Keep 97 Civic as a Commuter?

[SaratogaRTL]

My question is where to hold onto my daughter's 1997 Civic to use to drive work on decent weather days or sell it. My daughter is moving into NYC and will no longer need a car. The Civic is a 1997, 180K miles, automatic, usual Honda rust starting behind the rear wheels, small dents and scraps randomly around the vehicle. Mechanically the car is in good condition with no expensive issues needing attention right now. I have it maintained at a local shop. I could probably sell it for $2000. Gas mileage is probably 30+ MPG. Insurance is roughly $30 a month.

I have a 35 mile commute to my office, for a total of 70 miles a day. My Ridgeline gets 18 MPG. I would not be selling the Ridgeline.

Does it make sense to keep the Civic, drive it into the ground as a commuting vehicle, and save some miles on the Ridgeline? Or just sell the Civic and keep driving the Ridgeline?

[Car Compulsive]

As long as the rust hasn't compromised the undercarriage (have it inspected), I'd say keep it and run it. Plus, your daughter may be back...

[Slider]

You can probably save just enough in fuel to pay for insurance, registration and tags on the Civic.

[Oddjob]

My daughter had a 02 Civic up until last year when she decided to get a slightly used 2011 CRV. She sold her Civic to a used car lot that gave her way more than a dealer would have, any how it was a great vehcile and I'm sure she would be still driving it if she didn't find such a great deal on the CRV.
My point is keep it drive it.

[RidgeKen]

70 miles/day X 5 X 50 =17,500 miles.
/30 mpg X $3.50 = $2,041
/18 mpg X $3.50 = $3,402

$1361 annual savings in gas, less $700 insurance, less $50 registration is around $600/year savings and miles off of the Ridgeline. You will however have another car to park.

[Rickman]

I use my wifes 2003 Acura as a run around vehicle, and it's always nice to have a backup vehicle just in case!

[Car Compulsive]

We're going to have a similar decision when my GF and I get married later this year. I have the Ridge and a Prius and she has an old Malibu that will need replacing (or scrapping) within a couple years. Her commute will only be about 12 miles round trip, while mine is 90+ miles. She also likes to smoke when driving, but may be willing to give it up. I'm hoping to own only 2 cars and have her mainly commute in the Ridgeline (while not smoking), but she may prefer to drive a car of her own (small, like the Prius) that she can smoke in. I suspect I'll be driving the Ridgeline fulltime or buying her a Fit, Civic, Yaris, Corolla, xD, or Impreza.

[k757]

I'll ignore costs..... do you want to put so many highway miles on your truck?

I have a '99 Acura CL as my daily so I don't kill my fun car with miles.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by k757

I'll ignore costs..... do you want to put so many highway miles on your truck?

I have a '99 Acura CL as my daily so I don't kill my fun car with miles.

Exactly. I also recommend the OP put all his commuting miles on his Civic. For me, the Ridgeline is my beater (my other car cost 4x more than my used Ridgeline) so I try to put miles on the truck when I drive long distances to see family.

[SaratogaRTL]

Lots of interesting points of view. I will probably drive the Civic to work for a while and see if things work out for my daughter first before selling it. I have plenty of space for parking.

I like driving the Ridgeline to work because it is big, safe in an accident, handles any sort of Upstate NY weather, comfy heated leather seats, great highway manners, etc. But it does have crappy fuel mileage.

I also have a 1991 Miata in the garage that I need to justify owning by driving once in a while. Plus I live in the middle of a very walk able city.