Hybrid Cars

[jatm516]

As most of you know, I commute to law school, which basically means driving 1,000 miles per week in a car with 200,000 miles that only gets 20 mpg. So I am considering buying a hybrid car, either a Honda Civic hybrid or a Toyota Prius, preferably 2004 or 2005 model. I don't really want to spend more than 12,000, but I'm pretty flexible.

Does any one have any experience with a hybrid or know much about them? The technology is so new and getting that technology to the south is so slow that I just don't know much about them.

Also, if you happen upon something that fits the description, let me know. We don't get many down in the south, but most of us are pretty spread across the country so you never know what we might come up with.

Thanks,
Ashley

[Gunners11]

Ok, I was gonna give a positive response, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured out that I have no clue what I'm talking about, except that I heard a commercial for Hybrids yesterday. This led to me thinking that you should ride a scooter to work, which led me to a joke:

Q: What do fat chicks and scooters have in common?
A: They are both fun to ride until your friends find out.

Sorry Ash, it's late and I've been studying for a loooong time. :)

[jwaldman11]

I don't know much about the Insight, but the Prius is known to have problems getting up hills. It's not that it won't make it, more like it has to work REALLY HARD to get up there. Also, they said that highway driving isn't very good, because its stability doesn't seem to be as good at highway speeds. You're more subsceptible to crosswinds and truck wake (the wind that comes off a speeding truck). I've also heard several people describe driving in it in the rain as "scary".

As for cost, it will be tough finding one for $12,000. Starting price is around $20,000 and, with the technology being so new, finding a used one might be tough. You also have to figure that it's the popular car now, so prices will go up accordingly for all hybrids. Oh, and keep in mind too that you probably will have to go to the dealer for all repairs, unless you can find a mechanic who knows to work on it, since the car is different than all the other ones.

[antifan]

Don't buy a Hybrid, Ash. At this point its really just a rich person's toy, a psychological bandaid for the most conspicuous consumers. They are also hideously overpriced, about $10,000 more than the comparable non-hybrid model. Honestly there is no chance that you'll get one for anywhere near 12 grand. Also, if you plan to own the car for a long time, hybrid is not the way to go, the technology is relatively unproven an could be very expensive once the warranty runs out. If you're looking for a new car that's cheap and efficient, i recommend the Ford Focus, its fun to drive, pretty roomy and a good car for the money. The Mazda3 is also an option, a little more stylish inside and out, with the same mechanicals as a Volvo. If you want something a little bigger for the kids, then a fullsize domestic sedan is the way to go. A Mercury Grand Marquis is a great used car, that will get 25mpg on the highway and the drivetrain is bulletproof.

[jwaldman11]

Don't buy a Hybrid, Ash. At this point its really just a rich person's toy, a psychological bandaid for the most conspicuous consumers. They are also hideously overpriced, about $10,000 more than the comparable non-hybrid model. Honestly there is no chance that you'll get one for anywhere near 12 grand. Also, if you plan to own the car for a long time, hybrid is not the way to go, the technology is relatively unproven an could be very expensive once the warranty runs out. If you're looking for a new car that's cheap and efficient, i recommend the Ford Focus, its fun to drive, pretty roomy and a good car for the money. The Mazda3 is also an option, a little more stylish inside and out, with the same mechanicals as a Volvo. If you want something a little bigger for the kids, then a fullsize domestic sedan is the way to go. A Mercury Grand Marquis is a great used car, that will get 25mpg on the highway and the drivetrain is bulletproof.
I'd also highly recommend the Hyundai Elantra, which is what I drove in the States and will probably buy again when I get back. It gets 25 city/34 hwy mpg, comes with almost everything standard (except for cruise, CD player and ABS) and is pretty roomy for it's class. It also runs around $13,500 starting price, so it's a little closer to your price range. The Accent might be another car to look at if you go to the Hyundai dealer.

[jatm516]

Ok, I was gonna give a positive response, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured out that I have no clue what I'm talking about, except that I heard a commercial for Hybrids yesterday. This led to me thinking that you should ride a scooter to work, which led me to a joke:

Q: What do fat chicks and scooters have in common?
A: They are both fun to ride until your friends find out.

Sorry Ash, it's late and I've been studying for a loooong time. :)
Told that joke to a classmate, Jim. Here is his response joke:

What did Cinderella say when she got to the ball?

Blllgh!

ROFL...and you will be happy to know I will probably get called on in class now b/c i've been snickering over here for 10 minutes.

[jatm516]

They're really not priced higher. The Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid start at the same base price.

