whats the highest MPG / commuter car?

[Ranger4657]

title says it all. im not talking about some hybrid toyota by the way.

ive gota 2000 vw beetle w/~98k on it and it gets like ~25 mpg. i am going to sell it once i replace the trans and clutch this week, should get a few grand outta that sale, i want something that i can drive all over dodge.

my brother had a 1990 toyota corolla or some jazz like that , he said it got above 30mpg.

id like to keep this below $4000. ( i think thatll be about what i can get outta that bug )

other modivations for selling this carr :

i feel like a )#$*#)*%) girl driving around in it. and hate every second of it

[mattadams]

I had a saturn 2-door for a year or so, many years ago. I fit in like a salmon in a tuna can, but it was a zippy little thing to drive and actually got really good mileage.
Problem with looking for a cheap car which is reliable and gets good mileage is that, everyone is looking for the same thing :)

[Warrlord]

i feel like a )#$*#)*%) girl driving around in it. and hate every second of it

At least you're getting rid of it so we won't have to revoke your Man Card now ;)

Too often, the domestic vehicles are over looked for good mpg like my daughter's Grand Am with all the creature comforts that can be had on that car, it gets her around 27 mpg in town with the 2.3L 4 banger & actually has decent enough power. She doesn't drive the highway so I don't personally have a figure for that but I'd guess it's in the mid to upper 30's like other owners claim. Plus it's cheap & easy to work if need be. What's funny is, the V6 3.4L models get almost the same mpg as the 4 cyl version.

If you can 'em in good shape, the ol' Festivas & Geo Metros get great mileage.

[SparkyXplorer]

I had a saturn 2-door for a year or so, many years ago. I fit in like a salmon in a tuna can, but it was a zippy little thing to drive and actually got really good mileage.
Problem with looking for a cheap car which is reliable and gets good mileage is that, everyone is looking for the same thing :)


I could understand why you felt that way Matt, my other half has a Saturn and ya you get like 32-38 mpg depending on how its driven....but me at (like 5'10") feels like I am packed in there, then again that's compared to my truck as well...when ever we go some where, the question is do we take the truck, or as I call it the (go-kart). and btw Matt, I can drive it will my head still inside the sunroof :p

[firerod63]

One of the guys I work with on the dept has one of those VW Jetta with the TDI. He says he consistently gets 50+ mpg on the highway. And hes a pretty big dude too. He's at least 6'2" and, if I had to guess, he's around 225 punds. So, no slouch and he says its a pretty comfy ride.

...crap...I didn't see your price range till after I posted this. My bad...

[Ranger4657]

At least you're getting rid of it so we won't have to revoke your Man Card now


lolol. this car makes me want to jump off a bridge. let me see if i can find some pics of this "sporty car" it has a body kit and a spoiler on it. >.>


yeah everyone wants them MPG's !

saturn is a good idea. any specific types of saturns?

this is what hte body kit looks like on it (mynes redish in color) :

http://www.edozone.com/VW/Vizage%20Ground%20Effects%20Volkswagen%20New%20Bee tle%201998-2003%20e.jpg

this one looks really really close to myne, minus the rims, identical spoiler though bhahahahahhahahahahhahaha

http://image.eurotuner.com/f/jrh1685/29534974+w224+h168+cr0+re1+ar1/2000-volkswagen-beetle-1.jpg

what a joke .

[SparkyXplorer]

The saturn we have is a SC2 little two-door thing....

I would love to have a little TDI for the long drives...some of them can still be pretty roomy, as well at most will get 40+ mpg

[dannan_w]

Tdi for the win! Any tdi will give you great mpg, and for that price range high miles don't matter cause it is a diesel.

[SparkyXplorer]

Tdi for the win! Any tdi will give you great mpg, and for that price range high miles don't matter cause it is a diesel.


