Dear Car Talk:
I love reading your column every week in the paper. Anyway, I got a new job that requires a long commute — 160 miles a day round trip.
I bought a new Toyota Crown because it gets 42 mpg using regular gas and is a great value. However, I’ve only had the car for two months and I’m already at 7,000 miles on the odometer. At this rate, I’ll blow through the warranty quickly.
My question is this: Should I just keep driving this car until it’s dead, or should I get a second used car in order to spread out the mileage? — Dan
You should drive it ‘til the last letter of the “Toyota” badge falls off, Dan. And based on Toyota’s reputation for quality, that could take quite a while.
I’m guessing that if you’re driving 160 miles a day, a lot of that is highway driving. That’s far easier on a car than stop-and-go city driving. So it wouldn’t surprise me if you get 200,000 or 250,000 miles out of this thing. Maybe more. Especially if you take good care of it.
It doesn’t make any sense to buy another used car just to keep the Crown’s warranty in force longer. First of all, you’ll be spending hours a day in that other used car. Wouldn’t you rather spend all that time in your new Crown instead? Wouldn’t that be more comfortable? More reliable? Wouldn’t it cost less with its higher mpg? Wouldn’t it have better Bluetooth so “Sleepy LaBeef’s Greatest Hits” streams without dropouts?
If running out of warranty coverage is what’s making you lose sleep, Dan, there’s a better solution to that. Instead of spending money on a second car, spend it on an extended warranty for your new car. I believe Toyota has plans that cover you for up to 125,000 miles or 10 years. Or in your case, 125,000 miles or 15 minutes.
Still, that’s a better solution than spending three hours a day in a 2003 Suzuki Esteem. And by the time the extended warranty runs out, you can get a job at the local Starbucks. Enjoy your new car, Dan.
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