Posted by TLR_KY on 9/1/05 9:24am
Msg #63244

Time to get a economy car. Any suggestions

Well since gas is going to cost more than gold, I think it's time get rid of the trusty truck and get a small economy car. My wife and I both can use it for signings. Hopefully raising the bottomo line. Any suggestions on economy cars.

Reply by Ilona_OH on 9/1/05 9:26am
Msg #63245

There was an article in our newspaper about a women who has 60mi gal on her new hybred. Honda

Reply by Charm_AL on 9/1/05 9:27am
Msg #63246

I'm about to get a Moped with a basket for my briefcase !

Reply by corona71 on 9/1/05 9:30am
Msg #63249

Moped, yes! I was thinking the same thing, but realized, how can I keep from my hair getting messy?

Reply by Chris_NJ on 9/1/05 9:29am
Msg #63248

I drive a 2005 Suzuki wagon. Gets decent mileage 28/31 and has good warranty, plenty of wagon space and top price is around $16,000. Don't have much of a repair history on them though.

Reply by Chris_NJ on 9/1/05 9:31am
Msg #63251

I've heard that your driving style really makes a difference on what you can expect with the hybrids.

Reply by TLR_KY on 9/1/05 9:35am
Msg #63255

I'm thinking the hybrids wouldn't be a good idea for me since I'm mostly in the country and they save more in the city. I do think they are cool though. A friend of mine has one and it's like a golf cart upto 25 mph. Pretty cool.

Reply by Art_MD on 9/1/05 9:38am
Msg #63256

Re: hybrids - had to find..

A lot of people are talking like you.. making them hard to find and prices are hard to negotiate. Also, disposing of a guzzler - you'll get a poor trade-in.

Talking to a borrower last night, he has an excursion 2000. Thought about trading it in last month and got a trade in quote of $11,000. Yesterday, the quote had dropped to $6,500. Resale market is dead for those vehicles.

Art

Reply by hcampersFL on 9/1/05 9:47am
Msg #63260

I used to work on the beach and drove 30 miles each way.
So of course I needed to find something to conserve gas. I shopped and finally came upon a used Chevy Tracker stick shift (2001). I paid $5600. for it.

Well after hurricane Ivan hit and I didn't work on the beach anymore I thought about selling it. We already had 2 other cars. I even put it up for sale for a small time. Anyway am I glad I kept it. It gets 32 miles to the gallon Woo Hoo!!! I would recommend my car. They have been around for awhile so there aren't any engine worries like you might have with a new car. Plus it has room.

It makes it easier for me to travel all over the county if I'm not to worried about the gas.
Beverly

Reply by Art_MD on 9/1/05 9:50am
Msg #63262

before you do consider.....

take in the following....

You'll get a poor trade-in for the truck. Resale market is down.

If you believe that the price will rise, but the supply will be there:

Let's say you have a truck that gets 20 MPG.
Want to get a car that gets 35 MPG.

Truck has 100K miles on it - good for another 100k

Say new vehicle is $10,000 above trade in.

Tax, title, registration - $750
Additional payments $3,000/yr
Additional insurance 600/yr
If you travel 35,000 miles per year

Truck 1750 gallons/yr
Car 1000 gallons/yr

Gas costs - 3.50

Truck gas $6,125
car gas 3,500
Savings $2,750

This is a very rough calc. Doesn't include repairs, etc. It's just to point out that there are other things to consider beside gas mileage.

An old, paid off, reliable gas guzzler, with no collision insurance still may be the least expensive way to go in the long run.

Art

Reply by Tracy Rogers on 9/1/05 9:57am
Msg #63265

Re: before you do consider.....

Totally agree Art. Much more to consider besides gas. I think gas will go down anyway. I still would like to have something more economical but practical as well. So the search continues.

Reply by Wendy Filice on 9/1/05 10:10am
Msg #63272

Re: Time to get a new car

I got a Toyota Matrix last October & I love it! Get about 34 mi per gal; comfortable & fun. It's considered a cross over vehicle--sort of like a small SUV. Good room for carrying lots of stuff. I have the comfort, as well, of the reliability of a Toyota. It runs about $16,000 (or did last year).

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/1/05 10:29am
Msg #63282

Well said, Art

Even if fuel gets to 5 bucks a gallon, it is only one consideration. As for hybrids, any one considering one should read the tests done by Consumer Reports. While the thoughts are nice and some fuel mileage improvement is noted, no one is getting near the EPA mileage in the real world. I know people that own them.
It takes so many BTU's of energy to move a given amount of weight down the road at a given speed. That energy needs to be replace whether it be by plugging it in (fossil fuel power plants) or recharging it by running a gasoline or diesel engine (hybrids) Now you physics majors can figure out where I am going with this. The only gains in fuel mileage to be made with a hybrid is charging the batteries while coasting down hill or braking and the fact that they have a stepless transmission that allows the engine to maintain a more efficient RPM during driving and some efficiency is gained there. There is no free lunch. They take a little getting use to do drive as the engine RPM doesn't match the speed of the car all the time. The ultimate answer is several years down the road and going to require some more work. More efficient engings and something to power them other than fossil fuels. So I am going to wait a while to buy something to see what developes. GM is not doing too much on building hybrids, but are way ahead of everyone else on fuel cell research. Same thing with BMW. I think something big will be coming from one of those two companies in the next couple of years.
If you have to replace your car anyway, then consider a convential small car with a small engine and few power gizmos. They are still priced pretty good and really get good fuel mileage. Before I retired and began doing signings part time, I was driving 200 miles per day to work in a little Toyota getting 43 mpg. Not only that, I bought it used, did not carry anything but pl and pd for insurance. I was making just a couple of miles per gallon less thanmy brother in law with a Prius.except he was paying full coverage for the insurance and a bunch of money for the car, not to mention intrest on the loan. So everyone, check it out before you just pay hundreds or even thousands over sticker price. It's about saving money and gas is only one of the calculations.

By the way, I sold the Toyota and drive my truck now. At 6'5", I don't fit into those things too good and they don't do well in an accident.

Reply by newlysmomva on 9/2/05 8:25am
Msg #63456

Hyundia

I have a Hyundia Elantra...has been very good on gas, very dependable and warranty is great. There is a dealer in Va. Beach advertising price of $10,000.00 for new one. Maybe one in your area is similar....personally, I'm thinking of going to horsepower...real horsepower.

Reply by Charles_CA on 9/1/05 10:50am
Msg #63292

Re: before you do consider.....that's why...

I still have my 1987 CMG one ton diesel truck. It s not my primary vehicle (if it was I'd be bankrupt) but I keep running the figures and that darn truck just keeps running It doesn't owe me a cent and it's invaluable for when I need a truck.

Reply by Brijoe_WA on 9/1/05 11:54am
Msg #63310

Re: Dont get a HONDA HYBRID

I have read several articles lately, and talked to a few people who said to not get the Honda Civic Hybrid. It is still very new to Honda and they are having problems. Look at Toyota instead.

Reply by Martha Gall on 9/1/05 12:18pm
Msg #63319

We have 2 Honda Hybrids - hubby gets 51 -54 on his (2003), I get 42-45 (2004). I tend to jackrabbit start and drive a bit faster. He drives mainly late at nite. Love them. No repairs to date.

Reply by TLR_KY on 9/1/05 12:32pm
Msg #63325

Tax break on hybrid cars

Don't you get some type of government tax break for having a hybrid car? I think I read that somewhere. I may be wrong.

Reply by CA_Jeanet on 9/1/05 6:08pm
Msg #63364

Re: Time to get a economy car/For Charm AL and Corona71

Ladies, if we are to present a professional appearance ( in CA ), it would have to be a Harley. (Don't tell my son in law I said that).

Reply by Charles_CA on 9/1/05 8:51pm
Msg #63387

Politicians don't seem to like hybrids

There was one the other night saying that so many people are starting to drive hybrids that it may impact gas tax revenue so the feds are looking at charging for the miles driven.

Reply by DonR_NYC on 9/1/05 11:40pm
Msg #63412

Because I do a lot of camping during the year (winter and summer) I needed something that carries all the gear. I opted for a Honda CRV verses any other SUV for price, gas (22 city/29 hwy) and reliablitity.

Hybrids claim to use less but it still depends on the engine. The Honda Civic gets 48 city/47 hwy but is too small for my height, family and camping. The Honda Acord gets 29 city/37 hwy. These figures are based on Honda's web site. BUT repair prices can be higher than a regular gas powered car. So there is a trade off.

Reply by TLR_KY on 9/2/05 2:06pm
Msg #63522

Thanks to all for your input. Out shopping as we speak. Kinda like a Toyota or Honda. Not going the Hybrid direction. Good news that gas dropped around here to 2.87. Hopefully it will continue to drop. Cheers.