I borrowed from my 401K and will pay the interest back to myself.

 

So you are saying that most Americans cannot afford their cars. Do you have a mortgage because if so then clearly you cannot afford your house, based on your logic.

 

hi all

nice to see interesting and varied responses here, well you do get cash pretty cheap there, here it costs between 9-13% on a car loan! Quite expensive compared to you near Zero interest rates.

Yes i like the Hybrid as well, but i think i cannot afford it as i dont drive much perhaps about 6000-8000 miles a year and petrol is about $1.20 / litre here in Australia,

but it is a nice car maybe in the future i would like to own one.

rgds

 

Clayton4115,

I saw your post yesterday, but I did not have time to reply. Welcome to GH ! I thought I'd give you some of my opinions on the questions you raised. Interest rates go up and down from year to year. I think I paid around 8% (60 months) on my '96 Subaru Outback. My '03 Forester was financed for 60 months at 3.9% interest. My '06 HCH is financed at 5.05% for 48 months. Most Americans own 1 vehicle for each licenced driver in the household, with some lucky & hard-working folks having an extra truck or "classic" car to drive. Many of us have one "newer" vehicle that we change every 2-3 years, and an "older" vehicle that we've paid off the loan on, or purchased used. In this way you have a dependable car for vacations and longer trips (the spouses haggle over who drives this one to work - LOL), and another car for getting to work ( the unlucky spouse), going to the dump, etc. Depending on our financial situation, we buy outright (few in my opinion) - or we finance the new car from 2-6 years of payments at the best interest rate we can secure. My guess is that hybrid owners tend to be better educated, more concerned about the environment, and possibly have more income.

The mileage in our GH database for '06 HCH averages 46 mpg. These drivers tend to be working on their gas mileage. The range goes from high 50's to high 30's. Those with poorer mileage tend to live in the northern states, have shorter commutes (engine does not get warmed up), or do not work hard on their driving techniques. The price of a new hybrid car is higher than a regular car. For '06 the federal government is giving a $2,100 (estimated) tax credit. This means you can subtract this from your '06 Federal tax owed to Uncle Sam. The states also have some incentives. I live in New York State. I just read that Governor Patacki signed a bill to grant a tax credit of $2,000 for '06 hybrid cars purchased in NYS. They also are giving a 10% discount on the Interstate tolls. I do not use this alot, but I'm getting $4,100 back in January,2007 plus the gas savings, which should be about $700/year for me!

Most people who buy a hybrid car are not just trying to save some money on gas. They also are trying to do their part to help the air quality by reducing emmission pollutants. When I looked at my car's sticker, I noticed the smog index rating from the EPA. My car was rated at .09, the average car was rated at .58. I then did some research on line about car pollution with my 8th grade son. He did an extra credit assignment for science on air pollution from cars. We found that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution score for our car was 9.5 (out of 10). We then compared our old car '03 Forester - it scored 2.0. For another comparison, we looked up an '06 Ford Explorer (V6) - it scored 0. So a new hybrid is not only good on gas consumption, it's TRULY GREEN !!, or great for the environment.

I've had my OSBM HCH for about 31/2 weeks now - I'm really enjoying it. My overall mileage is about 41 mpg. I live near Buffalo, NY and we have both cold and snow here. The up side is that on warm days when the engine is warmed up, I've logged some trips where my mpg is in the high 50's. Sooo when the engine is broken in, and the weather is in the 70's and 80's I should see another 4-12% better mpg. I'm already getting more than double the mileage of my old car! Check out the HCH data by clicking on the "Compare" button on the GH Website, then click on the Honda Civic II. You will see what other HCH owners are reporting. The warmer southern states do better overall, but I'm still a happy camper.

Clayton, I know this is a long note, BUT I wanted to give you my view of the HCH and hybrid lore here in the states. I'm NOT an expert, I'm a hybrid newbie - but I've learned quite a bit in the past 3 months of reading posts on the GH site and other websites. It was nice to see a post from someone "down under". I wish you luck, and hope some day we'll have your HCH or other hybrid car in the GH Database, along with your opinions and experiences.

Best regards,

 

hi Donald

i read everyword of your post, thanks for your information,

yes its not only the economical fuel about the honda hybrid i like, its about doing something for the environment, we dont have to worry about snows or extreme cold temps here its quite mild infact where i live throughout the year,

i just wished there was more media attention on Hybrids in Australia as there is barely a whisper here,

but then again the population for entire Australia is just over 20 million, very small compared to the states, thus not a huge market to push their products (honda and toyota) but then again we do lag in things like infrastucture, i.e trains that still go 60mph max speed on 100 yr old tracks! considering this is first world country what a joke!

 

Houses can increase in value. Cars will not. Big difference.

 

Bottom line is you are arrogant.

 

 

Shenfo, I have to agree with you, he is or seems quite arrogant! Just because you can't pay cash for a car doesn't mean you can't afford it! It's called helping the economy and building a credit base. I got the same impression when I read his posts as well. Hey, it's fine if you can pay cash for a vehicle and be my guest to do just that. It doesn't mean that your way of paying for a vehicle is the right or wrong way, it's just another option of paying for it. People pay for things in different ways for different reasons. Just becasue I charge something on a credit card, does that mean I can't afford it? No, not if I pay the balance in full every month and get points or miles doing it.

 

Did anyone notice I was talking only about my own personal financial situation and spending rules and no one else's?

You can spend your money how you want. In the end I don't care.

Isn't it a given that all forum posts inherently begin with "In my opinion"?

Oy.

Hasn't anyone ever read the book The Millionaire Next Door?