Daily Driving Tow Vehicles

2500HDee wrote:

Tystevens wrote:
Actually, I'd say the OP's example highlights how a 3rd car almost never makes sense from a purely economic standpoint. He is quoting very bad mpg for the TV, very good mpg for the economy car (is the Cruze really averaging 35 mpg overall, or is that the freeway average?), an incredibly low monthly payment ($120/mo, really?), and even there, only saving $125 a year by his calculations. Note -- I'm not calling bs on the OP's numbers, but they are about as good as you're going to find.

If the OP were to average, say 30 mpg overall in the eco car, 15 mpg in the truck, and/or spend $200/mo on the car payment, he'd be losing money on this setup. I suspect a lot of people do this and think they're saving more money than they really are.

Sure, there are advantages of having the 3rd car, but if economics is the primary concern, I doubt most who go this route are saving much, if anything.

For me, I've used a TV as a DD for years. I only drive 3-4k miles doing non-'truck-stuff.' My commute is only 10 miles each way, and I ride my bicycle weather/schedule permitting. So I guess you could say my bike is my 'commuter car.' It is slow, and wasn't very cheap. But that thing gets great mpg!

A little healthy skepticism is always a good thing.

To clarify, yes those really are my lease payments, I am not exaggerating. Is it still exaggeration if you quote a smaller number?

I calculate fuel economy and compare to the computer in the car and I do average 35mpg which is a little lower than I hoped, I was getting 39 mpg in my Saturn with a 5 speed.

The 12 mpg in the truck is also accurate, with a 4L80 and 4.10 rear end you get what you get.

My commute is all two lane country roads with one stop light to cross a highway so there is never any traffic or idling.

You are correct that by those numbers it is only $125 a year savings but I also get to drive a new car that has free scheduled maintenance and a warranty. And there I am hoping it means I can keep my truck much much longer as it is not exposed to road salt everyday in the winter.

Like I said I daily drove trucks for a long time when another car did not make sense and I am not saying it makes sense for every situation, I just was curios if the majority daily drove trucks or just used them for towing and hauling.

Thanks for your response. I see how a couple of the comments in ( ) look a little snarky in retrospect. By "$120, really?" I meant that wow, I didn't know such a lease payment exists; I wasn't questioning whether you 'really' pay $120/mo. It looks like you've run the numbers, and essentially are getting another car for free, and burning less fuel overall, both of which are good things. Plus less wear and tear on the truck, less wear on $200+ tires, all of that.

Again, I wasn't calling BS or anything. My intent was more to highlight the point that your scenario is a pretty good one, but it is basically the borderline for where it starts to make (pure economic) sense to buy a commuter car for daily driving.