Well the silver bullet is done, what next? (Camry wrecked - $5k budget for next car)

[jeff88]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Also on another note, no hybrids, I don't like having to replace the batteries.

Don't limit your options. Not all hybrids are created equal. I'm not necessarily advocating for any one vehicle, but there are many stories of Ford Escape Hybrids that go over 300k miles with no issues and one story of a security company with a FEH over 500k miles.

Again, I'm not saying you should get an Escape or even a hybrid, just that you should keep your options open. An Insight would be a good fit, just based on your needs I assume you have from the Camry. Daox will tell you how easy it is to get good FE from a Prius. A Civic might take some work if your willing to do it, but gives you more freedom to do what you want with it.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by jeff88

Don't limit your options. Not all hybrids are created equal. I'm not necessarily advocating for any one vehicle, but there are many stories of Ford Escape Hybrids that go over 300k miles with no issues and one story of a security company with a FEH over 500k miles.

Again, I'm not saying you should get an Escape or even a hybrid, just that you should keep your options open. An Insight would be a good fit, just based on your needs I assume you have from the Camry. Daox will tell you how easy it is to get good FE from a Prius. A Civic might take some work if your willing to do it, but gives you more freedom to do what you want with it.

Yea, I am leaning more towards the Honda insight the more and more I think about it. It would be lovely to only spend 3-5$ in gas a day compared to 12-14...

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Oh wow... I thought the insight HAD to have the battery... What is the typical life span of the battery if you take care of it? I was actually looking at some insights and I am finding good ones, so I might go this route now that I know the battery is optional.

It seems like a battery attached to a grid charger can easily approach a decade, if used frequently.

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

Yea, I am leaning more towards the Honda insight the more and more I think about it. It would be lovely to only spend 3-5$ in gas a day compared to 12-14...

I am not trying to push the Insight, but when I think about someone wanting the best FE, I think why not start with the very best option? Of course it is not right for everyone, and peoples needs may exceed the Insight, but there is so much I didn't know, and I want to spread the knowledge of the Insight. I am a very firm believer it is the literal and figurative NSX of fuel economy. It's over built, and over built for the purpose of fuel economy. And now, prices are so great for it!

There are also MANY options for handling a "bad" battery. I would almost prefer one, because of what it does to the price. And again, one can always just cross it over to a gas only.

(My other comment wasn't meant to be rude, either, does the Civic VX get better FE? Short of the VW XL1, the Insight is the most FE vehicle out there- tit for tat(to my knowledge).)

[vskid3]

Originally Posted by Xist

VX?

Or HX, depending on the year.
Civic or Insight would be a good choice. Insight will probably get better mileage, but its not fast by any standard without the IMA working right. Its enough to get you around, but if you're one who likes to floor it to pass someone or merge, you'll have to change your habits. Head over to Insight Central if you want more info on what to look for when buying one.
For a Civic, being as stock as possible is what I would look for. No engine swaps, CAI, exhaust, or anything besides maybe an upgraded sound system. Something used as a commuter car, not a wannabe race car. And the timing belt being changed on schedule, if that goes, you'll need a new engine or a rebuild.

[user removed]

I had an Insight. From 35k to 62 k miles it had $7000 in warrranty work done by the dealership. Battery, ECM, catalyst, it adds up quickly. The 10 year battery warranty start date is the in service date of the car, when it was first sold to a retail customer. Considering the thread about your overheating problem which intitated with a post about a different oil viscosity being the cause of a significant rise in cooling temperatures,

My advice is get a car that has the lowerst required maintenance over it's lifetime.

In my experience that is an Echo.

I know many here love the 1st gen Insights, the VX, 3 cylinder Metros. Look through the gaslogs lists of all the cars on this site with fuellogs. While mileage may be your primary goal and the purpose of this thread, right up there with mileage should be reliability, as well as the sum total of maitenance requirements over the period of ownership.

That was the basis of my recommendation to get an Echo. I has even lower maintenance requirements that your Camry, which had a timing belt. In todays market a timing belt job would buy you a couple hundred gallons of gas. At 45 MPG that's a 9000 mile free gas card since the Echo has a chain that lasts the life of the engine with decent oil change intervals.

regards
Mech

[UltArc]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ems-18892.html

This entire thread is worth a read, if you haven't seen it yet. Vskid isn't joking about the acceleration, and compared to the Mustang, I row in the Insight- especially when I turn off the battery. Since I use a switch to turn the battery on/off (to cycle it empty and full), using the engine only can need a lot of shifting if one is moving with a purpose. Mustang takes just throttle or maybe down to 5, Insight is more like down to 4, sometimes 3, have used 2nd lol. If you want more performance from the Insight, I hear the CVT is better for more fun and is a bit quicker.

Edit: Mech, thank you for bringing up valid points on another car, I don't want to turn this into an Insight only thread lol- very good points.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I had an Insight. From 35k to 62 k miles it had $7000 in warrranty work done by the dealership. Battery, ECM, catalyst, it adds up quickly. The 10 year battery warranty start date is the in service date of the car, when it was first sold to a retail customer. Considering the thread about your overheating problem which intitated with a post about a different oil viscosity being the cause of a significant rise in cooling temperatures,

My advice is get a car that has the lowerst required maintenance over it's lifetime.

In my experience that is an Echo.

I know many here love the 1st gen Insights, the VX, 3 cylinder Metros. Look through the gaslogs lists of all the cars on this site with fuellogs. While mileage may be your primary goal and the purpose of this thread, right up there with mileage should be reliability, as well as the sum total of maitenance requirements over the period of ownership.

That was the basis of my recommendation to get an Echo. I has even lower maintenance requirements that your Camry, which had a timing belt. In todays market a timing belt job would buy you a couple hundred gallons of gas. At 45 MPG that's a 9000 mile free gas card since the Echo has a chain that lasts the life of the engine with decent oil change intervals.

regards
Mech

I didn't really put a thought into the maintenance factor, with my working 2 jobs, I don't really have time to do anything to the car other then the oil change/washing. With that being said, I can't seem to find any Echos out there. They all have 200k+ Miles on them and they are very, very expensive...

Also, I don't really want a Manual. I know they get way better FE but honestly, I just want something simple, my commute is 80 miles each day to and from work, and I just want something I can get up to 70, click the cruise control and let it go. I don't want to worry about shifting or anything else like that. On top of that... I don't have any experience whatsoever with a stick...

[vskid3]

How much of your commute is highway? Are there many hills and is the traffic bad? If its fairly flat and traffic isn't too heavy (doesn't sound like it, as you use cruise), you could probably get to top gear and set the cruise and be fine. There's generally not too much shifting on the highway. And really, shifting isn't that bad. It becomes second nature after a while and makes automatics feel boring. Plus manuals are usually lower maintenance, or at least cheaper when they do need fixed.
Do you know someone who has a manual car you could use to learn/do a few test commutes with?

[user removed]

2000 Toyota Echo

[EchoBallin]

+1 on the Echo as a fantastic FE car, with little maintenance needs. I had a 2000 Camaro SS, and the maintenance was driving me nuts while going to school. Sold that and got my echo, and havent regretted it at all. Makes life a lot simpler not worrying about things going wrong!