Car cost for low mileage driving?

[imoldernu]

Am having trouble with this question.

We'd like to have a newer automobile for safety and avoidance of high maintenance cost on our older cars.

The problematic issue is that we no longer drive long distances and total year mileage is less than 1500 miles/yr.

Based on driving an average of 4 miles a day, the type or model of car is unimportant... just short ride transportation for 2 persons.

We don't want to buy, but would like to know the best option at the lowest cost, excluding insurance.

We don't have Uber in our area, and in general would prefer to be able to "go" when we want, and be in control of comings and goings.

Would appreciate some kind of numbers before we go to the rental or lease companies.
... The ads are too sneaky...

Hey... Thanks!

 

[Sunset]

Cheapest thing is an old car. Even if you had a $1,000 per year in repairs, it's still the cheapest option.

Leases are priced with the expectation you drive 10K miles per year, so that is the rate you will pay, even if you don't drive it.

What would be the cost of taxi's for the year instead ?

 

[Walt34]

+1 what Sunset said.

The two older cars that you have IIRC are veritable tanks, and that weight matters a great deal in a collision with a smaller and lighter weight vehicle even though the smaller one may have more recent safety devices.

If I had to bet on vehicles in a collision, a '76 Fleetwood or a new Honda Civic, I'd bet on the people in the Fleetwood coming out better off.

 

[Music Lover]

+1 what Sunset said.

The two older cars that you have IIRC are veritable tanks, and that weight matters a great deal in a collision with a smaller and lighter weight vehicle even though the smaller one may have more recent safety devices.

If I had to bet on vehicles in a collision, a '76 Fleetwood or a new Honda Civic, I'd bet on the people in the Fleetwood coming out better off.

You'd probably lose that bet:

 

[aja8888]

Why not pick up a slightly used Nissan Leaf? Almost no maintenance (electric), suitable range on a charge, great for short hops. Plus, you can find low mileage ones pretty cheap these days.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We keep our cars until the repairs get too expensive for how old they are. I have seen leases advertised for 200/month but I think you need to pay money either at the beginning or end of the lease.

 

[Jerry1]

If you go to lease a new car, you can get the price you see in the ads. The things to look out for are the ultra low mileage leases (obviously not a problem for you) and the down payment. If you have to put down a down payment, divide that by the months and you’ll see how much more the actual cost of the lease is. So, if you see a lease for $299/mo, that’s what you’ll pay. As Sunset noted, leases are based on 10K miles or more. So with your mileage, you’ll be paying a very high amount per mile. 1500 miles is 125 miles per month. Therefore a $299 lease is about $2.40 per mile. That’s expensive driving. Even $125 per month is a dollar per mile.

I’d go to a dealer and discuss your situation. They may be able to lease you a certified pre owned car for something more reasonable. They may even be able to work with you given that they’ll know when you turn it in at lease end there will only be 4,500 more miles on it. The residual value can make a big difference in a leasing situation. It’s an unusual situation but they may be able to meet your needs.

Financially, a good used car would be better, but I understand the desire you have to get a more current car and not have any repair surprises.

 

[Walt34]

You'd probably lose that bet:

Maybe.

One that sticks in my mind is the only fatal accident that I handled (shortly after all fatals were handled by specialized traffic officers) in which a 15-year-old lad took his sister's MG for a joyride, lost it on a turn, and hit a Chevy Impala with 6 people in it head on. All the folks in the Chevy walked (or at least limped) away, the kid died at the scene when the steering column crushed his heart.

Granted that was ~40 years ago but it sure made an impression on me and the lesson was that "mass matters".

 

[Music Lover]

Maybe.

One that sticks in my mind is the only fatal accident that I handled (shortly after all fatals were handled by specialized traffic officers) in which a 15-year-old lad took his sister's MG for a joyride, lost it on a turn, and hit a Chevy Impala with 6 people in it head on. All the folks in the Chevy walked (or at least limped) away, the kid died at the scene when the steering column crushed his heart.

Granted that was ~40 years ago but it sure made an impression on me and the lesson was that "mass matters".

But that would have been 2 old cars, not an old car vs. a newer car. As both of the videos show, the old heavier car provides less protection than the newer and lighter car.

 

[COcheesehead]

Cheapest thing is an old car. Even if you had a $1,000 per year in repairs, it's still the cheapest option.

