How about the alt fuel vehicles? My 05 Honda GX has a white clean air HOV sticker...are those included in the 85,000 limit? If you buy a 07 Honda GX now, will you get a HOV sticker?

 

Per Southern California KCAL's News (ch9) on March 26, 2007, according to the Kelly Blue Book a used Hybrid with HOV lane stickers (even high mileage) could demand upto $4000 more than the same Hybrid without HOV stickers!!! I guess anyone who wanted the HOV stickers have to buy a used or the new GX model.

 

That's an incredible markup. If they'd release stickers that are just the free parking I'd happily sell mine now for the markup and buy another one with just the parking benefit. I think I've used the HOV lane without a passenger (aka Made use of the stickers) just once.

 

Sweeeet! I wonder if that means you can get over sticker price? I'm sure you could.

 

The limit of HOV stickers only applies to Hybrid vehicles. All Natural Gas or Electric Vehicles will still receive the white HOV stickers. Unlike the yellow Hybrid HOV stickers, the white HOV stickers are good for the life of the car! If your house has a garage, it's not a bad idea to get a Civic GX... because you can get a PHIL (home NG filling station) installed and you can essentially pay 1.10 per gallon up here in PG&E land.

If only they had made a Hybrid GX!!!!

 

Biggest concern with the GX was RANGE. It theoretically can get just over 200 miles per "tank". Assuming real-world driving and SOME amount of reserve, I'm thinking you'd want to refill (or re PHIL!) at 150. The car could be a decent commuter, but forget about taking it on vacation or a longer trip. I actually considered it, and even checked into an auxillary tank which fills the space where the spare tire goes... but I don't know how much extra range that could supply. And then, there's the safety issue on an auxillary tank!

I might consider the GX when my HCHII carpool stickers expire! Hopefully they'll have expanded the driving range a bit by then!

 

This is very true...just check out the LA Craigslist. People are asking for a price that's in the new range, for a 1 yr old car with 12000 miles on it!!

I wish there was a way to take advantage of this somehow, but I love the HOV lane too much to want to sell my Prius. Plus my wife wants those golden stickers bad, so she would kill me!

 

are the stickers transferable? i never put mine on my car permantly, now i have a baby so the carpool doesnt do me any good anymore, was thinking of just selling the car.

 

The stickers are assigned to your vin# and are not transferable. Your car could sell for $3-4K more just because it has the stickers.

 

Article from http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...cal&id=5200626

Thieves Stealing Carpool Lane Stickers From Cars
For Thieves, Carpool Stickers Add to Hybrid Car Appeal

SAN JOSE, Apr. 11, 2007 - Thieves have been peeling off with the limited-edition carpool lane stickers the state awarded to drivers of hybrid fuel vehicles.

The DMV estimated two to three dozen drivers a month have requested replacement stickers since the Department of Motor Vehicles stopped giving them out in January, driving up the value of the yellow stickers.

"We knew it was only a matter of time," said California Highway Patrol officer Mike Wright.

Drivers suspect sticker snatchers are selling the coveted tags, which are valid through January 2011. The state capped the number of hybrids with special Clean Air Vehicle driving privileges at 85,000.

In February, someone who was sent a set of stickers by mistake put them up for sale on eBay for $10,000, although apparently the auction item was removed after there were no bidders.

Tanya Cecchin, 39, of San Jose narrowly escaped a $360 ticket last month when a police officer pulled her over for driving in a car pool lane before she noticed that three of her Toyota Prius' four decals were gone.

"I was kind of patronizing to the cop," Cecchin said. "I thought, `You poor fool, didn't you see my stickers?"'

She was able to talk her way out of the citation by flashing a car pool lane registration card she had in the hybrid.

The HOV-lane perk is one of several privileges governments have offered to owners of cars capable of running on both electricity and gasoline. Some California cities waive parking meter fees for hybrids sporting the stickers. Both the Internal Revenue Service and several states offer income tax credits to drivers of the fuel-efficient cars.

Mike Miller, a DMV spokesman, said those hoping to hawk or buy pilfered permits should not get their hopes up. The stickers are treated with a chemical that makes them blister, crack and display the word "void" once they are removed.

"I doubt someone would be able to get them off intact," Miller said.