Math on having a second vehicle

tim and amy wrote:

lanerd wrote:
Well, let's see. 250 x 52 = 13,000 miles @ say 15mpg =666 gals of fuel at say $3.75/gal = $3250.

A small car would get about 30mpg so 13000 miles would be =430 gals at $3.75/gal would cost about $1625.

So subtracting the two $3250 - $1625 = $1625 that you would save each year in fuel savings.

At these figures it would take you about 3.7 years to pay for itself in fuel savings.

Plug in your own actual figures for mpg, $/gal to get a better/worse cost savings.

Hope this was what you were looking for.

Ron

This is spot on advice!! I did a spreadsheet as I just moved and now commute 120 miles round trip, granted I work a rotating schedule of 3 and 4 days. But still I average 21,800 miles per year. I never thought about it, but when I punched that in and found out I was spending close to $7,000 in fuel per year just to commute and go no where else, that made up my mind. I'm looking at cars getting 38 mpg or better right now in under 12K price range, That will pay for it self in right at 2 years just in fuel savings.

For me this is where the analysis gets murky. Yes the saved fuel will pay the payment. But what about maintenance and insurance?

But what about that 30-50K truck that is now parked and not being used except a few times a year. Is that money well spent?
In my scenario I try to use my RV as much as possible, it is the only way to get value out of it. Luckily my dually serves as my work truck and daily driver as well. I need to use my truck daily RV or not.
I wish I could use my RV daily to get more value out of it.
For me value equates to use. If I park my truck am I increasing its value or wasting money by letting it sit idle 90% of it life?