Cheapest Car to Operate

The old Festiva.

The funny thing is that the P71 is actually the most economical car to operate on a larger scale, as proven out by every Taxi fleet there is. Economies of scale mean that you can save money by buying in bulk and for serious commuting work, they hold up better than something small. The tradeoff in fuel and oil is offset by room and ruggedness.

well, I'm still looking for 40+ highway miles ... as rugged as a P71 is .. it's not going to get 40 mpg

pinchvalve wrote: The funny thing is that the P71 is actually the most economical car to operate on a larger scale, as proven out by every Taxi fleet there is. Economies of scale mean that you can save money by buying in bulk and for serious commuting work, they hold up better than something small. The tradeoff in fuel and oil is offset by room and ruggedness.

They're used because the customers here expect something big, and the gas is cheap enough to support it as a business model.

Zomby Woof wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: The funny thing is that the P71 is actually the most economical car to operate on a larger scale, as proven out by every Taxi fleet there is. Economies of scale mean that you can save money by buying in bulk and for serious commuting work, they hold up better than something small. The tradeoff in fuel and oil is offset by room and ruggedness.

They're used because the customers here expect something big, and the gas is cheap enough to support it as a business model.

Amen. And as I said, burning oil at 200,000kms is not 'durable'.

For me, the cheapest car to operate would be a Volt or a Mitsubishi iMiev. My town has free charging stations everywhere. Now, assuming that the Volt is out of the question because it is a $40,000 car, I can get a lease on an iMiev for just $99 a month, or $169 a month with zero down. That is pretty damn cheap.

If you are looking at a Cruze, then definitely look at the Fit too since its on your radar already. Our mk1 Fit probably gets about 36 to 38 mixed. Many other owners I talk to say the same.

Its versatility is unmatched in its segment, and it's great for dogs. Rear seat room is excellent, but seat backs aren't super comfortable. Only real complaint is that it can be a bit twitchy and buzzy on the freeway at 75+. At 80k miles we have replaced one windshield and one set of tires, that's it.

And the Volt should be very reasonable to lease. Most dealers around here are about 229 a month, with 1000 down. At the end of the month, you might be able to push the payments even lower.

Cheapest car to operate--- including buy-in?

Aircooled VW Beetle

Buy a nice one for $3,500

Lifetime air and oil filters--- only 4 plugs to replace--- no radiator, waterpump, or thermostat to go bad.

Parts still dirt cheap

Awesome build quality

AND---no worries about an EMP knocking out your ECU-- when the "end times" come!

In reply to Joe Gearin:

You forget the engine lasts maybe 100k between rebuilds, and in the salt/rust belt, you will be installing floors every few years.

bah----- A rebuild on an aircooled VW costs about a nickel, and can be done by a blind monkey with 1/2 a brain. That is, as long as he has access to chewing gum, duct tape and wire.

as for the floors---- coat them with POR-15 and have a car that can double as a boat! (for extremely short trips)

I still say for total cost of ownership / ease of keeping it running, and original Beetle is hard to beat.

The original beetle gets pretty bad mileage though, especially for its size/power

bastomatic wrote: And the Volt should be very reasonable to lease. Most dealers around here are about 229 a month, with 1000 down. At the end of the month, you might be able to push the payments even lower.

Here, (Ontario, Canada) a Volt is about $800/month to lease. At 229/month, I'd have one.

First generation accents with the SOHC engines. Super duper cheap to maintain. Change oil once in a while, a t-belt every 60-80k (it's a $30 belt) and drive.

ProDarwin wrote: The original beetle gets pretty bad mileage though, especially for its size/power

My first two cars were v dubs and I would not call them cheap to operate. They would be cheaper now that I can work on them, but they only got about 22 mpg.

Need more information to offer an opinion. What's the anticipated monthly mileage or Annual mileage?

I heard old British cars are the cheapest to operate, other than the buy-in they just sit in your garage not working! No operating costs!

In reply to RossD:

Com block cars are quite similar! I haven't purchased gasoline or insurance all year!

^Not mine.