Ya, but gunna be hard pressed to find one in the price range, I'd think

[mattadams]

Yeah the saturn was an SC2... and at 6' 8" it was not a good fit. In fact my co-workers used to love it because it was one of the few vehicles that I ever been able to not only put my head out the sunroof, but if I angled it right be able to completely see out of the sunroof... not very safe but at the work parking lot I used to actually drive around with my head out, co-workers got a big laugh out of it :). To drive "regularly" I had ot recline the seat quite a ways and could barely reach the steering wheel even with my long arms, just because of how reclined the seat was... like I said though it was zippy and got good mileage :).

[dannan_w]

I have the very ugly dodge shadow for a DD, with 2.5 turbo it gets up and going. Gets 20 mpg. Wife has Subaru, good in the snow, runs forever and hers (a little to new for that $$ you said) but older ones are great too, I have owned 7 Subaru's and they all get 22-28 mpg.

[ford-runner79]

I had a 1997 Geo Tracker 4 X 4 4 door that I would get 428 miles per tank and the tank was 14 Gal, which is 30.5 MPG that was good for a 4 X 4 but my ex got it in the devorce but I got my truck.

[Ranger4657]

well... maybe i ought to give the bug a sound system, and one of those fancy rice burner exhausts , and some rims. maybe if i felt a little cooler in it i would gladly accept the MPGs it gets . haha

ill get something good one day when i can afford it.

the bug has just been down for a while now and maybe when i get it back up and realize how much better it does then my ranger ill be more inclined to keep it.

i mean it is a zippy, fun little car. the first time i drove it out in eastern colorado i accidentally hit near 100mph x_x ( felt like i was going 65 and didnt bother to look haha )

but now that the bearings are going out in the trans, and one of the shafts has worn down to where theres a huge clunk on acceleration, its not so fun to drive! i think ive only driven it once in the past 8 months.

[dannan_w]

Or see if there is a turbo one and do some swapping. They (the turbo ones) are sleepers.

[RayLCC]

Well, the tall ones have weighed in. I guess I'll toss out an opinion form the "Short-N-Fat" side of the peanut gallery.
I really like the two wheel drive Toyota pickup I bought. It has a four cylinder in it and even though i have never calculated the mileage, the difference between it and the Exploer is night and day. I would imagine one of the small, 4banger 2WD 'Mercan trucks would do about the same. (S-10, Ranger, ect) I like it because it gets decent mileage and still retains some function that having a little commuter car lacks. If you get one with a topper like mine has, you end up with a huge "trunk" to keep things dry and as we found out this summer, if you go alone of with someone REALLY close it makes a good overnight place to sleep on those short fishing trips. The other thing I like is how it "gets lost in the parking lot". Its very stock and very normal looking and i've noticed that it doesn't get a second glance form people like the big-tired, Explorer did. I think thats a good thing for a commuter car to be. One second you see it, and the next its forgotten. That helps to protect it against thives and vandals.

[Ranger4657]

well, spent all day yesterday on the bug, swapped out transmissions , new cv axles, ball joints, all new motormounts, spark plugs, fuel filter . she runs and drives like a champ now.

i think when my brother and his girlfriend were driving it they were stupid hard on it and wore out the pinion differential shaft ( i think thats what its called ) , there was ALOT of play between the input shaft and output shafts. ( it had a major dead spot on acceleration )

also come to find out, the previous owners sheered off a bolt inside the old transmission
that linked the unibody to the trans.

when i lifted the car up off the ground i could swing the engine & trans about 30* back and forth from the centerline with very little force. it looked like the previous owners had pivoted the engine forward and shoved the trans/unibody mount to where the engine didnt swing at all, must have come loose or something when i lifted the car up.
( no idea how we have driven it for 5 years with it like that)

also found out the pvc vacuum line to the booster had broken and wasnt even connected and a few other major vacuum leaks.

quite a can of worms.

all i need to do now is change the oil and trans fluid .

i did drive it down to englewood from golden last night and back, did really well on gas. =]

[Ranger4657]

i also have to add the parts for these cars are &@#5#^6 EXPENSIVE. holy hell. was going to do the clutch on it, the only one i could find in town was ~$400, i decided to wing that. haha

[shawns 64 F100]

My first car was a 72 Pinto and it ran like a top, never left me stranded and was simple to work on. I got 25 MPG in it, 27 on a road trip. That was back when Economy cars really were economical. You could do a complete tune up for less than 30 bucks. (plugs,cap,rotor, points,condenser,and wires) parts for economy cars back then were affordable.

today economy cars cost more to repair than most general line vehicles do.

