My futile quest to buy a fuel efficient car in Central Maine in 2023 [View all]

[jpak]

I had a 2005 Nissan Sentra that got 34 mpg on average (not real good, but not a gas guzzler). It had 170,000+ miles on it.

But it was on its last legs - the high beam/low beam switch didn't work, the entire exhaust system was rusted off and hanging by a thread, it developed some serious rust issues on other parts the body (Maine winters) and the check engine light was on constantly. Could not get an inspection sticker, no one wanted to repair it and I doubt the repairs would be worth the money.

Time to get replacement - and (excuse my French) I fucking hate buying cars.

Looking on-line and driving around was a an exercise in Major Sticker Shock. We have a lot of local Mom and Pop "dooryard" car sellers - but I wouldn't buy from any of them - so I decided to buy from dealerships.

Prices of new and used fuel efficient cars were astronomical and some cost as much as I paid for my house in 2016 ($35k cash - yes you heard that right . New and used hybrids were way out of what I could afford (I'm retired on fixed income but had some savings to use). Same for used fuel efficient compacts as well. Sticker Shock indeed.

I saw a on-line ad for a new 2023 Nissan subcompact for $18K at a local dealership. But when I got there, it had been sold - it was posted for sale less than 2 days! The car salesman told me it would be a quite while to find something like that again. My family and some of former coworkers have used this dealership to buy multiple cars for years so I knew they were not "crooks".

While I was talking to the salesman, a young woman drove up with a loaner 2016 Jeep Cherokee. She raved about it - so I decided to check it out. First of all - no rust - not one speck. Secondly, it was 4WD and a "loaded" luxury model with brand new tires. I'm really really not into "luxury" - cars are transportation and that's it. But this vehicle was 4WD had a sunroof and a radio and AC (I never owned a vehicle that had either), heated leather seats and steering wheel and a big screen monitor with a backup camera (again, something that I never had on a car before). And it had cargo space - much more than my old Sentra. It doesn't have a roof rack suitable for a canoe, but it can get one.

My major concern about it was gas mileage. I really wanted something fuel efficient, but nothing, and I mean nothing, was available locally in my price range. The "official" gas mileage for this model Jeep was 29 highway, 15 city. Which sucked in the carbon emissions department and was a "big deal for me". That said, I'm retired and not driving 50 miles a day for work and the only long distance trip I take is to "Go to Camp" an hour away. When I go there, I stay there, and can walk to the local general store that has everything I could possible need. I have a 2.5 hp motor for my fishing boat and a sail kit for my 16 foot Old Town canoe (which is great fun). The camp has a wood stove for heat and we're replacing the propane stove with an electric. Maine's electricity is near 100% renewable so that's OK in the carbon dept.

So, ya, I bought the Jeep for cash at a price much much lower than I intended to spend on a replacement vehicle. Given my current driving habits, my overall vehicle carbon emissions are many times lower than driving my old Sentra to work.

Finally, even though the official gas mileage is 29 mpg highway, I'm getting 33 mpg the way I drive.

So there.

Flame on.