Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Stealth on March 27, 2008, 08:53:20 am
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i'm getting a civic hybrid, or some other prius, or other 40MPG+ car...
http://houston.craigslist.org/car/620382416.html
or
http://houston.craigslist.org/car/591034902.html
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:eek2: That's a bit of a change in tune for you, isn't it? What brought that about?
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yeah i'm used to cars that'll do 60-120mph in under 8 seconds, but i can get used to it.
two things brought it about.
1) i have lived my whole life never oweing anyone any money. the last few months though, i've gone back on my conviction. selling this car will again mean i have 0 debts. the alternative, is to keep the car, and then just slowly pay them off, and in a few months i'll be good, but i'd rather just get them all taken care of in one fell swoop :-/
2) i'm driving more and more. i find myself filling up the gas tank 2-3 times a week, at ~$60 per fill-up. i get about 230 miles per tank. that's with about 75% of it highway driving, the rest city driving. i need something that'll get much better gas mileage than 14-15 MPG.
this really is a great car.
yeah. it's tough for me, but i'm just trying to be practical.
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so you bought a car that you cant afford gas for :)
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Well, I say good on you on both counts. There's few enough people in this country that have the will to live within their means. And, as a native of Houston, anyone doing anything to make the sky there a little less yellow has my heartfelt thanks. I love that town, and miss it terribly.
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You must be loaded, Stealth. This is what, your fourth car in 10 years? :p
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Don't get a Prius. The emergency servies are **** scared of them as they run on silly (and i do mean silly) voltage.
Nice move binning the run-flats, incidentally. :yes:
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so you bought a car that you cant afford gas for :)
oh i can afford the gas for it... i just would rather not :) i mean everything's material. could i afford to pay two gym memberships? yeah, but would it make sense? no. by the same token, could i afford to have this car, and pay $150/week in gas? yeah... would it make sense, when i could have a car that gets 3x better gas mileage? sure :)
plus, when i bought the car, gas was a good 80 cents cheaper :-/
perihelion: i didn't know you were from houston. let me know when you come visit someday, we'll hang out.
thesizzler: no, i just work hard (and full-time), that's all ;)
also i save up for everything. every car i've ever bought has been cash. so while all my buddies of my late-teen years were driving fancy cars, i wasn't... took me a few years to save up for a nice one, but since then, it's been sell-my-car (or trade it in), and put a little cash down on the table, and get another car. i never want a car payment in my life =P
and thanks Roanoke. i'm leaning the same way on the prius. and runflats are terrible :p
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I got a car loan for a nearly new motor a few years ago. Sold the car about 8 months later and only paid off the loan last month. Worst idea I ever had and won't repeat the mistake.
minor hijackage, my current fancy :- http://www.jhindle.co.uk/Alfa1s.jpg (an Alpha 75)
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Y'know, there are a few good articles out there about how hybrids are extremely overrated for the price you pay. Do a little research; you may find that you're better to buy a non-hybrid but fuel efficient vehicle when it comes down to maintenance costs and overall price tag.
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Mechanics I know HATE hybrids.
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buy a golf deisel its more efficient
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yeah i was thinking about that, but diesel costs are through the roof.
i figured out, with the miles i drive at the moment, if i got a hybrid, assuming gas prices DIDN'T change (also assuming i get a conservative 45MPG on the hybrid, and a great 17MPG on my car (which is a good 3 MPG off...), i'll save well over $8,000 in 3 years!
*shocked* :(
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Mechanics I know HATE hybrids.
Why?
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zzzzap
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yeah i was thinking about that, but diesel costs are through the roof.
i figured out, with the miles i drive at the moment, if i got a hybrid, assuming gas prices DIDN'T change (also assuming i get a conservative 45MPG on the hybrid, and a great 17MPG on my car (which is a good 3 MPG off...), i'll save well over $8,000 in 3 years!
*shocked* :(
If you can wait...Honda is supposed to be making some announcements soon about a new global Hybrid that will be cheaper than the current Civic Hybrid and look something like the Honda FCX fuel cell vehicle so it'll have a couple of notches up on the styling department. Not like your CTS tho...
