Gas Prices Have Me Thinking - Check my math!

[pryord]

I just spent $69 to fill the tank of my SC this morning. I really, really love driving the SC, but gas prices have me thinking of selling it. I recently acquired a '67 that fulfills my tinkering/fun driving needs, so I wonder about selling the SC and buying something a little more modern and fuel efficient for the daily 33 mile round-trip commute. I consistently only get 17 mpg in my SC for my half town/half freeway commute. I know many of you get better, but no amount of tuning improves my SC. I'm been looking at a 2002 BMW 330i.

So, I did the gas $$ math:
252 work days X 33 mile commute divided by 17 mpg = 489 gallons
489 X $4 = $1956 fuel costs a year

Compared to the possibly 26 mpg I could get with the 330, the same math gives me $1279 fuel costs a year.

So, is it worth $677 to give up my SC? Heck, I'll bet I could blow that easily just maintaining the more complex BMW.

What are your thoughts?

[jtfreels]

Well, I have an 328Is I'm trying to sell and I drive my SC every day. So I would say the difference is worth it.

But then I'm prejudiced

Jay

[Peter Zimmermann]

Well, premium is $4.79 here today, and we recently also did the math - going from a 14 mpg Premium user to a 25 mpg middle-grade user based on 10 - 12K miles/year. Big, big difference, for us it was worth the change... That said, if you've been tracking SC prices over the last year it might benefit you, if you can do it, to reduce your SC to toy status, put a collector policy on it, and add a car to your garage. Also, hopefully you have done your research on the BMW, your numbers sound like they might be for a 325, which I could not achieve with my '02 325...

[javadog]

The BMW will depreciate more than the 911 and you'll end up costing yourself more than you save.

Figure all the costs, not just the gasoline.

JR

[Porsche_monkey]

If owning a Porsche were simply a financial decision we'd all sell. But I also think that your car is not a good daily driver, in the end repairs and maintenance will force the same decision to be made. You need a newer car.

I choose to allocate some of my discretionary money to my P-car. But it's a fair-weather car only.

[gerrygug]

"So, is it worth $677 to give up my SC?"
No!

[pryord]

Peter, what sort of real world mileage do you get with your BMW? Thanks.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by pryord

Peter, what sort of real world mileage do you get with your BMW? Thanks.

I have a 325i, sport package, 5 speed and get 20 mpg around town and 30 mpg on the highway. My Carrera get 21 mpg around town and 28 mpg on the highway.

[bhyde]

Originally Posted by pryord

So, I did the gas $$ math:
252 work days X 33 mile commute divided by 17 mpg = 489 gallons
489 X $4 = $1956 fuel costs a year

You need to change this a little so the SC can stay. Try this version:

165 work days X 33 mile commute divided by 17 mpg = 320 gallons
320 X $4 = $1280 fuel costs a year.

See, you don’t need a BMW, you just need to work less.

[GothingNC]

If I were to sell my SC for a newer BMW the gs savings would be wiped out my the property tax bill.

Right now the county has the book value of an 80's 911 for only $5,000, $80 annual tax

Then again, The porsche is my Tuesday, Friday, Saturday car on nice days and the VW is for the rest.

[equality72521]

You really have to consider all costs of ownership of both cars. Taxes, gas usage, maintenance, insurance, cost of parts,... Also consider that the SC is (presumably) paid off while you would have to finance the BMW at maybe 5%? What would be a good estimate of the value of the BMW in 5 years. What kind of return on investment would you get by sending the equivalent of the BMW monthly payments to say an IRA or some other investment. Use all of these and any others you can think of to figure out your IRR and decide if the investment in the BMW has a higher return than another investment avenue. You may actually be better off paying the higher gas prices if by investing the money you get a better ROI.

[Rich Lambert]

You need to drill down the math a little, to say, weekly.

911SC weekly gas - $37.62
BMW weekly gas - $24.60

Net weekly gas cost of driving a 911 - vs- BMW = $13.02/week.

Yeah, I'd have to think about that one.

[4flyboy]

My brain hurts...............I'm gonna go drive my Carrera that always works.

Priceless.

Scott

[Highfield]

As per the above, you must consider all factors in the cost :-

Depreciation of the BMW being your biggest cost by far. Your SC probably has little or no depreciation. I figure a BMW has 15-20% per year minimum ?

Then there is the insurance, road tax, road test (our MOT in the UK) that are all extra costs in total, as they are only a cost if you have a BMW and the SC.

Try the Maths with $12 / gallon which is the price here in the UK now .........

Ian

[equality72521]

Originally Posted by Highfield

Try the Maths with $12 / gallon which is the price here in the UK now .........

[cgarr]

This is like saying I will have kids as soon as I can afford them. I ask why were you not doing this same calculation when gas was cheaper too??

[pryord]

$12 a gallon? Good heavens!

Yup, all the factors make it complicated. I've done a bunch of work on the SC (rings and valve job, suspension, brakes, etc.), so it's fairly reliable. Plus, I feel more comfortable working on it than I would the BMW, which saves money. That said, it is an older car, so unexpected problems are likely. I wouldn't finance a newer car. I'd simply sell the SC and use savings to buy the best car I could afford. ..and I already insure the SC as a daily driver, so insurance might not go up too much.

What other cars are good blends of fuel economy and sportiness. Japanese cars don't thrill me, but I haven't driven one in a while. I should keep an open mind.

[Chris'85]

This is the easiest decision is the history of the earth. Spend $5-6K buy something to drive to work you don't care about, as much, and have fun with your P-car when it really matters. As far as commutes go, I drive 60 miles round trip every day. Most of the time I drive a 2001 Passat Wagon with the V6. I get around 22-24 mpg in the Passat, depending on traffic versus about 20 mpg in the Porsche on the same drive. Both cars require the use of premium gas so for me there is no real difference. So on sunny Fridays I take the top off and enjoy my drive to work.

[gerrygug]

My daily driver is a 2000 BMW 323i with 127K mi. It runs strong, gets reasonable fuel mileage (18-28) around 20 in combination driving, handles well and has been very reliable.

[kick7ca]

I think high gas prices make a good argument for keeping and driving a 911. As driving becomes more expensive, it's better that you're doing it in something special!