I get a little less than 30 mpg hwy on my '84 911 with the ac running. This is after adjusting valves, changing oil, filters, eliminating the vacuum leaks, and running BG 44K through the fuel.

Whatever gas costs, all cars burn gas. The Porsche burns less gas than anything I would WANT to drive. My body immune system would reject a Geo or Mazda like a donor organ. And I figure driving my 911 is cheaper than therapy.

I can't imagine trading a 911 for a 328 for better gas mileage - especially since the savings is only $600 or so. This could get eaten up with some minor bad luck in the 328. If you were considering a hybrid or something that get's high 30's to 40's, I could see it - a much bigger spread and some clear cost savings.

You could also have some fun trying to maximize the mileage in your 911 by becoming a hypermiler.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91259501

My brother used to drive to work every day at different speeds to see what maximized his mileage...

In the 911, when you want to splurge, floor it and have some fun.

Lastly - I think that to get the sensory experience in any car but a 911, you are going to have to drive a lot more aggressively and so out the windows goes the savings...

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do...

Why? Are you concerned about your masculinity? I saw a whole lot of guys racing Miatas last weekend. Sure wish I had one....small, zippy, open the roof on a nice day without finding a place to stick the targa roof? Methinks those that worry about such things are closet cases themselves.

Interesting points all around. A couple of thoughts I have: I wouldn't be in the market to sell ANYTHING right now that isn't a inexpensive, fuel efficient, car. You will get very little for your used car because buyers right now are in a severe case of concerns over fuel prices. It is hard to say what kind of gas mileage my 911 gets. I have never drove it in a fuel efficient manor. It seems to go against the entire nature of the car. Like I have been told at many DE's, your foot should be either full on the gas or the brake. Anything in between isn't driving;) The gas prices have really effected my joy in driving as of late. I kind or feel like I'm driving cars that aren't going to be made anymore and may soon disappear (I have a 2002 Toyota Sequoia, and a 2003 BMW 540i, both with large thirst V8's). I still wouldn't trade either in just yet. The thought or me driving a Prius to work makes me think I need to find another interest.:(

Get a 2002 BMW, not a 330i, a tii;)

I have a 1983 320i and it gets about 25 but I am a lead foot and go up a really big grade on the freeway every day.

The 2002 is about 250 pounds less than my 2500ish E21 and has the same motor but sportier with the MFI.

Here's my take...

I know you have two 911's, but so what (check my sig...;) ), keep them both and pick yourself up a little econobox; something that was made for one thing - commuting to and fro while sipping gas. A car that comes to mind is the Geo Metro, or something along those lines. Those cars get about 35 to 40 mpg (maybe more if you drive 55 to 60 max).

Flieger I know just what you mean, when I was little I had to walk to school up hill ..BOTH WAYS, in the SNOW.. wait wrong rant.

I recently sold my 1972 "RS" -sniff- that got 17 mpg on the highway and ~14 mpg around town. I replaced it with a 2003 (yes it is a water buffalo) 911 (996 3.8) that has been getting 20mpg around town and 30 + on the highway it is an economy car. Also as an air cooled guy for the last three P cars I was absolutly amazed to find that if I set the climate control a certain way, COLD AIR comes out of the heat vents!!

I do... I have a 23 mile drive to work. It's fwy, but CA fwy, which means on the drive home, it's not unheard of to do 15 of that 23 in 1st gear. It's been regularly returning 20\21 on premium, which is costing near $5\gal around here.

My old 80SC got a straight 15, and nothing I could do would change that. Kinda glad I sold it a few years ago now...

ianc

before going to a 3.4 my 3.2 would consistently get into the mid 20's high 20's on the highway. These days I get upper teens 20 Highyway.

I guess that will be the next mod - not hp but mpg....

there are plenty of fun to drive cars that could be your commuter car. The 2002 tii BMW is a brilliant suggestion. Even a well maintained older 320i for cheap would be a fun car with good mileage. If you live in snow country, a well maintained 4000 csq Audi would be cheap to buy (and easy to repair), fun to drive and get 30+ mpg with quattro all wheel drive.

