My current vehicle gets ~12 mpg. It's a 1999 Ford Explorer. I live in the city and do not need 4 wheel drive vehicle that drinks the petroleum out of the earth as I would devour a Peanut Butter Fudge shake from Cook Out.
I am planning on selling it for ~$6,000. I am considering buying a road bike and just using that for a while. Most everything I do is within 5 miles of where I live and my wife has a car.
I am thinking of getting another vehicle but cannont decide what route to go. I thought maybe Hybrid. I know the arguements about they dont pay for themselves but this is a "use less gas" decision as much as a financial one. I also am very interested in a 2002 VW diesel that gets around 40 mpg. The Honda Hybrid I am looking at and this VW are both around $11,000. That is quite a bit of money - but would really cut down on the gas consumption - I spend around $200 - $230/month in gas currently. The money I save in gas would be close to what I would be paying monthly on the extra $6,000 in car payments.
The other option is to buy an old beater for ~$5,000 that gets decent gas mileage. But I am very interested in diesel and that will be hard to find for that price. Also long term diesel cars are convertable to run on "veggie oil" which is something my brother is currently doing.
Of course a car is a luxury item... no need to remind me of that... so is $12,000 car... all things of coarse are relative.. i could just get a beat up ride but this i snot just a money decision.. it's a "what is best for the earth" given my living requirements...
any thoughts from the well informed?
-J
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6 comments:
No bikes, no cars. You need to walk from place to place so that you'll have dirty feet. Without dirty feet, how can you "shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them" if they don't accept you? [Luke 9:5]
mmmm. cookout...
i say go with bike homie. and like ya said - diana has a car - so you would be set!
miss ya bro
Good luck on your decisions. Word on the street is that hybrids are beginning to pay off in the long run. The other thing to consider is that buying a hybrid is furthering a worth while business endeavor and helping us move towards the economies of scale that would allow other people to buy hybrids for less in the future.
You might want to check out Business Week section on hybrids. One particular article might be of interest: Hybrids Cost-Efficient Over Long Haul.
your welcome
Didn't you once call me "the love child of big government and the oil companies"?...stick with your Explorer! Hahahahaha!
forget the hybrid, too much smug. either get a bike, or get a beater (crx, rabbit, etc). if you got an old vw diesel, you could run it off wvo. sub 2k purchase price. ya heard?
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