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Automotive News & Views How does gas at $4 and higher impact you?
2183 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 04, 2008 8:53 pm) I got a call from my broker yesterday. He says he can get me 1 1/8% better than I have now and would only be $600 in fees (title Insurance). We are going to do it as if wee keep making the same payments we can pay off the house about 5 years sooner. Can you believe I saw $1.65 at an indy station today. Filled up yesterday for $1.659 outside of Chicago. Just a few short months ago I cringed at $50 fill ups, now I can fill up for a $20 and get change. However $4/gallon gas will always be in my mind and will be a factor in determining a replacement car. |
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 04, 2008 8:38 pm) I'd certainly refi at that rate, although I have a 6.125% right now which is decent. As far as how expensive gas affected my recent vacations: Total gas spent on my Texas trip in December 2007: $229.32 Total gas spent on my Texas trip in June 2008: $273.38 Total gas spent on my Texas trip in November 2008: $134.59
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Replying to: larsb (Dec 05, 2008 6:12 am) It has also put Canada and Mexico into the doldrums as high priced oil was driving both economies. |
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 04, 2008 6:22 pm)
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I calculated a some stats for fuel usage in 2007 compared to 2008. Total gasoline bill for 2007: $2855.73 Total gasoline bill for 2008: $2417.03 (Even though the year's not up, I'm estimating $100 for December) As for miles driven, here's a rough breakdown... Car..............2007 miles........2008 miles (as of today, 12/5/08) Intrepid........11900.................4900 Silverado.......4825.................1915 5th Ave.........1050.................1680 NYer...............440.................1010 LeMans...........450.................1150 Catalina............75...................150 Total............18740...............10805 Total mileage is down considerably, even though this is comparing 12 months versus 11. I doubt if December will add more than 500-600 miles to that total. The biggest factor in that reduction wasn't expensive gas, though. I've been letting my car-less roommate borrow my Intrepid to get to work. Last year, at least up through October, he had been working about 20 miles away, so figure 200 miles weekly just in commuting. Then he got laid off, and was out of work for about a month. Now he only works about 5 miles away, so that's more like 50 miles per week commuting. Oh, let me also add, that he pays me for the gasoline...I might be a nice guy but I'm not THAT nice!  Back over the summer, when the weather was nicer, I tried to start using my old cars more, so they didn't just sit around and rot. And I'd start taking back roads into work, to give them a longer run. I only live about 3.5 miles from work if I take the most direct route, but I started taking a back way in that stretches it to about 5 miles. And sometimes I'd drive around a bit more, pushing that out to 9-10 miles. It looks like that extra driving didn't really rack up the miles like I thought it would, though. Overall, it looks like fuel has been costing an average of 21.2 cents per mile (est $2417 fuel bill and 11,405 miles including a 600 mile estimate for December), compared to around 15.2 cents per mile in ($2855.73 fuel bill divided by 18,740 miles). I guess that's not too bad, considering how much fuel prices shot up over the summer. Plus, most of the reduced miles were made on the most fuel-efficient car. The Intrepid's mileage went down by around 7,000 for the year, much of that highway driving. The older, thirstier vehicles, which are lucky to see 10 mpg sometimes, were only down by around 900-1000 combined. It'll be interesting to see how 2009's fuel bill, miles driven, etc, compares. |
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Replying to: lemko (Dec 05, 2008 7:09 am) Funny you'd mention that, Lemko...I drove the 5th Ave on Monday and again today. Drove the Intrepid on Tuesday, and the truck on Wednesday and Thursday. That blue New Yorker died on me again, so it hasn't been run in awhile. I think it just needs a carb adjustment, but I haven't had time to mess with it. And it's parked in front of the LeMans, blocking it. But the LeMans's battery is in the truck right now, anyway, so it's not going anywhere.  Still, I'm not trying to get overly wasteful with gasoline. I'm driving the old vehicles mainly because they need it. I don't want them sitting around TOO much, and just rotting away from lack of use. Once they start salting the roads though, the older cars are staying put.
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 05, 2008 8:11 am) I'm still thinking of that white 1991 DeVille that got away. I wonder if he'll be back at Spring Carlisle? I wonder if he'd have taken as little as $3K just so he wouldn't have to take it home with him? |
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Replying to: explorerx4 (Dec 04, 2008 6:34 pm) I drove less than 20 miles round trip for Thanksgiving weekend. Larsb probably drove more miles in a week than I drive in 4 months. Who's the pot calling the kettle wasteful?  I remember that kind of "do as I say, not as I do" thinking way back in my youth. It was the first "Earth Day" and I found myself with a bunch of guys drinking beer in the woods. When one guy popped the cap off his beer and let it fall to the ground another guy in the group chastised him for "littering". "We take Earth Day seriously, you know" he said. This guy then proceeded to throw his empty beer bottle into the woods. I asked him how he could justify throwing junk in the woods while ragging on his friend for a bottle cap. He looked at me cluelessly and said "Oh I always get rid of my bottles that way". Do as I say, not as I do. |
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Dec 05, 2008 5:08 pm) Well, keeps 'em out of the landfill, I guess.  I'll confess that I've hauled stuff into the woods behind my house (still on my property, so it's not like I'm dumping in a park or something) that I know will break down pretty quickly. Stuff like an old entertainment center and a dresser made out of that pressed woodchip crap. It's amazing how quickly that stuff falls apart once it gets wet a few times! Back in the late 70's, someone dumped the front-end clip of a '63 Impala back there. Y'know, considering how quickly those old cars were supposed to rust, it's amazing how long that stuff can last when you DON'T want it to!
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Dec 05, 2008 5:08 pm) Oh, C'Mon now. I thought we got over that silliness a few months ago. Every time I post my lifestyle and the things I do to conserve, the hosts delete it and say, "This is not about YOU." So I can't really respond to your comment the way I want to. Let me say this briefly: I drive a PZEV car about 11,800 miles a year. I drive an electric hybrid bike about 800 miles a year. My utility bill is about $83 a month. I've spent $5.18 since July 19th to heat my hot water. I don't drive less than or conserve more than everyone else on the planet. But I spend more time and effort on my personal conservation efforts than about 90% of the planet. So yes, I have earned the right to call out "wasters." If you are not one, then I'm not calling you out.
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