Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucky Katt
I took the liberty of correcting some fuzzy math. 'Cause that's just the kind of guy I am. 
1. First, assume the car is paid for and all you spend for it is gas.
2. The car/SUV/truck gets 14 mpg and a 20 gallon tank lasts a week - 280 miles/week driven
3. So that's 20 x $4.00 = $80/week or $320 per month.
4. Cost for leasing a new Nissan Sentra/Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla is $200/mo. ( I know the Toyota and Civic may be higher but close to the Nissan)
5. A Nissan Sentra gets 33 mpg. 280 miles/33 mpg = 8.48 gallons/week x 4 weeks x $4/gal = $135.68.
6. So spending $320/month gets you 1120 miles in the gas guzzler
7. Buying a new Nissan at 33 mpg requires ~$200/mo for the car and $ 136/mo for gas = $ 336 for car and gas per month.
8. That leaves ($16) in your wallet.
9. Now you can keep that money, invest it in Exxon stock or whatever or give it to BP and have a little fun.
10. Take the virtual drive in the Corvette, rent a few movies, buy a few beers and pizzas - you could even go to a movie but driving there would cut into the windfall.
Despite my minor corrections to the calculations, the overall point is good and solid one.  |
Thanks for the comments. Leasing one may not be the way to go if the annual mileage is exceeded. My point here was about trying to justify buying/leasing a more fuel efficient car. My twisted and somewhat fuzzy math was done quickly and I should have pulled out my calculator. Thanks for the check! You helped me make my point. The point that I was making is you can justify a new one
and still pay for the gas. Those of us that are trying not to give Exxon anymore money might consider opting for a more fuel efficient car.
A trade-in of the 2002 gas guzzler would would be about half the new car value and the economics just got better. Even leasing makes sense if you keep the mileage down. I have a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer, it has the space that we need but not the fuel economy. We have 3 SUVs in the house and one can be sacrificed without too much of a problem. "Fuel" for thought.