How much do you spend on gas? [Archive]

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kwelz

07-16-14, 22:50

Belmont31R

07-16-14, 23:20

We have a Mazda 3 Skyactiv and I spend around 50-60 per week. That includes 3 days per week delivering pizzas and 2 days per week going to class. We also have weekly OB appointments.

Check out the Mazda Skyactiv models before a hybrid. No long term battery costs and they get 40mpg plus on open hwy.

Don Robison

07-16-14, 23:47

It varies, but usually about $50 a week depending on the weather, if it's not storming I take the bike and my gas costs drop to about $25 for the week. This past week has been rough since we've had to drive to 75 miles Pensacola four out of 6 days so it was $200 this week.

ETA: A buddy in Michigan has a Honda hybrid and it couldn't get out of the way of a kid on a tricycle, but it rides comfortably and he drove down here at Christmas 1100 miles on $45-55 in gas. It's hard to argue with the economics. It did look kind of funny pulling his Harley on a trailer though.

ShortytheFirefighter

07-16-14, 23:50

I am filling up around once a week, so between 60-70 per fillup.

My SHO gets between 18-21 in mixed driving. Not the most fuel efficient, but it's also a really comfortable and quick commuter.

richdkim77

07-16-14, 23:55

My commute is 75 miles round trip, 4 times a week. I'm spending about $50 a week.

When I lived 4 miles away from work, I had a take home car, so the increase was a real eye opener.

BBossman

07-16-14, 23:56

I'm fortunate enough to work from home and live within a five minute walk to most of my shopping. I put less than 5k on my car per year. I filled up about a month ago, so when I went to gun store the other day, I still had 7/8 of a tank.

TriviaMonster

07-17-14, 00:04

Typically $15-25 per month. Its a very efficient small block.

SkiDevil

07-17-14, 03:24

Honda 4 cylinder Civic - Commuter car
33-40 miles per gallon
70 mile round trip average
$175.00 month

I agree with Belmont, there are many fuel efficient cars available. I would stick to an efficient 4 cylinder car. Check out Edmunds.com for reviews and ratings. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Ford all offer some great options. The only problem is if you are a large statured person then choices may be more limited.

There are some great articles out on the net regarding the economics of electric and hybrids and the associated long-term maintenance considerations before buying.

Although, I can see the attraction to the idea of a hybrid or electric, there are too many unknowns regarding battery life, etc . However, I will admit that after seeing the Honda Accord Hybrid rated a 48 mpg it did cross my mind. For now, I am sticking with an efficient gas engine.

Straight Shooter

07-17-14, 05:11

Bro- My 2013 Altima gets CRAZY good mileage. FIVE of us just made a 400+ mile trip, and with all us and luggage I got 33mpg.
GF and me did a trip to FLA earlier in year and got 36 mpg then. the 4cyl model is ALL YOU NEED. PLENTY of power.
Just fyi.

Big A

07-17-14, 06:50

Kewlz,

Give diesel cars like the Volkswagen TDI line a look before you jump on the hybrid bandwagon. Yes diesel is more expensive but you don't have to worry about the battery pack if you are looking for long term ownership or really high mileage.

There are entire forums dedicated to "hyper-miling" these through modifications. I've seen claims of 70+mpg.

SilverBullet432

07-17-14, 06:58

Probably about $450 on diesel per week for work. $700 every two weeks for my semi, and about $65 week for gas for my f150.

Crow Hunter

07-17-14, 07:41

So tonight my open house was dead. So I sat around doing paperwork and planning. I decided to look at how much I spend on gas since it is one of my larger business expenses.

I am currently filling up about 2.5 - 3 times per week. My car takes premium gas so I am spending about $60 per fill-up. In other words I am spending about $600 - $700 per month on gas. Talk about a real kick in the gut. This is just for my average weeks. On bad weeks I am looking at double that amount. Tomorrow I am going to look at hybrids.

How bad are your fuel bills in the current market? Prices are going up. I am curious as to how painful it is for the rest of you.

I spend roughly $35/week (10-11 gal) driving roughly 50 miles/day with a 2010 Toyota Corolla. If we go somewhere on weekends it is more.

I think my wife fills up every 2-3 weeks in our 2011 Silverado. She only drives 16 miles to work round trip. I don't have a clue how much that costs as I only drive the truck when she swipes the car or when we haul something somewhere.

2 things that we do.

1 - My wife shops at Kroger and they have a fuel bonus that gets you a discount on their gas depending on how much you spend in groceries. She usually saves it and fills up the truck and a couple of gas cans (for mowing & ATVs) to maximize the savings.

2 - We have a Chase Freedom credit card that usually does 5% cash back on gas at least once sometimes 2X per year for the whole quarter. It is going on right now (June/July/Sep).

Right now they are running a special that will give you an instant $100 cash back when you sign up and spend so much money. If you keep your eyes open, they will occasionally run a special giving $200 sign on bonus. They did that the month after I got mine.:mad:

There are some other credit cards out there that do even better but some of them have fees but if you use them enough, it might pay for itself.

Hybrids are spectacular for stop and go driving. The regenerative braking, charging batteries to slow you down versus changing kinetic energy into heat like conventional brakes, is extremely efficient. On long highway trips they aren't going to be as efficient because they have to run the gas engine more. If my driving were predominantly stop and go versus my current 90% highway driving I would have already bought a hybrid.

I think, eventually, high efficiency common rail diesels will be the future. But not for several years.

Watrdawg

07-17-14, 09:18

I drive a GMC 2500HD and get pretty good mileage. About 17 city and 23 hwy. Work is only about 3 miles from the house so I don't really do much driving during the week. It's all on the weekends and mostly during hunting seasons and running field trials with my labs. On average i spend about $80 every 10 days or so. If i'm running all over the place hunting or trialing it can be as much as $150 a week.

streck

07-17-14, 09:28

I drive about 40 miles round trip in a 2001 Jeep Cherokee averaging 17-18mpg. I can get about 7 commuting days from a tank. At $3.50 per gallon, I spend About $190/mo....