None of these cars would be a Porsche, but an older sporty 4 door sedan might be the ticket. Key here is find a well maintained example of German engineering that compliments the P car, but works as a daily driver and has decent gas mileage. There are plenty of choices.

As an example, my '95 S6 avant (audi wagon) gets about 30 mpg (highway) if I'm not heavy on the gas and this is a car with an MTM chip + RS2 goodies. It's a blast to drive, and has gear hauling capabilities, thus perfectly complimenting my '75 Targa, which hauls my ass only, is less efficient on the gas and is, yes, a BLAST to drive.

BTW, I don't think the savings you cite are worth worrying about. Like you'll care about that on your death bed???

Good luck!
---

Tom

That is almost $100 a tank, just refilled last week.

I'm sure they are great cars. They just aren't for me, and I'm sure lots of other guys feel the same here. There was no offence intended. I was just lightly pointing out their 'unpopular image'.

Drive what you like factoring ALL costs.

The gas is just a fact of life. You gotta' pay it just like your electric bill or your rent. It's just what stuff costs. We just have to learn to deal with that.

I agree 100% with what's been said above - if you factor in ALL costs in vehicle ownership, the biggest one (the one that most people never talk about) is how much $$$ you lose in owning a "newer" vehicle due to depreciation. Banks, dealers, manufacturers, insurers, government, etc. all LOVE depreciation. They LOVE seeing people "upside-down" on cars (or close to it). It keeps 'em buying new cars and pumping money in perpetuity. The only way to break the cycle is to buy older and keep it up. Lose the loans/financing and DEFINITELY lose the depreciation hits.

It's far more cost-effective to own an older car that's depreciated out and for which you can carry "liability only" insurance on. The $$$ savings of those factors alone (no depreciation, no financing and minimal insurance) cut a TON out of the carrying costs of a vehicle. They're more-or-less "break even" at that point and you really don't lose anything unless you plow into someone (you might take a VERY small loss due to inflation over time, but I'm considering that negligible). This FAR offsets any short-term savings you might think you're getting by saving a few bucks on a fill-up.

Think of it this way:

I paid $2,500 for my first 944. Cash outright ownership. To get it up to snuff cost me about another $4,000 and thereafter maintenance is around $1,000-$1,500 a year if I drive it regularly. Insurance is about $500 a year (liability only). For sake of argument let's say I pay $1,500 a year in fuel. You go out and get a new econobox (that gets better mileage, let's say 50% better so $1,000 a year) like a Honda Civic. You put down the same down payment ($2,500) and get maybe $250-a-month payments. Insurance requires you to carry full coverage, I'll guess and say it's about $1,000 a year (and that's almost certainly being generous). I'm also guessing you lose $5,000 a year depreciation in the first three years (and that's probably being REALLY generous):

First year:

old 944..........new econobox

$2,500...........$2,500.....................Initia l acquisition
$4,000...........$0............................"Fi x up" costs
$0..................$0............................ Maintenance
$1,500...........$1,000.....................Fuel
$500..............$1,000.....................Insur ance

$8,000...........$4,500.....................Total (Year's Carrying Costs)

$0..................$0............................ Depreciation loss

$8,000...........$4,500.....................Adjust ed Total

- - - - -

Second year:

old 944..........new econobox

$0..................$3,000.......................P ayments
$1,500...........$0..............................M aintenance
$1,500...........$1,000.......................Fuel
$500..............$1,000.......................Ins urance

$3,500...........$5,000.......................Tota l (Year's Carrying Costs)

$0..................$5,000.......................D epreciation loss

$3,500...........$10,000.....................Adjus ted Total

$11,500.........$14,500.....................Runnin g Total

- - - - -

Third year:

old 944...........new econobox

$0..................$3,000.......................P ayments
$1,500...........$0..............................M aintenance
$1,500...........$1,000.......................Fuel
$500..............$1,000.......................Ins urance

$3,500...........$5,000.......................Tota l (Year's Carrying Costs)

$0..................$5,000.......................D epreciation loss

$3,500...........$10,000.....................Adjus ted Total

$15,000.........$24,500.....................Runnin g Total


In three years, I'm already $10,000 ahead on you. And after ONE year I'm ahead of you on day-to-day carrying costs not even considering depreciation.

