After venting my spleen in the gasoline rant, I figured it was time to put my money where my mouth is. So, this last weekend, I did it. I traded in my gas guzzler for something less guzzley. Instead of getting 13 mpg, I am now getting 26 mpg, effectively saving the world about 54 gallons of gas a month, and myself about $200 at the same time. Pretty sweet.

Now the down side…I took a beating on the trade-in value of my truck. Going in, I had heard that the big vehicles like Suburbans and pick-ups were being heavily discounted right now, as those that had an option to trade them in were doing so with gusto. Knowing this, I figured I would have to surrender some value, but I didn’t think it would border on the criminal. According to my calculations, I lost about $2700 on the deal, that being the difference between the “blue book” value of my beloved truck and what I was able to squeeze out of the dealer (and only after humiliating myself with much negotiating; which for me was arguing, which then became pleading, which then become just a pathetic whimpering noise on my part). Adding to the financial pain, the new vehicle is now costing about $120 more in terms of monthly payments, payments that will continue well past what was remaining on the truck. However, as this particular car manufacturer does provide free maintenance for 4 years or 50K miles, the increase in payment is somewhat offset.

All things considered, this was not the correct deal to do if I were looking at it purely from a financial perspective. However, I now have something that is hopefully more reliable (as the truck was starting to get a little arthritic) and easier to park. To top it off, having saved the world about 650 gallons of gasoline a year, I can now feel somewhat smug and self-righteous - and as they say in the commercials - that’s priceless.

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