How much car is too much?

[InDebtInDC]

I recently bought a used 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck. It's really big and wastes a lot of gas, but I don't drive that much and I don't commute to work (walk 2 blocks to work).

I've finally had it with small cars. I was involved in a not-at-fault accident in 2002 with 3 trucks and mom's Corolla. The 3 trucks drove away. The Corolla was totaled.

The drivers at fault fled the country and it wasn't until 2004 that the case was settled. I was in therapy for along time and got a measly $5k for it.

I live in a big city, and we have a lot of crazy drivers. I want as much metal around me as possible when I do drive.

I drive maybe 100 miles a week, if that. Some weeks I don't drive at all. I considered the flex-cars (rental cars at a discount), but they all have small cars. Renting big cars would get really expensive, like around $300-400 a weekend.


Based on my accident and experience with driving, I would rather pay more for a car and its upkeep than to get hurt in another accident. If I were out of work for a long time I would lose my job for sure. Even if they paid me for lost wages and pain/suffering, they won't pay me for future income from my job.

A financial planner was giving a presentation recently, and she emphasized spending frugally on a car. She drives a European import, and probably spent twice as much as I did for my truck, but then again she charges $250/hour.

[DavidSB1950]

Seems to me that if you dont drive that much, the question of frugality is moot. 6 or 7 gallons a week is only 18 to 21 bucks per week. A fuel efficient micro car will wind up saving you 6 to 8 bucks a week. I wouldnt consider trading safety for a total extra expense of 40 dollars a month.

Think of it in other terms.... which vehicle would you want your wife, GF, kids, grandkids, etc. to be strapped in?

[InDebtInDC]

Seems to me that if you dont drive that much, the question of frugality is moot. 6 or 7 gallons a week is only 18 to 21 bucks per week. A fuel efficient micro car will wind up saving you 6 to 8 bucks a week. I wouldnt consider trading safety for a total extra expense of 40 dollars a month.

Think of it in other terms.... which vehicle would you want your wife, GF, kids, grandkids, etc. to be strapped in?

Great point. I didn't think of the fuel saving in those terms. Thanks for explaining it to me.

To be fair, maintenance is slightly higher on a truck, but since I'm a certified mechanic it's no big deal for me to do some of the work and direct money towards things I can't do by myself.

So I think upkeep is just about equal on a big car as on a small car.

Insurance is also about the same on the truck as it is for say a Civic. It's actually cheaper to insure the truck for collision coverage than for my mom's Civic. I guess they figure that it's almost impossible to total a truck that big.

[LuckyRobin]

If you are driving a truck for safety reasons and you want to be frugal, why a 2004 when a much cheaper older model would do for your stated reasons? You would also save insuring an older model.

[InDebtInDC]

If you are driving a truck for safety reasons and you want to be frugal, why a 2004 when a much cheaper older model would do for your stated reasons? You would also save insuring an older model.

I found that there is a sweet spot with 2-3 year old vehicles where most of the depreciation is gone and there is still useful service life left in the vehicle.

If you go too new you'll lose a lot of money up front. If you go too old you'll save money but end up spending more in maintenance.

Practically all of the literature on the subject teaches pretty much the same thing. I chose the 2004 model because it's a good deal for the money and doesn't have the problems present in the late 90s for this model.

Progressive is my insurance carrier of choice. I checked and there really isn't a difference between an 04 and a 98. I end up paying about $700 a year for either year.

[cschin4]

Life is all about choices. I think trading a car in and buying a new car to "save on gas" is foolish. Even if gas went to $5 a gallon, it would still wind up costing you more to get into another vehicle. Funny that people don't blink an eye to spend $30K but don't want to pay $3 for a gallon of gas. I don't want to either, but based on the amount of driving you do, it certainly would not pay and would actually cost you more money than keeping your present vehicle.
As for safety, I "upgraded" my minivan for safety reasons as well. I wanted side impact air bags since I transport my kids around. I would not want to drive my family around in a mini-cooper. They are cute but look like they would get crushed in an accident. But, to each his own.

