New highway car?

[Skippy722]

The Ford Fusion has been discontinued. The last one over built rolled off the assembly line a month ago. Can you even still find one at a Ford Dealer? Driving that kind of mileage on the company's dime, no way am I going to buy a used car of any sort.

How anyone can accept a car that gets 22-25 MPG is hilarious, this is not 1985. It says 'highway car'. It should be 35 MPG minimum. A full time AWD Subaru can get 37 MPG highway. A 4 cyl Camry gets 41 MPG. Driving 12,000 miles a month that is 144,000 a year. Figure gas is $2, which is historically low and probably won't last much longer. At 22 MPG highway you will use 5,760 gallons of gas, which is a cost of $11,520. A 40 MPG car only uses 3,600 gallons of gas with cost of $7,200. That's a savings of $4,320 per year of green cash that is not flying out of your pocket.

Op clearly stated he likes performance vehicles and he’d rather not have an appliance on wheels, which is exactly what a 4 cylinder Camry is. Trading a few mpg for something that isn’t entirely desensitized is a trade off some people are willing to make.

 

[ondarvr]

Op clearly stated he likes performance vehicles and he’d rather not have an appliance on wheels, which is exactly what a 4 cylinder Camry is. Trading a few mpg for something that isn’t entirely desensitized is a trade off some people are willing to make.

He said he liked performance, but that this was for a different purpose.

 

[JimPghPA]

OP, with that much highway driving if it were me, I would be looking for what has the best auto-pilot ( lane keeping ) on the highway. Others have posted that next to Tesla, Honda probably has the best auto-pilot. Though it may only be on there top end versions of each model, I have not checked for sure about that. If you travel fast and want the extra HP and do not mind paying extra for the high octane fuel then look at what Acura has to offer.

With that kind of miles I think a Tesla would be out of the picture because it would take too long to do all the recharges on a long trip. So that leaves the second best auto-pilot Honda and there luxury division Acura.

 

[UncleDave]

Putting a ton of miles on the car will accelerate depreciation.
All the expense are on you so something cheap to run, but still fun to drive and comfortable.

Its pretty hard to beat the mazda 3 for this type of duty, but the little hondas and toyotas are also up to it.

 

[wdn]

Op clearly stated he likes performance vehicles and he’d rather not have an appliance on wheels, which is exactly what a 4 cylinder Camry is. Trading a few mpg for something that isn’t entirely desensitized is a trade off some people are willing to make.

OP clearly stated "I hate to spend my hard earned money on a boring travel car, but that might be necessary."
So you are cherry picking what OP said. You can buy a lot of fun outside a car for $4,000 a year in fuel savings.

 

[GMguy84]

Cadillac XTS( Fancy decked out Impala) . I sold them new back in 2015 and it has the 3.6 with 300HP

Best BANG FOR YOUR BUCK IMO

Dave

 

[Skippy722]

OP clearly stated "I hate to spend my hard earned money on a boring travel car, but that might be necessary."
So you are cherry picking what OP said. You can buy a lot of fun outside a car for $4,000 a year in fuel savings.

Contrary to what some people think about vehicles, some of us do find enjoyment in our vehicles and don’t see them as mere appliances, thus the extra $4,000 is worth it to us. If Cujet is willing to trade some fuel efficiency for a more fun vehicle than a 4 cylinder Camry, that is his prerogative. A modern V6 pushing 300HP that returns decent fuel economy is a sweet spot between sheer economy and a bit of fun IMO.

 

[SlavaB]

I’d look into Kia (niro maybe?)
Decent mpg and space, minimal maintenance. 10y/100k warranty that actually works + most Kia dealers will provide their own lifetime Powertrain warranty, which they probably don’t expect someone to put 12k a month, but good to have as an owner

 

[RitcheyRch]

Honda Accord or Toyota Camry

 

[ryster]

The Ford Fusion has been discontinued. The last one over built rolled off the assembly line a month ago. Can you even still find one at a Ford Dealer? Driving that kind of mileage on the company's dime, no way am I going to buy a used car of any sort.

How anyone can accept a car that gets 22-25 MPG is hilarious, this is not 1985. It says 'highway car'. It should be 35 MPG minimum. A full time AWD Subaru can get 37 MPG highway. A 4 cyl Camry gets 41 MPG. Driving 12,000 miles a month that is 144,000 a year. Figure gas is $2, which is historically low and probably won't last much longer. At 22 MPG highway you will use 5,760 gallons of gas, which is a cost of $11,520. A 40 MPG car only uses 3,600 gallons of gas with cost of $7,200. That's a savings of $4,320 per year of green cash that is not flying out of your pocket.

New 2020 Fusions are still readily available at Ford dealers. It will take a while for the dealers to clear out the Fusions. There are some great deals on them right now for sure.

 

[CKN]

Contrary to what some people think about vehicles, some of us do find enjoyment in our vehicles and don’t see them as mere appliances, thus the extra $4,000 is worth it to us. If Cujet is willing to trade some fuel efficiency for a more fun vehicle than a 4 cylinder Camry, that is his prerogative. A modern V6 pushing 300HP that returns decent fuel economy is a sweet spot between sheer economy and a bit of fun IMO.

