Wife's new commute, what would you do?
- Thread starter JoelB
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Install a solar charger on the dash to keep the battery charged.
I would buy her a little Nissan Leaf and call it a day...
I had a similarly short commute (2.5 miles / 7 minutes) for 3 years. The short drive IS really rough on cars, but I was not about to bike to work (not the best neighborhood in between the old house and the office).
In my old Silverado I would notice moisture accumulating on the underside of the oil cap after several days of short trips, but normally only in the winter. After a longer trip (30-40 minutes of drive time), the moisture would disappear. I also had problems with the battery not fully charging, especially in the winter. On those -10°F days, starting the truck wasn't always a guarantee! (I bought a good battery maintainer to solve that issue)
In the Mazda, I suspected some fuel dilution was happening, because the oil would start to smell a little like gasoline if I short-tripped it constantly.
For me, I found the best thing to do was just to take the vehicles out for a longer drive once or twice a week. 15-20 miles round-trip was usually enough, but 30+ miles was even better. Pretty easy to manage this by just being selective over which vehicle to take on errands on the weekend or out to dinner on Friday night.
One last thing to consider: in theory, if it takes you too long to burn through a tank of fuel, you could experience problems with moisture or fuel going stale. Personally, if I was doing less than 250 miles per month I'd use a fuel stabilizer (better to just drive the car!)
In my old Silverado I would notice moisture accumulating on the underside of the oil cap after several days of short trips, but normally only in the winter. After a longer trip (30-40 minutes of drive time), the moisture would disappear. I also had problems with the battery not fully charging, especially in the winter. On those -10°F days, starting the truck wasn't always a guarantee! (I bought a good battery maintainer to solve that issue)
In the Mazda, I suspected some fuel dilution was happening, because the oil would start to smell a little like gasoline if I short-tripped it constantly.
For me, I found the best thing to do was just to take the vehicles out for a longer drive once or twice a week. 15-20 miles round-trip was usually enough, but 30+ miles was even better. Pretty easy to manage this by just being selective over which vehicle to take on errands on the weekend or out to dinner on Friday night.
One last thing to consider: in theory, if it takes you too long to burn through a tank of fuel, you could experience problems with moisture or fuel going stale. Personally, if I was doing less than 250 miles per month I'd use a fuel stabilizer (better to just drive the car!)
Originally Posted by JoelB
My wife just accepted a new job that is 0.7 miles up the road from us. Clearly this is going to be tough on the car especially in winter. I suggested she bike to work as much as possible, but in the end it's her car and she can do what she wants with it. But all winter it will get driven as i don't expect her to bike.
My current oci's for her car are 5k on mobil 1 afe. I don't really plan on altering this yet, but i have pondered going to a shorter OCI (3500mi?). I will need to do a UOA. I also plan on getting it out on the highway a couple times a month if she doesn't naturally.
What would you do in this situation? The car is the 2018 spark in my sig. Port injected, non turbo. Makes 98hp. So it's no technical marvel.
It depends what other driving she does besides to and from work. If she's running it on the highway once a week and getting everything good and hot, it likely won't be an issue. If she's not driving much other than this ultra-short commute, clearly that is severe service so follow the proper maintenance schedule. Long-term, she might kill the catalytic converter and have other emissions/intake issues related to excessive open-loop operation.
My wife just accepted a new job that is 0.7 miles up the road from us. Clearly this is going to be tough on the car especially in winter. I suggested she bike to work as much as possible, but in the end it's her car and she can do what she wants with it. But all winter it will get driven as i don't expect her to bike.
My current oci's for her car are 5k on mobil 1 afe. I don't really plan on altering this yet, but i have pondered going to a shorter OCI (3500mi?). I will need to do a UOA. I also plan on getting it out on the highway a couple times a month if she doesn't naturally.
What would you do in this situation? The car is the 2018 spark in my sig. Port injected, non turbo. Makes 98hp. So it's no technical marvel.
It depends what other driving she does besides to and from work. If she's running it on the highway once a week and getting everything good and hot, it likely won't be an issue. If she's not driving much other than this ultra-short commute, clearly that is severe service so follow the proper maintenance schedule. Long-term, she might kill the catalytic converter and have other emissions/intake issues related to excessive open-loop operation.
