Should I buy a truck or a Smart Car?

[Ptero]

New Smart Car _________________$16000
5 yr tags ________________________1000
Curtis Mfg receiver hitch ____________185
New Featherlight aluminum trailer____2200
5 yr trailer tags_____________________17
5 yr x 10k mi/yr @ .08/mi __________4000

SMART CAR TOTAL ______________$24002
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Good used truck________________$16000
5 yr tags ________________________2000
5 yr x 10 k mi/yr @ .32/mi ________16000

TRUCK TOTAL___________________$34000

DIFFERENCE = $10000 + 5 YR INTEREST + RESALE VALUE OF TRAILER = ~$12500

[phoebeisis]

Those numbers are why even cheap trucks(almost free)-like my $2900 Suburban-aren't cheap.Even with $3 gas it will be more expensive to own than the 2006 Prius we bought new.They cross in cost at about 100,000 miles or so-and this is averaging 18.5 mpg-maybe 4 mpg better than an average 1/2 ton does.
If I didn't do most of my own repairs/parts replacing it would cross at 50,000 miles.
It will take maybe 10 years to get 50,000 miles-it is a low use vehicle.


No free lunch -big is costly.

[Chuck]

This Smart is for landscaping work?

[worthywads]

Now try my truck.

Current optomistic value $9500
5 year tags $600
5 years X 10K miles @ 0.13/mi = $6500 assumes $4 gas over next 4 years not sure what you based 0.08 on?
Total $16,600

Saving $7400 over Smart and having much more capacity than smart with trailer. Kelly Blue Book specs for max towing say "NOT RECOMMENDED" and a payload of 507. My truck says max 3500 with a payload of 1340 lbs.

Towing with the Smart may be possible but I don't see a towing package, putting on a hitch could be detrimental.

[phoebeisis]

worthywads-most folks don't get 30 mpg with a Tacoma.You do, so it changes the calculation vs a small car with inherently excellent FE.
A Tacoma 4 cyl mt or AT is a pretty good truck.I owned 1976,86,94,98 small Toyota trucks-all were winners with good FE low maintenance cost etc.If you need a pickup, and 6 foot bed Tacoma is hard to beat with that 4 cyl. In 100,000's of miles all I replaced was clutch, clutch MC, clutch slave cyl.Nothing ever broke-maybe an alternator.

Charlie

[beatr911]

I agree with worthywads. Towing with a Smart just isn't. A good used small truck can be had for much less than $16K, can get almost as good real world mileage and is much more capable than a trailer towed by a Smart.

It really depends on how often and what you plan on hauling. Frequently or heavy loads? Get the truck. Very rarely and light loads? Get a large motorcycle with a trailer, or a Smart with a trailer.

[ATaylorRacing]

Buy a Geo 1 ltr and fix any problems on it. You can use reg fuel instead of premium, get better FE, and it will be paid off MUCH sooner.

[JusBringIt]

worthywads:

-A used truck doesn't come with a warranty at that price, which the smart does.

-Using that truck for hauling and you will be a lot higher than 13 cents/mile.

-Not everyone hypermiles, but everyone wants good mileage in whatever they can get away with using.

-when you're not hauling, though you'll be getting better mileage with the taco, you'd do a LOT better with the smart.

- The smart might not have spec'd "towing" capabilities, my car doesn't, but can seat 5 full grown adults with luggage in the back, tell me that's not the equivalent of towing a thousand pounds . My car here is just used as an example to show that having towing not listed doesn't mean squat as long as you know what you're doing.

-Many tons of CO2 saved plus the amount of materials used to make the truck over what is used to make the smart.

-Also, it is much easier to take the smart over the 45mpg mark, your truck would still hold you liable for the purchase of foreign oil.

[MT bucket]

That was the right decision for you, it works!
For me I use a small pickup for hauling, and use my super smart car, the 900 dollar subcompact that gets over 50 mpg for everything else

[npauli]

2 comments:

1) You can make equations tell you whatever you want them to say. (include resale? insurance? consider several different trucks?) Which would you rather have?

2) The two options you proposed are so far removed in strengths and weaknesses that the intended use of the vehicle should make the choice obvious.