This is true. But on BITOG buying a beater for $1,500.00 and driving it to 300,000 miles is the pinnacle of automotive excellence according to MOST who frequent this forum.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Based on Cujet's original post, I would look at a 2013 to 2017 Accord Sport or a 2013 up Lexus GS350.
The Accord is a great driver, a great highway car. The '17 Sport Special Edition had leather. $13K to $17K gets a nice one. You could buy a new one for about $22K plus tax and license.
The Lexus GS gets poorer mileage (freeway ain't that bad), but is a great car period. This car will spoil you. A decent one starts at $20K.
Both are reliable, the GS is exceptional.

Good luck.

 

[wdn]

I said he should buy a new car, not a $1,500 beater. A new car. New. The guy drives what will rack up to be 144,000 miles a year. There is no advantage to buying used since resale value is out the window. Criteria listed was “something reasonably inexpensive, comfortable, quiet and reasonably efficient”. Not a sports car, not a performance car for fun, a car that is for work related travel. The company should be supplying the car on their dime but if not, they should be reimbursing travel mileage at least equal to the 57.5 cents per mile IRS guideline for cars driven for business use. That is $8,280 a year for that amount of driving. Spend $11,000 a ear on gas alone, get reimbursed $8,000 not smart.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I said he should buy a new car, not a $1,500 beater. A new car. New. The guy drives what will rack up to be 144,000 miles a year. There is no advantage to buying used since resale value is out the window. Criteria listed was “something reasonably inexpensive, comfortable, quiet and reasonably efficient”. Not a sports car, not a performance car for fun, a car that is for work related travel. The company should be supplying the car on their dime but if not, they should be reimbursing travel mileage at least equal to the 57.5 cents per mile IRS guideline for cars driven for business use. That is $8,280 a year for that amount of driving. Spend $11,000 a ear on gas alone, get reimbursed $8,000 not smart.

You were off by a factor of 10. That’s $82,800 in mileage reimbursement/deductions!

 

[UncleDave]

I said he should buy a new car, not a $1,500 beater. A new car. New. The guy drives what will rack up to be 144,000 miles a year. There is no advantage to buying used since resale value is out the window. Criteria listed was “something reasonably inexpensive, comfortable, quiet and reasonably efficient”. Not a sports car, not a performance car for fun, a car that is for work related travel. The company should be supplying the car on their dime but if not, they should be reimbursing travel mileage at least equal to the 57.5 cents per mile IRS guideline for cars driven for business use. That is $8,280 a year for that amount of driving. Spend $11,000 a ear on gas alone, get reimbursed $8,000 not smart.

There is an advantage buying used as the OP can let someone else take the first 2-3 depreciation hit and he can pick up a very late model low mile car under warranty thats either -

Higher end than his 30K budget allows to begin with so he has a nicer on road experience.

- or he gets the 30K car well under the 30K - letting him keep more money in his pocket.

Hes already going to wipe the value of anything new to dust, so why spend more up front when you are going to annihilate it anyway?

 

[Davejam]

I’d look into Kia (niro maybe?)
Decent mpg and space, minimal maintenance. 10y/100k warranty that actually works + most Kia dealers will provide their own lifetime Powertrain warranty, which they probably don’t expect someone to put 12k a month, but good to have as an owner

Umm, you'd use up that warranty in the first year. And with all highway miles its very unlikely it would need any attention in that time.
Sure, consider Kia, but not for warranty reasons.

The only other comment is that Honda's aren't so little anymore. All vehicles are trending up in size and comfort. So besides from the lowest tier of entry level vehicles a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry are plenty big and comfortable.

 

[SlavaB]

Umm, you'd use up that warranty in the first year. And with all highway miles its very unlikely it would need any attention in that time.
Sure, consider Kia, but not for warranty reasons.

The only other comment is that Honda's aren't so little anymore. All vehicles are trending up in size and comfort. So besides from the lowest tier of entry level vehicles a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry are plenty big and comfortable.

Still, 2x of almost any other manufacturer warranty + you can find a lifetime/unlimited dealer warranty included. Unless you’re super rich and don’t care
Another thing, neither Honda nor Toyota is a match to Kia/Hyundai infotainment technology.

 

[RhondaHonda]

With that amount of mileage you can write off a new or very lightly used car and just get a new one each year if this continues to be a thing. $30k for the car, a set of tires, 10-20 oil changes and an air and cabin filter. Trade in or sell a one year old vehicle with 144k on it and I bet you still get 40-50% of the purchase price back depending on make/model.

 

[Davejam]

Still, 2x of almost any other manufacturer warranty + you can find a lifetime/unlimited dealer warranty included. Unless you’re super rich and don’t care
Another thing, neither Honda nor Toyota is a match to Kia/Hyundai infotainment technology.

Sure that warranty has value, I just question its value in this case to the OP.
Now the lifetime warranties beyond 100k usually require all maintenance to be done at the dealer or some other 'catch'. So that has zero value to me personally.

I would also be interested in a vehicle that recommends Oil drain intervals of at least 7500mi if not higher to cut down on how often you have to do that.

 

[SlavaB]

Sure that warranty has value, I just question its value in this case to the OP.
Now the lifetime warranties beyond 100k usually require all maintenance to be done at the dealer or some other 'catch'. So that has zero value to me personally.

I would also be interested in a vehicle that recommends Oil drain intervals of at least 7500mi if not higher to cut down on how often you have to do that.

$30-40 for an oil change every 7500m is OK to have the Powertrain covered