Leases are priced with the expectation you drive 10K miles per year, so that is the rate you will pay, even if you don't drive it.

What would be the cost of taxi's for the year instead ?

Not really true. You can pick the mileage you want to be included in the lease. They are usually set amounts like 6000, 8000, 12,000 etc.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We do about 6000m a year and leasing works for us. You can get a 7500m lease, but we still get 10k. We like nice new luxury cars for the times when we use them. We budget $5k - $6k a year. We feel that is a luxury we have earned and do not want to skimp on any car. YMMV

If a Tesla Model 3 was not such a silly lease cost we would get one of those.

 

[Sunset]

Not really true. You can pick the mileage you want to be included in the lease. They are usually set amounts like 6000, 8000, 12,000 etc.

Ok, you may know more as I've never leased a car, but do read the ads.

Still OP's problem is he drives " less than 1500 miles/yr"

So that's 1/4 of the lowest mileage amount you suggested, meaning he is going to overpay per mile for the lease.

 

[RunningBum]

If I had to bet on vehicles in a collision, a '76 Fleetwood or a new Honda Civic, I'd bet on the people in the Fleetwood coming out better off.

What MusicLover is saying about an old car vs new. Airbags and crumple zones and all that.

And if I had to bet on a car no stranding me somewhere (another aspect of safety), I'll take the Honda by a long shot.

 

[Red Badger]

Ok, you may know more as I've never leased a car, but do read the ads.

Still OP's problem is he drives " less than 1500 miles/yr"

So that's 1/4 of the lowest mileage amount you suggested, meaning he is going to overpay per mile for the lease.

Not exactly. Part of a lease is the residual value - what the car is worth when you turn it in. Almost always NOT negotiable. But, take same car with mileage well below what the residual was based upon to another dealer (or Carmax, etc). They may well offer more than the lease residual. Pay off the residual and pocket the difference. YMMV!

 

[COcheesehead]

Ok, you may know more as I've never leased a car, but do read the ads.

Still OP's problem is he drives " less than 1500 miles/yr"

So that's 1/4 of the lowest mileage amount you suggested, meaning he is going to overpay per mile for the lease.

I was just correcting your error for others who may considering a lease and I didn’t suggest any mileage, just saying mileage in leases are negotiable.

 

[CardsFan]

I goofed. That was for two years. I deleted my post, but you copied it before I could delete it. So, if you could please delete your quote I'd appreciate it.

Post deleted. But even 1/2 those numbers are way more than we pay

 

[W2R]

Thank you, Cards Fan. You are such a nice person to do that for me. And thank you, REWahoo, for deleting your post too.

I'll try again below.

 

[W2R]

OK, here are my numbers (hopefully correct this time) for my 2009 Venza which I drive 3,000 miles/year. I hope they are correct this time and if not I'll give up, stop posting, and instead sleep off this cold/sinus thing that is kicking my b*tt. I don't drink but if I did, I'd proceed to drink myself into a stupor at this point.

Category|Annual|monthly
Gasoline|$397.83|$33.15|
Insurance|$1,612.66|$134.39|
Repairs |$0.00|$0.00|
Registration, safety sticker, oil changes|$126.43|$10.54|
TOTAL | $2,136.91 | $178.07 |

And yes, car insurance is unusually expensive in New Orleans; I am told that is due to a broken regulatory environment plus a very high accident rate, but who knows? One thing's for sure - - I firmly do not want to get into it because it is highly political and not something in question (everyone down here has equal or worse rates).

Also I don't get my oil changed every three months but more like every eight months, so if you do change your oil every three months then adjust for that.

 

[imoldernu]

Thanks for the replies...

A little bit more... I love both of my cars... 98 Lincoln Town Car and a 96 Cadillac SLS... Both look great, inside and outside, and both deluxe with all the bells and whistles (except TV).

So here's the problem... I think the Cadillac has a transmission problem that could cost $5000... while the Lincoln's A/C just failed yesterday, and the recharge I tried, didn't work.

Trouble is, between the two cars, they're 42 years old... and the things I could do to fix them five or six years ago, aren't in my bag of tricks anymore.

The book value on each, is $1,000.

As I mentioned, no UBER in the area, and the taxi's are unreliable and the minimum charge is $20, so a trip to Walmart, 1 1/2 miles away, costs $40.

Don't know when we'll be moving from our Villa to the Apartments, but when that happens, we won't need a car.