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A while ago I read that if you take into account the enviromental cost when it comes to creating the materials, building the car, the car's projected lifespan and also the costs of disposal (ie not just the "tailpipe" emissions) the best enviromental car is.........the Jeep Wrangler.
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really IceFire? That's interesting... i'll look into it a bit further.
why don't you buy it man? :p
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really IceFire? That's interesting... i'll look into it a bit further.
why don't you buy it man? :p
Well...I'm settled on....wait for it....a 2009 Corolla XRS actually. Long story but I apparently don't fit too well into cars. I have legs of an unusual length for my height or something. The Civic, which was my first choice, and Mazda3 which was my second choice are terribly uncomfortable. Its about proportion and not height. Anyways the Corolla, at least the 2009 model, fits perfectly on the test drives I did. Its the XRS so its get a pit of pep...and fantastic fuel economy for what it can do. Its more stylish than before but its ultimately a practical commuter car which is what I wanted. Although the 2008 and below are great cars for all sorts of reasons I never bat an eyelid at them...this new model is different.
The CTS I don't think I could afford the insurance on and yours would be US spec so I'd have to go through all the hassles of getting it converted for use in Canada (speed in KPH primary, daytime running lights, Canadian spec bumpers if there are differences, etc.). I hope someone who is in a good position to and really likes that car will contact you. Good luck man!
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dude, the 2009 corolla xrs looks awesome. i had kind of the same problem. i'm slightly over 6'2", and most of that is legs :p so finding a car with the right telescoping wheel, seat, etc. is hard. the CTS-V barely did it, but i don't even have a full inch between my hair and the roof lol. thankfully it works, and i don't care, as long as my head doesn't brush against the roof. but i realized how close i was the other day, when i tried sliding my hand between the roof and the top of my head, and it was a snug fit :-/
as far as getting it to work in canada: cadillac sells the CTS line in canada as far as i know. if they don't, i know quite a few CTS-V owners personally that live in canada :) the car can improvise to all of the requirements. converting the speedometer and temperature gauges to kilometers/celcius respectively is a press of a button away. same with running lights. by default the running lights are on UNLESS you turn the headlights on, or engage the emergency brake. don't worry, it would work in canada... and insurance isnt' that much :)
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(also assuming i get a conservative 45MPG on the hybrid,
*shocked* :(
hell no you'll be lucky if you get half that
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:wtf:
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(also assuming i get a conservative 45MPG on the hybrid,
*shocked* :(
hell no you'll be lucky if you get half that
why's that?
i have friends that get a consistent 45MPG. this is after driving a hybrid for a year :-/
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I had to google the Corolla as I've never seen one. Toyota actually dropped the Corolla name in the UK last year:
(http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Corolla_XRS_17.jpg)
(http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Matrix_XRS_08.jpg)
Don't like it all, but I have nothing but disdain for most new cars.
I fancy this
http://www.avo.org.uk/images/gls.JPG
yay for classic cars! :D
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I had to google the Corolla as I've never seen one. Toyota actually dropped the Corolla name in the UK last year:
(http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Corolla_XRS_17.jpg)
(http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Matrix_XRS_08.jpg)
Don't like it all, but I have nothing but disdain for most new cars.
I fancy this
http://www.avo.org.uk/images/gls.JPG
yay for classic cars! :D
Top one is the Corolla. Bottom one is the Corolla based Matrix...unique to North America. I think most people regard them as being separate vehicles. I do think we have different tastes. That particular classic car does not do it for me at all. Now if it were a classic Aston Martin... :D
The Mazda3 I still think is the nicest looking in the category but the Civic and Corolla have their charms as well. If I were designing I car I'd probably combine aspects of all three. Ultimately practicality has to weight out on top of everything else so long as the looks are livable.
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I had to google the Corolla as I've never seen one. Toyota actually dropped the Corolla name in the UK last year:
http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Corolla_XRS_17.jpg
http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Matrix_XRS_08.jpg
Don't like it all, but I have nothing but disdain for most new cars.
