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You are changing the location of the goalposts.

 

And when buying an old car you really does not have a way testing
how good is this particular car on mpg. It might require some
money spent to get to the desired target mpg values - if it costs
couple hundreds to replace sensors or make some tuning up than
it again defeats the purpose of saving these 5-10 bucks a month
which the mileage improvement can save you. Tricky subject...

Also - with an old car, a single expensive unexpected repair can
kill all your pre-calculated "profits" you expect, so choosing
right car is extra tricky and is more in the hands of luck/fate.

 

And when buying an old car you really does not have a way testing
how good is this particular car on mpg. It might require some
money spent to get to the desired target mpg values - if it costs
couple hundreds to replace sensors or make some tuning up than
it again defeats the purpose of saving these 5-10 bucks a month
which the mileage improvement can save you. Tricky subject...

Also - with an old car, a single expensive unexpected repair can
kill all your pre-calculated "profits" you expect, so choosing
right car is extra tricky and is more in the hands of luck/fate.

 

It depends on the car...

That depends on you. I average, over the past 10 years, about 20000
miles per year...

So, let's say 20000/30 = 667 gallons, 20000/35 = 571 Gallons.
Difference is 96 Gallons. 96*5 = $480 per year, or $40/month.

It's not all about money. Some people also feel a responsibility to
conserve resources (clearly I am not one, since my car isn't nearly
that good on fuel)...

Not necessarily. Only if that is your criteria...

Even $40/month is a substancial savings for some folks...

 

It depends on the car...

That depends on you. I average, over the past 10 years, about 20000
miles per year...

So, let's say 20000/30 = 667 gallons, 20000/35 = 571 Gallons.
Difference is 96 Gallons. 96*5 = $480 per year, or $40/month.

It's not all about money. Some people also feel a responsibility to
conserve resources (clearly I am not one, since my car isn't nearly
that good on fuel)...

Not necessarily. Only if that is your criteria...

Even $40/month is a substancial savings for some folks...

 

Am I?

The goal is the same and has never moved: to get the car which
will cost the least amount of money it is ever possible. High
expected mpg is only one of many parts to the main equation.

Some people forget about it and are so hypnotized with mpg
that they are ready to pay more money for a car with not much
higher mpg, so not justify the price increase. At some point
they pay more for the car than they are able to save on gas
money and in the process they sacrifice car performance and
the joy of driving a nice car.

The same goes with improving the gas mileage on the car we own.
If we can bump the mileage +5mpg but have to spend $500 to do it,
is is worth it? I am afraid, not.

There was a guy here or some other newsgroup moding his honda
or nissan to get the extreme gas mileage - he has removed from
his car EVERYTHING beside his driver sit, including spare wheel.
Don't you think this is crazy? One flat tire and towing
would kill all his gas savings...

So it is good to keep in touch with the bigger picture to
not get lost in the blind higher gas mileage chase...

 

Am I?

The goal is the same and has never moved: to get the car which
will cost the least amount of money it is ever possible. High
expected mpg is only one of many parts to the main equation.

Some people forget about it and are so hypnotized with mpg
that they are ready to pay more money for a car with not much
higher mpg, so not justify the price increase. At some point
they pay more for the car than they are able to save on gas
money and in the process they sacrifice car performance and
the joy of driving a nice car.

The same goes with improving the gas mileage on the car we own.
If we can bump the mileage +5mpg but have to spend $500 to do it,
is is worth it? I am afraid, not.

There was a guy here or some other newsgroup moding his honda
or nissan to get the extreme gas mileage - he has removed from
his car EVERYTHING beside his driver sit, including spare wheel.
Don't you think this is crazy? One flat tire and towing
would kill all his gas savings...

So it is good to keep in touch with the bigger picture to
not get lost in the blind higher gas mileage chase...

 

I did not pay a $1000 more.

 

I did not pay a $1000 more.