I priced a set of shocks on one of them Honda fits ( that thing with the rear fender skirts) for a customer, our cost through the shop and dealer only was close to 900 bucks. They arent much bigger than a rear window strut.

[RayLCC]

My first car was a 72 Pinto and it ran like a top, never left me stranded and was simple to work on. I got 25 MPG in it, 27 on a road trip. That was back when Economy cars really were economical. You could do a complete tune up for less than 30 bucks. (plugs,cap,rotor, points,condenser,and wires) parts for economy cars back then were affordable.

today economy cars cost more to repair than most general line vehicles do.

I priced a set of shocks on one of them Honda fits ( that thing with the rear fender skirts) for a customer, our cost through the shop and dealer only was close to 900 bucks. They arent much bigger than a rear window strut.

I honestly think that what car companies are doing is making cars that if something major goes out it is easier to buy a new car rather than fix the one you have. We've all heard horror stories about cars or trucks that have to have the cab taken off or the entire engine and trans removed to replace the clutch. Or about the ones that have to have the engine removed to change a valve cover gasket.
Most people can qualify for a $25,000-$30,000 loan to buy a new car but might strugle to find a $5,000-$10,000 unsecured loan to get they're still nice but older, newer car fixed. So they trade up and end up with a perpetual car payment as the car is designed to start having problems at about the time its paid off.
My Explorer has Non-serviceable, $250+ front wheel bearings/hubs on it. Add in labor at a shop and my $3000 total value Explorer is better as a trade in than to pay to get fixed if both bearings go out. And once they stop making the part? Thats pretty much it for the car. All because of one specialized part that could have been designed using serviceable and readily available bearings to extend the life of both the part and the vehicle.

[Ranger4657]

worked on it a little more today, did the fuel filter, helped even more. the one that was on there was really dirty.

also, over the past two days of driving it, comming to a stop at low speeds the brakes would chatter and lock up, abs light would come on and then go off. scary shit man.

dug into the problem today , here is what i found a really awesome wire splice on both front wheels ( picture of abs sensor wire at the wheel ) . gotta love backyard mechanics in a hurry =[

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l103/lunatik99996666/1123111537a.jpg

[Ranger4657]

well, i guess i should update this with MPG stats ;

got a little more then 100 miles on a quarter tank last night driving around

tank size is 14.5 gal

that comes out to about ~27 mpg ( which was mixed highway and city )

not to bad. =]

[shawns 64 F100]

I honestly think that what car companies are doing is making cars that if something major goes out it is easier to buy a new car rather than fix the one you have. We've all heard horror stories about cars or trucks that have to have the cab taken off or the entire engine and trans removed to replace the clutch. Or about the ones that have to have the engine removed to change a valve cover gasket.
Most people can qualify for a $25,000-$30,000 loan to buy a new car but might strugle to find a $5,000-$10,000 unsecured loan to get they're still nice but older, newer car fixed. So they trade up and end up with a perpetual car payment as the car is designed to start having problems at about the time its paid off.
My Explorer has Non-serviceable, $250+ front wheel bearings/hubs on it. Add in labor at a shop and my $3000 total value Explorer is better as a trade in than to pay to get fixed if both bearings go out. And once they stop making the part? Thats pretty much it for the car. All because of one specialized part that could have been designed using serviceable and readily available bearings to extend the life of both the part and the vehicle.
I couldnt agree with you more. I feel that manufacturers design products to wear out after a specific amount of time. My electronics instructor even knows they do. He is an electrical engineer and worked for a company that manufactured product. They designed them with specifications that make the product work for so long then quit. Although, you may have one of them products last way longer than its expected lifetime, the overall lifetime average may be way lower than the one you own or higher. Crazy corporations!

