Piston Slap: Saving Gas, Money and Porsche 944?

Guilmo writes:

Sajeev, I need your help to resolve my dilemma. Picked up a certified 07 Rabbit less than a year ago and am not satisfied with its fuel economy and frankly just bored with it. I’m averaging about 9L/100Km and I know will only get worse come winter. I use this car solely to commute to work and occasionally put a large hockey bag in the hatch.

Gas prices here in Montreal are averaging around $1.30/ liter and going up, costs me on average about $65 /week. Thinking of getting a new B class car to improve fuel economy by half, say one of the newest Kia or Hyundai cars and still maintain my monthly payments in the $ 275 range.

So keeping the same car payment with better fuel economy= savings. Sounds too good to be true, am I missing something?

Oh and the twister in all of this is…. want to get a Porsche 944 for the summer months. Help!

Sajeev answers:

That’s just dandy, provided there’s no negative equity in your Rabbit. A commute to work in a large metropolitan area is sometimes brutal on fuel economy numbers. Doing the conversion, your Rabbit gives you 26 MPG. That’s what I get in my comparable weight/power Ford Ranger to and from the suburbs of Houston. More to the point, it’s in line with VW’s (USA) economy figures from the EPA.

In Piston Slap terms, the car is totally fine. And you aren’t driving it incorrectly, with jack “rabbit” (sorry) launches and runs to redline a whole lot.

Then again, Piston Slap also understands you might hate that 5 cylinder mill. Most of us would understand. Plus, it’s a base model VW, which defeats the purpose of getting a German engineered machine. Boring!

Here’s my big problem: not only am I concerned that you are upside down on the VW, you also want a Porsche 944 as a summer toy? It may not matter what you buy for a daily driver, so get the one that’s best for your wallet. Because you’re gonna need plenty of extra cash for your summer car, even if it wasn’t a Porsche.

Even if you are only a few hundred (Canadian) bucks upside down, that’s a stiff financial headwind to overcome in any replacement vehicle. Is it worth the time value of money to find a new car?

Do your math, maybe have someone verify your cash outlay, and consider keeping the Rabbit until the CPO warranty runs out. That’s when we should have this discussion.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com . Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.