They are keeping their value so the used ones are pretty high, but I would still spend 15,000 on one if I found one just for the gas savings alone. My car gets 20-23 mpg so a car that gets 48 mpg will pay for itself in the gas savings. I am leaning more towards going with a more normal looking hybrid like the civic though. I think the road issues that yall mentioned will be less of a problem with something like that b/c it's basically made the same as the non-hybrid. The 06 models come in next month and they have redesigned both the accord and civic hybrid. They basically gave the accord hybrid more power and made the civic hybrid more fuel-efficient. Terribly tempting, but I can't bring myself to finance more than 10k on a car. Plus if I got something that wasn't so obviously odd looking like the prius or insight, I would keep it longer.

[antifan]

They're really not priced higher. The Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid start at the same base price.

They are keeping their value so the used ones are pretty high, but I would still spend 15,000 on one if I found one just for the gas savings alone. My car gets 20-23 mpg so a car that gets 48 mpg will pay for itself in the gas savings. I am leaning more towards going with a more normal looking hybrid like the civic though. I think the road issues that yall mentioned will be less of a problem with something like that b/c it's basically made the same as the non-hybrid. The 06 models come in next month and they have redesigned both the accord and civic hybrid. They basically gave the accord hybrid more power and made the civic hybrid more fuel-efficient. Terribly tempting, but I can't bring myself to finance more than 10k on a car. Plus if I got something that wasn't so obviously odd looking like the prius or insight, I would keep it longer.
The 2005 Civic Hybrid starts at $19,900, the 2005 Civic Coupe starts at $13,260, i know that you're in law school, but even you should be able to do that math. ;)
Here's an article (http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023397&src=Home&pos=EditLead) about hybrids. You should call some dealers and inquire, i suspect that if you can even find one, the dealer will be looking for more money than the MSRP. Interestingly the Civic hybrid only got 36 mpg in Consumer Reports tests, even with the continuously variable transmission. Thats a pretty underwhelming number. Like i said earlier, even with gas at 3 bucks a gallon, i'm not convinced a hybrid is worth it.

[jatm516]

The 2005 Civic Hybrid starts at $19,900, the 2005 Civic Coupe starts at $13,260, i know that you're in law school, but even you should be able to do that math. ;)
Here's an article (http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023397&src=Home&pos=EditLead) about hybrids. You should call some dealers and inquire, i suspect that if you can even find one, the dealer will be looking for more money than the MSRP. Interestingly the Civic hybrid only got 36 mpg in Consumer Reports tests, even with the continuously variable transmission. Thats a pretty underwhelming number. Like i said earlier, even with gas at 3 bucks a gallon, i'm not convinced a hybrid is worth it.


Good point. Yeah, you're right. There has been a lot of hoopla over the discrepancies between the epa tests and the mpg that the average consumer gets. Supposedly this was supposed to be improved in the 06 but who knows... Yeah I'm not sure if it was just the lack of demand or what, but the ones that we looked at before the dealership sold out were priced about the same, but maybe that's just b/c they put more options on the gas model or something. I don't know. You have some good points though. It's definitely made me a bit more leary about purchasing one.

[billyho96]

The 2005 Civic Hybrid starts at $19,900, the 2005 Civic Coupe starts at $13,260, i know that you're in law school, but even you should be able to do that math. ;)
Here's an article (http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023397&src=Home&pos=EditLead) about hybrids. You should call some dealers and inquire, i suspect that if you can even find one, the dealer will be looking for more money than the MSRP. Interestingly the Civic hybrid only got 36 mpg in Consumer Reports tests, even with the continuously variable transmission. Thats a pretty underwhelming number. Like i said earlier, even with gas at 3 bucks a gallon, i'm not convinced a hybrid is worth it.

we live in the rural south.........a good pickup will have a much higher mark up than a hybrid, not a lot of greenies running around these parts.

[surfcam]

Ash, I would suggest getting an online subscription to Consumer Reports. They put together pretty good and reliable reviews of all cars. I believe Ford is introducing a hybrid Escape SUV, though not sure the price or how it performs.

Another idea, is instead of a new car, look at a late model used one with low miles. You can probably still get one with great gas mileage, but a bit nicer than a brand new one. The instant depreciation of a new car is always crazy to me. Drive it off the lot and it just went to down a few grand. :eek:

[jatm516]

Yeah, I agree. I'm totally against the new car thing too. The only way I would do it is if there was such a significant change in that model year as to justify the extra dough. That's the only reason I was looking into some of the features of the 06 civic because they completely changed it.

Anti- the consumer postings I've read have claimed gas mileage less than the EPA report but not that low. My point I guess is that still at 36 mpg it is a lot better than the 20 I get right now. My car has 190k miles, and with the work it needs it's only worth 3k if I sell it myself. The dealers have it listed for 6 k but you know how that works. I'd get even less on trade in. So anything at this point is an improvement. I must say that I am concerned about the routine maintenance costs and whether or not that would vary due to the type of car it is.