iamblue03, your math is way off. He works 6 months out of the year in which he drives 110 miles a day. I'm guessing he doesn't work 7 days a week, so let's just assume 5 days. 6 months = half a year = 26 weeks. 5 days for 26 weeks = 130 days x 110 miles = 14300. Plus let's take the 15,000 miles a year industry standard, subtract 5,000 for commuting since we already have 14,300 for commuting. That's a rounded up total of 30,000 miles a year, 10,000 less than you said. Then with your math ($4,500/150 fill ups) it's $30 a fillup which is approximately $2.50/gallon (I would seriously like to know where you guys live that you're getting premium at $2.50/gallon). And with your math, I figured your averaging about 20MPG for the X. So we have:
30,000 miles/20MPG = 1,500 gallons x $2.50/gal = $3,750 for the EVO X in fuel costs.

For the Golf TDI, I used 35MPG, average of highway and local. And I used $2.60/gal for diesel because around here diesel is $0.10 - $0.15 more per gallon than premium. So for the TDI we have:
30,000 miles/35mpg = 857 gallons x $2.60/gal = $2,228 for the TDI in fuel costs. Then you have to add the fact that depending on the price and rate he gets for the TDI, he'll have to borrow about 3-5K, let's just say $100/month in payments. The TDI will cost him $3,428.00 approximately.

Now I know there are a lot of other things to consider, but the savings isn't that great and is $300-600 a year in savings worth driving a TDI over an EVO X? Yes maintenance is high for the EVO, but have you seen the maintenance costs for European cars? Even the crappy Volkswagens sometimes carry prices much higher than Lexus or Infiniti. It cost approx $800 to do just the front the brakes on my friend's gf's Touareg. So you won't be saving that much in maintenance costs.

Just keep the car. Or get a beater like some people mentioned. But trading the EVO for a TDI is just compounding a mistake with another mistake. If you really have problems with keeping the car, then sell the EVO and get a beater, then pocket the rest of the cash. Suffer it out for a few years then get something you want. I drove a POS Accord for 11 years because I couldn't justify a new car loan to myself. And trust me, I beat it to hell and it still asked for more.

 

ah sorry. I guess I didn't read that carefully, and yes he doesn't work 7 days for 365 days. I still added them because
they can be daily commutes. $3750 and 30000 miles a year are still a lot.

(By the way, I live in Texas and I pay around 2.70-2.80 a gallon of premium at this moment. I always refuel when the light blinks and I get 12 gallons of fuel)

I think #1Noob has a pretty accurate estimate on gas mileage and cost. Also think about any fixed and variable costs you have. Payments and insurance cost are two of the bigger expenses you will have. My differences of costs of my ownership between my si and my evo are quite significant; they are about 300-350 per month. My maintenance cost for my evo is 3-4 times more than my civic @20000 miles. ($480 vs $130)

Think about your priorities, and get a 2-3 year estimate on your total costs running your evo vs a dd. Excel is your best friend.

 

just install a 35r and you now have super low fuel economy, should be the same as a lancer.

 

man blue, i'm jealous, i pay $3.25/gal and that's the cheapest station around me. i gotta add that as one more reason i wanna move to texas. Cheap beef, cheap gas, football is God and home of the Dallas Cowboys. Go Texas!

 

-use the evo for everything except driving to work/school.
-i pay 20$ a month for my beaters insurance so its not even a big deal.

 

get a cheap old civic...that will save you money

 

street bike for commuting?

 

This is not quite correct. If you get an old beater as suggested the overall insurance only goes up slightly, especially if you put the beater as your DD. Insurance for my first car was roughly $80 a month and my beater civic only was about an additional $30.

 

I would go this route... when i was commuting a bigger distance almost100 miles a day i would switch my evo with my R1 every other day, that way the commute is never the same and i save money on gas...Not much considering my R1 gets 30mpg..but its better than 24...

either a cheap 600cc bike roughly 3k or buy a good old honda or toyota...hell even a 240 that you can drift around?

i would definately keep the evo especially if its paid off though

 

Just keep it. What ever little bit you save on fuel, you will surely never make up on the loss from a trade in. It is just a car, run it for as many miles as you want. You can always go buy another. Who cares how many miles you drive. You paid for it, may as well use it. No sense SAVING it for the next guy.

 

this guy lives in wisconsin. yeah a street bike would make a great DD for 6 months out of the year...

 

Lol. I live in Hawaii. Gas is 3.80 and last year was almost hitting $5.00.

 

**** im trying to sell my evo x also, its hard to sell it but im selling it on my own because dealers will just rip u off... i got 8500 miles on mine right now. where in Wi are you from?

 

this^^

 

Just drive the hell out of it. I put about 4k a month on my EVO as a DD and love every mile of it. When mine dies after years of abuse, track car!

It's just a car, enjoy it.