We've been lucky so far... just one time when jeanie couldn't get the car started, and our insurance took care of that... Help in less than 5 minutes.

I was originally attracted by the lease ads... $189/mo. but that was with $3,000 down, and based on 3 years.... using the manufacturer's list price, and 1/2 that as the 3 year value... Thus a $25,000 car is valued at $30,000, with a three year lease value of $15,000... less $3,000 down... on a car that will have an actual value of about $12,000. Yuk... figure that one out...

So a low mileage used car? yes... i guess.. but with the same potential costs that I have today.
I'd like to be looking at $3,500 to $4,000/yr, less insurance and normal 'maintenance costs.

I'll keep you informed...

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Personally, I think cars are subjective. Some folk like to drive the cheapest car possible, others (like us) would rather drive a nice car. So if you drive a Bentley or a Beetle the price of the car should not be in the equation. Just the running costs.

We have friends that drive a Bentley, a Tesla, An Audi, a Hyundai, a Toyota and others. We have a new BMW. Honestly all the running costs are somewhat similar, Yes even the Bentley. The insurance is a little higher for some, but the pleasure gained from not driving a crappy car is priceless. Again this is just our opinion, YMMV. With all due respect, We simply cannot comprehend why anyone would want to drive a Sh*t box in their retirement years, simply to save a few bucks, unless they are forced to of course, but that is a different tory.

 

[W2R]

Trouble is, between the two cars, they're 42 years old... and the things I could do to fix them five or six years ago, aren't in my bag of tricks anymore.

The book value on each, is $1,000.

I am "only" 70 years old, but I am already at an age where I don't want a car to be breaking down on me out on the street somewhere. Neither do you, I'm sure. So, I would urge you to consider trading both of these cars in right now, and either leasing or else replacing those cars with the most reliable car you can afford, either new or lightly used. Personally I am a big fan of Toyota since they seldom break down for me. My 2009 Venza is worth 8 or 9 thousand apparently.

When you stop driving, you can sell whatever car you have, and get back some of the purchase price. If you choose leasing you won't have to worry about doing that.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Why not pick up a slightly used Nissan Leaf? Almost no maintenance (electric), suitable range on a charge, great for short hops. Plus, you can find low mileage ones pretty cheap these days.

Wisdom.

 

[aja8888]

Wisdom.

Yes, for an old couple that dives locally for 1,500 miles per year, with no long window of needing a car, a used Leaf can be had for $10K (in very nice shape) and will fit the bill. Al T here bought just this a year or so ago for his short trips.

Even with a new car lease, there will be upfront costs to get the lease and use costs during the leasing period.

If I was 8 - 10 years older, this would be my plan, but I am a tad bit younger than Bob and still drive my truck and BMW convertible.

 

[freedomatlast]

Definitely dump the Seville before you have the common overheating / head gasket issue these cars are known for. Actually the head bolts pull out of the block and the repair will cost much more than that car is worth. Google Northstar head gasket issue or Northstar Timesert Repair. Given that you also suspect transmission problems, definitely time to let it go.

If you are used to, and enjoy, the soft ride of a Town Car and the SLS, I'd stay away from the econo-boxes such as the Leaf.

Test drive a Camry, an Accord and a Sonata and see what you think. Get something you will enjoy and that is comfortable for you, rather than what is the cheapest.

 

[HarveyS]

No idea on leasing/renting. I would suggest all wheel drive.

Make sure you are comfortable getting in and out. My in-laws cannot easily get in my Infinity X60, but the Highlander is no problem. For others, a low-to-the-ground sedan might not work. Get 4 doors.

I would lean toward a used Rav4 with 30-50K. Negotiate new tires on the buy, and you'll be set. Oil change ($30) once per year, probably a new battery ($100) at some point. When you are done with the car you can sell it for about what you paid since your mileage will be so low. Your cost will be the sales tax paid at the buy plus any depreciation (and the cost of capital, of course).

I've had my 2006 Highlander since 2009 and put about 140k miles on it. Cost of ownership (purchase, sales tax and maint.), assuming the Kelly Blue Book value is about $140/mo. over 10 years. That includes 2 sets of tires, 2 batteries, brakes, timing belt/plugs/water pump, wiper blades and all the oil changes. My 2WD Maxima cost about $225/mo (over 8 years) when I sold it 2 yrs ago.