Help my parents are being stubborn.

[vskid3]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

My mom is completely brainwashed that all Honda Civics are pieces of trash and will not last more then 150k miles, while my Dad kinda just goes with what my mom says.

My parents' '94 Civic LX has 290k miles and my old '97 DX had 230k when I sold it (still going strong, probably at least 250k miles by now). Definitely trash. I doubt there are many manual Civics that went less than 150k miles with regular maintenance before dying a natural death.

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

I threw the idea of a prius at them and they immediately rejected it because my older brother has a prius and the battery costs 4.5-10k to get replaced.

$4.5k is maybe what you would end up paying at the dealer. You can get a refurbished pack for under $2k easy.

Your parents seem to be fine with flushing money down the drain for gas, but not for a decent vehicle or possible repairs. I personally would rather pay a little more for the car and parts if it'll reduce my dependence on gas.

The best options that will get that mileage at 70mph are the Civic HX, Prius, Insight, and VW TDI. That's really about it.

[Baltothewolf]

What about a Corolla? Would my dad and decent driving habits be able to pull off 40mpg?

Exactly my logic vskid...

[poomanchu]

WHy didn't I think of a TDI! Good call, I was in a 1.8t I really like the interiors!

A 4 door golf TDI sounds dreamy.

Balto, it's crazy I thought there would be more corrolla's here. I think Corrolla's are solid cars. Never heard of one being a gas hog, or unreliable. My buddy has a 05 XRS with the short ratio 6 speed. It just putters around can put the kids in it, back roads has the 8200 redline and cam change at 6k so its a different animal when you want a smile.

ha I know most of you don;t care about that. Jekyl and Hyde personalities are attractive in cars to me lol. Efficient, and you can have fun in when you swing the tach around.

[MetroMPG]

PS: a last gen Metro will be hard pressed to get 45 mpg at 70 mph... (impossible, more likely, without lots of mods).

My car, unmodified:

[Baltothewolf]

I'll try to respond to as much as possible here so excuse me if I miss responding to you.

First off, my mom and dad keep pushing to get a Corolla, but they cannot afford a new one so it will be a 2002 or older.

My mom thinks VW is trash as well.

It's not so much my dad on this as it is my mom, she just believes she is always right and nobody can contest her. My dad is willing to change his driving habbits and slow down to no more then 70mph on the freeway to and from work, but no less.

Thanks for the info Metro, that throws a Metro out of the loop. I think with enough pushing I can get my dad to tell my mom to be quiet and he will just get a Honda civic HX and she will have to deal with it.

Ok well scratch all that, after having a lengthy conversation with my extremely stubborn and hard headed mother, she is willing to buy a honda civic HX but ONLY if it has under 60k miles, is that even possible? (Throw price out the window).

[Frank Lee]

She's right about VWs- if the upfront purchase price doesn't get you, the parts and service costs will.

What you are witnessing first-hand is how little a role logic plays when people select their wheels. The vehicle has to feed the ego first and foremost.

"Slow down to 70"

[euromodder]

90 miles each way ?
In a Tacoma ?

180 miles / day, that's got to be like 3-4 hours / day in the car - every working day - sheer madness IMO !
How about moving, or looking for another job closer by ?


In a Toyo Tacoma ?
Seriously ... someone's laughing their @r$e$ off dude !
The gas station owner will be one of them.
So will the top brass of the big oil companies that Mom & Dad so generously support.

[P-hack]

Your mom rules the roost and Dad spends 4 hours a day in the truck as a result... Does your mom work or just sit around being opinionated?

[elhigh]

Considering that fact that your dad has been blowing through about $20 (or more) worth of gas every day, if he switches to a vehicle that gets ONLY 35mpg at his usual speeds, he's going to save about $150 per month.

Looked at another way, the vehicle is going to be saving its own monthly payment in avoided fuel costs. Show them that.

This is the exact same paradigm I found myself in when I got my HONDA. Thus far my only cost of ownership has been insurance.

I'm a bit of a car nut, and signing on the line for a 130k miles Honda gave me no concerns whatsoever. I added a grid charger, which by most accounts (and my own experience so far) has prevented me needing to get a new battery to the tune of $3000. Your mom has her concerns, but the vast majority of ownership experience refutes them.

[Xist]

I honestly believe that most opinions are arbitrary and stronger than facts.