Edit Overview
In an effort to save money, I bought a 1989 Mazda 323 1.6L four banger for $500, just for my 80 mile round trip commute to work 5 days a week. This car is kind of an experiment for us. Will it actually save money in long run? Will I find it an acceptable mode of commuting 80 miles a day in such a small and rough car? Will it be dependable enough? Etc. The alternatives are to spend more on a used car (in the hopes its more dependable resulting in lower repair costs), getting a used or new car with payments/warranty, etc.
So far I'm expecting to save at least $160 a month just in gas over my 2002 Ford Expedition. Outside of gas, insurance is cheap, parts seem to be cheap, and of course, NO CAR PAYMENTS!
Trying to keep everything on the cheap, after purchasing it, I spent another $150 on two new tires, some minor exhaust fixes, and misc parts from a U-pull it junk yard (two new stop light assembly, a few interior parts, etc). 6 months after that, I bought a couple of new tires for the rear. Other than that, I haven't put another $ into it other than gas. It has been highly dependable, it will need some transmission work as its a bit hard to shift in lower gears at times, but its been like that since I got it. So far so good! |  |
Edit Expense & Work Log
This is a list of all the expenses and work I've had to put into the car. This is mostly for me so I can see over time if this car actually saves me money.
| Date | Amount $ | Description |
| 10/??/2009 | $500.00 | Purchase of car. |
| 10/??/2009 | $100.00 | Two new front tires. |
| 10/??/2009 | $25.00 | Two tail light assemblies, misc interior parts. |
| 12/13/2009 | $3.99 | A few times I had a hard time getting engine to turn over when starting. Ended up that battery cables were corroded, so I took them apart and sanded them and battery posts and all is good now. Took about 15 minutes. While I was doing that, I also installed a battery clamp down kit so the battery can't move around since the stock one was missing. |
| 12/15/2009 | $35.00 | New oil, oil filter, engine oil treatment, new headlight. |
| 3/15/2010 | $77.00 | New rear tires. |
Edit MPG Log
I'm pretty anal about keeping track of fuel mileage. Although, not so anal about updating this page with each tank, but I'll try!
| Date | Amount $ | Miles | Gallons | MPG | Comment |
| 10/30/2009 | $18.02 | 229.7 | 6.068 | 37.9 | First fuel up, from different pumps so not 100% accurate. |
| 11/04/2009 | $25.06 | 271.9 | 8.442 | 32.2 | |
| 11/05/2009 | $7.10 | 79.3 | 2.407 | 32.9 | |
| 11/25/2009 | $24.57 | 318.5 | 9.171 | 34.7 | |
| 12/02/2009 | $24.87 | 275.2 | 8.435 | 32.6 | |
| 12/09/2009 | $26.38 | 299.5 | 8.945 | 33.5 | |
| 12/16/2009 | $27.13 | 309.7 | 9.199 | 33.7 | |
| 12/31/2009 | $28.30 | 298.5 | 9.438 | 31.6 | |
| 1/8/2010 | $27.14 | 332.4 | 9.697 | 34.3 | Just before this tank, I flushed engine oil and added engine restorer. |
| 1/14/2010 | $28.82 | 359.9 | 10.562 | 34.1 | |
| 1/21/2010 | $25.58 | 304.7 | 8.823 | 34.5 | After this tank, future tanks will all be premium grade. |
| 1/28/2010 | $27.34 | 378.6 | 10.766 | 35.2 | |
| 2/8/2010 | $26.73 | 310.3 | 9.221 | 33.7 | |
| 2/11/2010 | $30.38 | 309.9 | 9.803 | 31.6 | |
| 2/22/2010 | $26.62 | 330.5 | 9.248 | 35.7 | |
| 3/1/2010 | $22.00 | 263.7 | 7.748 | 34.0 | |
| 3/5/2010 | $26.07 | 308.2 | 8.780 | 35.1 | |
| 3/10/2010 | $29.46 | 298.6 | 9.360 | 31.9 | Let my fiance drive it once to her work and MPG drops 2-3 MPG! |
| 3/23/2010 | $24.65 | 270.1 | 8.219 | 32.9 | |
| 3/26/2010 | $27.59 | 309.5 | 8.903 | 34.8 | |
| 4/1/2010 | $24.47 | 270.7 | 8.079 | 33.5 | |
| 4/6/2010 | $29.04 | 302.7 | 9.371 | 32.3 | |
| 4/13/2010 | $29.54 | 301.4 | 9.352 | 32.2 | |
| 4/22/2010 | $29.59 | 308.3 | 9.223 | 33.4 | |
| 4/27/2010 | $23.43 | 273.4 | 7.562 | 36.1 | Not sure why the jump in MPG on this tank. |
| 5/3/2010 | $26.76 | 306.4 | 8.834 | 34.7 | |
| 5/9/2010 | $31.74 | 311.8 | 9.861 | 31.6 | |
| 5/19/2010 | $28.48 | 309.0 | 8.930 | 34.6 | |
| 6/3/2010 | $24.35 | 286.2 | 8.014 | 35.7 | |
| 6/12/2010 | $26.31 | 313.2 | 8.602 | 36.4 | |
| 6/17/2010 | $28.42 | 295.1 | 9.326 | 31.6 | |
| 6/30/2010 | $27.40 | 306.0 | 8.987 | 34.0 | |