It simply doesn't make sense to buy new. Almost ever. Unless you can get a tax write-off for it somehow, I'd never even consider it. It makes no financial sense at all. Buying a new car is an emotional decision, never a rational one.

EVERYONE I've ever asked who bought a new car ended up regretting the decision a year or two down the line. They might not complain about it openly, but they've always said things like "geez, I kinda' wish I hadn't done that - I hate having these payments" or whatever.

Yah be careful or everyone is going to want a ride !

Fun cars.

Get the Bimmer because you want working AC, not to save fifty bucks a month.

Trying to be polite here. And yes, many of us who sold our 911s are sorry, even if we have fast cars and fun toys. But find out for yourself.

If you really wanted to do it, you would have posted on a BMW forum BTW.

[QUOTE=FinallyGotOne;4014336] " I'd rather quit drinking starbucks"

Starbucks?

Yep, last fill was $91.

On the bright side, SUV sales are finally tanking, thank God. It's worth it to get those behemoths off the road.

ianc

yep, figure all costs - depreciation, sales tax, licence fees, smog fees, loss of face on this forum/etc. get out your spread sheet and calculate net present value of expenses/etc. put in a % fuel cost rise as a variable... just because you save $5 per year doesn't mean you should change cars... whenever you get a new or different car there is risk because you don't know the history. A couple of unexpected repairs wipes out saved gas cost very easily. Gas is not that expensive right now... if $8 to $10/gallon the story could be a bit different but still do the math. I figure get a big car and drive like crazy as the fuel runs out.. at least you had some fun...

We leased a new BMW for my wife and have had it for 27 months. The lease is up in two months. Although it has been solid, safe, fun, and has fit our needs perfectly, we will definietly be turning it back in at lease end in two months and not replacing it with anything.

My wife will drive our 2008 GTi (I traded in my 2006 Ford F150 for the Gti 6 months ago-PHEW just in time!)and I will put my 87 Carrera back into service as my daily driver!

My reasoning is that the cars we buy (even in SoCal) SHOULD be changing radically in the next 3-5 years. We SHOULD see some new, relatively fuel efficient models that put today's Hybrid's (yuk) and other ugly little clown cars (Yaris, please...) to shame.

I personally do not fancy the idea of buying or leasing a new, expensive 20-25 mpg gasoline powered car today when there should be clean diesels for sale in the next couple years that get 70mpg!

Finally, when gas prices do get crazy, your Porsche will be one of the few gas powered vehicles that are actually worth spending the money on to drive. There are only a hand full of cars on the road you can say that about!

Mike

P.S. Has anyone thought seriously about buying a Honda Ruckus? They get 100 mpg...

I agree.

I have to admit I chuckle a little every day when I ride (either on my bicycle or motorcycle) by my neighbor's H2 with the "bling bling" 22" du(m)b rims on it on my way to work every morning. Makes me feel good in a sadistic kind of way. Heh heh heh.

okay so My other car is a 98 Land CRuiser that gets maybe 13 MPG. So comparitively, my 911sc is amazingly fuel efficient! I wonder how the gas milegae improves by lightening tha car? that has GOT to be helpful. So I have replaced the front and back bumpers, and bumper shocks, carrera tail, all with fibergals, and the air pumps gone. I have not deleted the AC yet, and the 74 exhaust system should be on in a week or so. I bet I get close to 20MPg? well I should say I maybe could. It seems the right foot prefers to bury the accelerator at most of the non-cop areas in town... But it feels good to know i COULD be getting very good gas mileage ...
Oh yeah, theres just something odd about guys in their miata's- :) My 8 year old son likes them though and always selects the miata on his racing games...