ATG, Help me decide if we should sell our car

[drnickriviera]

Situation:
2005 Buick Century with 125k miles
Wife work is only .5 miles away. She drives this 4X per day. She's been doing this for 5 years. I think it's killing the car with those short trips. I'm noticing more things that need replacing and i'm looking at $1k in parts over the next year. We do drive the car longer distances, but that is only maybe once every 2-4 weeks.

Options:
Walk/Bike to work. Umm, probably not the best idea in Texas. She has to interact with the public and no place to take a shower.

Keep current car and drive it till it falls apart. Only worth $3-4k right now, we have my truck she could use till we got another car. Put as little money into it

Keep current car and get her a scooter like a Honda Metropolitan. Probably not a 5 days a week option, but could help ease the abuse on the car.

Sell car and get an older hybrid in the $10-15k range. Like an 07-11' Prius. Mod it for EV only mode? Roads are city streets with 30-35mph speed limit. Maybe a larger plug-in battery pack like this http://enginer.us/products/conversion_kit.php

Sell car and get a new hybrid. I haven't done too much research on hybrids, but looks like the newer ones have EV mode standard? Which ones could do 30-35 mph?

 

[SSSnail]

Why don't you just get a pure electric option? Like a Leaf. Or, you can go with a Volt? You'll never use the gas in the tank if that's all the driving she'll do.

 

[Kaido]

Why not just get a low-end, fuel-efficient car, new with a warranty?

Mitsubishi Mirage = 44 MPG for $13k:

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/mirage

Nissan Versa = 40 MPG (CVT) for $13.8k: (I would recommend this for the $800 price difference)

http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/versa-sedan?next=Versa_Gateway.Versa_Sedan.Versa_Sedan.vlp.button1

1. Great fuel economy
2. Financing available
3. Warranty
4. No hassles from a used car in unknown condition, aftermarket EV modding, etc.
5. Right within your used car pricerange

 

[Kaido]

Or perhaps lease an EV. The Chevy Spark is available for $199 a month on a 3-year lease:

http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-ev-electric-vehicle.html

 

[aShufflinZombie]

Keep the Buick until it dies. Only do filters and oil until it is driven into the ground and then consider a new car. Put away some money for now.

 

[dbk]

Nissan Leaf

 

[drnickriviera]

I'd like an all electric, but this is our primary travel/vacation vehicle, so 4-600 mile trips 3-4x per year. I suppose we could always rent a car for the trips.

I'd rather have a less complicated gas only vehicle like a Focus hatchback. That would fit our needs better, but it goes back to the work commute. How hard is this on the engine and trans if it never gets up to operating temp? The car has piston slap when it's cold, but I think that's just a GM thing, not related to short trips.

 

[cabri]

Why not just get a low-end, fuel-efficient car, new with a warranty?

Mitsubishi Mirage = 44 MPG for $13k:

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/mirage

Nissan Versa = 40 MPG (CVT) for $13.8k: (I would recommend this for the $800 price difference)

http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/versa-sedan?next=Versa_Gateway.Versa_Sedan.Versa_Sedan.vlp.button1

1. Great fuel economy
2. Financing available
3. Warranty
4. No hassles from a used car in unknown condition, aftermarket EV modding, etc.
5. Right within your used car price range

If you start to look at the Versa; rent one for a weekend and run it one the highway for 3-4 hours.
The rental one I had this year for 3 days shook me to pieces at 65mph.



/edit

My fault - doubled checked records.
It was a Toyota Yaris

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Keep the Buick until it dies. Only do filters and oil until it is driven into the ground and then consider a new car. Put away some money for now.

Absolutely agree - $1K in repairs over 12-months is $80/month, way less than a new car payment, depreciation on new car, taxes on new car.

 

[pauldun170]

Wife work is only .5 miles away.

Options:
Walk/Bike to work. Umm, probably not the best idea in Texas. She has to interact with the public and no place to take a shower.

1/2 mile to work?
Since a 10 minute walk at a leisurely pace is apparently out of the question...


Keep the Buick.
If you just want to get another car, get a Volt

 

[Kaido]

If you start to look at the Versa; rent one for a weekend and run it one the highway for 3-4 hours.
The rental one I had this year for 3 days shook me to pieces at 65mph.

That's weird, do you know how old it was & how many miles it has on it? My parents have a 2008 & liked it so much that they replaced the CVT on it when the transmission died @ ~135k miles. I also test-drove the new Versa sedan last year (accidentally hit 80 on the highway, was surprisingly smooth for such a little car) with good results (ended up with a Kia Soul - worse MPG, but way more storage space for hauling computers around).

 

[Midwayman]

Its a buick. Yes to replace.

 

[pauldun170]

As a side note: By 2005, GM pretty much ironed out all the issues with the Buick Century. At the mileage its at, it could probably have a batch of maintenance items (sensors, other typical wear and tear items) to take care of but once thats done the cost of ownership should drop back down.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

You have a bought and paid for car. If you both like it then why sell?

