Crazy Caller on Dave Ramsey Show

Yesterday, a 50's/60's-ish lady called Dave Ramsey about a car dilemma. She wondered if she should trade in her paid off SUV to save money on gas. With gas obviously at record prices, and her SUV getting 16 MPG overall, the lady had the best of intentions, and wanted to save some money on gas. Dave has been getting a lot of these calls lately, but this one was quite ridiculous.

I'm all for saving money on gas, and I think conservation is important, but two things about this call really made my jaw drop:

1) The lady wanted to trade in her 2004 Trailblazer for a new CHEVY AVEO. Not only is the Aveo the ugliest car on the road, it has sketchy crash test ratings, poor reliability scores from Consumer Reports, and it really isn't that great on gas for its size at 26 MPG overall.

2) The lady bought her Trailblazer new in 2004, and has put 19,000 miles on it. I'll say it again: She has put an average of 4,750 miles per year on the vehicle. Elderly lady + low miles = practically new vehicle.

Dave Ramsey correctly told this lady off, and I was happy he did. I did some additional research on the situation, and Kelley Blue Book quotes this Trailblazer's trade-in value at $6,790. And any used car manager with a pulse will try to steal it for $5,000, even though it probably drives like new, as most cars driven 4,750 miles per year by an elderly lady would. Most people are so emotional about getting out of their SUVs that these snakes can get away with it. After taxes, document fees, and title, A new Aveo will cost around $16,000. Here is a break-even analysis of how long it will take this lady to save money on gas with her driving habits:

Break-Even Analysis (Trailblazer vs. Aveo)
	Trailblazer	Aveo
Fuel Economy Overall	16	26
Gas Costs ($4/gallon, 4750 miles per year)	$1,187.50	$730.77
Annual Gas Savings		$456.73
Additional Vehicle Cost	-	$9,210.10
Amount of Time needed to break even, in years		20.17

It's not always the correct choice to hold on to your guzzler, but in this situation it is. The phrase "worth more to me than anyone else" is especially true for this lady. Why anyone would even think of trading in their 4x4, towing capable, roomy, comfortable, practically new SUV for a low quality, unsafe, underpowered, subcompact just so they can start saving money on gas in September 2029 is beyond me.

For the record, I put about 3,000 miles per month on my CR-V, so I am not in the market for a guzzler. However, there are unbelievable deals out there for businesses who need trucks, large families that do not drive much, and people looking for a good deal.