Need a new car

Dave

Dave

Well-Known Member
Just finished up my first week as a home infusion nurse. Logged just over 500 miles in the week and I was driving with someone else for the first 3 days.
I love my Acura but its a gas pig in the city, has a horrendous turning circle and hasn't inspired a lot of confidence in the snow the past few winters.
Looking to get something smaller that gets better mileage. Plus I want to be able to pay it off in 2-3 years at the most.
I'm not entirely concerned with saving the environment and I'll be making money off the mileage they are paying. I'm mostly looking to get something that will survive 100k+ miles in 3 years and reduce my out of pocket expenses. Hoping whatever I get lasts 4 or 5 years as well.

Contemplating a hybrid but I don't know if they are durable enough or how expensive the electric motors are if they fail.
Looking at a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Legacy or a Ford Fusion.
I plan on staying away from GM vehicles as I don't trust their durability.

Any other models I might have overlooked?
 
Forgot about Mazda.They should have stuck with the ZOOM ZOOM tag line. The new ads are forgettable.

I'll take a look at the Mazda 3.

The 2 has only 100hp and 98 lb/ft of torque. Those numbers are fine for city driving but I'd end up as a hood ornament on the highway.
 
I have a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. With my city/hwy (mostly hwy) driving I get about 32 mpg. Pure city driving gets me about 36 mpg. It's a small SUV.

I bought it stripped down but had to push the salesperson to sell it to me that way. They only had Escape Hybrids with the "appearance package" (painted cladding) and "safety packages" (side airbags, etc.) or navigation packages (added thousands to the price). The only option I could ever see myself using was the 110 volt plug, which I got. I made them search far and wide to find me what I wanted and wouldn't buy what they were selling unless they were willing to sell me one at the price I would pay without the options. They found what I wanted.

So... the 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid, with only the 110 volt electrical outlet as an option, was slightly more than $23K. I put $10K down and financed it through them at 0.9%.

I put a lot of miles on it so far. I really like mine.
 
How many miles have you put on it?
Any major issues you've had to deal with?

I'll probably be buying a 2010 model as that is what Ford is offering 0% financing on. Seeing as I'll be dealing with "leftovers", probably won't be able to find a stripped down one. All thats left are the $32k+ versions.

The '11s aren't even on the lots yet.
 
A.B. could probably attest to the 2 and 3 specifically, but the Mazda6 needs a football field to turn around. Maybe its just the larger wheelbase, dunno. That's the only thing I don't like about it. The only thing. The Explorer can turn in 2/3's the space (like nearly the width of a residential street), but its AWD so its hard to compare. I might just be biased.

I believe the Fusions are still hot on the reviews. If I didn't use the capacity so much, I'd trade the Explorer in for a hybrid Fusion. The older models I've driven are very solid too.
 
My Acura has the same problem with the turning radius. Annoying but forgivable.

The Civic hybrid is the only hybrid on my list. The rest all run close to $30k. Trying to keep the price near $23k.

I love the styling on the Fusion but the mileage on the 4 and 6 cylinder models aren't much better than what I'm getting now.
 
Need a perpetual motion machine

your initial post made me chuckle
I want a car that is free
doesn’t use any gas and
lasts two forevers

Just buy the four cylinder Fusion
or find a job that doesn’t require you
run around like a chicken with no head on

oh and Hybrids are a load of bunk
don’t go down that road
 
Glad I could amuse you Winkster. My day is complete.
Not entirely certain how you got the free/no gas thing, but then again, it is you.

Anything specific about the hybrids that makes them a load of bunk?
 
What is the supposed purpose of a hybrid?
“Save the planet”? let’s throw that crap out the window right now.
It is to freakin’ save money on gasoline!! That’s it!!!!
Now that we’ve soberer up and taken off our Birkenstocks…
First they cost ore A LOT more.
They have all the added complexity of the funked out
electric motor the silly transmissions the batteries the
control systems and sensors, all stuff that can break
or go wrong and yep you guessed it this adds COST
Holy shit hybrids don’t really get that much better gas
mileage than the high mileage (non-race car) versions
of the same dammed non-hybrid Model? Well howdy freakin’ Do

So you do the simple arithmetic
of the original purchase price costs
probable increased maintenance costs
and take that by the miniscule savings accrued
each year from the 17 to 22% better gas mileage
and voila you might break even in the seventh year you own the car!
oh sorry the battery pack just went super nova and will cost more
than the car is worth to replace You Lose stupid hippie.

