How far is the commute? How much trade in will you get for your current vehicle? The diesel made sense when I was driving 70 mins each way 5 to 6 days a week. Today, when I drive a lot less, diesel doesn't make any sense because of the price of fuel and inconvenience of diesel. What it saves me doesn't offset all the crap I have to put up with.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

x2 that unless the new car gets double your current mileage it's not worth it. Bumming around at 17mpg at $4/gal is.;...
$5,000/$4pergal=1,250 gals of fuel
1,250*17=21,250 miles


A 250cc motorcycle ($2500 will get you one + gear) will return a lovely 50mpg and be cheap to run/insure. Full synthetic oil changes are only $20 on a bike

Edit..I forgot about the Buicks! My old 3.8L v6 got a solid 25mpg with spirited driving. If you drove slower you could tag 30mpg easily, the cars are cheap, and the parts are cheap. Plus the ride is incredible.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

It's 20 miles one way to anywhere. So if we want to go to say Taco Bell it a 40 mile round trip at say 15 mpg at 3.35 a gallon, it costs me $9 in gas to buy a $.99 Taco.

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For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

Move?

Can't do that. We love living out in the middle on nowhere.

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For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

Yeah, yeah, but there are places in "nowhere" which are 5 mi from the nearest village, not 20

Three years ago a dealer tech friend put droves of shortblocks in cars still within the warranty period. Rav4's, Camry's, and Corolla's with I believe, the 2.4L. I do not remember the entire story but I believe Toyota had a contractor build those motors and they were built outside the Toyota factory. This tech started taking the bad shortblocks apart in his own time and found in many cases all of the ring gaps were lined up. There is a TSB out for it somewhere that has some huge oil consumption figure attached to it like 1 quart per 750 miles before they would put a block in it.

Oil consumption on 4 cylinder Toyota's in the recent past is a very real issue that is exclusive of mileage in many cases. Improperly installed rings or poor material quality has nothing to do with service history or how many owners the car has had.

I appreciate your good experience with your Corolla, but I wouldn't use it to blanket vouch for all Toyota products. I would use it to recommend a 2005 Corolla 5speed with the 1.8 or whatever it is.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

1. Buy bad shortblocks for scrap value.
2. Re-align ring gaps.
3. Resell as working motors.
4. Profit.

The nice thing about when we lived in Madison behind the mall was that it was very convenient. If you want to live out there you would have to be prepared to plan your trips to save fuel. Can't have it all.

Motorcycle isn't good for winter but it could mitigate some gas expenses when warmer.

Getting a good vehicle will cost more unless you can even trade so I am doubtful if the fuel savings will add up in the long run.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

An old SD will net you about 25mpg.
I love mine, and if you're willing to do some wrenching, it's a very economical vehicle to own.
Can't imagine that a decent example would cost you more than 2~2.5k
Could probably get antique plates which would save money on registration and insurance.

The CLKMan is a man of style, and an S class would likely suit you...

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

hmmmm.... try to sell home to assist in vehicle buying decision...

tail wagging the dog it would seem.

If the man likes his home, I don't believe that moving to save on transportation costs is a viable option.
Some people actually have attachment to their abodes, and don't see their home as a commodity which can be traded out to whatever is currently in vogue.
You are clearly not one of these people.

And, 5 miles from something is not nowhere, it is a mere 5 miles from what many people have moved away from.

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Sheesh, didn't you see the smiley after "move"? Why be all serious-like?

It seems like trying to live an 'independent' rural life sure made me dependent on a lot of stuff. Kind of like being a Slave to a false sense of "Freedom"...
When I sold my rural property; I finally got my freedom, got my life, and my money was now mine.

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"Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration...
don't Fail Us Now"

190D? How about the fleets of 123 300Ds on eBay that get 50 mpg

Sixto
87 300D

By the way, why does the title say "Diesel Herds"?

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.