I fancy this
http://www.avo.org.uk/images/gls.JPG
yay for classic cars! :D
Top one is the Corolla. Bottom one is the Corolla based Matrix...unique to North America. I think most people regard them as being separate vehicles. I do think we have different tastes. That particular classic car does not do it for me at all. Now if it were a classic Aston Martin... :D
The Mazda3 I still think is the nicest looking in the category but the Civic and Corolla have their charms as well. If I were designing I car I'd probably combine aspects of all three. Ultimately practicality has to weight out on top of everything else so long as the looks are livable.
Now you see buying a car for me is more of an emotive trip. I want something I really like as I don't really need a car. I just like the whole ownership appeal. Especially the classic car scene.
edit: like this http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d199/Chrismec/PIC_0108.jpg dumped on the deck, sprayed black, big rimz and a lovely 3.0 straight six motor. yum.
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I had to google the Corolla as I've never seen one. Toyota actually dropped the Corolla name in the UK last year:
http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Corolla_XRS_17.jpg
http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/09_Matrix_XRS_08.jpg
Don't like it all, but I have nothing but disdain for most new cars.
I fancy this
http://www.avo.org.uk/images/gls.JPG
yay for classic cars! :D
Top one is the Corolla. Bottom one is the Corolla based Matrix...unique to North America. I think most people regard them as being separate vehicles. I do think we have different tastes. That particular classic car does not do it for me at all. Now if it were a classic Aston Martin... :D
The Mazda3 I still think is the nicest looking in the category but the Civic and Corolla have their charms as well. If I were designing I car I'd probably combine aspects of all three. Ultimately practicality has to weight out on top of everything else so long as the looks are livable.
Now you see buying a car for me is more of an emotive trip. I want something I really like as I don't really need a car. I just like the whole ownership appeal. Especially the classic car scene.
edit: like this http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d199/Chrismec/PIC_0108.jpg dumped on the deck, sprayed black, big rimz and a lovely 3.0 straight six motor. yum.
I hear you for sure :)
I was definitely interested in the emotive portion of the whole thing as well...and then I started ding test drives and found my options were actually quite limited for me physically because of long legs and a leg cramping issue. So I am still in the ownership appeal but it has moderated somewhat by my experiences over the last year of trying to find the right one and balancing all of my considerations.
Some people love new cars (me :))...some people love old cars...you..my uncle...I understand it but I can't go too much further. Just don't like the old styling on most old cars. There are a few we can definitely agree on I'm sure as even I like some old new cars. I do appreciate them...old car shows do rock now and again :)
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oh yeah. I usually update certain aspects of my "old" cars (such as wheels, brakes etc). Problem for me is modern cars are designed to be easily put together at the factory so they're a pig to work on. Plus they're just not designed to last anymore.
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yes but they have 5 year, 100,000 mile warranties. and when they break, you take them to the dealership, and get a loaner till they're finished.
trust me, i'm a big fan of older cars. my dad's got an 88 rolls royce, i've got a 1980 cadillac, and together we're getting ready to buy a 59 cadillac.
but at the same time, we all drive MODERN cars, because when it comes to reliability, there are very few old cars (15+ years) that are more reliable than a new car (5 years). that's just the way machines work. when they get old, they break :-
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New cars also break.
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Buy a BMW 520d. Better car, better consumption, less long term **** to **** up the planet.
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New cars also break.
i'm sorry, did you not read the FIRST LINE of the response right above yours!?
and vyper: no... i want MUCH better gas mileage. as in, another 30MPG better than i'm getting ;)
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I meant as opposed to the Prius.
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yeah but the prius gets twice as good gas mileage than the 5 series BMW :-p
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New cars also break.
i'm sorry, did you not read the FIRST LINE of the response right above yours!?
and vyper: no... i want MUCH better gas mileage. as in, another 30MPG better than i'm getting ;)
well that warranty is great when you're stuck on the roadside waiting for a tow truck 'cos you need a laptop just to find out why it won't start..... :doubt:
Anyway, doesn't really matter as I'll never like new cars and I'll probably never talk you into buying a classic Opel/Vauxhall. :p
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take it from me... i've owned old (read: 1959, 1980) cars, and i've owned new (2000, 2005, etc.) cars, and i prefer newer ones for RELIABILITY (only) :)
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oh yeah. I usually update certain aspects of my "old" cars (such as wheels, brakes etc). Problem for me is modern cars are designed to be easily put together at the factory so they're a pig to work on. Plus they're just not designed to last anymore.