Eurodriver

07-17-14, 09:45

Too much

a1fabweld

07-17-14, 09:59

I spend about $800 per month on diesel. When fuel prices go up, so do my prices to offset it.

C-grunt

07-17-14, 11:12

I drive 36 miles round trip to work 4 days a week. Average about 22-23 mpg in my G37. It takes premium and I have to fill up about every 6-8 days depending. Full tank costs me about 65 bucks soooo about 260 dollars a month.

kwelz

07-17-14, 11:53

Probably about $450 on diesel per week for work. $700 every two weeks for my semi, and about $65 week for gas for my f150.

OK you win. But I it could be arguing that you are cheating. Haha

Kewlz,

Give diesel cars like the Volkswagen TDI line a look before you jump on the hybrid bandwagon. Yes diesel is more expensive but you don't have to worry about the battery pack if you are looking for long term ownership or really high mileage.

There are entire forums dedicated to "hyper-miling" these through modifications. I've seen claims of 70+mpg.

This was my first thought actually. However the diesel options are limited in the US. They are either too small for my needs. 3 passengers and room in the trunk for my equipment and signs. Or they are too expensive on the maintenance front.

I drive 40 miles round trip to my office. However the bulk of my driving is actually stop and go city and neighborhood driving. This is where a hybrid would shine for me. I spent most of last night doing a lot of research between the various hybrids and diesel options. Battery longevity isn't really an issue anymore and even if problems do come up after a warranty period is up, the cost of batteries has come down to pretty reasonable levels, and should drop even more in the coming years.

My biggest bugbear is that I will be giving up a lot of power. My Acura has 260hp. Hybrids are closer to 190-200... =\

Crow Hunter

07-17-14, 12:21

OK you win. But I it could be arguing that you are cheating. Haha

This was my first thought actually. However the diesel options are limited in the US. They are either too small for my needs. 3 passengers and room in the trunk for my equipment and signs. Or they are too expensive on the maintenance front.

I drive 40 miles round trip to my office. However the bulk of my driving is actually stop and go city and neighborhood driving. This is where a hybrid would shine for me. I spent most of last night doing a lot of research between the various hybrids and diesel options. Battery longevity isn't really an issue anymore and even if problems do come up after a warranty period is up, the cost of batteries has come down to pretty reasonable levels, and should drop even more in the coming years.

My biggest bugbear is that I will be giving up a lot of power. My Acura has 260hp. Hybrids are closer to 190-200... =\

Keep in mind though that the power of an electric motor is practically instant. You won't have the "winding up" that you feel on a conventional IC engine on an electric motor. That is why the Tesla is so quick.

So if you are looking at short run acceleration you may not notice it as much as you are afraid that you will.

If you are doing that much stop and go I think you will be well satisfied with a hybrid.

I am a member of a financial website filled with penny pinchers and the consensus is/was that hybrids are worth the money for anything other than long haul trucking or something. They seem to hold up well and keep their value and do save gas.

C-grunt

07-17-14, 12:35

If you drive a lot of stop and go the hybrid will definitely be beneficial. Plus the Prius is really nice inside.

kwelz

07-17-14, 12:43

If you drive a lot of stop and go the hybrid will definitely be beneficial. Plus the Prius is really nice inside.

Yuck. No way I would drive a Prius.

A lot of my driving is literally door to door in neighborhoods. Passing out literature, talking to people, etc.

My wife's car is dying. So we are trying to figure out what to do. Business has been picking up so she may take the Acura and I am looking at getting a Fusion Hybrid. They get around 45mpg and even upwards of 50 in city driving. Those are real world numbers from reviews I have seen. It still gives me the space I need as well.

One nice benefit we have is that my wife's parents own a small restaurant in their home town. Really just a sandwich shop. But they buy a lot of stuff at Kroger and let us use the points for gas. It does make a huge difference.

kwelz

07-17-14, 12:46

I will be honest. I expected to see a lot of higher numbers in this thread. I figured most of us were rural so drove more. And expected more trucks..

Just goes to show what assumptions will do.

C-grunt

07-17-14, 13:48

I will be honest. I expected to see a lot of higher numbers in this thread. I figured most of us were rural so drove more. And expected more trucks..

Just goes to show what assumptions will do.

I've always been a sports car guy but my next vehicle is going to be a 4x4 of some kind. Much more family oriented and wheeling is a lot of fun.

jmoore

07-17-14, 14:33

Currently about $80/week. (2007 Dodge 4x4, quad cab, Hemi). 8-10 mpg in city driving, which is most of what I do.

And a question regarding diesels....... Do all of the current diesels have to use that "urea injection" system (which would stop me from buying one right there) - or just some?

john

Crow Hunter

07-17-14, 15:36

Don Robison

07-17-14, 15:54

I will be honest. I expected to see a lot of higher numbers in this thread. I figured most of us were rural so drove more. And expected more trucks..

Just goes to show what assumptions will do.

My numbers are low because I'm a mostly retired college student so other than going to class 20 miles away I don't do a lot of driving. We only do groceries twice a month because we both hate shopping so many of those small side trips that a lot of people take to the store for we don't do very often.

Dead Man

07-17-14, 16:02

At my last job, with a take home vehicle - $20 a month, if the wife was doing a lot of shopping.

Now - I've had $960 months

I'm generally around $400-$500, though. Much much too much. But this is the price I pay to live in the middle of no where.

drsal

07-17-14, 16:19

+/- $800/mo for gas is about right....