Buy a new fuel efficient car or keep a paid off van?

Question

I bought a new suv in october (horrible gas milage), I had to finance with 0% interest/5 years I love the car but it is a gas pig. I also own a 2000 venture mini van with 120,000 miles. I am considering selling/trading in the van and leasing a yaris for 129.00 a month w/2000 down. Should i do this or keep the van and drive it with the low gas milage. Selling the suv is out of the question because of what we owe etc. We are a family of 5 and my husband drives a motorcyle to work most days. With the rising cost of gas and the amount of driving i do I feel I should drive a more fuel economy car. I will be driving 50 plus miles a day. So....
Do I lease the yaris for 129.00 a month or drive a paid off van that get 18-20 miles to a gallon.

Answer 1

I wouldn't lease a car...you put too many miles on your car. If you go over the mileage limit on a lease it will cost you a lot of money. I wouldn't bother trying to trade that van in anyway...a dealer wouldn't give you anything for it. They don't want it..they would just send it to auction. If you really want a Yaris, sell the van on your own and use that money as a down payment and buy one. You can get a payment in the $250 range if you finance it for 60 months. You're going to have a hard time selling that van for much though..it's just not worth anything. You may be better off keeping it. Go to edmunds.com and get an appraisal on it...that might give you a better idea of what to do.

Answer 2

Keep the van.



Do the math. A van that is paid off costs you nothing (except for an occasional repair bill) and it gets 18-20 mpg.



Say you drive 10K miles a year

At 18 MPG that's 556 gallons of gas used.

At $3.55 a gallon that's $1974.00 to drive 10K miles.



Instead you go Lease a Yaris that gets 35 MPG. Great news right, WRONG. Do the math.



$2000 cash down

$1548.00 ($129.00 x 12 months)

10,000 miles of driving

At 35 MPG that's 286 gallons of gas

At $3.55 a gallon that's $1015.00

Add the $1015.00 to the $3548 (the cost of the new car)

and it costs you $4563 to drive 10K miles



Even if you took away the $2000 cash you spent for the down payment and assuming that your van would need $2000 worth of repairs every year it would still cost you $2563 a year to drive a fuel efficient car.



Tell me how is that saving you money? If you break it down by the month you're spending $295 a month (car payment + cash down) to drive a fuel efficient car that saves you $80 a month on gas.

Answer 3

At 50 miles plus a day, it won't be long before you use up the mileage in most lease terms. I think it may be better to keep the van when you take into account the insurance, and the fact that you will be paying for gas on the Yaris as well. Gas would have to go up an awful lot for it to pay off on gas prices alone.



This advice is assuming that you have done the required maintenance on the van...and all is well with it. If you are one of those people who are still on the original oil, you may be looking at high repair costs in the future.



There is more to this equation than gas prices...look at everything.

Answer 4

even though it probably hurts filling up the vans tank, its still cheaper than getting a new car. it depends on if the van is still holding up well or is in need of major repairs. at 120,000 its probably a matter of time before its going to need some investment and repairs. i would say hold on to the van until that day comes. by holding onto the van, it gives you a chance to save some more money until you go out and get a new car. then once things start going hay wire, trade it in for a more fuel effiecient car. the ford escape is a nice hybrid suv that gets pretty good mileage for an suv if thats in your range. i say that because it might be better for a family of 5 rather than a smaller yaris.

Answer 5

I had the same problem! my car got 19-20 MPG! I was starving so I checked out the new 2008 Ford Focus! The car cost only $10,000! Now I get 37-40 MPG! that's a big change!!!!. Check the car out and you will be surprised what you get for such a low price! The ride is as good as a mid sized car , has good pick up on the ramps and passing on the freeway is a breeze! My wife liked it so much she wouldnt let me drive it so I got a second one for myself!. The quality of american cars is suprising these days!!.

Answer 6

why not consider selling your car on this site for FREE

http://autoferret.net/selling.php?said=2226



they will also submit your listing to Google cars, and keep it listed till it sells, all for free, plus you can post up to 20 photos, and they will also match your car to a buyer in your area...

All for FREE, cant beat that, Good Luck...