Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - The beginnings of Eco modding. (What car should I get?)

Isaac Zackary · 07-19-2018, 02:22 AM

Yes, fuel costs aren't the main cost. But everything does add up too. If the car costs twice as much then that's another cost in itself. If initial costs didn't matter, I'd get a Tesla. Plus if I can't get it for cash then I have to pay interest and full coverage.

Edit:

Anyhow, in all fairness this is what I've come up with so far.

I puta search for the Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger and Toyota Avalon on Autotrader.com. I set the limits to a 3 to 5 year model (2013 to 2015) with less than 75,000 miles. I also set the price to $11,000 or less for my case (wanting to pay cash without debt).

The results showed well over 1,000 Gen 9 Impalas, a couple Gen 10's, a few Dodge Chargers and one Toyota Avalon. Of course none of the hybrid or eco models showed up on the search.

Next I compared these cars to what Consumer Reports says about them. The Gen 9 Impalas are marked for having brake problems. Which makes sense to me since where I work the company uses a fleet of Impalas and the mechanic told me that he was having to change brake parts all the time on the Impalas. The Gen 10 Impalas don't seem to have the brake problem but is rated as an average car overall in 2014 and above average in 2015.

The 2013 and 2015 Chargers are rated overall as "much worse than average," and also are marked for bad brake problems. Oddly the 2014 Charger doesn't seem to have as many problems as the 2013's and 2015's, but is still marked as average in reliability.

The 2013 and 2014 Avalons are rated as a "much better than average" car and the 2015 as "better than average."

So seeing how I live in the mountains and brakes are important, I guess if I want a full sized car I'd have to either shoot for a Gen 10 Impala or spend a bit more and get an Avalon. I also went ahead and plugged in the 40mpg hybrid Avalon without any limits on miles or years or price and found that a dozen or so are under $15,000, but with around 130,000 miles on them. So I either compromise on a lower mileage car but that gets worse fuel economy or one that gets better fuel economy but that has more miles.

07-19-2018, 02:22 AM	#89 (permalink)
Isaac Zackary Full sized hybrid. Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Colorado Posts: 602 Suzy - '13 Toyota Avalon Hybrid XLE 90 day: 37.18 mpg (US) Thanks: 369 Thanked 108 Times in 84 Posts	Yes, fuel costs aren't the main cost. But everything does add up too. If the car costs twice as much then that's another cost in itself. If initial costs didn't matter, I'd get a Tesla. Plus if I can't get it for cash then I have to pay interest and full coverage. Edit: Anyhow, in all fairness this is what I've come up with so far. I puta search for the Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger and Toyota Avalon on Autotrader.com. I set the limits to a 3 to 5 year model (2013 to 2015) with less than 75,000 miles. I also set the price to $11,000 or less for my case (wanting to pay cash without debt). The results showed well over 1,000 Gen 9 Impalas, a couple Gen 10's, a few Dodge Chargers and one Toyota Avalon. Of course none of the hybrid or eco models showed up on the search. Next I compared these cars to what Consumer Reports says about them. The Gen 9 Impalas are marked for having brake problems. Which makes sense to me since where I work the company uses a fleet of Impalas and the mechanic told me that he was having to change brake parts all the time on the Impalas. The Gen 10 Impalas don't seem to have the brake problem but is rated as an average car overall in 2014 and above average in 2015. The 2013 and 2015 Chargers are rated overall as "much worse than average," and also are marked for bad brake problems. Oddly the 2014 Charger doesn't seem to have as many problems as the 2013's and 2015's, but is still marked as average in reliability. The 2013 and 2014 Avalons are rated as a "much better than average" car and the 2015 as "better than average." So seeing how I live in the mountains and brakes are important, I guess if I want a full sized car I'd have to either shoot for a Gen 10 Impala or spend a bit more and get an Avalon. I also went ahead and plugged in the 40mpg hybrid Avalon without any limits on miles or years or price and found that a dozen or so are under $15,000, but with around 130,000 miles on them. So I either compromise on a lower mileage car but that gets worse fuel economy or one that gets better fuel economy but that has more miles. __________________ Last edited by Isaac Zackary; 07-19-2018 at 11:34 AM..