[QuadSquadMom]

May I add that there is a cost to peace of mind as well.

Without commute expenses on such a vehicle , it seems your choice was right for you.

That said, the picture could be completely re-framed should you change jobs or residence which resulted in a commute, but you would reevaluate based on conditions.

[InDebtInDC]

Life is all about choices. I think trading a car in and buying a new car to "save on gas" is foolish. Even if gas went to $5 a gallon, it would still wind up costing you more to get into another vehicle. Funny that people don't blink an eye to spend $30K but don't want to pay $3 for a gallon of gas. I don't want to either, but based on the amount of driving you do, it certainly would not pay and would actually cost you more money than keeping your present vehicle.
As for safety, I "upgraded" my minivan for safety reasons as well. I wanted side impact air bags since I transport my kids around. I would not want to drive my family around in a mini-cooper. They are cute but look like they would get crushed in an accident. But, to each his own.

I strongly agree. If you calculated the cost of a hybrid versus a good used car, the fuel savings would take 300,000-500,000 miles at the current gas prices to break even. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on driving a car that long. Plus the battery packs get replaced every 5 years at $5k a pop.

A good used Civic or Corolla will cost you $6-8K, and can do mid 30s mpg. Compare that with a new Prius that costs $30k and actually does somewhere in the mid to low 40s. Add maintenance on top of that and it's a no brainer.


I almost got killed 3 times yesterday on the interstate. I drive the biggest light truck you can buy as a civilian (Dodge Ram quad cam and long bed), and I get small cars cutting me off and doing all kinds of strange things. If I were in a compact cars I surely would be killed if I got into an accident.

[InDebtInDC]

May I add that there is a cost to peace of mind as well.

Without commute expenses on such a vehicle , it seems your choice was right for you.

That said, the picture could be completely re-framed should you change jobs or residence which resulted in a commute, but you would reevaluate based on conditions.

The nice thing about buying a full-size light truck is you don't have to shop for safety ratings; they all have 5 star ratings in every test starting in the mid 2000s model years, except for rollover, which would kill you no matter what car you're in.

[Broken Arrow]

In my personal opinion, I believe that survivability depends on good engineering and more importantly, good driving skills.

As such, a bigger piece of metal doesn't necessarily translate to a safer vehicle. For example, plenty of SUVs and sometimes even trucks will flip in situations where a car with a lower center of gravity will not. Yes, I've personally seen an accident where a sedan T-boned a truck, snapped off its rear axle, and flipped the truck while trapping the driver and passenger when the front windshield and roof collapsed on them. Fortunately, no serious injuries.

You want to know what I think is the "safest vehicle". A large sedan. Many of them are fairly substantial, but they also enjoy a low center of gravity with a fairly large wheel base. You'd almost have to drive them off a cliff to make them flip.

[sweeps]

Plus the battery packs [on a hybrid car] get replaced every 5 years at $5k a pop.

Is this true? Yikes!

[InDebtInDC]

In my personal opinion, I believe that survivability depends on good engineering and more importantly, good driving skills.

As such, a bigger piece of metal doesn't necessarily translate to a safer vehicle. For example, plenty of SUVs and sometimes even trucks will flip in situations where a car with a lower center of gravity will not. Yes, I've personally seen an accident where a sedan T-boned a truck, snapped off its rear axle, and flipped the truck while trapping the driver and passenger when the front windshield and roof collapsed on them. Fortunately, no serious injuries.

You want to know what I think is the "safest vehicle". A large sedan. Many of them are fairly substantial, but they also enjoy a low center of gravity with a fairly large wheel base. You'd almost have to drive them off a cliff to make them flip.

Skills is more important than anything else. Any car, regardless of center of gravity, will flip when pushed to the right angle. I think it's more important to exercise common sense and not do stupid things in traffic.

More importantly, everyone should take an accident avoidance course and a basic car control course. That alone will save you more than anything else.

[InDebtInDC]

Is this true? Yikes!

Yes, it varies with the different models but when I was looking for a Honda Insight most of the owners were getting rid of them due to the battery replacement cost.