 

[cabri]

If you start to look at the Versa; rent one for a weekend and run it one the highway for 3-4 hours.
The rental one I had this year for 3 days shook me to pieces at 65mph.

That's weird, do you know how old it was & how many miles it has on it? My parents have a 2008 & liked it so much that they replaced the CVT on it when the transmission died @ ~135k miles. I also test-drove the new Versa sedan last year (accidentally hit 80 on the highway, was surprisingly smooth for such a little car) with good results (ended up with a Kia Soul - worse MPG, but way more storage space for hauling computers around).

My fault - doubled checked records.
It was a Toyota Yaris
20K miles - 2013

 

[fleshconsumed]

Meh... like others have said, the car is paid off. New car payment is going to be more expensive than buick repairs. Besides, do you really want to buy a new car for driving 2 miles a day? And even if you do buy a new car, how long do you think it's going to last driving 2 miles a day?

I say keep the car. Then have your wife walk to and from job whenever she can. I know you said Texas, but even so you still got 5 walkable months a year when temperatures are mild enough that she is not going to break a sweat by walking outside.

 

[slatr]

Options
Walk/Bike to work. Umm, probably not the best idea in Texas. She has to interact with the public and no place to take a shower.

Keep current car and drive it till it falls apart. Only worth $3-4k right now, we have my truck she could use till we got another car. Put as little money into it

Keep current car and get her a scooter like a Honda Metropolitan. Probably not a 5 days a week option, but could help ease the abuse on the car.

Sell car and get an older hybrid in the $10-15k range. Like an 07-11' Prius. Mod it for EV only mode? Roads are city streets with 30-35mph speed limit. Maybe a larger plug-in battery pack like this http://enginer.us/products/conversion_kit.php

Sell car and get a new hybrid. I haven't done too much research on hybrids, but looks like the newer ones have EV mode standard? Which ones could do 30-35 mph?[/QUOTE]

Drive it at highway speeds, for 30 minutes, at least once a week to prevent long term engine issues.. Park in garage, carport, shade of tree to protect from Texas sun

 

[Midwayman]

You might consider an electric bike for the wifey. I built one for my ~4mile RT commute from the downtown train station to work and back. I added it to a folding bike which made it complicated (and why I had to build it) Practically free ride cost and no sweat even in high heat and humidity.

 

[senseamp]

Half a mile? Unless it's up a very steep hill, that's a 10 minute normal pace walk or a 3 minute bike ride at very slow (normal heart rate) 10mph.
Normal perspiration from a 10 minute walk or a 3 minute relaxed bike ride should not necessitate a shower. I recommend a road/commute bike with skinny low rolling resistance slick tires. Then she should hit 15mph easily on the flats and get there in 2 minutes without breaking a sweat.

 

[gorb]

Half a mile? Unless it's up a very steep hill, that's a 10 minute normal pace walk or a 3 minute bike ride at very slow (normal heart rate) 10mph.
Normal perspiration from a 10 minute walk or a 3 minute relaxed bike ride should not necessitate a shower. I recommend a road/commute bike with skinny low rolling resistance slick tires. Then she should hit 15mph easily on the flats and get there in 2 minutes without breaking a sweat.

100° F+ temp means it doesn't matter how short the walk/ride is. It's damned hot.

 

[Mermaidman]

If the terrain is flat and it's safe, then half mile should be OK walking. Suggest that she use an umbrella to shield from sun. Keep the Buick for use when it's raining or too hot/humid.

Or just get one of these:

 

[senseamp]

100° F+ temp means it doesn't matter how short the walk/ride is. It's damned hot.

I am sure it is. But not every ride is going to be 100F, it depends on season and time of day. Morning ride should be significantly cooler, and the ride home in the evening is after all the public interaction. So the concern is the ride home for lunch. Sweating and BO depends on the person. I'd give it a try. You have to keep the duration in perspective. 15mph is cruising speed for a road bike on the flats. So half a mile is only 2 minutes, worst case 3 minutes, of non-strenuous activity with wind blowing to help evaporate any perspiration.

 

[justrandomguy]

Nissan Leaf

 

[desy]

I like electric bike!

 

[fleshconsumed]

100° F+ temp means it doesn't matter how short the walk/ride is. It's damned hot.

Only for 7 months of the year. That leaves 5 months she could easily walk to and from job. And even then she could probably do it for another month, so half a year.

Otherwise I like the electric bike suggestion. They're still rare so I totally forgot about those. She'd still have to pedal, but not as hard. And since it's a very short commute, it might be doable practically all year round except on the hottest days.

EDIT: Actually scratch that, apparently electric bicycles are picking up. Amazon even has a section for them, and some are pretty inexpensive starting from around $500 and up to $1500 for decked up one. The thing might pay for itself once you figure less wear and tear on the buick.