 

Of course!
You are correct - all depends on your particular car and you kind of
driving - I gave just two simple examples ilustrating how simple the
math really is - it is good to realize how much you are really saving on
a car with higher gas mileage because the math is really simple
and most of folks out there imagine the savings to be enourmous
when switching from a car which makes 35 to a hybrid and drive
only 10-12k miles a year. Just do the math and make an educated
decision without guessing or wrongly assuming huge savings...

Similar math you can do to justify buying a foreign car requiring premium
gas. Premium from regular is usually only 20-30 cents apart per gallon so
it is relativelly easy to calculate how much more or less you will spend on
gas buying this passat GTX, or audi A6 or you rather stay with honda
accord which is perfectly ok consuming regular unleaded.

 

Of course!
You are correct - all depends on your particular car and you kind of
driving - I gave just two simple examples ilustrating how simple the
math really is - it is good to realize how much you are really saving on
a car with higher gas mileage because the math is really simple
and most of folks out there imagine the savings to be enourmous
when switching from a car which makes 35 to a hybrid and drive
only 10-12k miles a year. Just do the math and make an educated
decision without guessing or wrongly assuming huge savings...

Similar math you can do to justify buying a foreign car requiring premium
gas. Premium from regular is usually only 20-30 cents apart per gallon so
it is relativelly easy to calculate how much more or less you will spend on
gas buying this passat GTX, or audi A6 or you rather stay with honda
accord which is perfectly ok consuming regular unleaded.

 

More than what?

I was not talking about you but in general about car choosing process.

You look at the one car (civic 91 with 27 mpg city) and another
(civic 93 with 29 mpg city) and you know that maximum you can save
in IDEAL, LABOLATORY conditions is 2mpg. How much these savings are
worth to you it depends on how much miles you make per year...
That's all.

And this mileage applies to new cars - cars with high mileage will
require a lot of work to reach that original, factory levels.
So for used cars I do not think comparison of factory values makes
any sense at all in terms of comarison. You can probably find out
there 91 civic which burns much less fuel than a random 93 civic.

How much fuel will your burn? You will see, soon...
I wish you good luck!

 

More than what?

I was not talking about you but in general about car choosing process.

You look at the one car (civic 91 with 27 mpg city) and another
(civic 93 with 29 mpg city) and you know that maximum you can save
in IDEAL, LABOLATORY conditions is 2mpg. How much these savings are
worth to you it depends on how much miles you make per year...
That's all.

And this mileage applies to new cars - cars with high mileage will
require a lot of work to reach that original, factory levels.
So for used cars I do not think comparison of factory values makes
any sense at all in terms of comarison. You can probably find out
there 91 civic which burns much less fuel than a random 93 civic.

How much fuel will your burn? You will see, soon...
I wish you good luck!

 

I was talking about a year old car, not a twenty old junker.

 

I was talking about a year old car, not a twenty old junker.

 

I know You were talknig about one year old... ))
But we were talking here in this thread about the sense in
making mpg comparisons when buying almost 20 years old junker
(93 civic).

 

I know You were talknig about one year old... ))
But we were talking here in this thread about the sense in
making mpg comparisons when buying almost 20 years old junker
(93 civic).

 

Use the word "one" in place of "you," then.

Nonsense. My 91 Civic's mileage actually improved with age
and is better than the EPA's stated values. I watch it like
a hawk for the last five years, and it has not changed. You
are not the least bit up to date on what old cars can do
these days.

 

Use the word "one" in place of "you," then.

Nonsense. My 91 Civic's mileage actually improved with age
and is better than the EPA's stated values. I watch it like
a hawk for the last five years, and it has not changed. You
are not the least bit up to date on what old cars can do
these days.

 

How can you explain old car with leaky cylinders and
not perfect compression, dirty/worn out fuel injectors
etc, etc, using up less fuel than when they were new?

How exactly do you measure your gas mileage and what
is the mathematical error/uncertainity of this measurement?