[Ranger4657]

I couldnt agree with you more. I feel that manufacturers design products to wear out after a specific amount of time. My electronics instructor even knows they do. He is an electrical engineer and worked for a company that manufactured product. They designed them with specifications that make the product work for so long then quit. Although, you may have one of them products last way longer than its expected lifetime, the overall lifetime average may be way lower than the one you own or higher. Crazy corporations!

+1 im going to school for electrical engineering, i hear about these trends every day. our society is so geared towards easy, cheap performance (why optimize your hardware/software when you can "double" the performance every two years ) . due to the high density of transistors on a modern integrated circuits, they are heavily influenced by outside interference and are prone to short life spans, and inaccurate computations ( good thing they utilize redundancy techniques ).

[shawns 64 F100]

Its all about the corporation getting the bid on a job and then completing it before its original ETA because another company is making a bigger promise. So the engineers will eliminate certain segments of the program to make it work as the company hiring them sees fit. Then the corporation hires the other guy because they are mad at your company, then the other corporation does the same...a really viscous cycle of back and forth.

[AccordRanger]

A good cheap car with good mileage is a early to mid 90's Civic or CRX hf some people can get anywhere from 35 to 40 mpg mpg if completely tuned up.

[tony1307]

We have a 2000 FORD zx2. 2.0 it gets easily 30-32. 35-36 if you are gentle.
It is the S/R model, fast and fun to drive!

[Fordboy77']

The bug really doesnt sound to bad. My ranger when running was getting around 19-21 but that was all highway driving. It was a 91 4.0L 5Spd Extra Cab 4x4. I recently picked up a 04 Focus SVT and if i keep my foot out of it, and do all highway driving it gets into the mid 30s. But if i decide to play around it gets closer to 19-21ish. My normal average is 26 mpg with 60%highway 40% city. The bug sounds pretty decent

[Ranger4657]

yeah , i think it really just needed a good tune up and some TLC, its a fun car. not going to lie.

i think im going to fix it up a little bit more, some speakers(stocks are all blown), new cd changer, paint the rims black. and give it one of those little race mufflers, and an extensive cleaning on the inside.

i can drive all over town on 20$ in gas over one week. and i mean ALL over town. 3-4 trips from golden to englewood, and a couple from denver to golden. which is really good. couldn't do that in my truck.


SPEAKING of mufflers,
\

are any of you familiar with good.. yet cheap brands for race mufflers? i have no clue in that market!!! i want something to add a little growl to it. under 100$ preferably ~50$

[dannan_w]

flowmaster is good, as is their "other" comany (or so I am told) thrush. I have the thrush raptor on the jeep (cheapest pile I found) and it dont sound to bad. I am gonna go to a local exh. shop soon for the wife's outback for a nice sound. Let me know what you go with cause I am looking too.

[bronc_17113]

why is it that "economy" cars these days only get between 25 mpg and 30 mpg but yet old 4 cyls could get you into the 40s it does not make a damn bit of sense to me

[mattadams]

emissions... :)

[bronc_17113]

emissions... :)
emissions are a joke my 69 pickup has emitted less in its entire life than the manufacturing process for the battery in one of those "smart" cars

[shawns 64 F100]

SPEAKING of mufflers,
\

are any of you familiar with good.. yet cheap brands for race mufflers? i have no clue in that market!!! i want something to add a little growl to it. under 100$ preferably ~50$
thats going to be cherry bombs for under 50 bucks.

[mattadams]

IMCO are cheap but I loved mine on my old truck. it was the IMCO Extreme, I think it was like $45 or something as I recall, but after going through three or four mufflers, it was the best. In fact when I saw my old truck again a few weeks ago, and fired her up she still had that recognizable rumble...