[waktasz]

How many years of driving that until the gas savings pay for the car?

[Digitalfiend]

Originally Posted by waktasz

How many years of driving that until the gas savings pay for the car?

That's my thinking as well. Let's be really generous and assume that:

20,000 miles / year
Corolla gets 462 miles @ 35mpg w/13.2gal tank
STI gets 338 miles @ 20mpg (assume mix of highway/city) w/16.9gal tank

So that is 59 fill-ups per year for the STI and 43 fill-ups per year for the Corolla. Assuming that 93 octane is around $4.50gal (no idea in the US) and 87 is $3.80gal, then it costs:

$50.16/fill-up for the Corolla
$76.05/fill-up for the STI

That yields a total savings of ($76.05 * 59) - ($50.16 * 43) = $2330.70 / year.

So it would take you two years just to recover the cost of the beater and that doesn't include costs for additional car insurance, maintenance on a beater, new tires, etc. It also assumes you drive your beater 384 miles every week.

Personally, I'd rather drive my STI 52 weeks out of the year for the next 2 years than buy a beater to save on gas money. The only time I considered a beater was for the winter to avoid getting tons of salt and crap on my '05 but that lasted, oh, about a week before I came to my senses and drove it through a blizzard. Another valid reason would be if you save the car for track days or want to keep very low mileage on it.

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with having a beater, but getting one to save on gas just doesn't seem cost effective and really takes away from the daily-enjoyment factor. Maybe that is just me.

[renns]

87 is only like 30 cents cheaper than 93 in most places I've seen.

[Digitalfiend]

Originally Posted by renns

87 is only like 30 cents cheaper than 93 in most places I've seen.

I have no idea what the gas prices are in the US. Up here, I pay $1.45/L for Ultra 94 and my wife pays $1.32 for 87. It's pretty sick that our dollar is almost on par, yet we pay $5.48 CDN/gal for Ultra 94 and almost $5 CDN/gal for 87. Factor in 13% sales tax (PST+GST) for everything else we buy (gas includes tax already) and it's great to be Canadian.

If there is only a 30 cent difference per gallon, then the cost savings will obviously be even less.

[chmura]

Originally Posted by Digitalfiend

That's my thinking as well. Let's be really generous and assume that:

20,000 miles / year
Corolla gets 462 miles @ 35mpg w/13.2gal tank
STI gets 338 miles @ 20mpg (assume mix of highway/city) w/16.9gal tank

So that is 59 fill-ups per year for the STI and 43 fill-ups per year for the Corolla. Assuming that 93 octane is around $4.50gal (no idea in the US) and 87 is $3.80gal, then it costs:

$50.16/fill-up for the Corolla
$76.05/fill-up for the STI

That yields a total savings of ($76.05 * 59) - ($50.16 * 43) = $2330.70 / year.

So it would take you two years just to recover the cost of the beater and that doesn't include costs for additional car insurance, maintenance on a beater, new tires, etc. It also assumes you drive your beater 384 miles every week.

Personally, I'd rather drive my STI 52 weeks out of the year for the next 2 years than buy a beater to save on gas money. The only time I considered a beater was for the winter to avoid getting tons of salt and crap on my '05 but that lasted, oh, about a week before I came to my senses and drove it through a blizzard. Another valid reason would be if you save the car for track days or want to keep very low mileage on it.

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with having a beater, but getting one to save on gas just doesn't seem cost effective and really takes away from the daily-enjoyment factor. Maybe that is just me.

The main reason I got the Corolla was because I got an excellent deal on it. $4700 is nothing for a 2001 Toyota Corolla LE with 45k miles. I can easily sell this car tomorrow on Craigslist for $6500 (kbb is $8400) and I guarantee it will sell in a day or two. Especially how gas is now $4.60 for regular where I live.

Yes it is nice to have a beater car that you can just drive anywhere and not have to worry about it. That was my main reason getting a beater. Especially since the Corolla is a Auto its nice to have in everyday LA traffic. Getting 35mpg is nice too.

So I know that I made a good decision to buying this car. In 3-4 years if I decide to sell it I know I will get my $4700 back.

