Buying a car - You guys have recommendations?

[WTFM8]

I had a more, um, limited budget of $5k for my car. I ended up with a really mint '97 Civic HX from the original owner. The car has never had a single problem for me and gets 42-50 MPG depending on conditions. You may want something newer, fancier, sophisticated, but there are nice efficient cars out there for far less than $20k.

If I had your budget, however, I'd buy a used Honda Insight and use the left over cash to install a MIMA other mods. But again, that's not for everyone.

Additionally, the Honda Fit is a wonderful little car, and probably the best value in the small car market right now. I would hold on a year or two though, as Honda has hinted of sending the US a diesel Fit for 2009, and that will give the same great little car with 50+/- MPG. That, or wait for the upcoming Honda CR-Z concept to materialize... mmm...hybrid sports coupe...

[cbergeron]

I'm drooling over the FCX !

Hydrogen car == Hells to the yeah.

If Honda can deliver the FCX for less than $29,000 they will own the US Market (for that car segment). I know I'm going to buy one (or an Aptera).

[hvatum]

Honda FCX, that would be sweet! I like Ultra-capacitors...

Thanks a million for all the help.

A diesel hybrid or diesel Fit would be nice, but I need a car closer to now. Autotrader.com listed a pretty good second generation prius near me that I'm going to check out. I don't have a car right now, just using my Family's spare, so nothing to sell. Just got a job and I have money now (weird feeling after college) so I figured if I'm buying a car I want it to be as fuel efficient as possible as gas prices will only go up

Originally Posted by cbergorn

Do you own a home?

Nope, probably not for awhile. Cool idea though, I would definitely jump on those tax credits if I could.

[dremd]

If you need the space Vibe / Trix is GREAT.
Corolla is GREAT also.
Prius is awesome, but Pricey.
I don't know much about newer Civics.
I LOVE My TDI. Not sure if you want to go that far off in to LEFT field, but is a very efficient, comfortable easy to drive car. They are nearly impossible to find, difficult to get someone to work on, and can not be purchased new.
I wish that I could recommend others, but I can't.

[hvatum]

Originally Posted by dremd

If you need the space Vibe / Trix is GREAT.
Corolla is GREAT also.
Prius is awesome, but Pricey.
I don't know much about newer Civics.
I LOVE My TDI. Not sure if you want to go that far off in to LEFT field, but is a very efficient, comfortable easy to drive car. They are nearly impossible to find, difficult to get someone to work on, and can not be purchased new.
I wish that I could recommend others, but I can't.

hmmm, I hadn't thought of just getting a used diesel.

There are a few TDIs in my area on Auto-trader.com. I do a lot of my own auto maintenance, so barring major work I feel reasonably confident doing it myself. Otherwise I have a local place that's quite good with VWs.

Now I'm torn between a used Prius at $10,000, and a diesel TDI at the same price. I'm going to investigate the mileage that each one gets in practice, which modifications I can do to each (I'm guessing there's more room for improvement on the Diesel). One plus on the TDI is that it's manual, and would be more fun to drive.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by hvatum

hmmm, I hadn't thought of just getting a used diesel.

There are a few TDIs in my area on Auto-trader.com. I do a lot of my own auto maintenance, so barring major work I feel reasonably confident doing it myself. Otherwise I have a local place that's quite good with VWs.

Now I'm torn between a used Prius at $10,000, and a diesel TDI at the same price. I'm going to investigate the mileage that each one gets in practice, which modifications I can do to each (I'm guessing there's more room for improvement on the Diesel). One plus on the TDI is that it's manual, and would be more fun to drive.

For the same price I would go with the Hybrid...

Lower Emissions, cheaper oil changes (TDI = Synth), Diesel fuel costs, etc.

No offense to the VW folk

RH77

[roflwaffle]

Well, the TDI requires synth oil as mentioned, and doesn't have the regenerative braking of the Prius that reduces maintenance costs, but it does have a battery pack that would require replacement in the future. Probably at something like 200-300k miles. In terms of mileage, since the aerodynamics of VWs are so poor, and they tend not to come with LRR tires, so there are likely significant improvements available there. In terms of diesel prices, as long as they don't exceed an average of ~12-14% more per gallon on average, they're right in line with gasoline prices per unit energy. Honestly, if you don't mind the VW, less the engine/trans, falling apart around you, go for it. Otherwise, I'd suggest the Prius since Toyota's overall build quality tends to be so much better.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by cbergeron

I'm doing a writeup about it on my site (work in progress):
http://solar.dashpc.com/

I'm looking forward to reading it!!

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by RH77

For the same price I would go with the Hybrid...

Lower Emissions, cheaper oil changes (TDI = Synth), Diesel fuel costs, etc.

No offense to the VW folk

RH77

The TDI does have the common high matence of older VW diesels according to people I've talked to that own them, but they still love them and don't want to give them up, mostly you need to change the timing belt or be ready to pay for a new head, but if you drive alot on the highway I say go with a TDI, if you drive alot in the city/start stop then go with a hybrid.

[cfg83]

hvatum -

Originally Posted by hvatum

hmmm, I hadn't thought of just getting a used diesel.

There are a few TDIs in my area on Auto-trader.com. I do a lot of my own auto maintenance, so barring major work I feel reasonably confident doing it myself. Otherwise I have a local place that's quite good with VWs.

Now I'm torn between a used Prius at $10,000, and a diesel TDI at the same price. I'm going to investigate the mileage that each one gets in practice, which modifications I can do to each (I'm guessing there's more room for improvement on the Diesel). One plus on the TDI is that it's manual, and would be more fun to drive.

If you opt for the second-gen Prius, there is always the down-the-road option of converting it into a plug-in Prius :

All About Plug-In Hybrids (PHEVs)
http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html

I know that plug-in options run about $6K+ :

Aftermarket Conversion Sources
http://www.calcars.org/howtoget.html

Advanced Do It Yourself/EAA-PHEV www.priusplus.org: CalCars and the Electric Auto Association's PHEV group created this open-source project to bring PHEV conversions to '04-08 Prius owners across the country. Our goal is to enable owners to enlist a local electrician/engineer to convert their cars, initially with lead-acid batteries, for under $6,000 and two person-weeks of time. (We will have similar solutions available for better (but more expensive) nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion batteries.) If you're an engineer or an advanced do-it-yourselfer who is comfortable around high voltage batteries and automotive workshops, you can join the discussion and the project!

CarloSW2