Finally, landed new job, may need new ride

[TurboDuane]

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 , 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

[MadMonkey]

Is getting to drive in the HOV lane reaaaally worth driving a hybrid?

[TurboDuane]

Is getting to drive in the HOV lane reaaaally worth driving a hybrid?

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.

[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.

[Wes52805]

I've never understood spending a bunch of money on an efficient car that only gets 5mpg more than a Geo Metro

93 Geo Metrom 52MPG
04 Civic Hybrid 47MPG

93 Metro 2K
04 Hybrid 13K

Hummmmm.........

[Titus]

How about a Mazda2?








By the way, where downtown? Perhaps you can join Matt and I for lunch one day once you are settled in.

[TurboDuane]

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.

Monkey, I've simply got New Car Fever, and your screwing up my rationalization.

[Radio-Active]

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.

[MadMonkey]

Monkey, I've simply got New Car Fever, and your screwing up my rationalization.

I do my best, sweety

[sammm]

Congrats on the new gig. Go check out the Prius, really.

[Treibenschnell]

Congrats!!

[Miatamoto]

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.

[trickyrix]

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.

[Sharpie]

I agree with the Insight idea. My 97' Civic hatch got 37.8 on its last tank.

[trickyrix]

If you're really going for gas mileage, you could find yourself one of these...

[altiain]

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.

Yeah, it'll get eleventy billion miles to the gallon, since it'll always be on a lift at the VW service shop.

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.

[sammm]

If I was going to get something that made 40-50 mpg I'd get a VW diesel and chip it.

Does that chip make the car not a VW?

[POS Racing]

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.

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!

[Miatamoto]

Yeah, it'll get eleventy billion miles to the gallon, since it'll always be on a lift at the VW service shop.

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.

Me and the wifey have been very happy with our VW/Audi products (knock on wood).

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)

[Mathews2004]

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!