[Rum]

Originally Posted by Digitalfiend

I have no idea what the gas prices are in the US. Up here, I pay $1.45/L for Ultra 94 and my wife pays $1.32 for 87. It's pretty sick that our dollar is almost on par, yet we pay $5.48 CDN/gal for Ultra 94 and almost $5 CDN/gal for 87. Factor in 13% sales tax (PST+GST) for everything else we buy (gas includes tax already) and it's great to be Canadian.

Well, it's FANTASTIC being American and shelling out hundreds of bones a month for substandard healthcare. Welcome to the happy club!!!

[Rum]

Originally Posted by chmura

The main reason I got the Corolla was because I got an excellent deal on it. $4700 is nothing for a 2001 Toyota Corolla LE with 45k miles. I can easily sell this car tomorrow on Craigslist for $6500 (kbb is $8400) and I guarantee it will sell in a day or two. Especially how gas is now $4.60 for regular where I live.

Yes it is nice to have a beater car that you can just drive anywhere and not have to worry about it. That was my main reason getting a beater. Especially since the Corolla is a Auto its nice to have in everyday LA traffic. Getting 35mpg is nice too.

So I know that I made a good decision to buying this car. In 3-4 years if I decide to sell it I know I will get my $4700 back.

Very good point, must consider residual value of the beater.

[mofoSTI]

Lately I havent been able to get it to move off 21.6 mpg no matter how I drive in what mode.

[madeline20]

i went from a 37mpg honda to a 13mpg sti.. i love turbo

[altaic]

Originally Posted by Arcticsun

Newest high is 35.1 mpg goin 55 on the freeway, it was 90 outside, that helped.

That's nuts. What size tires are you running? The STi has two OE tire sizes, 235/45R17 and 245/40R18. The outer diameter of the 235/45R17 is something like 1/2" smaller than the 245/40R18 I'm running, which would change the speedo reading, odo reading, and consequently the MPG reading. Have you verified/calibrated your speedo/odo?

[Arcticsun]

Originally Posted by altaic

That's nuts. What size tires are you running? The STi has two OE tire sizes, 235/45R17 and 245/40R18. The outer diameter of the 235/45R17 is something like 1/2" smaller than the 245/40R18 I'm running, which would change the speedo reading, odo reading, and consequently the MPG reading. Have you verified/calibrated your speedo/odo?

I have the 245s. And my speedo, like all OEM speedos is +/- 1 at most.

And its not crazy, I just drive slow, and engine brake.

[RallySportDirect]

Well I did some testing to see how economical the car is.
Driving (about 25 miles) with 1/3 of that being street, and the rest being highway. I was able to get 28.5MPG.
This was going 65 on the freeway, with not boosting the car at all. And no sudden acceleration.
This just shows that it all depends on driving habits. So the smarter you drive, the better the economy will be. So far I have 100 miles on this tank, and its at a average of 28.3 MPG sense I filled it up.

On a side note, when at the race track. The car gets about 4-5MPG. LOL

[nytejade]

I've been getting pretty decent mileage since I stopped going 80. Drives can be a bit more boring, but going the speed limit during the week allows me some extra gas on the weekends to tool around with.

[ploney]

Originally Posted by RallySportDirect

Well I did some testing to see how economical the car is.
Driving (about 25 miles) with 1/3 of that being street, and the rest being highway. I was able to get 28.5MPG.
This was going 65 on the freeway, with not boosting the car at all. And no sudden acceleration.
This just shows that it all depends on driving habits. So the smarter you drive, the better the economy will be. So far I have 100 miles on this tank, and its at a average of 28.3 MPG sense I filled it up.

On a side note, when at the race track. The car gets about 4-5MPG. LOL

I can double confirm the 4-5 mpg during auto-x too.

[waktasz]

Originally Posted by RallySportDirect

Well I did some testing to see how economical the car is.
Driving (about 25 miles) with 1/3 of that being street, and the rest being highway. I was able to get 28.5MPG.
This was going 65 on the freeway, with not boosting the car at all. And no sudden acceleration.
This just shows that it all depends on driving habits. So the smarter you drive, the better the economy will be. So far I have 100 miles on this tank, and its at a average of 28.3 MPG sense I filled it up.

On a side note, when at the race track. The car gets about 4-5MPG. LOL

What SI drive mode were you using for your street driving?