OCDetails Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm facing the fact that gas prices quite possibly won't ever get lower than they are now. I need to get a high mpg vehicle that isn't a motorcycle that isn't something I'm going to have to replace in 2 years. That pretty much counts out Hyundai. My wife works for Delta and with the recent changes they have announced to the employees regarding another pay cut and serious benefit cuts, it just isn't worth it for her to even work there anymore. So I did the only thing I could think of... I hired her to work for me. Now we can carpool. So I'm looking for a car that gets 35 mpg+ and is reliable. She drives a 99 Accord right now that is paid off and books for around 8Kish. I'm thinking about just selling that and buying a Civic or something. Don't those get pretty high gas milage? My 20 mpg Legacy just isn't the right daily driver if gas prices are going to reach $5 bucks a gallon or anything. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 How about a Toyota Prius? Hybrid? May be a little more expensive to own, but they seem to be good so far. If not then maybe a Corolla? I firmly believe that the interior fit and finish, and overall quality, is superior on a Corolla than on a Civic. But you may get more mileage out of the civic. I am sure others will chime in. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm facing the fact that gas prices quite possibly won't ever get lower than they are now. I need to get a high mpg vehicle that isn't a motorcycle that isn't something I'm going to have to replace in 2 years. That pretty much counts out Hyundai. My wife works for Delta and with the recent changes they have announced to the employees regarding another pay cut and serious benefit cuts, it just isn't worth it for her to even work there anymore. So I did the only thing I could think of... I hired her to work for me. Now we can carpool. So I'm looking for a car that gets 35 mpg+ and is reliable. She drives a 99 Accord right now that is paid off and books for around 10Kish. I'm thinking about just selling that and buying a Civic or something. Don't those get pretty high gas milage? My 20 mpg Legacy just isn't the right daily driver if gas prices are going to reach $5 bucks a gallon or anything. If reliability and gas mileage are your two main criteria -> Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Can't go wrong with either of those and they both hold their value incredibly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommyh Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm going to get flamed for this, but... I actually really kind of like the Toyota Echo. It sure ain't the most powerful or pretty car, but there are many modifications available for it (same platform as Scion xA/B), they get just silly MPG and they have the reliabilty that's typical of Toyota. I had one as a rental car 2 years ago and, as basic transportation, it wasn't all that bad. Just don't expect to many hot chicks to swoon over it. Martin Luther - "Who loves not women, wine and song remains a fool his whole life long." EL4NFZT7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 ^^ on the other hand with a Scion you may get a whole lot of high schoolers looking at your ride. They are all the rage in the 18 - 25 bracket, from what I hear. I have ridden in the tC and it is not a bad car, just impratical because it is a 2 door. Now if you want a little preformance and still have a decent car, how about a Corolla XRS? Only bad thing is that they only come in stickshift, and they are hard to come by, but from what I have been told they are lots of fun. Of course you also have to take into play if your wife can/wants to drive a stickshift. I really don't like the looks of the xA/B, I think i prefer the look of the Prius over the xA/B X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Yeah, this is just going to be a 'get us back and forth to work' kind of car. I'm not modifying or tuning anything on it, so that part isn't even a factor. I'm also not looking for something that is going to be more expensive to own. I'm bracing myself for a difficult economic future for our country in the wake of these storms in the gulf. Something I can just pay off right away and drive into the ground would be great. The Civic was my first thought. I've been a Honda man for a long time and I love the reliability of them. I've honestly only had one Toyota, so I'm not as familiar with how they do. My 93 4 Runner was great, but it did have some issues. I'll have to look into them more. edit: I guess I should clarify that it needs to be a sedan. Performance means nothing. I've got a 12 mile commute each way and I don't need get there in less than 4 minutes or anything. I'll take a car that has 80 HP if it means I'll spend less at the pump. I'll take the Legacy if I'm late. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 So I take you want a new one? If not you can get a used 2003 corolla for cheap. I have been both a Honda and Toyota man. First Honda, then Toyota, then Honda then Subaru for teh win! lol Anyway, both have their good things and bad things. I really like the Accord's I had, but they were a little bit of a gas guzzler. I had a Corolla as well, and it was very reliable, and a good commuter car. Right now I think the Corolla has more space than the Civic. You can't really go wrong with either one. I am lucky I don't have to drive to work, so I am not faced with that problem, but I do enjoy the few days that I do drive in. GL X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relhok Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Look into a Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel. I read an article about it in Popular Mechanics awhile back. http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/1215782.html?page=6&c=y They liked it better than a Prius. They observed 53 mpg highway and they're not too expensive --less than $20K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I saw one of those new JettaTDI's on my way down to DC last week, I was slightly behind him checking out the car since it is a new model when I noticed smoke comming out of the tailpipe. I was like "dark smoke out of a new car???" So I got closer and his license plate frame read: "Yes, It is a DIESEL!" Lol, that explained everything! It was an older dude with his wife, but the car looked nice! Now just the problem of finding diesel in every gas station. