Lets Talk Daily Drivers
 

Im in search of the cheapest most reliable car I can find, as of now it is a 2014 Corolla. 2 years will cost me 5295, all maintenance included and it prob wont need tires even. Id rather have a Civic, but it is 2 grand more because the lease is 3 years. I know I can buy a cash car, but for 5 k it will likely be a major pos, and will need repairs over a 20 to 30 k mile use cycle. Was going to finish my Stang and daily it, but the cost difference in gas alone justified the small car payment, not to mention wear and tear on the Stang, tires!, and any down time from breaking down, and tickets that Id get from just driving it more often, etc.

What is everyone else doing that doesnt want to daily their Mustangs?

Personally I'd just go to CraigsList. There is a STUPID amount of cars for under $5k on there.

That's my plan when I get the wife's truck paid off...buy an older truck and wear it out to save hers.

I bought a 13 focus last year. got it new. decent deal I think. I didnt get it loaded since I knew I was going to put quite a bit of miles in it. it has been a pretty good car. usually get around 34mpg. was hoping for more though.

That's what I'm doing once we get our tax return. Going to find me as new a focus, or similar, as possible. We are just going to use it for my wife and I to both drive to work everyday.

Just buy an old mid 90's accord or civic. Even if it has 150k its still gonna be reliable and cheap. I bought my 96 accord 4 door for 2200 w/ 165k and it had a/c and heat.

I think a Corrola is a great idea. It will last you forever. My cousin had one that went over 275k miles only having to change the oil! The problem with Hondas is the theft rate on them. They disappear like virgins on prom night.

I'm currently DD'ing a 2001 VW Golf TDI with 190k miles. A few little issues but at 39.5 mpg and plenty of cargo room, $4800 was worth it. Might end up selling it to my brother in law and getting a Honda Fit for under $10k. There are so many vehicles under $10k on craigslist/autotrader that will last you another decade. 2006-2009 Honda Civics are hugely abundant and get amazing gas mileage. Some warranty issues but Honda covers all the big problems with extended warranties with unlimited mileage and unlimited number of owners.

truf!!!

The Fit is overrated. Id take a focus over it.

I DD my truck right now. With all the work and $$$ that I have put into the Mustang, it is a car I need to keep for a long time (unless I find someone willing to bail me out at near the cost of the modifications lol). I plan on trading in the truck anyways probably in three years or so once the next generation of trucks come out.

Being a single guy, I wish I could afford a third car to DD. I have honestly thought about leasing a Fiesta ST. IMO, it would be alot more fun to drive that the larger Focus ST, but either of those skittles are good choice IMO. But three cars is just crazy talk for me right now lol.

I bought a 99 ford ranger for 1,600 bux with 132k. It now just hit 200,000 miles. I've prob spent like 1,500 dollars in maintanence and new tires.

I dont BUY cars because I hate getting stuck with them. Case in point is my CC i am driving now. If I bought it, my payment would be almost 50 percent higher than my lease, and Id still be upside down on it because dealers are giving the damn things away. I love leases because I get to stay in brand new cars under warranty for a fraction of the price, and i give the pos back at a certain date in time, instead of being upside down like my CC is. 6 more payments and it's VWs problem... just need to find something late August so Im not taking the bus. Whats a Fiesta ST lease for? anyone know?

I have a 04 Cavalier with 70k for $3k I have a ex girlfriend with one of these never had a problem till 320k miles. Her water pump went out at 320k!

14 fiesta for 250 a month. 400 miles per tank

I had a nice work from home gig which allowed me to minimize the miles on my stang but now I got to drive in every damn day, 40 miles each way so I just picked up a daily driver which was a 2013 civic lx, base model but it is very well equipped, best in its class, and I got a great deal on it since the 2014's are out.

Started doing the math and the civic pays for itself in gas savings with the miles I now have to daily drive. In the 5.0 I would be filling up every 3 days, that is roughly 1.5 tanks more a week than what I put in my civic, that is roughly $65 a week, that is $260 a month, that is $40 more than I pay for the civic a month. You will have to factor in Insurance costs but I shopped mine over to Farmers and as a result my insurance only went up $300 a year which is $25 a month so I still come out ahead by roughly $15 a month and the beauty of buying vs leasing is that after a few years I will own the the car and have a nice paid off DD and then can go out and get that shelby, C7 or C63amg and not worry about it having to be a DD and racking the miles up on it.

On the back end of buying this DD civic, I keep the BS miles off the stang that lower its value, I estimate I will save $1500 on trade value by keeping the BS miles off the 5.0.

The more miles you drive, the more a DD makes sense, lets not even factor in tires, maintenance, wear and tear etc...

