
Anyway, I just wanted to share
I already drive very little because I work at home and don’t go out much except for on the weekends. I drive a 2000 Dodge Dakota truck which gets about 28 mph (I hypermile), and I fill up at the gas station about twice a month. Not bad, but I feel I could still do better. Personally, I’m keeping the truck and buying a used motorcycle. I know THAT is a personal decision 
But, I will save loads on gas money. I’ll probably start filling up the truck onle once every or every-other month, and the motorcycle will probably only need filling once a month as well. Not bad - that was my plan and choice… thought I’d just feed your brain with what some other people are doing. Or… what I am doing, anyway. 
3 LivingAlmostLarge // Jul 22, 2008 at 10:56 am
Nope, I won’t buy a motorcycle, although my I LOVE them. My brother owns a harley. But I bike now to save money and so does my DH once a week to work. I try to do it most days in the summer, most of the fall and spring. Only in winter do I wimp out.
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