Best used car to modify for hypermiling?

[pete c]

I see many mentions of metros and hondas.

They are very good hypermiling cars, however the main reason, IMO, for hypermiling is saving money. And an important part of this equation is purchase price.

Hondas are infamous for not being cheap. metros now fetch top dollar with fuel prices what they are.

I think that '90s escorts are worth considering. Many of these can get into the 40s, just with driving slowly. Hypermiling them can get them even better mileage. And they are small domestic cars which means they are worth usually about what scrap metal brings. Parts are cheap and plentiful.

I think that you would pay a minimum of 1000 dollars more for a civic over a comparable escort. It's likely more like 1500 or 2000.

[Ryland]

The main reason used Honda's cost what they do is that they cost so little to own as hardly anything on them brakes unless it's from abuse or neglect, I have not found that to be the case with other small cars, I've known handfuls of people with Ford Escorts and they would all spend $500 to $1,000 more per year on repairs then I would on my Honda Civic of the same vintage and I would get 50mpg while they would get 35 to 40mpg, so to me the extra up front cost is well worth both the time and money saved in reduced repairs.

If I was in the market for a new used car, I'd either buy a first generation Honda Insight like Daox suggested (2001 to 2007) and figure that between the 70mpg it gets and the aluminum body that doesn't rust out, that you will own it long enough to pay for it's self in fuel savings alone, they seem to be selling for $3,000 to $6,000, otherwise check out the first generation Toyota Prius, I was shocked to see that they Kelly Blue Book value at $3,500.
Honda Civic VX's and Honda CRX HF's are nice, but they are getting really hard to find and sell fast or for a lot of money.

[Frank Lee]

I've known handfuls of people with Ford Escorts and they would all spend $500 to $1,000 more per year on repairs then I would on my Honda Civic of the same vintage and I would get 50mpg while they would get 35 to 40mpg

I doubt that is reflective of reality in the bigger picture. Anyone that is spending $500-$1000 MORE/YEAR on REPAIRS on top of some unknown amount on an Escort would need to have their empty head examined.

Anyway, I am wondering what shirt I should wear tomorrow, and what do you suppose I should have for breakfast?

[hawk2100n]

I just went through the search myself and while I scored an awesome deal on a 96 Civic DX, Mazda Protege's came in at a close second. They are cheap, reliable, and relatively easy to find. I have a friend who bought one as a second car and now has 210,000 miles on it.

If you are searching Craigslist, check often and if you see something you like, go check it out as soon as you can or someone else will buy it from under you. Don't get pressured into buying junk but be ready because the right car wont be for sale long.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I doubt that is reflective of reality in the bigger picture. Anyone that is spending $500-$1000 MORE/YEAR on REPAIRS on top of some unknown amount on an Escort would need to have their empty head examined.

All of my civics have been really cheap to maintain, not much more then exhaust systems, oil changes and tune ups.
Friends with Escorts have had starters, alternators, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, suspension and hand fulls of other parts fail, more then it seems like they should and while they might just have a poor choice in mechanics or bad luck, they seem to dump a lot of money in to their cars, enough that I think all of them have moved on to other vehicles now.
I still hear about all of the repair work on my old Civic VX that I sold to my neighbor because she it's her first car, in the last three years it's needed less then $100 worth of repairs, a new set of spark plugs, a new alternator belt and a rusted out fuel line patched, and it has around 275,000 miles on it.

[Frank Lee]

All my Fords have been really cheap to repair/maintain whereas my Honda motorcycles and ATVs suffer OUTRAGEOUS parts prices and in some cases really piss-poor design flaws (never had a Honda car). Checkmate.