Help my parents are being stubborn.

[Baltothewolf]

So my dad's Toyota Tacoma that he has been driving to work (90 mile commute each way) has finally bit the dust. He wants a car that gets 45-50MPG @ 70mph and REFUSES to buy a Metro or Civic HX. 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. He needs it to be less than 6k. What are his options?

[P-hack]

I would look for mpg vs speed charts, a new prius seems to do ok at 70mph. Good luck with the $6k part (unless he is a DIYer).

[Ryland]

He should be able to find a older Prius for $6,000 a first gen Prius will have a blue book value of around $3,000

Honda Civic's biggest issue is rust, even more so on a Geo Metro to the point where you no longer see Geo Metro's around here.

[Cobb]

Looks like the cruze and civic get a bump in mpg above 75 mph. Must be the spoiler on the rear deck lid?

[P-hack]

umm, you're kidding I hope Cobb those are label lines at the end.

Seriously, 50k miles per year is gonna cost you, if the tacoma gets 23mpg then it costs $8760 a year in fuel alone and is gonna run through cars and maintenance($$$).

Stubborn is not moving closer to work.

[gone-ot]

Old adage: "...you can't teach old dogs (parents) new tricks (facts)..." so, maybe it's time to simply give them the INFORMATION SHOWING which cars will get the mpg that they're wanting...and, simply accept THEIR final decision.

You can get whatever car YOU want...later...using the knowledge that other vehicles are better suited for MPG than whatever vehicle they finally decide to get.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Old adage: "...you can't teach old dogs (parents) new tricks (facts)..." so, maybe it's time to simply give them the INFORMATION SHOWING which cars will get the mpg that they're wanting...and, simply accept THEIR final decision.

You can get whatever car YOU want...later...using the knowledge that other vehicles are better suited for MPG than whatever vehicle they finally decide to get.

Oh I know, but they are getting mad at me because of how 'obsessed' with saving fuel I am, and the only cars I will recommend them is the Honda civic HX and the Metro. 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.

As for the charts, that's what I'm looking for, showing them physically what gets the MPG my dad is wanting and then letting them make the decision for themselves, with me trying to point them in the right direction.

Something like this is what I was going to recommend: http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/4310857250.html

[Ryland]

Pick up a Consumer Reports Vehicles Buyers Guide, they do a good job of picking out sellect years of vehicles that have issues and telling you what the issues are along with repair costs.

You shouldn't have to buy a new Prius battery pack, ever, there are plenty of used packs out there and most large cities have auto repair shops that will refurbish hybrid packs, just like no one goes to the dealer and buys a whole brand new engine, you get a used/rebuilt engine.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Oh I know, but they are getting mad at me because of how 'obsessed' with saving fuel I am, and the only cars I will recommend them is the Honda civic HX and the Metro. 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.

As for the charts, that's what I'm looking for, showing them physically what gets the MPG my dad is wanting and then letting them make the decision for themselves, with me trying to point them in the right direction.

fuelly.com is good for showing what real-world people get with their cars, and fueleconomy.gov is good for EPA numbers.

When recommending cars for people, I always find it easier to lead them to something they are interested in, rather than push them to a car that might suit them better even if they don't want it for seemingly silly reasons.

Since they don't like hybrids or Hondas, maybe a VW TDI (Jetta, Golf, and Beetle)? To be in your price range, it will have some miles on it though.

[redpoint5]

I'd recommend a Jetta/golf except they will be orders of magnitude less reliable than a Honda.

What does Mom think of Toyota? A Corolla or Eco would be a great car. You could probably get close to 45MPG @ 70 under the right circumstances.