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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
I have a week to buy a car, Hybrid question
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My car is having issues again and I need to get a new one within a week or get a rental car for awhile.
If you have a hybrid how do you like it? Any major service issues? do you own or lease it?
Is it worth paying more for?
Does anyone have a Ford hybrid?
Re: I have a week to buy a car, Hybrid question
I don't have a hybrid, but we test drove several when we were looking a fwe months ago. We didn't care for the Prius or Honda on the highway (where we do most of our driving), but other people seem to really like them. We really liked the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but it was bigger and more money that we wanted to spend.
We ultimately decided on the Jetta TDI (clean diesel) and are very happy with it. I average about 45 mpg, but I've gotten over 50 on the highway. If you do more local driving you'll probably get in the high 30's or low 40's. You might also qualify for a tax credit for getting a clean diesel. Most of the hybrid tax credits are done (the Ford might still qualify, though).
My uncle has the Accord Hybrid. He likes it alot and hasn't had any problems in the ~4 years he has owned it.
A friend of mine has the Camry Hybrid, same story.
*sigh* another thing to look into! I found a few articles on them.
I found these cars that have it, any other ones?
AUDI A4 SEDAN
BMW 3 SERIES SEDAN
ADILLAC CTS SEDAN
FORD F-150 PICKUP
HONDA ACCORD SEDAN
SATURN AURA SEDAN
We drive biodiesel, and most clean diesel engines (like the VW TDIs) can also be run on biodiesel.
Ours is a 30 yr old Ford 1T PU - so I obviously think they're great and reliable.
My MIL drives a '05 VW Golf TDI that she also runs on biodiesel. I believe Jeep, Mercedes and BMW new clean diesel engines are biodiesel compatible.
FWIW, our grampa drives a Prius and loves it, but we still prefer biodiesel.
I love love LOVE my 2007 Prius, by far the best car I've ever owned. I get 46 mpg on my bumper-to-bumper commute, which technically is a mix of local and highway but I only get up to highway speeds for a few miles. The Prius fits 5 adults comfortably and has a huge trunk and the backseats fold flat (I've fit chairs, Christmas trees, and bikes back there). The dashboard is very intuitive, I feel like all the buttons are right where they're supposed to be. My iPod plugs right in. I can drive in the HOV lanes in most highways in VA.
In addition to that, the Prius has the highest resale value of any car in America. I bought mine in Nov 2006, it's got 55,000 miles on it and I could sell it right now for what I have left to pay on it and possibly a tiny profit, I wouldn't be "upside down" if I had to get a new car for some reason.
ETA: We always take my car for long trips, it's very comfortable. DH, who's 5'10" 200 lbs, is very comfortable in my car.
One thing to consider when looking at hybrids is that you get one with the system that works for you. DH has a civic, that works well for his freeway heavy commute. Other systems are better for 'around town' type commutes.
I can't stand his car though. It is uncomfortable (his one complaint).
My brother absolutely adores his Prius. He never stops talking about it, and he's probably had it for a year now.
One thing I've wondered about with the clean diesel and biodiesel (and this might be a dumb question): how easy is it to find that gas? I have no clue, and since I live in Oregon it seems harder to just drive around to stations to find the gas because we're not allowed to pump our own gas. I just pull up to a pump and tell them "Full premium" and hand them my card and it's done. And since we only use CostCo for our gas, I don't really pay attention to signage.
This might be obvious to you, but I don't want to overlook it either--if you do decide to pursue a clean or biodiesel car, make sure you can buy clean (I don't actually know what "clean" diesel is..) diesel fuel or biodiesel. It would not be a great idea in my state since there are fewer than 50 stations that carry that kind of fuel in the entire STATE--and none in my immediate area. It looks like there's not many more options in MI either.
I'll admit its difficult. For long haul trips, we keep 4 carboys filled with biodiesel, and map out our station stops.
In Oregon, we fuel up at Phoenix Rising in Phoenix right outside of Ashland. Here's a map of biodiesel stations.
We're grateful that there's a station a mile from our house. Even though we commute 95% of the time on bicycle - even for big grocery trips (we just attach a bob trailer to the back of our tandem). In the event of large storms, camping trips and REALLY big grocery trips, a vehicle comes in handy.
As of June 2006, 80% of diesel sold in the US was ULSD (clean diesel). By December 2010, this will be 100%. I think it is safe to say that it will not be hard to find.
Pretty much this exactly. I absolutely love love love our (07) Prius.
A few things I'd add:
The horn sucks. A lot. It's totally weak.
The sound system isn't fabulous. Functional, and the ipod jack is a completely excellent thing, but the sound isn't fabulous.
The blind spots can be disconcerting if you're not used to a hatchback. I already drove one, so it wasn't a big issue, but friends who've driven our car have mentioned that they take getting used to.
If you're around a college campus, you'll need to really watch out for pedestrians. College kids with music on won't notice a Prius that's running on silent. We've had more than one walk into our stopped-at-a-light car because they just didn't realize it was there.
If you test drive one, be sure that the person you're with from the dealership knows what s/he's talking about. Our sales guy was a complete moron and we wound up having to ask the same questions repeatedly until he finally handed us over to the manager.
Mother's Day, 2011
husb has the honda civic hybrid. loves it. he's 6ft 3 and fits nicely in it, we've had it a year and a half and no major issues. we own it.
i liked the prius better, i like the hatchback and fold down seats it has, it also has better mpg because their technology is different. the honda civic hybrid battery is behind the back seats so they do not fold down.
ETA: DH's overall mileage is 48 mpg, he drives 20 miles to work, mostly freeway. he also drives like a grandma.
I agree with all this. The horn does suck. The sound system is okay, but I've never owned a car with a stock sound system that sounded better than okay. The whole "pedestrians walking in front of your car" thing is TOTALLY true. This happens to me all.the.time. They don't look before crossing the street, and I've slammed on my brakes and honked at them several times. They look all shocked and upset, it's clear they didn't know I was there. And this happens everywhere, in parking lots, stopped at stop signs or lights, backing out.
We looked at the Yaris too b/c the Prius is expensive (I paid $23K), but you can't fit a babyseat in the back.
My dealer knew too much about the car! The Prius was pretty new and popular in 2006, so he was explaining every.single.feature to me. I was like, STFU and let me drive!