This takes it for cheapest to run(it's a 2.2) for any car I owned more than a few months that wasn't free. Timing belt and plugs every 60k, inner tie rods and inside front passenger cv joint boot every 120k or so, pile of oil seals every decade. Keep the rust off it, and it's the proverbial cockroach.

I WAY overpaid for my beater out of desperation, and I'm still only into it for $.18/mi over a year, including initial purchase, maintenance, gas, oil, etc. 50 miles a day without complaint, 23mpg(bad knock sensor, should be more like 27), starts every time, and can fit a full size fridge in the boot.

ValuePack wrote: This takes it for cheapest to run(it's a 2.2) for any car I owned more than a few months that wasn't free. Timing belt and plugs every 60k, inner tie rods and inside front passenger cv joint boot every 120k or so, pile of oil seals every decade. Keep the rust off it, and it's the proverbial cockroach. I WAY overpaid for my beater out of desperation, and I'm still only into it for $.18/mi over a year, including initial purchase, maintenance, gas, oil, etc. 50 miles a day without complaint, 23mpg(bad knock sensor, should be more like 27), starts every time, and can fit a full size fridge in the boot.

Care to share some numbers? 23mpg @ 3.50/gal is >$0.15/mile Your purchase and all maintenance is less than $0.03/mile? That's pretty good, especially for a car that maintenance intensive.

I've owned one car under $0.10/mile, but it involved collecting some insurance money from being rear ended then selling it (unrepaired) for more than I paid for it.

I haven't got mine on the road yet to prove it, but how about 1st Gen Neon? Cheap buy-in, mileage should be high 30's at least. Seem like a simple car. Mine hasn't got power anything = nothing to go wrong.

Yea, I'd also be one to say the likes of a Toyota Camry or Honda Civic. There are some others of similar venue. Little 4 banger tanks that run reliably for a good quarter million miles or so, lightly sipping gas the whole time.

ProDarwin wrote:

ValuePack wrote: This takes it for cheapest to run(it's a 2.2) for any car I owned more than a few months that wasn't free. Timing belt and plugs every 60k, inner tie rods and inside front passenger cv joint boot every 120k or so, pile of oil seals every decade. Keep the rust off it, and it's the proverbial cockroach. I WAY overpaid for my beater out of desperation, and I'm still only into it for $.18/mi over a year, including initial purchase, maintenance, gas, oil, etc. 50 miles a day without complaint, 23mpg(bad knock sensor, should be more like 27), starts every time, and can fit a full size fridge in the boot.

Care to share some numbers? 23mpg @ 3.50/gal is >$0.15/mile Your purchase and all maintenance is less than $0.03/mile? That's pretty good, especially for a car that maintenance intensive. I've owned one car under $0.10/mile, but it involved collecting some insurance money from being rear ended *then* selling it (unrepaired) for more than I paid for it.

Do you count tires in that? that skews my numbers a lot when I count how many tires I've put on them over the years.....partly because the wife destroyed a couple with potholes/curbs.

sans tires the accent is at: $2000 purchase price (5 years ago), $700 in maintenance/repairs, gas (121k miles@ 38mpg average= 3184 gallons @$3/gallon average) $9500. Puts it at $.10/mile.

Throw in the wheels/tires we've had to buy because of damage and that adds another $950 to the bottom line. That bumps it up to $.11/mile.

How in the berkeley do you average 38mpg in the accent? They are rated at 33 highway, and Fuelly average is ~31mpg...

http://www.fuelly.com/car/hyundai/accent

I keep track of every fill up. I've logged 28039 miles (+ whatever my current tank has gone) and paid 3,312.84 in fuel. My average cost per mile is $0.118 in fuel alone, in a car that has averaged 30.4mpg. If you add in my estimated maintenance/upgrade costs, initial purchase price, and subtract the current value of the car, it comes out to around $0.17/mile. Add what I've paid in insurance and in personal property taxes, and that number is probably around $0.28 :(

Apparently my MX6 is around $0.16 a mile including purchase price, tags, gas, oil maintenance, and modifications.

NOT including insurance, which comes out to like... $16/month. Insurance over ownership brings it to $0.18/mile

That's assuming 30mpg, which is rather pessimistic for this car.

Do i have to include Challenge entry fees and hotel fees?