Commute reccomendations? (Car related)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey Dopers! I always come here when I need advice, and I need some now.

I’m starting a new job on Monday that I am really excited about. I’ve driven the same Mitsubishi Lancer for the past 4 years, and it’s okay, but I know it has some issues. For example, the heater control is busted, so you get full heat or max A/C. Not so bad on extreme days, but a warmer fall or spring day sucks. Also, I have no spare tire. I need to buy one. I live just 2 miles from the job I’m leaving, so even coming home for a lunch break equates to about 8 miles a day, plus 2 extra if I need to get to the daycare center to pick up my son. 10 miles total per day isn’t too bad, even with the issues (there are others, but these are examples). I’ve paid it off over a year ago, and it really is cheap to own (I pay less than $100/year to keep full coverage on it since our primary vehicle is full price). Truth is, I think any car that was paid off would be cheap to insure though.

My new job is going to be a longer commute. It is about 32 miles each direction, five days a week. The pay is slightly better though, and it is a government job. Moving from a small non-profit that struggles cash-flow wise to a secure gov. job with benefits and retirement makes sense (plus, it’s in a library and I’m finishing my MLS. There is a ton of room to move up in this library system, so it’s a good place to be). If I were to purchase another car to commute, what should it be? I was pretty excited today because I saw an ad for a Smart Fourtwo that was decently cheap, but then when I looked at it the estimated MPGs were not that great. Truthfully, anything that gets over 30 would be good - but I don’t want to spend a ton of money buying a car. I’ve never paid more than 5k for a car until we bought the Nissan (it was about 16k), and I honestly feel weird driving it. I like having a cheap car to get around. I don’t need a lot of extras. What should I buy to drive back and forth to work? 4 door would probably be helpful, but I could get by with 2. My wife and I take the Altima when we need to go somewhere as a family, but it is big for an every day car for me. It is perfect for her, but something the size of a Lancer or Jetta is about the size I’d like. Just looking for good ideas…

Brendon

2

Honestly, I’d recommend fixing up the Lancer. Let’s say you go beyond just reparing the irritating things, have the interior thoroughly cleaned, do some body work to take out the dings and slap a new paint job on it. You might have to cough up $2K-$3K, but even if you don’t get as good gas mileage as with some other cars, you’ll be way ahead in just a few months.

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I think you’ve got a good point. It is not a bad vehicle at all. I had considered replacing it with a truck or jeep if I wasn’t going to be commuting, but the old job was grant funded and the grant ends pretty soon. The way I was thinking was that I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth out of it at this point, and now would be as good of a time as any…

Brendon