Originally Posted by sasilverbullet
I would buy her a little Nissan Leaf and call it a day...
Yep. Perfect situation for an Electric car.
I would buy her a little Nissan Leaf and call it a day...
Yep. Perfect situation for an Electric car.
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Originally Posted by JamesBond
I have a vehicle that has a similar commute, it also has errands etc, but rarely runs for more than 30 minuets at a time, all in town. No special warm up, just start and go. I change the oil twice a year with cheap synthetic and orange frams @ a cost of $20, I never even look at the odometer.
Presumably the car (engine) is/was just fine too, yeah ? Some here are trying to make it sound like this car will explode from the "abuse" of a 0.7 mile commute.
I have a vehicle that has a similar commute, it also has errands etc, but rarely runs for more than 30 minuets at a time, all in town. No special warm up, just start and go. I change the oil twice a year with cheap synthetic and orange frams @ a cost of $20, I never even look at the odometer.
Presumably the car (engine) is/was just fine too, yeah ? Some here are trying to make it sound like this car will explode from the "abuse" of a 0.7 mile commute.
I live .8 miles from work. I have an old honda spree I use in the summer. I usually take my car for a highway drive on the weekends. Honestly I'd rather have the "problem" of a 5 minute commute than a longer one. I just change fluids twice a year and keep the gas tank full. I've never had an issue, and my batteries have lasted 4+ years.
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Originally Posted by donnyj08
Originally Posted by sasilverbullet
I would buy her a little Nissan Leaf and call it a day...
Yep. Perfect situation for an Electric car.
$$$ spent to solve a very minor concern.
Originally Posted by sasilverbullet
I would buy her a little Nissan Leaf and call it a day...
Yep. Perfect situation for an Electric car.
$$$ spent to solve a very minor concern.
Honestly, who cares!? Walk, run, bike, drive. She'll be putting 7 miles per week on the car or <500 miles per year from driving to work. Hard on the car or not it's not like a short tripped car with 20K is going to explode....and it will only take her 40 years of driving to and from work to drive those 20K miles. You'll bump up against the need to change the oil based on the time interval long before the mileage is an issue.
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Originally Posted by zzyzzx
At .7 miles, I would be walking to work.
I agree, less than a mile is kind of overkill for even a bike.
Walking would also probably be a good option for many winter days, even in Minne. Probably not when it's -20F, though...
I guess I'm assuming there would be sidewalks, maybe that is not the case here.
When my dad went back to work after a long period of unemployment when I was a kid, our family was left with two working adults and one car for quite a while as money was saved up for another vehicle...mom hated used cars and wanted a new one, so she had to wait.
They couldn't share a ride as mom worked 1st shift while dad was on 2nd, plus they didn't really like being around each other, but mom worked about a mile from our house at the time so she just walked. She never rode a bike in her life as far as I know.
Mom used to come home to cook dinner right after work when dad was home and was sick of that routine, so with more money coming in she decided to take us kids out for dinner most nights.
Without a car, the only real option was a chicken place maybe two blocks from where she worked. For whatever reason, mom chose to not pick up food to bring home on her way from work but would walk home, gather us up to walk to the restaurant, and then escort us back home after we ate. I didn't really like chicken but liked going out to eat, so I was OK with this...fried chicken was more essential to my sister than water so she was in hog heaven at this time.
The odd thing was that all three of us seemed to lose a little weight during this time even with eating greasy fast food for dinner most weeknights...the three of us all had a tendency to be a little chubby, but dad never put on weight no matter what his lifestyle was like. I think he had good discipline from being in the Army in WWII and was also used to skipping dinners from his childhood in the Depression when his widowed mother would make oatmeal most nights...he HATED that stuff, I loved it but rarely got to eat it because he couldn't stand to look at it or smell it.
It's actually kind of pleasant to think back to that little routine, it was fun to take a little trek most nights and it gave the three of us a chance to talk. I started to see how being active could make me look and feel better, so I started riding my bike around the neighborhood pretty obsessively before and after dinner. Our house was never really a happy place, so I think all of us enjoyed being away from it to some extent.