Get that Ford Fusion You’ll be glad you did.
 
Winky said:
They have all the added complexity of the funked out
electric motor the silly transmissions the batteries the
control systems and sensors, all stuff that can break
or go wrong and yep you guessed it this adds COST
Click to expand...


hmmmmm....

1930's era Winky said:
They have all the added complexity of a funked out electric starter and the silly automatic transmission, all stuff that can break and go wrong and yep you guessed it this adds COST
Click to expand...

Yeah....innovation is a bad thing...
 
kharmenblue.jpg


Good luck on the other.
 
Winky said:
Innovation? Radial tires, disc brakes, fuel injection
those were innovations, with measurable benefits.
Adding weight, complexity and cost for an outrageously
small increase in fuel mileage is just more tree huggin’
silly boolsheit.
Personally I’d like a car that:
was only as two seater
cost only 7 to 8 grand
and gets over 50 miles per gallon in the city
Click to expand...

Now who's living on Fantasy Island. 7 or 8 grand..50 MPG....send some of that sticky brown stuff the Messican's bring with them to me...

Hybrid technology has measurable benefits. Big difference between an average MPG of 22 vs 42.
Granted that is an extreme. Most aren't that different. Have to start somewhere.
Fuel injection started as a line bored directly into the cylinder head. Now its a lot more complex than that. Automatic transmissions are nothing like what they were 20 years ago. Dual clutch.... CVT's....Paddle shifts. Disc brakes are nothing like when they were first introduced. How many early cars had 4 to 6 pot vented disks with ceramic pads?
Wasn't that long ago all cars were built on ladder frames. Now they are designed so the motor crumples under the car instead of into the cabin.
ABS. Traction control. Cruise control. Adaptive cruise control.
I am willing to give the auto industry the benefit of doubt right now to see what they can do with the technology.
 
Dave said:
Hybrid technology has measurable benefits. Big difference between an average MPG of 22 vs 42.
Click to expand...

For corn, these factors, along with increased demand for ethanol, helped push prices from under $2 per bushel in 2005 to $3.40 per bushel in 2007.
Click to expand...


A worthy trade? A few MPG for a jump in food prices?
 
Have you considered leasing? I don't know all the ins and outs of tax law but if you use it for business I think it probably ends up costing you very little. It's important to remember that you have to take extra special care of a lease car or end up paying a big bill at the end of the lease.

My Fusion is an '06 V6. I like it a lot. Mileage isn't all that great, 19 around town, 26 on the highway. I understand the 4 cyl is much better. It's very roomy, which I consider a plus. In your situation though, I'd be looking long and hard at the Civic and the Civic hybrid. Keep in mind though that a new car is not particularly fiscally intelligent. A two year old low mileage car (off lease is a good place to look) will have already done the lion's share of depreciating.
 
Gonz said:
A worthy trade? A few MPG for a jump in food prices?
Click to expand...

nope not good.

they already have battery and solar tech good enough to do something great,
but they won't. Just like in the past it'll be suppressed.

They've already got a battery the will suck energy right out of the air basically,
and recharge it's self, but you probably wont hear any more about it.
 
Its not an ethanol car Gonz. Traditional gas motor with small electric motor assist. Gas engine cuts out at certain times and the car runs on the electric motors. The batteries for them are recharged when braking.

Leasing would be too expensive as they charge more if you drive a lot. The typical leases you see advertised are for 10k miles per year. Goes up considerably with each increment.

I considered a used car, but the interest rates are so low right now for new cars. Ford has 0%, Honda is 0.9%, I think Toyota is 2.9%. I don't know what the interest rates are for used, but I doubt they are that low.
 
I need too drive around like a madman

See, you’ve got to get the Duratec 25 175 hp 4 cylinder Ford Fusion!
Even Chcr agrees with me! weeeee
If you’ve gotta have a hybrid then
go on and get the hybrid fusion
it claims 41 mpg in the city
I’ll bet if you drove like a hypermiler
you could get 60

In January 2010 the Fusion Hybrid
won the 2010 North American Car of the Year Award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
 
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