Let's talk about cars
#7546
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Let's talk about cars
My local electricity association initially anyway was supplied with hydro electric, mega wind farms in Colorado, also a major manufacturing center for wind turbines. I have a family member who makes them. But that is just apart of the equation. I am not off grid but quite a few people I know are, PV better up here.
#7547
Re: Let's talk about cars
Hi folks, anyone car to chime in on a car recommendation (I am FAR from being a petrolhead myself).
Context:
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
Context:
- Looking for reliable, comfortable daily commuter
- $10k budget +/- 20%, with <80k miles on it
- I usually only buy Toyota or Honda, but willing to hear other reliable options
- I'm in Southern California (expensive gas), and will be doing approx 70 miles p/day on the freeway, with about an hour of stop/go traffic
- Weekends I have a beater truck already so moving stuff not an issue, but will occasionally transport three young kids
- Looking for 1. Reliability; 2. Comfort; 3. Economical; 4. Safe
- Plan to drive for 5+years
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
#7548
Re: Let's talk about cars
Hi folks, anyone car to chime in on a car recommendation (I am FAR from being a petrolhead myself).
Context:
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
Context:
- Looking for reliable, comfortable daily commuter
- $10k budget +/- 20%, with <80k miles on it
- I usually only buy Toyota or Honda, but willing to hear other reliable options
- I'm in Southern California (expensive gas), and will be doing approx 70 miles p/day on the freeway, with about an hour of stop/go traffic
- Weekends I have a beater truck already so moving stuff not an issue, but will occasionally transport three young kids
- Looking for 1. Reliability; 2. Comfort; 3. Economical; 4. Safe
- Plan to drive for 5+years
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
#7549
Re: Let's talk about cars
If you're looking at Civic/Accord you might want to take in the Corolla/Camry option as well. No personal experience, but a colleague got a Camry hybrid last fall and has been v impressed with confort and fuel economy so far. No reports on reliability concerns, either. He's owned Toyotas previously (but I don't know how long ago), said that this one seemed a a leap ahead in terms of "impression of quality."
#7550
Re: Let's talk about cars
I'm in Canada, but I can't imagine the hybrid "regular" sedans are not available in SoCal! Your gas may be expensive by US standards, but I think we got you beat there
#7552
Re: Let's talk about cars
https://www.torquenews.com/1083/new-...on%20problems.
I do find the Prius a bit noisy when you 'step on the gas', but - that's not a situation I find myself in that often (on-ramp to freeway when building up speed quickly is my one circumstance). I would guess the used Prius market is pricey, though, given the gas mileage issue. The Camry hybrid has been around a long time and should be fairly easy to find these days. Accord hybrids only existed briefly. Not sure about Civic hybrids in the past.
#7553
Re: Let's talk about cars
Hi folks, anyone car to chime in on a car recommendation (I am FAR from being a petrolhead myself).
Context:
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
Context:
- Looking for reliable, comfortable daily commuter
- $10k budget +/- 20%, with <80k miles on it
- I usually only buy Toyota or Honda, but willing to hear other reliable options
- I'm in Southern California (expensive gas), and will be doing approx 70 miles p/day on the freeway, with about an hour of stop/go traffic
- Weekends I have a beater truck already so moving stuff not an issue, but will occasionally transport three young kids
- Looking for 1. Reliability; 2. Comfort; 3. Economical; 4. Safe
- Plan to drive for 5+years
My inclination is to check out Civics/Accords. Owned a Prius previously and loved it, but concerned about the fuel cells on used Prius' >100k miles. Thoughts?
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas consumption.
Last edited by Pulaski; Sep 25th 2020 at 9:01 pm.
#7554
Re: Let's talk about cars
I'm not going to do anything more than agree with you about Hondas/ Accords - we have two - one of which made it to 360,000 miles on it's original clutch before it's second engine slipped it's timing chain and destroyed the engine. Our other one, a coupé, has just made it to 80,000 and is barely run-in. ..... Once things get back to normal I am seriously thinking about rolling the dice again with our old Accord and putting a secondhand engine it it - it would likely last longer than the 64,000 that the so-called "rebuilt" engine achieved.
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas mileage.
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas mileage.
My colleague also recommended a Hyundai Sonata to me - nice interior apparnetly, same vein as Honda/Toyota, but without the established reputation.
Giving the Accord a good long think today. I like the idea of a little extra room, too.
