Try and find a home closer to work and keep the car.  If you're just a
young guy you'll be moving a few more times in your working life.  New
cars are a bad investment.
--

Richard,

This one is a no-brainer.

You'll only be saving around twenty bucks a week in gasoline (25 vs 40 mpg
@$3 per gallon).  From a pure number-cruncher standpoint:  No, it would not
make sense to buy a new Yaris.

That said - I've been where you intend to be.  I've done the 120 mile per
day commute in L.A. traffic - and there's a lot to be said for creature
comforts and reliability.  You are going to be spending a *hell* of a lot of
time strapped into whatever car you're driving.  A good AC, auto trans (if
that's what you like), CD player, cupholders, and the reliability that a new
Toyota will give you - may outweigh any monetary cost.
--
Mike Harris
Austin, TX

I don't know, you do the math. :-)

Although I like Toyota, I've observed that Hondas generally get better
fuel mileage. Maybe a Fit would be worth looking into?

I assume this is an Accord?  Is that 22-27mpg city, highway or mixed?

My '93 Honda Accord automatic usually gets 32-34mpg on the highway.

I don't know the age of your Honda or the model, but before I started
thinking about getting a new car (count on a minimum of $15k, plus financing
charges) I'd look into tuning the Honda as best I could, with new plugs,
clean and light weight oil, well-adjusted brakes (no dragging) and
well-inflated tires, and a wheel alignment and balance.
Anything that will let your car roll easily.  And perhaps a good swabbing of
the fuel injection wouldn't hurt.
(all these items to be done by a pro mechanic, of course.)
Unless you're going for extreme economy, like over 40 mpg, your increase in
mileage and decrease in gas costs won't make that much difference.   Do the
math.   The depreciation on a new car is so high that you'll still lose
money overall although your gas expense is lower.
Your proposed house 55 miles from your place of work sounds nice, but if it
takes you ....let's say almost 3 hours per day, 5 days a week, you're not
going to spend a whole lot of time there, you'll be on the road.
(oh, one more thing....if you look for high gas mileage in lieu of comfort,
and have to drive 110 miles a day, that little new rattletrap is gonna get
old in a hurry.)

If you are going to be traveling more and spending more on gas does it
make sense to pick up a car payment and save maybe $10 a tankful?  How
many tankfuls would it take to catch up to the car payments you will be
making?

Presumably you bought a Honda because it costs less to maintain over
the life of the vehicle compared to most others.  Take advantage of
that while you can unless your Honda is starting to cost you money in
repairs.

Don't do it! (Move, that is) Unless you are getting a REAL BARGAIN on the
house of your dreams that your wife and kids love, and your kids are going
to a much better school, and you'll save money on taxes.

You aren't going to be there enough to enjoy it.

I lived 58 miles from work from 1988-1994 and again from 1995-1998.
You just aren't home enough to make it worthwhile. And in my case, I had
almost straight highway miles at 50 - 70 MPH. I also had my Hachiroku;
driving it was the ONLY enjoyable thing of the whole deal! (It also racked
the miles up FAST!)

Either move your operation, or find another place closer. You'll get tired
of the drive pretty fast.

Unless you buy a Hachiroku...

You can spend the money on gas, or a new car hoping it will do better on
fuel.  The question is how long will it take you to save any money on that
expense even at 40 MPG?   It is like people buying hybrids, at a premium
price, that will buy ALL of the fuel for a conventionally powered comparable
vehicle for three or four years.   The answer it to drive less  ;)

mike hunt

Learning Richard has gotten lots of responses to his plea for help.   It
points up a problem that many working folks face, that living space near
your workplace is getting increasingly more prohibitively expensive, less
available, and not as pleasant as a place outside the metro areas of this
nation.    It has come about over the years because our highway system, now
severely overloaded, has made it a lot easier to make long commutes.   It's
such a critical problem throughout the country that employees are not
getting enough sleep or leisure time with their families, spend (now
especially) lots of money on gas and car upkeep, running up the miles on
their cars, etc.
Our public conveyance systems - rail and bus and all - have been far behind
the times, and are resisted by those who value their solitude (or an
irrational love of driving).
Every metro area is affected.   It may be time for the government to get in
on the act, setting up agencies to search for willing folks to swap jobs or
residences.  You've gotta know that for every commuter who drives from
Washington to the middle of Virginia, there has to be another who does just
the opposite.  The situation is insane, and will only get worse.