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I was considering either the new Volkswagen Golf or Scion TC, since I will probably end up moving back to LA for college; I need something that's excellent on gas and my AWD Subaru Impreza no matter how much I love it is not going to cut it. Since I expect a high trade in price for my nearly paid off Impreza, price is really not an issue as long as its under $25k.
Is the depreciation hit you take on the Subaru going to be less than the few bucks a week you save on gas? Also, if you have it almost paid off, would you be getting a loan on the new car? Whatever you are spending on the note would likely by a lot of gas in a month for the Subaru.
That said, there are a lot of newer cars that get excellent gas mileage. Any particular likes in styling, brands, etc?
Is the depreciation hit you take on the Subaru going to be less than the few bucks a week you save on gas? Also, if you have it almost paid off, would you be getting a loan on the new car? Whatever you are spending on the note would likely by a lot of gas in a month for the Subaru.
^^ Agree 1000%. You have to look at ALL of the costs when thinking about getting a new vehicle "to save money." Let's say you get 25 mpg in the Subaru and whatever new thing you get gets 35 mpg, which is about what most new econoboxes get in mixed driving. Most people drive around 1000 miles per month. That's probably a lot more than what a typical college student drives, but still let's use that for our comparison. That's 40 gallons per month in the Subaru and 29 gallons in the new car. 11 gallons even at a high $4/gallon is only $44/month. Just paying the sales tax on a new car eats up several years worth of fuel savings. That and a new car is likely more expensive to insure, you still are paying somewhat of a note on it...you will never end up ahead in this situation. Penny wise and pound foolish.
What kind of gas milage are you getting with the Impreza. You may want to check out the new ones, they are getting upwards of 36mpg. The Scion TC is not very good on gas from what I hear. The corolla is much better, I get close to 40 on the highway and thats at 70mph most of the way.
Mazda 3..fun to drive and spoty but still great fuel economy
Ford Focus..I would Rent one and see if you like the new Fords.. As they seem to have better fit and finish and overall Quality than Toyota these days IMO...
Mazda 3..fun to drive and spoty but still great fuel economy
Ford Focus..I would Rent one and see if you like the new Fords.. As they seem to have better fit and finish and overall Quality than Toyota these days IMO...
I forgot about the Mazda 3. I would disagree about the Focus. I drove a 2012 Focus and Fiesta while getting my Fusion repaired. While they were fun to drive, the fit and finish was so so. It felt cheap and the consoles were awkward with accessing.
The only thing about the interior I preferred was the cruise control access compared to Toyota. Driving those two cars and having my tranny fixed after 3 yrs 55k miles is what made me decide to stay away from Ford. Before that I would have agreed.
However, I had an 05 Scion Tc... I loved that car. Cool looking, peppy, very practical with comfortable back seats that fold flat.. you can get a TON in there.
Is the depreciation hit you take on the Subaru going to be less than the few bucks a week you save on gas? Also, if you have it almost paid off, would you be getting a loan on the new car? Whatever you are spending on the note would likely by a lot of gas in a month for the Subaru.
That said, there are a lot of newer cars that get excellent gas mileage. Any particular likes in styling, brands, etc?
I would take this advice, just because you have the opportunity to get something different I wouldn't take it. Keep your almost paid off car.
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