Hey all,

I have a 2005 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 Crew Cab. It usually stays parked in the driveway, its only got 36k miles on it. I usually drive a third car. With expenses going up and wages stagnant, I am starting to question the validity of having the third car. Especially when the insurance and tax bills come due. I have a 60 mile a day commute, and my daily driver gets around 25mpg on regular gas. Have any of you run the numbers, is it worth running another car when you have a perfectly good truck sitting at home?

 

Mine is a daily driver. My truck gets 20-21 mpg hand calculated on highway. That is driving reasonably no WOT takeoffs and running on highway between 65 & 70 MPH, using cruse control most of the time. In 50-50 mix highway/city driving I get 16-17 mpg. That is better than the wife's Hemi Durango which gets about 14-15 mpg hand calculated in 50-50 mix city/highway driving. I have no tool box or extra junk in bed and I also have a hard (Undercover) tonneau cover on the bed. I also check tire pressures weekly to keep them at optimum pressure.

 

I got a '91 Infiniti G20 a couple of years ago that gets 25mpg, and I drive it all the time. I paid $1800 for it and it has just recently paid for itself in fuel cost savings. My '03 Dodge has 53K miles.

 

thats why they make motorcycles...50mpg and you can still drive you truck on rainy days

 

What's the difference in cost in diesel in your area (average)? In Texas it seems to be slightly less or equal to RUG in the summer months and $.10-.15 higher in the winter. I'd say most of the time it's close enough to the cost of mid-grade gasoline that it's not really worth calculating the difference.

Here's what I came up with on the info you provided:

60 miles a day X 260 "working days" = 15,600 miles/year
15,600 miles/25mpg (your commuter car) = 624 gallons/year
15,600 miles/19mpg (truck's average) = 821 gallons/year
----------------------------------------------------
cost to drive your truck instead of commuter = 197 gallons/year

$2.69X 197 gallons = $529.93

So, the question you'll have to find out is how much is it costing you to keep this extra car a year? Is it more than $500? If so, then it doesn't make "cents" to keep it on the sole justification of saving money.

 

I figured about what funfinder said. My wife is racking up the miles on the Mega and everytime I think about getting her another older vehicle for a daily driver, the #'s don't work out. For one, it would have to be a mid to full size somethin or other (min size like a Jeep GC and I wouldn't even be thrilled about that. More like a Tahoe/Suburban.). She carpools kids and accidents are bad in the mtns in the winter, so anything I'd buy would get worse mileage. Even if it got 20+mpg, by the time you license, insure, repair a vehicle + the purchase price, it pays to just run the Dodge. Supposed to run 500,000mi anyway, right? I figure an extra set of ball joints and U joints are the only extra cost the Dodge is going to incur.
Now if I could find a cherry condition 6.5TD Blazer/Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban, I'd consider getting a 2nd commuter vehicle.

 

It's almost never cost effective to drive own a third car. You'll save a little gas money with the car. But by the time you've purchased the car, license, registration, taxes, and maint, you'll be thousands behind every year

If you sell the car, how much diesel fuel can you buy? And how long will that last you?

 

Ya, thats the thing, I read about the trucks lasting a million miles and I barely drive mine! I need something fairly reliable and safe since I drive on the highway alot, I dont want to be out there in a tin can.

Oh, and I have a motorcycle, maybe I am just not seeing the potential there, I usually just use it for recreation.

 

It really depends on the car/price. Registration and insurance for my G20 is about $100/year combined. The G20 is also my parking lot door banger. I'm saving the truck from door dings and shopping cart accidents. Maintenance is cheaper than the truck too. The more the commuter is driven, the less maintenance the truck requires. For example: an oil change for the G20 is about $11 - the truck ~ $50. Currently the oil change ratio is about 4 to 1 between the two in favor of the car.

If I sold the car now for $1500, I'd be able to purchase 7-8 months of diesel.

 

I have the same quandry. I have run the numbers and it doesnt make sense for me to spend several thousand on another rig and then registration/insurance/fuel to boot. The way I figure that money is better spent on D2. I also live out in the country (deer country to boot) and highway drive alot to get into town, I would rather hit a deer in a 7800lb vehicle then a 2800-3500lb car that sits lower and doesnt have as much sheetmetal. I also dont want to be in a broke down $2K beater on the side of the road out of cell service in 30' weather 5 miles from anywhere. (I know, it could happen in the Dodge as well)

I bought my Dodge right, with low miles (Now at 38K) and plan on running it for a long **** time. I am averaging 2K miles a month and D2 is about $2.75 here and I average about 17.5 MPG so you can figure out what I spend in fuel a month.

 

I just got rid of our third vehicle (leased Accord) for basically the same reasons. However, my commute just got reduced from about 40mi r/t to 10mi r/t. So, it was a no-brainer for me. I have 47k on a 2004.5. Now I'm going to save $300 on the lease plus about $100 on insurance and other costs.

 

good topic, I drive a bimmer w/ a V8 that gets about 22-23 mpg for a daily driver. I figure for what tires cost alone I'd rather drive the car. I drive 60 miles also a day, so tires can wear quick. I kinda toss it up all week tho and take turns driving the car and truck.

 

I commute in the truck on rainy days or when it's over 105 here in Phoenix, otherwise, I'm on a motorcycle. 40-50 mpg, plenty of fresh air, and I get to take the HOV lane on the bike, which shaves 15 minutes off my commute each way.

 

I have a truck that sits in the driveway 365 days a year so I can drive a Prius.

 

Just made the same move... Had bought a Malibu to commute in so we had a car, the Ram and an Acadia... Decided to bag the Acadia and save 1K a month on payment and insurance... Using the Ram to commute 145 miles round trip to work. Commuting Mileage on my Ram runs on average around 21 mpg at 65-70 mph hwy. The malibu gets about 25 mpg during the same commute. I try to spread the miles out so I am not racking the miles up on just the one vehicle. I did not see the point of just leaving the Ram sit in the driveway unitl I needed lumber from Lowes or we were heading for vacation.