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I'm finally fed up with gas prices (PIC)

6K views 102 replies 57 participants last post by  Dave Kerwin 
#1 ·
I drive about 30K miles per year, and although I love having the room and versitility of my 5.2 98 ZJ (my DD), I have been looking at what I have been spending in gas. It's a lot!

So, I got myself a Geo Metro. It's not new, but I am sure has plenty of life left in it. It was cheap, and by my calculation it will pay for itself in 3 months max.

This car is the most "foriegn" car I have ever owned. It will take some getting used to, but my wallet will love it.

So, who else have finally "thown in the towel" with gas prices and have downsized?
 
#2 ·
please post pic of you standing next to it, adn then in it...
 
#8 ·
haha, i don't get it... why dd a friggin' truck if you don't need to...i haven't encountered many problems that i couldn't take care of with my neon and a trailer.
 
#13 ·
Because sometimes shelling out cash for a vehicle that is comfortable doesn't end up paying for itself when it comes to insurance and the gas bill which is inevitable.

And again, if you want to make money on owning vehicles which is hard to do, buying a real cheap old DD will usually end up in a lot more headaches and money shelled out for repairs.

That's at least how I feel about it. Right now my truck is paid off and I spend about $200 a month in gas. I use it for towing for 2,000-3,000 miles out of the year, and it's not crap a small SUV is gonna tow. I see no point in getting another vehicle to try and save on gas, when ultimately I'm paying more money to insure and keep it maintained. I also don't plan on quitting any of my hobbies that require me to have a half ton truck to tow.

But, if I really want to save money on gas I can always take my comfortable and fun road bike that will get 45 mpg and still maintain my self-image.
 
#14 ·
i put my benz back on the road, but that was mainly because i broke the transfer shaft in on of my cummins' nv4500. i had been wanting to put it on the road though, 28-34 mpg is nice, but i dont know that it would really be worth buying just for fuel savings. i just like having a few choices to pick from.
 
#41 ·
I think the emblems were made here.

I remember talking to one of the sales guys at Tri City Toyota before they moved from Midland to Bay City(they were still owned by Crown out of Holland). He told me that a Geo Prism is gone in no time while a Corrolla will sit longer. The only difference being the emblems for the most part. (That joint-venture was replaced with the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix which are built on the Corolla chassis)

I keep trying to get the wife(she drives a lot for work) to look at a VW Jetta TDI(45-50+mpg) but they can really need some $$$ repairs after a while.

I had a '89 Olds Cutlass for a DD and that thing got @ 30 mpg. Not bad for $700.
 
#58 ·
And I remember you tilling me then why that ws the right thing to do. If I listened and did that then, I could have $6-7K in the bank. Honeslty, that is for real, and could be more depending on the circumsances with family travel ime.
 
#21 ·
I have been surfing the metro's for sale for a while.

I dd my 1/2 ton pickup and by my calculations of 100+ miles per day I figure that I can pay off a metro and cover the insurance in about 3-4 months of driving. After that it pays its own insurance and the trucks insurance.

As soon as money allows and the timing is right I will probably pick one up.
 
#39 ·
Does that make you gay?
 
#22 ·
I did dd my 95 yj w/4cyl 32" tires 50 miles one way to work every day, @ 16miles to the gallon when my rear leafspring "exploded" my wife told me it was time to upgrade so now its a 2004 stratus that get 32-35 miles /gal i bought it used with 36k on it. the payment is less than the gas i was spending per month, also the HEAT works.
 
#23 ·
Bought a 97 lumina this year and put my truck in storage was driving it once a week till winter hit.Now the tranny went out of the wifes tahoe.So for now the trucks out of storage and the wife refuses to drive a car.
 
#24 ·
In '05 when gas first touched $3/gal I bought a '97 Escort with 58K on the clock. It was under $3000

At that time I used $2.50 a gallon and even with more insurance and keeping the Jeep it took about 1 year to pay for itself. Now 18 months later it is all good. We now use only about 10 gallons per week for normal stuf and if we need something with more room we take the mini van aka looser cruiser.

Still use the jeep XJ for weekend warrioring and hauling junk and trips for ice cream.
 
#26 ·
I commute to Sterling Heights daily from Lansing. I used to drive a chevy tahoe (17mpg) so I downsized to a 2-door Cherokee (21mpg) but that was back when gas prices first shot up so I traded down for an '01 Focus Wagon (28mpgs). Now I'm driving an '01 Hyundai Elantra (31mpg). It's been a great daily driver. It's comfortable, has a nice stereo, has side and front airbags, and get's 30-31 mpg even when I'm going 75-80 with the AC on.

 
#28 ·
im gona get a saturn or something and put the jeep on one of those seasonal insurance plans. it cost too much to drive it to class pluss road trips are shitty in the four banger jeep on 33's.
 
#31 ·
I finally bit the bullet last June and bought an old Saturn SL1. In place of my 5.2 ZJ I'm saving a lot. Although both are paid off, I'm saving in insurance and gas. I put the Jeep in storage until I need it, then I call my insurance agent:tonka: and put full on it when i need to drive it or take it out.

Hell, my horse's cost more per month than the Saturn. And talk about gross emissions.........good lord!
 
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