Trade in or keep?

[ozvw]

Does it make economical sense to trade in $15,000 vehicle with 20mpg to get $26,000 Passat with 40mpg?

For the price difference of $11,000 I can buy today 3142 gallons of fuel and drive on my current car 63,000 miles which represents 5-6 years.

Any input is welcomed.

[Eprater1]

depending on your diving style and locatoin of travel (hwy vs city) you could have a higher mpg number to use. i do mostly hwy and averaging 46.7 over the first 7k miles. other things to consider though is the higher cost of insurancce, cost of financing, cost of maintaing an older more likely to breakdown vehicle, ect.

[chittychittybangbang]

Originally Posted by ozvw

Does it make economical sense to trade in $15,000 vehicle with 20mpg to get $26,000 Passat with 40mpg?

For the price difference of $11,000 I can buy today 3142 gallons of fuel and drive on my current car 63,000 miles which represents 5-6 years.

Any input is welcomed.

If you LIKE your current car keep it. If you like the Passat more and can afford it, get it Not every purchase decision can come down to savings. Don't forget that the repair cost for an old good car is always less than the depreciation on a new car so if you're just thinking about money, keep your current car.

[monstersinc1]

Originally Posted by chittychittybangbang

If you LIKE your current car keep it. If you like the Passat more and can afford it, get it Not every purchase decision can come down to savings. Don't forget that the repair cost for an old good car is always less than the depreciation on a new car so if you're just thinking about money, keep your current car.

Rather than trade, I kept my truck with 110K that gets 14 MPG city. It still has a use. The TDI is now my everyday vehicle.

[Eprater1]

Originally Posted by monstersinc1

Rather than trade, I kept my truck with 110K that gets 14 MPG city. It still has a use. The TDI is now my everyday vehicle.

also the route i went, everyone needs a truck.

[ozvw]

I like my current car, Subaru Tribeca. It has 80k miles and I do not mind to drive it another 80k. I just wanted to get your feedback as the 20MPG I get with very careful driving is a pretty bad number these days.

[69mach1377]

Originally Posted by chittychittybangbang

If you LIKE your current car keep it. If you like the Passat more and can afford it, get it Not every purchase decision can come down to savings. Don't forget that the repair cost for an old good car is always less than the depreciation on a new car so if you're just thinking about money, keep your current car.

Good answer, but it sounds like the OP is looking for a moral assessment maybe?
New cars are neat if you can afford them, but all have an issue or 2 to work thru.
Good luck.

[ttoplesstts]

Originally Posted by Eprater1

also the route i went, everyone needs a truck.

Or a Passat pulling a trailer.

[Eprater1]

Originally Posted by ttoplesstts

Or a Passat pulling a trailer.

I would love to pull a toy hauler loaded w/2 side by sis or 3 atvs but something tells me the DoT man would just not approve. I can still get about 12-14mpg depending in load and how hard I'm pushing though.
Here's another one for kicks, passat pulling a medium sized skidded and a pallet of sod....I think the Passat could get it going......stopping it maybe not so much.

[MyAvocation]

Yeah, the sod may arrive ahead of the car.