I never thought buying a car would save us money.
@happythoughts (4109)
United States
July 2, 2007 5:13pm CST
I am a very frugal person. Even if we have a little extra cash we live tight. I want to get us out of debt and I am a believer that every penny counts.
With the price of gas going up so high, Gas became our largest consern.
I just bought a new car. It was hard for me to spend the money but when we did the math for gas and what we would save it was less to get the monthly payment. We got a Honda Civic that gets from 30 to 40 MPG.
Gas was costing us like $400- $500 a month and now we get 3 times better gas mileage so the payment is cheaper than te gas was. It should not cost this much to get around.
Has anyone else bought a more economical car to get through the gas costs?
4 people like this
9 responses
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
21 Aug 07
That is great that you can actually save on gas with your new car. I know that we are spending at least $75 a week on gas for our 2 vehicles. We actually just went out and did the opposite. We just bought a new Ford truck and it is a gas hog....what were we thinking!
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
My hubby has a Ford F150 and we are looking for something better. We are looking at a new jeep. It has less space and power but he drives far to work everday and we are drowning it the gas bill.
1 person likes this
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
17 Oct 07
My hubby drives a jeep wrangler to and from work. It isn't much better than the truck on gas. We should have kept out little kia if we would have thought about the gas money.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
29 Oct 07
We have 2 jeeps but they just are not reliable for my hubbys long drive. We love Jeeps, so I guess that is why we are thinking of another one.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
9 Oct 07
We just bought an old dodge omni as a third car. My husband works over a half an hour away. His small truck isn't too bad on gas, but our other vehicle is a 1995 conversion van with a handicap lift, because my son is in a wheelchair. We only drive it now when he is with us. It has saved us money, as the van only gets about 10 miles to the gallon. We use the omni to do in town driving and a spare car for when my husbands needs serviced. It is sad that gas is getting so high that we can't afford to take my son very far, basically Doctors appointments and therapies is all.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
Our truck is getting 11 to 12 miles to the gallon. My Husband drives about 45 minutes up a hill and it is killing us at the gas pump. I tried to have him drive my car since it gets 3 times better gas mileage but he works construction and does not want to get it dirty. We are looking at a new care for him and he will probibly panic about getting it dirty too! Oh well though, we cant keep getting 11 miles to the gallon.
1 person likes this
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
3 Jul 07
Iwish I could get a more gas efficient vehicle. I have 4 kids plus myself and my husband that makes six people. so we NEED a van to be able to get every one arround in 1 trip. If I could get my hands on a gas efficient van that was not that expensive to pay for I would most definately look into it and possibly trade in my current van for the better van.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
4 Jul 07
We have looked into mini vans before. They get okay gas mileage. A lot of them have basic car motors and a lot more space. We just have the two kids so we opted for something we could park easier since all parking spots are made for subcompact cars.
1 person likes this
@elisa812 (3026)
• United States
5 Oct 07
I have not actually purchased a new car to save on gas prices, but my husband and I are planning to buy a new car soon just out of necessity, and gas mileage is one of our number one concerns. Gas money definitely adds up, especially if you do a lot of driving! Getting good mileage is one of the most important things to me in a car.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
I bought my car when the car I was driving started to have problems. I am so happy with my choice. It is nice to only have to stop for gas once a week or less.
1 person likes this
@blueyesco (156)
• United States
2 Jul 07
I did something similar. I traded in my Subaru Outback 25 mpg and 600 month payment for a Prius that gets 50 mpg and only 450 month. Every little bit helps :)
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
4 Jul 07
You are so right. Every little bit does help. Lets hope it all shows up in the budget like I planned.
1 person likes this
@drventures (5)
• Canada
29 Jul 07
Hi,
I have used many different fuel additives over the last 15 years. I finally found one that works consistently. It has been proven to increase mileage by 13% - 16% in gas or diesel engines while increasing engine power. We have experienced anywhere from 15% - 33% increase in our family so far. It depends on the vehicle and the type of driving. It also reduces emissions up to 44%. If you would like more information, send me an email with "fuel additive" in the subject line to drventures@yahoo.ca
Thanks
Dennis
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
I have never trusted fuel additives. I have had one fry out some gaskets on my car and it was a pain to fix it.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
29 Oct 07
My mother has always bought little economy cars, and or the same reason. With gas prices rising every day, with no decrease in people's need to own cars, I have a feeling the ecconomy cars ae going to sell like hot cakes!
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
29 Oct 07
They are harder and harder to find if you are looking for a used one. It is definately a good market for one.
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
2 Jul 07
I didn't actually buy the car to save me money as the transmission went out of my van and so I had to buy something. However, I wanted an SUV,but decided that I would get a car because of the price of gas and the difference in mileage!
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
2 Jul 07
Our other car broke down too so it was a decision we had to make. When we get if fixed we can put the cash down on the car loan and it will be even better for us. It is just strange to me that gas out weights the purchace price of a car.
1 person likes this
