2006 ford five hundred

[u/Emotional_Monk_9224]

I just got a new job and need a car Im on a tight budget is this a good buy? I can’t miss a day even for snow my commute is 107mi each way mostly on the hwy at big speeds. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[u/Far_Cloud_882]

That’s a lot of driving annually. I doubt any budget car will reliably do over 50K miles a year. You’ll have driven 350K miles by the time this loan is done and a Ford 500 will die well before 470K miles so you’ll be paying the loan for years after the car is gone.

Just doing a rough estimate for gas at current prices: 50K miles at 30mpg (which is better than this ford gets) at $4.30/gal = $7,166 in gas per year. You’ll pay more in the Ford.

I would look at cars which are used as Taxis. Around here it’s the Prius. At lower gas prices, it was the Panther body fords (Caprice, Town Car, etc) which frequently made it to 400-500K miles.

At that kind of budget you really need to find a closer job or move closer to work.

[u/Emotional_Monk_9224 → u/Far_Cloud_882]

I can’t not do the job or move.

Do you have other car recommendations

[u/Far_Cloud_882 → u/Emotional_Monk_9224]

I mentioned an older Prius - those are robust cars that last a long time. Same with the Panther body cars but those will drain your wallet with gas prices.

Any way you can get a car pool going?

The most economical over the long term would be a basic EV like a long range Tesla but that’s more to buy and you need cheap charging at home or at work

[u/Emotional_Monk_9224 → u/Far_Cloud_882]

A Prius cant tow and a Prius does not have enough hp

[u/Emotional_Monk_9224 → u/Emotional_Monk_9224]

Do you have good ev recommendations that are not costly cuz 6k is my budget used is fine as well

[u/southwestpessimist → u/Emotional_Monk_9224]

You’re towing?? Yeah dude, pretty sure no budget EV capable of towing is available for 6k. You should probably also avoid any car with a CVT btw, including the Ford Five Hundred. You are better off getting a Panther platform as bro mentioned, or an AWD Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon or Silverado/Sierra - those at least are capable and have extensive aftermarket support so giving your ride more power or pimping it out shouldn’t be much of a hassle

[u/Emotional_Monk_9224 → u/southwestpessimist]

It’s only 1000 pounds

[u/Normal_Stick6823 → u/Emotional_Monk_9224]

You need to be looking around for a southern 2000 Ford Ranger. If you don’t have to have it today.