I am the first guy to say that buying a new car is a bad idea… used is definitely the way to go. Well, I think the current state of the car market may have changed that a bit. First off, I am planning on trading down to a more economical vehicle and narrowed it down to the Ford Focus or the Honda Fit. Since the Fit is a new model, there are no used ones – heck, there are not even any new ones until the end of the month. The used Focus’ however are just a few hundred dollars less than a brand new one with all the rebates and discounts that Ford is offering right now.
So why am I making the move? Gas prices. The $3.00/gallon mark was enough to make me run the numbers. You want to know the amazing thing? I will save more in gas each month than the payments on the brand new Ford Focus! Let that sink in… read it again if you need to.
Purchasing the Ford Focus will save me money – not in the long term like is often used to justify purchases – in the immediate term. Each month, I will spend less paying for the Focus and gas than I was paying for gas alone before.
Based on the number of miles I drive a year (a lot) and the following prices per gallon… here is the savings if I trade in the Ford F-150 pickup and get the Ford Focus.
$3.00/gal $65/month savings AFTER paying the Focus payment!
$4.00/gal $174/month savings AFTER paying the Focus payment!
It is really a no-brainer… each day I keep the pickup, I am just throwing away money… and that doesn’t even take into account the fact that I am moving out of a vehicle with 80,000 miles and into one with 0 miles.
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