Then winter came, and mom had a car before long....a few really cold mornings and she was done with walking!!
At .7 miles, I would be walking to work.
I agree, less than a mile is kind of overkill for even a bike.
Walking would also probably be a good option for many winter days, even in Minne. Probably not when it's -20F, though...
I guess I'm assuming there would be sidewalks, maybe that is not the case here.
When my dad went back to work after a long period of unemployment when I was a kid, our family was left with two working adults and one car for quite a while as money was saved up for another vehicle...mom hated used cars and wanted a new one, so she had to wait.
They couldn't share a ride as mom worked 1st shift while dad was on 2nd, plus they didn't really like being around each other, but mom worked about a mile from our house at the time so she just walked. She never rode a bike in her life as far as I know.
Mom used to come home to cook dinner right after work when dad was home and was sick of that routine, so with more money coming in she decided to take us kids out for dinner most nights.
Without a car, the only real option was a chicken place maybe two blocks from where she worked. For whatever reason, mom chose to not pick up food to bring home on her way from work but would walk home, gather us up to walk to the restaurant, and then escort us back home after we ate. I didn't really like chicken but liked going out to eat, so I was OK with this...fried chicken was more essential to my sister than water so she was in hog heaven at this time.
The odd thing was that all three of us seemed to lose a little weight during this time even with eating greasy fast food for dinner most weeknights...the three of us all had a tendency to be a little chubby, but dad never put on weight no matter what his lifestyle was like. I think he had good discipline from being in the Army in WWII and was also used to skipping dinners from his childhood in the Depression when his widowed mother would make oatmeal most nights...he HATED that stuff, I loved it but rarely got to eat it because he couldn't stand to look at it or smell it.
It's actually kind of pleasant to think back to that little routine, it was fun to take a little trek most nights and it gave the three of us a chance to talk. I started to see how being active could make me look and feel better, so I started riding my bike around the neighborhood pretty obsessively before and after dinner. Our house was never really a happy place, so I think all of us enjoyed being away from it to some extent.
Then winter came, and mom had a car before long....a few really cold mornings and she was done with walking!!
How many years do you plan to keep the car?
The car has 2 years of bumper to bumper warranty and 4 years of drive train warranty remaining. We'll keep it at least 4 more years. I think at that point we'll decide if we want to keep it based on any issues that arise.
I found her car for a ridiculous deal which helps. Sticker was $17k and with discounts and a dealer sale she got it for $9,999.
I found her car for a ridiculous deal which helps. Sticker was $17k and with discounts and a dealer sale she got it for $9,999.
Originally Posted by JoelB
The car has 2 years of bumper to bumper warranty and 4 years of drive train warranty remaining. We'll keep it at least 4 more years. I think at that point we'll decide if we want to keep it based on any issues that arise.
I found her car for a ridiculous deal which helps. Sticker was $17k and with discounts and a dealer sale she got it for $9,999.
Yeah....in 4 years when the car has an additional 4K miles on it and is worth $4K....again I say who cares about the short trips?
The car has 2 years of bumper to bumper warranty and 4 years of drive train warranty remaining. We'll keep it at least 4 more years. I think at that point we'll decide if we want to keep it based on any issues that arise.
I found her car for a ridiculous deal which helps. Sticker was $17k and with discounts and a dealer sale she got it for $9,999.
Yeah....in 4 years when the car has an additional 4K miles on it and is worth $4K....again I say who cares about the short trips?
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I tend to agree with you as long as I don't start seeing extra mechanical bills related to the short trips. She'll be doing less miles on nasty salty roads which is always a good thing for safety and the car body.
I've decided to do bi-annual changes for the start. I'm assuming the oil will have roughly 3500 miles on it at each change. Once the car is broken in a bit more I'll get a uoa after a winter run and see how the oil is doing.
I've decided to do bi-annual changes for the start. I'm assuming the oil will have roughly 3500 miles on it at each change. Once the car is broken in a bit more I'll get a uoa after a winter run and see how the oil is doing.
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