#7555
Re: Let's talk about cars
My standard answer would be Honda Accord/Civic, or Toyota Camry, as others have said. Nice and boring, and plentiful, thus not too pricey. Very common, which tends to lead to cheaper maintenance. I had two Accords when I first got here (80s) and they served me extremely well; paid $3500 for first and $5500 for second, lasted me 10 years between them with 100 miles commute/day. The Accord is comfy and quiet - the most important elements of a car, for me. But I will say, my g/f's Prius is quite an impressive car and gets great mileage (45+). It's surprisingly roomy inside, very practical with a nice hatchback, and history now would suggest quite reliable - you just don't hear much negative press about long-term reliability issues with the hybrid drive. I did a quick search for long-term reliability and Prius ...
https://www.torquenews.com/1083/new-...on%20problems.
I do find the Prius a bit noisy when you 'step on the gas', but - that's not a situation I find myself in that often (on-ramp to freeway when building up speed quickly is my one circumstance). I would guess the used Prius market is pricey, though, given the gas mileage issue. The Camry hybrid has been around a long time and should be fairly easy to find these days. Accord hybrids only existed briefly. Not sure about Civic hybrids in the past.
https://www.torquenews.com/1083/new-...on%20problems.
I do find the Prius a bit noisy when you 'step on the gas', but - that's not a situation I find myself in that often (on-ramp to freeway when building up speed quickly is my one circumstance). I would guess the used Prius market is pricey, though, given the gas mileage issue. The Camry hybrid has been around a long time and should be fairly easy to find these days. Accord hybrids only existed briefly. Not sure about Civic hybrids in the past.
Seems like the Accord is getting the big thumbs-up on here, though.
#7556
Re: Let's talk about cars
I'm not going to do anything more than agree with you about Hondas/ Accords - we have two - one of which made it to 360,000 miles on it's original clutch before it's second engine slipped it's timing chain and destroyed the engine. Our other one, a coupé, has just made it to 80,000 and is barely run-in. ..... Once things get back to normal I am seriously thinking about rolling the dice again with our old Accord and putting a secondhand engine it it - it would likely last longer than the 64,000 that the so-called "rebuilt" engine achieved.
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas mileage.
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas mileage.
I don't think hybrids are the answer to anything, for me. Mileage isn't high enough to justify the uplift in cost, and it's not enough of a planet-saver to sway me on that front. I suspect my next vehicle will be a plug-in electric: that's a better environmental option, at least in terms of fuel usage (here, electric = hydro or nuclear, there's no coal and little gas outside of peak hours). My journey to work is only a few km, when I'm not in the office in the basement, so range wouldn't be a problem even in winter time. A hybrid power plant has too many compromises - if it's not fully electric, I'd rather wait until hydrogen fuel cells are commercially viable. A combustion engine whose only exhaust product is water vapour is quite appealing.
#7557
Re: Let's talk about cars
Great points, will certainly take a look at the Camry hybrid (I guess that's the Toyota equivalent of the Accord?). My one gripe with my Prius was that it was suprisingly sluggish getting on the freeway compared to my wife's RAV4 which is very punchy. (Maybe it was just my car that was sluggish.)
Seems like the Accord is getting the big thumbs-up on here, though.
Seems like the Accord is getting the big thumbs-up on here, though.
Someone mentioned a Hyundai Sonata; yes, it's the direct competitor to Accord/Camry. Honda / Toyota have such great reputations for reliability that Hyundai (and Kia) have had to really over-deliver in terms of 'spec' and features to try to compete. I have every reason to believe they are up there in the reliability game these days. I personally hate the 'blue light' stuff they had in the ones I've rented, but that's a personal thing! Model for model, I think the Accord has a slightly better 'interior finish' than the Camry, but this is very subjective.
As for Prius reliability, I did a bit of reading and it seems to be remarkably reliable. It makes perfect sense to be concerned, due to the presence of two different power sources, but all the evidence suggests they 'got it right'. I have to say I'm impressed by Toyota overall - they were bold to introduce the Prius and it has been a remarkably successful car. I personally love the 'feel' of a V6 car, and you can get used Accords with V6 engines. Not necessarily the right answer for fuel efficiency, but ... nice drive!
#7558
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Let's talk about cars
When looking at hybrid possibilities, take time to do the maths - if you're paying more for the hybrid, how many miles do you have to drive to get your money back? And remember that hybrids have more parts to break and more systems to fail, not to mention that the batteries don't last for ever either. I am convinced that many people are paying more for a hybrid than they will ever save due to reduced gas consumption.
#7559
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Let's talk about cars
So now I'm baffled as to why I can use the car's volume control to reduce the volume of music to any level I choose. So what is going on differently between Google Maps and my iPhone's Music App??
#7560
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Near Lynchburg Tennessee, home of Jack Daniels
Posts: 1,381
Re: Let's talk about cars
Check out car rental resale, Avis,Hertz etc. With travel down they may be trying to unload cars and a good deal on a low mileage car may be possible.