Lots of stats apparently show otherwise...cars last longer now than ever before. Its actually bad from some environmental standpoints (a number of articles have come out recently about that) because emissions control is so much better now than eve 5-10 years ago and its hard to get people to part with 10 year old cars that work perfectly fine. But they do break more and more often as they get older...its inevitable. Its just that the really old ones are easier to fix because, as you say, they were designed to be easy to put together in the factory but working on them is harder and there are more bits and pieces now.
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just wanted to throw in - i just bought a 2006 corvette, with 10,000 miles.
BEAUTIFUL car. planning on trading it in for a C6 (2008) Z06.
AS IT IS - this car, with 100 shot nitrous, has beaten E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G that i've come across. from lancer evo Xs, wrx STIs, cobras, lotuses, etc.
...and it's not even the z06 model! ;) (of course 100 extra rwhp helps, but still...)
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I thought you were going for fuel efficiency? :)
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yeah i was - still am - this is just temporary :)
still looking at altima hybrids :)
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Hmm, get a Tesla Roadster. xD Nah, too expensive. But, how about a new 4-cyl Saturn with a stick shift? My uncle had a '98 Saturn, 4-cyl, no power steering, 5-speed stick, with an A/C... he used to get 35 MPG with AC, 40 without, and hit 80 in 3rd gear when passing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:96-99_Saturn_SL.jpg <- pretty much a green version of that. My Grandparents have a 2001 wagon version, they get the same mileage about. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_S-Series
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yeah i was - still am - this is just temporary :)
still looking at altima hybrids :)
Ohh the Altima is a nice vehicle and the hybrid model should have decent performance. I test drove a base model and it had allot of kick for the 170hp engine. That plus the electric assist and you get better fuel economy and better acceleration.
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yeah, 36MPG they claim! and for $23,000 that's pretty good i think! :)
also, jr2 - i hit 80mph in 3rd gear too... and then 4th gear redlines at 135, 5th gear redlines at 163, and i haven't gone any further than that (6th gear is overdrive, can't do much in it)
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I wish cars were that cheap here.... $23,500 is Corolla XRS/Mazda3 GT/Honda Civic EX territory. Altima Hybrid is up in the $30 range if I remember correctly.
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the altima hybrid over here only sold in like 3 states... i'm probably going to have to fly up to get it and drive it back :-/
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So you want a car that pays for itself in the long run? This reminds me of putting down extra dollars for an mp3 player with ridiculous continuous playback time. While it may be a lot of bucks, you'll be replacing/refilling batteries/gas tank a loooooooot less than usual. Hope you get the car that you want. If you really want to go cheapie though, get a mercury tracer. For what will be my first car eventually, at least it gets 30mpg (i'm very happy about that for my eventual first car).
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From personal experience I'd advise against a shiney brand new car as your first car. You will have the odd bump and near scrape. I backed into a very low wall after a couple of months of passing my test. :nervous:
Atleast in something old and cheap you can either not care or have a go at fixing it without costing a load of money.
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this isn't my first car, and you're right - i don't want to get one i'll worry about...
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this isn't my first car, and you're right - i don't want to get one i'll worry about...
that was directed at Icey and S-99 ;)
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I've been driving for 9 years consistently....so new car isn't a big deal. The issue was always on affording one and I'm a combination stingy/refuse to buy the bottom and work up because it costs more in the long run. Bizzare I realize.
I just got my car today...here it is:
(http://colin.polariscreations.com/images/09corolla.jpg)
09 Corolla XRS
Mostly impressed so far but have a few concerns comfort wise still. It'll take some time to figure that part out so we'll see...I'm tall which is a problem but this is the best of the smaller cars for that. Its not anything like the cars Stealth owns but should be good for getting to and from places without too much fuss. The 2.4L is much better than the 1.8L in the other models in everything except fuel economy. Its also dead quiet inside...Lexus level of windshield and sound deadening.
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DUDE. that's an AWESOME car. seriously.
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Not to my tastes (I have odd tastes heh heh) but looks nice. Should be perfect for A-to-Bing, as you say. :yes: