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I landed a job in Downtown Dallas. So, now I'm going to have a bit of a commute. I've been thinking of purchasing another car. I'm thinking about a Hybrid again :rolleyes: , possibly a Civic Hybrid, one or two years old. It seems they are taking quite a beating on resale, therefore I'm thinking I can get a 04 or 05 for between 12k and $14,000.
So, what have you heard about the Civic Hybrids that may persuade me either way.
Oh, one of the reasons for the Hybrid is HOV lanes ;)
Is getting to drive in the HOV lane reaaaally worth driving a hybrid? :D
I'm keeping the Miata, I'm just wanting something to keep the miles off of the Miata, and something that is great on gas. In my Wife's Accord, I'm always trying to see how smooth I can drive to keep the MPG up high. Plus, I kinda like the hybrid thing. I've also noticed used Hybrid civics are pretty cheep. Just trying to figure out why.Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMonkey
Well... only problem with that that I can see is you're planning on spending a whole lot of money on a car, which is good on gas. You get a cheap, gas efficient car that is comfortable and save a pile of money in the long run... just what I would do. I've never understood spending a bunch of money on an efficient car that only gets 5mpg more than a Geo Metro ;)
DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to know the mileage ratings of any cars and I'm to lazy too look them up right now. I'm making a point. :D
93 Geo Metrom 52MPGQuote:
Originally Posted by MadMonkey
04 Civic Hybrid 47MPG
93 Metro 2K
04 Hybrid 13K
Hummmmm.........
How about a Mazda2? 8-)
By the way, where downtown? Perhaps you can join Matt and I for lunch one day once you are settled in.
In the District court building, I forget the name. I start on Monday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Titus
Monkey, I've simply got New Car Fever, and your screwing up my rationalization.:punchout:
DON'T DO IT!!!!!
You only get to ride on the HOV lanes in CALIFORNIA and the Feds were trying to stop that.
I had a 2004 Civic Hybrid with the CVT Transmission.
DON'T DO IT!!!
At 19,000 miles, after complaining since 5000 nmiles, they replaced the trany. I traded the car in for my MSM in August 2005 and got $16,900 trade in for it. Not bad considering I had put 36,000 miles on it and purchased it for $19,600 in Dec 2003. I felt that the transmission may have been starting to slip again andI did'nt want to hassle with the car any more.
I averaged 42.5 mpg. My best tank was going down to San Antonio and gettin 53 mpg. Worst tank wasgoing to Wisconsin from St. Lois with a huge head wind at 37.6 mpg.
The service manager at the Sherman Honda/Toyota dealership told me that he had seen more issues with the Toyota hybrids than the Honda Hybrids in a repair stand point. Happened to meet him at his house while taking a country back roads tour in Howe.
The car is very nice, on the scale of economy cars. It rides nice, has automatic climate control, and is the only civic to have tis option. The fuel economy gauge is like a video game to see how good of economy you can maintain. The car starts quietly and the batery pack consists of 120 D-cell 6.5 amp hour NiMH batteries that include a 8 year 80,000 warentee. life expectancy is suposedly 150,000 miles.
All this said, I would go get a Honda Civic HX or VX coupe or hatchback, depending on year model. This is the lean burn engine that gets 45 mpg on the 5-speed with no hybrid technology or about 42 with the CVT.
A standard Civic will get 38 mpg on the highway.
I do my best, sweety ::BaHump::Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboDuane
:D
Congrats on the new gig. Go check out the Prius, really.
Congrats!! :clap:
If you're commuting by your self go find a used Honda Insight. I think they came with a manual tranny and get 70-80mpg. It's the only one that makes sense to me if I was going to buy a hybrid.
If I was going to get something that made 40-50 mpg I'd get a VW diesel and chip it.
My cousin down in Austin got a Civic Hybrid CVT back in '03 and has never had a problem with it. We took a big road trip in it so I got some quality seat time in it, and I was very impressed with the little car - esp compared to my friend's regular '03 Civic LX. It's very smooth and quiet and feels more like an Accord going down the road. And the gas mileage game is fun in its own right (although no matter how you drive it, it seems to get 40-41 mpg). I'd pick that over a Prius any day, but that's just my Honda bias.
If you're set on a Hybrid, I don't think you'd go wrong with the Civic.
I agree with the Insight idea. My 97' Civic hatch got 37.8 on its last tank.
If you're really going for gas mileage, you could find yourself one of these... :rolleyes:
Yeah, it'll get eleventy billion miles to the gallon, since it'll always be on a lift at the VW service shop. :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
Personally, instead of spending $15k on a used hybrid, I'd take $5k and find the best 5-speed '95 Civic LX I could find, and stick the rest in the bank. I routinely averaged 35mpg on my old '95 LX while delivering pizza (i.e., 100% city driving, lots of idling with the a/c on, heavy right foot), and it was bulletproof. Heck, during summer shifts, I would routinely leave the car idling outside the store with the a/c on low (it was black, so it got hot) for hours at a time, and I still never got worse than 28mpg while I owned it. We traded it in at 150k miles, and the only thing I'd done beyond routine gas, tires, and oil was replace the battery and the front brake pads.
It was the last utterly trouble free Honda I've owned, and I still regret trading it in. It made the world's best beater/commuter.
From Mansfield to downtown, you're going to be putting a ton of mileage on whatever you buy. A used hybrid might sound like a decent deal now, but how about in two years when you're nearing 100k miles and the battery pack needs replacement? North Texas commuting is a severe duty environment for hybrids, with the added strain of heavy a/c use and frequent idling or low-speed driving in gridlock. If average life is 150k miles for the battery pack, I wouldn't expect to get anything close to that in your intended use.
Does that chip make the car not a VW? :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
How about a pass on the TRINITY RAILWAY EXPRESS? It Would take ya downtown! Tarrant County offer employees a heck of a deal on a pass, I'm sure Dallas offers a similar deal.
http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org...ces/TREDFW.jpg
Or buy a used Toyota Corolla and let us know how it does, since my kid doesn't want a Civic for her first car! ;)
Congrats on the New Gig! ::Banana::
Me and the wifey have been very happy with our VW/Audi products (knock on wood). ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by altiain
Why spend $15K??? http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=1&cardist=211
Battery pack is covered longer than the rest of the car:
Honda Extends Battery Warranty to 150K Miles*
*for certain year Insights in certain southern locations
VEHICLES AFFECTED
This warranty extension affects all 2000–04 Insights registered in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and TEXAS, the shaded states on this map. (Source: Honda Service Bulletin 06-027, May 27, 2006)
Why dont you just drive from Mansfield to the DART rail station out by Kiest and 408 and take the train the rest of the way in to work?
I just cut you gas bill in half!
BTW, now that I'm done proving Iain wrong ;), congrats on the new job Duane!
My wife does the same commute everyday and gets around 30 mpg in her GTI. Good gas mileage for the amount of performance that's there.
They should carpool! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
Makes it more liable to be a VW...Quote:
Originally Posted by sammm
I thought about it but I wouldn't want to put my wife through that. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Titus
Not a bad idea! I'd take the train if I could. Maybe you could get a Segway for between the train station and the courthouse!Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
Good way to get mugged in that neighborhood!! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by randy7601
"Get the nerd on the toy!" :D
Out of curiosity, how long do you keep 'em? (years, miles)Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
Can I carpool with your wife! ::Naughty:Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
;)
We had an Audi TT for about 30K miles and the same for the GTI that we still own. This is over about the last 3 years. We plan on keeping the GTI for a while, hopefully it'll hold up. I know VWs don't have a good track record, but I hope we're just a couple of the lucky few.Quote:
Originally Posted by redmenace
Quote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
That's a big NO! ::Pop::
Drat! :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
Come to think of it, I've never met her. She must be so HOT that your afraid to introduce me. ;) Possibly for fear that I'll ::Ton5:: .Quote:
Originally Posted by Miatamoto
However, I don't like navigating South 360 going Northbound at 7am. 1/2 mile line at every friggen stop sign. It takes a full 30 min to get to I-20, it will drive you MAD. Even when I take my kid to Mans High, I still go all the way back to Matlock or Cooper.
However, if the HOA lanes aren't open to Hybrids, then that will probably kill the Hybrid (again) for me. I figured If I could cut the drive time down, as well as get better MPG, then it would be a double win.
Maybe I'll get a bike....oh what to do? I've got three vehicles currently, my son is soon turning 16. No one except me, likes my old truck. To be fair, it is a BEATER and I like beating on it and not worring about denting, scratching or just abusing it. My son doesn't want to drive it, says it's too ugly, but that doesn't mean he won't. However, my mother has offered me my Dads old '90 TownCar for my son, hahaha, and I think I'll take her up on it for his first year. It should be safe, and drink gas like a tank, so it should minimize his driving cause he can't afford the gas, [evil laugh].
Hmm, maybe I'll sell the old truck and buy a fresher Economical truck that my wife doesn't mind. She likes trucks. I do need a truck as I do a lot of maintance on my properties and often use it as a truck should be used. Thats why I bought it, that and I needed something to drive after my CarWash incident. Then buy a MotorCycle and enjoy the dangerous commute in the HOA lane;) .
Bottom line is that I'm in no hurry, I just want to stir things up a bit, at least think about it untill I get settled into the new job. My main objective is to keep the miles off of the Miata, followed by MPG, however I still need a truck. Does Subaru still make that little truck/car? As some of you know, I've talked about the RHD Miata, but it doesn't make since to have two Miatas and I love my '97 and have no desire to sell it. The wife doesn't get it, she says sell the '97 and buy the RHD, but I know me, and I'll end up wanting to mod it, but won't till the warranty runs out. Now where's the fun in that?
Hey Thomas, If I get a bike, your wife can ride bi7ch :punchout: j/k
LOL! :clap:Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboDuane
Skip all of the 360 stuff and go across through cedar hill to 67. South 360 is evil!
Why would you want a Right Hand Drive Miata? :scratch:Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboDuane
Did DART authorize HOV lanes for Hybrids? I know that congress said they COULD do so... But I've seen ZERO indication from DART that they have opened the lanes to hybrids...Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboDuane
How about a 2007 Mini Cooper. They get 32/40 with a 6 Speed stick or 30/37 with an automatic. Much sportier looking and feeling. Able to zip in and out of traffic.
How about a 1982 Chevy Luv Diesel or Isuzu Pup Diesel iwith a 5 speed. I always got 35 mpg out of mine. I sold it with 285,000 on the Odometer and the thing never had any major engine work in the whole time I owned it. I abused the thing and it never once complained. Somebody try to ride your tail, just put the pedal to the metal. That cleared the road way and got rid of any mosquitoes at the same time.
Did I mention that I had a bad experience with my Honda Civic Hybrid?
I'd get a bike!Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboDuane
no Hybrids in the HOV lane :(Quote:
Originally Posted by tailchaser
I don't know about you, but the last thing I'd want to use to get me through ~100 miles of freeway gridlock every day would be a motorcycle.Quote:
Originally Posted by boisking
I used to commute 110 miles a day round trip through the Mid-Cities and North Dallas. I had my choice of taking my ‘99 Miata, a slushbox ’00 Accord, or a slushbox ’05 CR-V. Guess which one I hardly ever drove?
When I spent a couple of hours a day sitting in gridlock, “fun to drive”, and “responsive” were the last things I was looking for. I honestly preferred driving the slushbox Accord to work. It was comfortable, quiet, and undemanding to drive, and I tended to arrive at the office much more relaxed than I did when I drove a small, cramped, stiffly sprung sports car. I can’t imagine how frazzled I’d be when I arrived at the office after spending 50 miles on a motorcycle dodging the idiots that clog our local freeways in the morning.
My commute now is a 12 mile round trip of two-lane back roads. I could see buying a motorcycle for that commute, but not for 100 miles of rush hour traffic. YMMV.
Hey you got a job congradualtions. ::Banana::
Later,
Matt