Think about it this way. You sell your home 100K below asking and you by someone’s home 100 miles away 100K below asking. You gain because you have an equivalent home close to work without paying more for it than you sold your’s for.
Try to think of it this way. You home (and the other) has not lost value. Rather the dollar is now worth more.
In this kind of market, it is difficult to grasp what the current value in dollars is as the value of dollars has changed, not the value of the home. The first home I bought, I paid $15,000 for it. When I sold it it went for $50,000 after some improvements, but not all that much. Last year it might have been $400,000, Today more like $250,000. Most of those changes were do to changes in the TRUE VALUE of the dollar, not the property.
Sorry, for getting off subject, I am a economist and I spent my professional life in valuation issues and proving it in court. It is really difficult to get your mind around the value when the measure you are using changes day by day.
If I was going to ride 200+ miles a day, it would have to be a touring motorcycle. Anything less would not do. So we are talking about spending at least $13,000-$20,000 on the motorcycle that gets less than 40 MPG. A normal bike would either have too small of a gas tank or would not be comfortable for that long of a ride. Then, you have to deal with the weather. At least with a car he won’t have to stop for gas twice a day.
Even if weather, comfort, and fuel were not issues, the increase in fuel economy would never be enough to recouperate all the other costs. Then when you throw in all the gear and the maintenance, there would be no real cost savings. Tires and labor alone would eat up any fuel savings.
I love motorcycles, but this idea doesn’t fit the problem.
I rack up 40K miles each year. I buy 3 or 4 year old Hondas with 60 to 80K miles on them and run them into the ground. My current Accord was purchased just over two years ago with 83K miles for $7500. It has 172K currently and runs like a dream. My only “repair” has been a starter. Everything else has been routine maintenance.
Keep the current car as long as possible and then, if you want to save money, do what I do. Buying a new car to rack up those kinds of miles is crazy.
That sounds like good advice to me. My 98 Civic had more than 180,000 miles in it when I sold it and I only sold it because my needs changed. When I bougnt it, the plan was to keep it running for at least 300,000 miles. A Hond will cost more than it’s competitors, but it will have a lower per mile operating cost.
I recently thought of some additional tips:
-Check your tire pressure once a week. A one week interval is usually recommended for truck drivers and motorcyclists, so with the kind of miles you will be racking up, I think it is a good idea.
-Don’t forget to check your spare tire when you check the others.
-Condider getting a full-sized spare if you have a donut spare…or even if your spare is full-sized. Having two spares couldn’t hurt. Don’t buy the rim at a tire store. They charge too much. Go to a used tire seller or a junk yard and put a cheap new tire on it.
-Get the car as light as possible. I understand this isn’t easy with Volvos. They are heavy cars. But if you are driving around with a bag of golf clubs or a bowling ball in the trunk, take them out.
-Upgrade your jack. You might not be happy with your stock jack if you get a flat after dark in the middle of nowhere. A small floor jack might be a good idea…even if it contradicts the suggestion about reducing weight.
-Make sure you have a working flashlight and maybe a basic set of tools.
I had a diesel VW Rabbit. The diesels last a long time - I traded mine in with over 250000 miles and still running great. The new VW Jetta diesel sounds good. It will get great mileage on the highway where the hybrids don’t have such an advantage. The ride and handling at highway speed might be better than something like a Honda Fit. The turbo diesel even has good power (and great torque). You need to make sure you change the oil as recommended.
If mass-transit isn’t an option, be sure to search online for pooling arrangements – van pools, group buses, others working and living in the same areas as you do. Some states (e.g., NY) run online ride-sharing programs to help match up people. Sharing a ride won’t get you there any faster, but on days that you’re not driving, you can relax. And driving every other day would effectively cut your commute to 50 miles one way (driving every three days = 33 mile commute).
Sharing a ride, particularly in a loosely-organized carpool, can have its problems. I shared a ride years ago. One cold winter night, the other guy forgot and left work without me. He got about 20 miles up the road before he realized he was talking to an empty passenger seat! If you have more than two people sharing, and not everyone is there every day, it can be a contentious matter to determine whose turn it is to drive. We worked out a point system to make it fair (ride: +1 point, drive with N passengers: -N points, person with most points should be driving).
The new VW Jetta diesel sounds good. It will get great mileage on the highway where the hybrids don’t have such an advantage.
There are at least two types of hybrids. The Toyota version gets better fuel economy in stop and go driving than on the highway, but the Honda version is the other way around. Honda will soon be coming out with a new version of the Insight, only this time it won’t be a two seater. It is being designed to compete with the Prius. So the new Insight or a Civic Hybrid make as much sense as a diesel. The only way in which the diesel might have an advantage is in overall operating costs because of the cost of the hybrid batteries.
Just get a small good mileage car and maintain it well/regularly and be the only driver - mine has 280K and still driving efficient (38-40mpg) though not pretty anymore with peeled skin … noone will steal it and costs are low and reliable …