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm not too picky on if it is new or not. Likely I'll sell it when the gas crisis is over and the economy has stabilized. The plan before all this happend was to buy her a TSX, but that will have to wait. So that being said, I probably wouldn't want to buy a brand new car and eat all that depreciation right off the bat. I could live with an 04 or 03 without hardship though. I'd even go older than that if it was a good deal on a reliable car. How are VWs as far as reliability? I know Audis suck as far as that goes, and I figured VWs were about in the same area. I've heard that anything german is a biatch to repair because the parts are so expensive. Any truth to that? _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5GTurbo Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Toyota Corolla gets 38 miles per gallon on 87 octane... Civic is slightly worse coming in around 31 mpg on 87 and more expensive than the Toyota... I recently bought a Hyundai Accent (love those hatch backs) for my 100+ mile round trip commute. It has been fine... it has a 100,000 mile warranty and gets 35 mpg. It's ugly and slow but it gets the job done. I did research on the reliability and didn't find anything undesirable. For a brand new car for less than $10,000 I'm happy. It will lead a life of abuse and running into the ground, fulfilling its sole purpose as a “K” car. My mother bought a Corolla to commute in and she loves it. I owned a 2004 Civic EX until it started raining… the back end was too squirrelly for my liking, and I know three people with the same car that all had similar accidents when the back end broke loose on the freeway in rain. Smashy smashy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 The Civic and the Corolla are pretty even competitors, for the most part. But I usually think of the Civic as having slightly better handling characteristics while the Corolla has a slightly smoother and quieter ride. Both are great for mileage and reliability. IMO, the Corolla may be the better "commuter" car. The new Corollas are decent looking, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5GTurbo Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 +1 to the TDI... Unfortunately deisel is more than supreme and there are a lot of regular 87 octane powered cars getting similar mpg at cheaper retail values. The Corolla S looks great and handles fairly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthedeck Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Why not just get a used '93-'01 Impreza from back in the day. They are cheap, reliable, and AWD, for the winter. The 1.8L or 2.2L blocks weren't that bad on gas mileage... Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I think that VW and reliability are not two words that go together. I am not sure how good the new civic is, but the older generation is not too cool. You can get a Corolla CE for next to nothing, no need to get the S. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5GTurbo Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I think that VW and reliability are not two words that go together. True... as a former VW owner, I cannot in good conscience say it would be reliable... in fact I would probably say it's the opposite of that... the things people put up with for "German Engineering!" Unfortunately they fail to state German Engineering as Manufactured in Mexico! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 What kind of mileage does your paid off Accord get? The money you save on a new car payment would pay for a lot of gas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 okay, so a 12 mile commute - figure the accord probably gets mid 20's right now, and you get 35 with the a civic - that'd save you about .3 gallons each day. (figure you use exactly 1 gallon in the accord, verse .7 gallons in a civic) so - you'd be saving a grand total of 6 gallons of gas each month. (for 25 miles each day * 5 working days each week) and, at $5.00/gallon for gas - that is only 30 dollars in savings each month. Even less considering that gas prices really will never stay that high, if they even get there to begin with. IS it really worth buying a $15,000 new car to save $30 each month is gas?! come on people, do the math here.. it just isnt worth it. Even if you carpool and only take 1 car -- so double the savings to $60 dollars.. you'd save $720 in gas, but be down almost 10grand (after your trade in) on a new car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih8vtec13 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 you could alays go fr a mitsubishi, the latest promom is a year of free gas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 The thing with the accord is that it is time to put some money in maintainence into it. Before I spend a truckload of money replacing the tires, tune up, timing belt, flushing this and that, brakes, blah, blah, blah I have to consider if it is worth it to get a newer car that doesn't require the maintainence and is cheaper to drive. You can't really penny pinch when you are looking at gas prices. If you look at paying $100 a month for gas compared to $70 a month in gas, it makes a difference. Wouldn't you like it if any of your bills could be lowered by 30%? If I'm already paying 120% more than I normally would pay then every bit helps. I'm not wealthy, but I have the means to replace my car with a low budget commuter car to save a bit on gas and repairs. I'm not just going to be saving money in gas. I'll be saving money in other areas as well. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prod Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Honestly if you're going to get a commuter car because of gas prices, don't blow all your money on it. Go for a used beater that can be had for cheap. Mid/late 90's Corollas, Camrys, Civics, Accords tend to fit the bill. I wouldn't recommend older Subies, even those with the EJ18. Subie's aren't good on gas, that's an undisputable fact (but they're reliable ). I had a 92 FWD Loyale with the EJ18, the thing got around 22 city / 20 highway. (90hp and a 3 speed automatic doesn't cut it at on the highway [65mph=4000rpm!]) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godwhomismike Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Mini Cooper Traveller http://www.mini2.com/images/news/frank2005/P0023136.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 No no no Subaru Justy, circa 1990 http://cartest.omega.kz/crash/image/subaru_justy(1990).jpg But seriously, I see where you are coming from, and 1990's accord are not fuel efficient, I had one recently as a beater and it drank gass like a mofo. That 2.2 liter engine is nice but not too fuel efficient. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 You can't really penny pinch when you are looking at gas prices. If you look at paying $100 a month for gas compared to $70 a month in gas, it makes a difference. Wouldn't you like it if any of your bills could be lowered by 30%? If I'm already paying 120% more than I normally would pay then every bit helps. I'm not wealthy, but I have the means to replace my car with a low budget commuter car to save a bit on gas and repairs. I'm not just going to be saving money in gas. I'll be saving money in other areas as well. here is my only point - does saving 30 dollars outweigh the additional cost of taking on a new car payment (which will almost certainly be more than 30 dollars a month) but if what you say about the accord needing maintenance work is accurate - that goes without saying. If the cost of maintaining the car costs more than paying for a new one -- then definitely get a new car. However I personally doubt that paying a few hundred dollars in general maintanence is more expensive than a new car. Especially when the accord probably has a ton of miles left on it. Of course, if you're wife just wants a new car, and this is a good excuse to get one- get one. In the end you and her are the one's driving it, not us. Dont let me talk you out of doing what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerami1981 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 it doesn't help you now..but the civic is supposed to be coming out with a hybrid..just not exactly sure when, but you could probably do a little searching and find out..C&D claimed it was going to be rated for 50/50 mpg hwy/city...just a thought since thats a huge leap over what we are used too with the lgt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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