Hi. I'm a relatively poor college student looking to buy my first car. Mine just turned over 252,000 miles this week, and is starting to fade. I drive about 100 miles 5 days a week, and gas prices are eating me alive! I'm looking into buying the HCH because it looks like the cheapest one out there. I thought about buying a used non-hybrid car because the payments would be less, and I was afraid that the maintanence would be more expensive on a green car. Any thoughts or suggestions as I start looking for a car? I should mention that I live in the Midwest.

 

Well, if you went with a hybrid chances are you would save about $100 a month based on what you probably get (I'm just making a guess) and what you could get with a hybrid. You could probably use that figure to get an idea as to if it will realy save you any money vs. buying a cheaper non-hybrid car.

If money is a factor I would probably go used non-hybrid. If you have money to spend then you should consider a hybrid. I think I saw a few HCH's on Ebay for about 11K.

I saw a Prius I on a used car lot on the way in today so its not out of the question that you can find a used hybrid. As far as maintanence goes I haven't had anything done except the normal scheduled maintenance. Thats mostly changing the oil and "inspecting" a bunch of stuff (yeah right).

 

Hybrids, especially the Prius have less maintenance, like brakes and clutches or auto transmissions. Electric motors are far less prone to 'break-down' than gasoline engines because of their simplicity, and in turn the gasoline engines in hybrids are under less stress because of the electric motor(s) helping it along, again more so in a Prius (2 larger motors) than the Hondas with a smaller electric motor. It should be quite possible to buy a used hybrid by now, especially a 2001-2003 Prius since they are a bit smaller than most North Americans typically want to drive.

It's hard to offset the additional costs of a new hybrid with the lower gas prices, especially in the US where gas prices are still ridiculously low, but there's the additional benefit of much lower emissions from a hybrid engine that doesn't see the kind of stress that a conventional car sees. Unfortunately people are not charged for the pollution their vehicles make, so this does not translate into any kind of savings as of yet.

 

carmax, more often than not, has a few civic hybrids and/or prius' in the area, though you may need to pay a xfer fee to get it to your dealer. I've even seen '04 prius online.

 

Green4me,

I think that Tom's advice is sound. You can easily map out the costs and payments of a non-hybrid versus a hybrid making assumptions about yearly mileage and cost of gasoline.

While a hybrid may cost you more upfront, you will definitely save on fuel every month over the non-hybrid. My hybrid has almost 35K miles on it, and my service to date has been as follows:

3 oil changes (at $35 each)
2 air filters (at $8 each)
1 set of cabin filters (at $12 per set)
1 gallon of windshield washer fluid

I commute 112 miles per day. None of these items would be out of the ordinary for any other car, so regular maintenance for either car should be about equal.

If you find a hybrid, and you are worried about maintenance, one can purchase an extended warranty, which I did for my car. You may find a car that has this on it already.

Also, scout out the local Honda dealers. Because the 2006 HCH is coming out very soon, you may be able to get a deal on a 2003 HCH that is being traded in on a new HCH, or one coming off lease. If you get a sales person who is genuinely interested, they may have a lead on one coming in, though don't count on it.

It is nice to see that you are considering a hybrid. I understand that the financial situation may not work out that you can get one.

Good luck on your search.

 

When I bought our Prius last year, I sold our Honda Civic '94. 40 mpg, 90K miles, wonderful condition -- for $3500.

If I was a poor college student, that is the kind of car I would look for. Reliable, at least 30 if not 35 mpg, and a price I can pay out of pocket WITHOUT PAYMENTS, so that I am not forced to buy comp insurance. You will still be greener than 95% of your neighbors.

 

I have an 03 HCH with just under 40K miles. It's been a fantastic car - no warranty work, and only scheduled maintenance so far.

However, I only recently recovered the additional cost of the hybrid versus the regular Civic (after 2 1/2 years). Cost savings on a hybrid is a long term proposition. I figure to drive the car for at least 10 years, and at the rate I drive, I'll save around $5000 in gas over that time. That's worth it to me.

However if you're strapped for cash now, mileage probably won't offset the difference between the cost of a hybrid and a good used car. An HCH is ~$21,000 depending. Used ones aren't going to be much better, if you can find them at all. Also, while everyone is enjoying good reliability now, all the Civic Hybrids are less than 5 years old. Any Honda will perform that well.

If you need to save money in the near term, a good used car may be your best bet. I'm a bit of a biased Honda owner (have two, family owns another 3), however a good mid-90's Civic or Accord would be easy on the pocket book and get mileage that's close to hybrid standards. The difference between 35 MPG and 45 MPG is not all that much, unless you drive a LOT.

Once you graduate, you'll have more options.

Good Luck.

 

Hi Green4me:

___Or consider something like the following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...557731034&rd=1

___The 7K mile - 2004 Focus LX isn’t the prettiest thing on the block given those ****ed black - wide body side moldings on an all-white automobile but the price is right.

___Make sure you really do a good analysis before deciding on a hybrid. In most cases, the non-hybrid counterpart has a much lower overall cost. I would seriously consider the upcoming 06 Civic LX for maybe $15K 3 or 4 months after release if I was in your shoes but that is just me.

___In terms of SMOG related emissions, the non-hybrid is sometimes cleaner then the Hybrid. The Accord LX PZEV for ~ $17,500 as an example is cleaner then EVERY car except for the HCH PZEV which it is an equivalent. In terms of CO2, you have to drive a lot of miles to make up for the well to wheel or mine to junk yard - true emission of a hybrid because of its specific manufacturing emissions.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Thanks for all the wonderful insight! My car has so many miles on it, that a trade-in is probably not going to bring me anything or at least, very little. My dad's a mechanic, so if I go with a non-hybrid, I feel comfortable in making the right choice with him helping me out. I had thought about a slightly used car to make it until graduation, then switching when the cash rolls in! I'm looking at a nice VW Jetta, and it really is between that car and a hybrid. Everyone here has given me lots to think about! Keep the comments coming, because I'm still a few months out from really being able to purchase, and am planning on running my old car into the ground! (I'll miss her)

Hopefully by the time I'm ready for a hybrid, there will be lots more options, and they'll have become commonplace.

BTW, does anyone know where I can find specs on the amount of emissions each car puts out? I'm very interested in doing my part, even on a limited budget, but I'm new to car shopping, so any info is great!

Thanks!

 

Green4me,

I was pretty much in your shoes when I bought my hybrid. I'm a poor graduate student, and I actually moved to a cheaper apartment (from my nicely appointed luxurious one) solely because it would make paying for a hybrid easier. Then again, I've been rabidly obsessed with hybrids ever since the Insight and Prius hit our shores and our headlines. The fact that I was philosophically attached to the idea of owning a hybrid, though, dominated my car buying process. Though I was able to get a 2005 HCH CVT for a little over 18k, I was blind to the concept that a non-hybrid car would maybe have suited my needs, both practically and financially, a little better. That said, I don't regret buying my HCH for a second, and I love driving her.

If having a hybrid is ideologically important to you like it was for me, then you can deliberately shop around as many dealers as possible, bouncing their quotes off each other to get the lowest possible price. I actually had to drive quite a long way to get to the dealership where I eventually bought (stole?) my hybrid. If it's not ideologically important, but you're a normal human being who's just looking at hybrids because of their practicality, then maybe you should consider settling for a regular ole car - which can be just as good, really, as has been pointed out.

Just my 2¢.