Daily Driver

xjaugie

Adventurer
For over twenty years I have driven a company truck for the daily comute. However that has all changed and now I'm putting 95 miles a day on my 95 Tacoma with 165,000 miles that I purchased this summer as the play truck. I'm thinking of getting another car/truck to run around in but not sold on the idea. This has got me to thinking, how many on here use thier expo vehicle as thier daily driver? and if not what is the daily driver? I'm thinking of maybe purchasing a newer DC tacoma as the daily truck but as a single guy it seems redundant to have two trucks.
 

STREGA

Explorer
My DD is also my offroader/camping rig, but I usually walk to work since its only a mile away. Just can't justify the extra cost of another vehicle.
 

Finlay

Triarius
My rig is also my DD. But I'm building it with an eye towards fuel economy, even as a I add utility. Also, I want the gear to be removable - as much as possible, anyway - partly to prevent theft and wear, but also to reduce weight for my commute.

And finally, this year, I am going to start biking to work again. I'm spending about 50 bucks a week on gas, so if I can reduce that, I'll be ahead of the game.
 

98roamer

Explorer
This topic has been covered with some really good reasoning points. Even though I have a DD other than my 4Runner, most the time it doesn't make business sense. A second set of street friendly tires might by more practical.

My DD is a 93 Corolla that we bought new and has over 275k miles on it and it still gets 30mpg. I only have repair cost (which is amazingly low, tags and insurance cost. For me, it save mileage on the 4Runner and saves on gas, but I only drive 20k a year.

I couldn't do it if I had to purchase a DD with used prices as high as they are right now and make the numbers work.
 
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phsycle

Adventurer
I drive about the same distance daily and when put down on paper, it makes sense to get an econo commuter. Say you drive 30k miles per year. With the gas at $3/gallon, you're spending $4,300 per year on gas. That's IF you get 21 MPG.

Say you get a $5k Corolla, Civic, etc. My econobox Corolla gets 38MPG. 30k/year means $2,400 in gas. Nearly $2k in savings.

The negatives? You have to pay insurance/registration on two cars. There is a multi-car discount with most insurance agencies, so it's not a big deal. Some say that paying for maintenance costs on two cars means double the expenses. Not true. ie., since you're not putting any miles on your truck, that means things will last much longer (tires, brakes, engine, etc.). If anything, it has a net decrease in overall maintenance costs, since replacement items are cheaper for the econo car.

Also, think of all of the pollution you're helping to keep off of our atmosphere. :D
 

xjaugie

Adventurer
I drive about the same distance daily and when put down on paper, it makes sense to get an econo commuter. Say you drive 30k miles per year. With the gas at $3/gallon, you're spending $4,300 per year on gas. That's IF you get 21 MPG.

Say you get a $5k Corolla, Civic, etc. My econobox Corolla gets 38MPG. 30k/year means $2,400 in gas. Nearly $2k in savings.

The negatives? You have to pay insurance/registration on two cars. There is a multi-car discount with most insurance agencies, so it's not a big deal. Some say that paying for maintenance costs on two cars means double the expenses. Not true. ie., since you're not putting any miles on your truck, that means things will last much longer (tires, brakes, engine, etc.). If anything, it has a net decrease in overall maintenance costs, since replacement items are cheaper for the econo car.

Also, think of all of the pollution you're helping to keep off of our atmosphere. :D

I did the math and it would cost me more money to drive a second car to and from work. But I'm liking the idea of not "wearing out" my play truck.
 

zolo

Explorer
If I didn't have an 85lb dog that came to work with me every day Id be commuting on my Motorcycle.
Its cheap to insure, and gets 45mpg if I stay out of the throttle.
Plus its fun and faster.
 

phsycle

Adventurer
I did the math and it would cost me more money to drive a second car to and from work. But I'm liking the idea of not "wearing out" my play truck.

I guess it depends on your commuter. I commute into the city, so no 4WD required. So a $5k Corolla seemed to be the best for me: cheap, reliable and don't care if anything were to happen to it. Here are my costs (given 30k miles per year, $3 gas. 21MPG for Tacoma and 38MPG for Corolla. 80%/20% of the miles between the Corolla and Tacoma). I didn't put in maintenance, because it's pretty much a wash (but if anything, cheaper for the Corolla).

..................... Taco | Taco & Corolla
Gas……………... $4,285.71 $2,751.88
Insurance/Reg $1,000.00 $1,400.00
Total……………. $5,285.71 $4,151.88

Over $1k in savings for me. You do have the $5k (or whatever) to spend for the car, but if you get something with good resale value, you can recoup most of that if you decide to sell. And if the gas prices keep going up (and hit the $4-5/gallon mark like some are saying), you would have no problems selling and even making cash on top.
 

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
I've daily driven the Tundra since it was brand new. Not afraid of "wearing it out", I can replace any component as it ages cheaper than I can buy another car, insure it, maintain it and repair it. I'll keep the truck and it's DD status, I enjoy driving it the 300 miles per week and can't imagine (actually I can, since I was loaned a Yaris while the frame rust recall was being done and it was awful!) driving an econobox everyday. Your a single guy, the truck gets decent mileage, drive it, enjoy it, and camp AMAP!
 

stevek

Observer
I guess it depends on your commuter. I commute into the city, so no 4WD required. So a $5k Corolla seemed to be the best for me: cheap, reliable and don't care if anything were to happen to it. Here are my costs (given 30k miles per year, $3 gas. 21MPG for Tacoma and 38MPG for Corolla. 80%/20% of the miles between the Corolla and Tacoma). I didn't put in maintenance, because it's pretty much a wash (but if anything, cheaper for the Corolla).

