Sell the car. Buy a 95 Civic.

 

so funny a reply!

 

It looks like you can spend your money best on a bicycle and a lot of Car Wax. That way you can LOOK at your new MINI, and use the bike for your actual transportation

 

See your car wont ditch you like a girlfriend
Treat it right and you will have it forever

 

In highschool i worked at a local restaurant and save up. I bought an 84 Corvette, pair for it in cash, paid gas, paid insurance, paid for repairs. Work hard play hard. Though, i did eventually sell it cause it was a money pit in repairs. Can't blame the car, it was as old as I was. Bottome line is that it is about managing your money and knowing when to fold.

 

your parents buy a 20K car and refuse to feed it how cruel of them. I would report them to spcm (society for the prevention of cruelty to minis). You could also become a free agent and shop for wealthy parents. Try bill gates he might want an older child. He might buy the gas station for you and the problem is solved.

 

In an MCSC Auto? That's impressive. I don't think I saw that stock with my 6-speed . I average about 20 now adays, 18 if I spend a lot of time on the streets and don't hit the freeways.

In all seriousness though, if you can't afford it, sell it and get something cheaper. You're not going to save any money by putting in 87 instead of 91. In fact, there have already been a few people who have blown their engines because of bad gas (Lower octane than it should have been).

If people are blowing engines when they're buying 91, imagine if everyone was putting in 87 .

The knock sensor can only do so much.

 

Sell your Mini. Ditch your hot girlfriend who only loves you for your Mini. Buy a Toyota Yaris. Find a chick who digs Toyota Yaris hatchbacks... AND....

YOU ARE GOLDEN!!

 

'85 would be even better!

 

In this case, I was thinking spcm meant (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Minors).

 

I'll give you my old pt cruiser, it only takes 87. I'll take the mini and put in 91 (I'm in California). I don't mind having another mcs as my second car.

 

you could always sell blood....I know i would to put gas in my car...ooohhhh!
BURN!

 

Another idea: Instead of blowing the "stimulus" check (assuming you made $3k last year) on something "cool" like a PS3 or wind deflector (what I'd like to do), put the money in the gas fund. After all, for a ~$3 premium per tank that works out to upgrading you to premium for 200 tanks, which at your stated average of 37.5 mpg works out to 99000 miles (200tanks * 13.2 gals * 37.5 mpg) of glorious high grade motoring fuel.

 

My suggestion is same as everyone. Your car is one of your biggest investment! So keep it nice and clean. You are not saving much by filling in 87! Cut your budget in other ways in life!

 

or my dad's take on that old saying.

"you got a BMW mind with a PINTO pocket".

anyhow i smell a troll...

 

My how it's funny when logic actually works.

 

assuming you get all 600 for your stimulus package...at 3.25 a gallon (which is cheap for premium) you can get approx. 184 gallons with your stimulus package money. and go approx. 6000 miles... but i like your math better AeroJammin...

 

I'm not sure what a troll is, but for what it's worth, here's the Federal Trade Commission's stance (just in case we can reduce search time for somebody):

At the Pump: Use the Octane Level You Need

• Your owner’s manual recommends the most effective octane level for your car. For most cars, the recommended gasoline is regular octane. In most cases, using a higher octane gas than the manufacturer recommends offers no benefit. Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money.

Since Mini recommends premium, use premium.

(An aside, this is actually the opposite of what I had previously heard -- that being lower octane burns easier and delivers higher mileage, albeit at less spark advance and therefore lower horsepower. So whether or not the OP was true, I learned something today. I'm switching my motorcycle to premium next fill-up.)

 

a troll is someone (usually a "brand new" member) who joins a site for the express reason of inciting the members. and then disappearing. "trolling for trouble" if you will. one way to get members here going is to talk about using less than premium gas.

or a slighted member who feels wrong and returns for VENGEANCE .

we'll see if he comes back... but, i smell a troll .

 

he had me until the washer fluid thread. Then I checked his other posts (dating back to Sept. 07 talking about a car he already had)

 

ahhh internet society is a strange one. i hadn't seen the washer thread till now and it's actually kind of funny. but, i see someone else called him out as a troll too.

 

I believe he was trying to demonstrate that at .20-.30 a gallon more you could afford approximately 200 tanks of gas, not that you could buy 200 tanks worth of gas (200x13.2). His math is fine.

Example:
Regular gas in my area is just under $4 a gallon. Lets use $3.92 for regular.

3.92 x 13 gallons = $50.96

The next grade up is almost always .10 cents difference. So lets say premium gas costs 4.12 (.20 cents more a gallon)

4.12 x 13 gallons = $53.56

That comes out to ~$2.60 cheaper to use regular gas over premium.

Assuming he gets 30 mpg (He stated he was averaging 37.2, or over 40 if he drove on the freeway), his 13 gallons would be good for 390 miles. I don't feel like dividing $2.60 into 600, so I'm going to round up and say it costs $3.00 a gallon more to use premium. That's right in line with his original 200 tank estimate.

Since I cheated a bit and on the cost and used a lower milage figure, I'm going to add 10 miles on the milage per tank and say it's 400 miles per tank. So on his new stimulus check he float about 80,000 miles of motoring.

Lets say you drive 20k miles a year, that gives you 4 years to figure out how to replace that extra 6-9 dollars a week you need to put premium gas in your car.

And I hated math in HS! It's funny how that works out.

Posted in another thread about octane levels with lots of info.

Why you should use the right octane gas in your car

Explaining Octane

 

Troll!?!

 

like this:

 

Drive to Colorado (on 91 octane of course) & leave your car with ME!! I'll take good care of it!!
Aren't you glad that you posted your question?!!!!!!