Hello Intelligence... this is the exact reasoning i base having a separate car for running to the mall or to work etc. Very well said. Having an extra car gets even more attractive when you factor in service and tire replacement costs... you hit the highlights though.

Seems to me then you have not one, but then two depreciating assets. These Mustangs or any other mass production late model cars are not investments. What you guys are attempting to do is put a Band-Aid on AIDS. It just doesn't work or make sense.

I get what you are doing wanting to keep your toys as nice as possible. I get it, but justifying it through financing another car for better mileage doesn't add up in my opinion. Just say you want to do it because....well because that's what you want to do. lol

A 2003 f150 fx4 lifted supercrew is my dd. Gets about 10 highway miles a gallon with the 35" tires and 3.73 gears. Lol. Need to get me a small car rather then drive the truck or my stang

If we were reasonable people we wouldnt have hot rods or mod said hot rods...

If you drive a lot, the gas savings alone pays for the car. For me it isnt so much worrying about my car depreciation since its old, its actually going up in value. For me it is not having wear and tear on my motor, maintenance costs, having to adjust the valves every 1000 miles or more which would be every 3 to 4 weeks, changing oil every month or two, wearing out rear tires every 3 to 4 months, 15 mpg and race gas expenses, etc f'in etc... in the actual long run I will likely save a few grand a year. Also when the Stang breaks I can go to work without fear, or if it rains, snows, hails, etc.

The best thing would be to get a job a mile from my house and walk to work, but that isnt happening since I live no where near industry.

I need my work truck or else I would destroy the interior of my mustang

I like having a POS for a DD in theory. But then you have to drive it when you would rather be driving something else. So at the end of the day you have figure out what your driving enjoyment is worth.

03 ford explorer 4.6. 185k miles and going strong.

And bought the woman a 05 v6 mustang a couple years ago. 155k miles and doing ok.

1986 volvo 740 with ~300k ftw.

As soon as I can get some other debts paid off I plan on getting another car to toot around town with. I plan on something like a Focus. I want pretty new and 4 doors for my kiddo. The Mustang will then become the toy car I take out every once and a while.

I'm getting a truck as soon as I can afford one and find one.

Hopefully my next dd will be 99-01 Lexus es300. Since I work for Lexus the Toyota/Lexus cars make the most sense for me.

I really want one of these but, they are becoming pretty old now. Not sure how they are holding up.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...3ef39aab_b.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...c4a0e0fe_b.jpg

-Alex

let me know if I can help I work for Toyota

2jz-ge=solid. Is300's never have problems. Many of them with 300k+.

Same page, I drive the fuck out of the shit I enjoy. I'd rather have a cheaper car I had to work on, for my daily commute then HATE driving whatever it is daily because it sucks and its boring.

Yes 2jz is solid but don't kid yourself those IS300s do have a few goofy problems. Mostly they leak oil, not a huge deal but most IS300s i work on are trashed.

What dealer?

Not looking for one until next yearish.

Werd.

That's what I am becoming afraid of with those cars. And IDK what the market is for finding a used 2JZ longblock. Plus if I want the car to be a daily, it defeats the purpose of having to invest a lot in it. That was at the top of my list since they look sweet, reliable, rwd and you can mod them to enjoy even as a daily beater. Best of all worlds. Another more realistic car would be a older Accord. Not a fan of FWD but, I can accept that. Toss some decent rims, tires, tint and lower it and have a nice looking daily with great fuel economy.

-Alex

I had an IS300 daily for around a year, LOVED IT! Small, easy to park, fun enough to drive, nice enough to drive. Cheap as fuck to work on and easy. Mine was nearly 140k miles without a single issue.

If I can find a well-kept example about this time next year, perhaps I can buy one cash. I don't see too many of them on the roads these days. I have plenty of time to research.

-Alex

all i can say is you can put an LS3 in an IS300.

Did you do the timing belt yourself?

Yeah I don't understand getting a car you love to park it and drive a pos.. I LOVE the excuse "I wish I had my camaro I'd race you, it's fast" wtf?? I can see if you drive a Ferrari that requires a set of headers every 3 years and 10,000 miles requires an engine out service.. but geez.. I mean you can do whatever. Maybe if your mustang is a frigging race car not road legal.. but otherwise. . Do what you want just don't look longingly at me thru the bubbling tint of your smoked in ex rental car pos. You know what makes more financial sense then buying a mustang to park it in the garage and driving another car to save money? Not getting the mustang. .

I tend to agree with you, unless you already had a daily. For example my next car will probably be an ATS-V, S5, M4, used Z51. My 5.0 will be my daily. I'm never trading this car in unless I buy another muscle car or I get an offer that I can't refuse.

I will admit that I do have my eyes on an Acura Intergra, RSX, or IS300 simply because my wife and I both loved the tuner era. She adored her Integra.