..................... Taco | Taco & Corolla
Gas……………... $4,285.71 $2,751.88
Insurance/Reg $1,000.00 $1,400.00
Total……………. $5,285.71 $4,151.88

Over $1k in savings for me. You do have the $5k (or whatever) to spend for the car, but if you get something with good resale value, you can recoup most of that if you decide to sell. And if the gas prices keep going up (and hit the $4-5/gallon mark like some are saying), you would have no problems selling and even making cash on top.

But that doesnt take into account the 5K you spent on the beater does it? So your actual first year costs would be 5285.71 for the taco compared to 9151.88 for the taco and a dd.
 

Caoboy

Adventurer
That pays you back though, as the next year, you've just saved 1k. drive the beater for 5 years, it's paid off, and it saves you more money. You aren't taking in the account of cheaper maintenance costs on your rig, as you'll have less. Less gas/oil/breakage means more savings if you really crunch the numbers. YES there will be those costs with the DD, but it's cheaper usually.

Gas IS going up. I just paid $4.15/gallon...to fill up our DD Honda CRV...$51 on a car that used to take $30 to fill up.

I'm going to put the ScanGauge back in and start watching my throttle again...I noticed about a 30 mile difference per tank when really monitoring and regulating my driving.
 

phsycle

Adventurer
But that doesnt take into account the 5K you spent on the beater does it? So your actual first year costs would be 5285.71 for the taco compared to 9151.88 for the taco and a dd.

Read the last part of the post. :) Yes, these is an expense for the car itself, but it's a cost that you can recoup when you resell. Since it also keeps the miles off of your truck, the resale value of the truck would stay higher. This would basically negate the depreciation on the commuter. And as I said before, with the gas prices on the rise, you should be able to get top dollar for the commuter car, if you choose to sell.

One other thing: it's a pretty good feeling getting into the truck after a week in the commuter. It makes me appreciate the truck more. Just my opinion.

Edit: Looks like Caoboy already answered. I'll add; if the gas were calculated at $4/gal, it would be about $1,500/year savings. With the decrease in maintenance costs, it would be about 3 years before you "break even".
 
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Stick Figure

Observer
The other thing to take into consideration in this is the insurance savings. If you are single, then adding a second vehicle will net you a multi-vehicle discount, and if you already have a couple of cars that you insure dropping your toy back to limited use can really lower your costs.

I've always had multiple cars just for the fact that I know they will never all run at the same time. I do enjoy having my little Scion tC to drive daily for the fact that I can get up to 33mpg on the freeway, and it does far better than the 15mpg that the 4Runner gets in town. Even better though is the fact that the truck can under go a big project pretty much whenever I want with out effect my daily life much at all.
 

City_Rider

Adventurer
The other thing to take into consideration in this is the insurance savings. If you are single, then adding a second vehicle will net you a multi-vehicle discount, and if you already have a couple of cars that you insure dropping your toy back to limited use can really lower your costs.

I've always had multiple cars just for the fact that I know they will never all run at the same time. I do enjoy having my little Scion tC to drive daily for the fact that I can get up to 33mpg on the freeway, and it does far better than the 15mpg that the 4Runner gets in town. Even better though is the fact that the truck can under go a big project pretty much whenever I want with out effect my daily life much at all.

Agreed - I have 3 rides (2001 4Runner, 2010 Tundra, 1999 Civic) and receive the multi-vehicle discount with my insurance company. The biggest advantage for me is that, because all of my vehicles have been modified, I don't have to worry about not having a vehicle. Currently my Civic sits on all 4 jack stands in my garage waiting for its new suspension and my 4Runner sits on front jack stands waiting for the longer reservoir lines in the front coil overs.

I would stress out too much trying to get projects done all in one shot - much nicer to take my time, do it right and have the ability to run to the store if I need a part.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I've been doing the DD thing ever since my employer moved me from downtown (where I could ride the light rail) out to the 'burbs last year.

My DD is a 97 Mazda Protege 4 door that I bought for $900. The car had about 207k on it when I purchased it and the engine smoked badly. Since then I've had to put a replacement (used) engine into it, for about $2400, but the thing is, except for the engine, everything about the car was in perfect shape. I've also put a CV joint and front brakes on it. The clutch was done by the seller and the tires were new when I got it. I would guess that my total investment in the car right now is somewhere around $3500 which is pretty good.

It gets 33 - 36 MPG in daily driving, which is about double what my 4runner gets in the same kind of city driving (on the highway I can often get close to 20 in the 4runner.)

When you consider costs, you have to take into account some things other than fuel cost: For example, a complete set of tires with a 60k warranty for the the little Mazda would be ~$300 at a discount store. OTOH, tires for my 4runner ran me nearly $800 last August and that was after I shopped around a bit.

Not putting miles and wear-and-tear on the 4runner also saves me money.

Finally, there are non-financial reasons to have a DD. It lets you take time making modifications to your expo rig or working on it without having to button up all your work by Sunday evening so you can get to your job. It's also often convenient (for a number of reasons) to have a second vehicle available to you.
 

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