Hubby used to commute 100 miles a day, for over 20 years. He always ran the wheels off the cheapest thing he could stand to drive, buy another one, repeat. One of his commuter cars was a Geo, it got 40 mpg but it about got him killed, too. One of his favorites was a 1990-ish Coupe de Ville. It had been wrecked in the front so he only paid $500 for it. Put on a salvaged hood and fender that were almost the same color, straightened it up redneck style with a chain around a light pole, and drove it pretty much trouble free for several years. The carpool guys loved it, the back seat was a big ol couch. We even drove it down to Springfield for Rock n Ribs, it was such a comfy ride even if it was kind of embarrassing to be seen getting out of it. Some of the electronic stuff went goofy so he sold it for more than he paid for it, and bought a '98 Explorer off craigslist. The money from the caddy, our aluminum cans, and some rolled up change bought that Explorer. He doesn't commute any more but we still have it and wouldn't hesitate to take it on a long road trip. It's probably still worth more than we paid for it. The moral to all this is - what it costs to buy, will trump what it costs to drive, just about every time.
He was on a roll until he bought a $200 Expedition. It was supposed to be a quick flip but.....that's another thread.
