Well, after two years of happy ownership, I have parted ways with my '06 HCH. I have a new baby, and when I switched jobs last year, I went from driving 250 miles a day to less than 100 miles per week (I stopped logging mileage after I switched jobs, which is why my stats are still from that time.). At the price premium for the hybrid, and the very minor savings in fuel, I had to trade it in and get a less expensive car ('08 Nissan Sentra, which still gets 33-35MPG on the highway). I'll be saving $190 a month, which will help pay for child care (a bit more important than owning a hybrid.)

Too bad, but I'll survive.

When I first told my wife that I was going to sell the Hybrid, she freaked, saying 'as gas prices are hitting $4!' Then I did the calculations and determined that for the HCH to be cost efficient for us, gas would need to be $33 a gallon or higher. At my current driving rate of 450 miles / month, I'd use 11 gallons of gas per month with the HCH (I average 41-42 now, because almost all my driving is a 6 mile trip on a cold engine, with about 15 stoplights), and I'd use 16.6 gallons per month with the Sentra (assuming 27 MPG total). That's a 5.7 gallon difference per month, and I'm saving $190 per month on payment. That'd be some pricey gas.

So, anyway, even though I haven't posted here in a long time, I probably won't be posting here for even longer. Carry on HCHers!

 

Well, all I can say is sorry to see you go and I hope you sold it privately and did not trade it in on the Sentra. Why not a Fit or Civic? H

 

We all hate to see you go and wish you best travels in your new Sentra. A nice car...I looked at it when I was deciding what to get. Please check-in!

You have made the financial decision that is good for you and your HCH will be in someone's hands very, very soon and they will drive it more and save a lot of fuel, money and emissions over their current vehicle.

My Mom had a Prius, but my parents hated the seats and didn't like the ride very much. She also didn't drive it enough to warrant the hybrid. She now drives a Camry and someone else got a low-mileage, nearly new Prius.

I drive 25 miles each way to work and back daily and often make 100 mile trips and lots of 20-30 mile trips around town, so it made sense to me, since I had a 96 Accord that was failing and in need of replacement.

 

Jeez, anytime you buy a new car you lose thousands. And if you trade in add a couple more thousand.

I hope you got the deal of the century, b/c trading in a 2 year old $20k car for a brand new $18k car does not make a lot of fiscal sense.

Anyway, I hope it all works out for you. Best of luck.

nf

 

Not really...buying new, I don't lose a lot because the interest rate is higher for financing a used vehicle vs. a new, so unless you go several model years back, you don't save that much buying used.

Also, re: trade in: They paid me $17,700 for the trade. I had tried selling for a bit under $19,000 for 3 weeks, with a few serious bites, but no buyers. Because it was a trade in, and it was more than the cost of the new car, I paid $0 in sales tax on the Sentra. The tax on the new vehicle would have been $1,200 had I sold the HCH private party and used the profit as a down payment, so I essentially got $18,900 for my car on a trade in. $4,000 over what I owed, and a full $1500 over the Blue Book Private Party value for excellent condition (and $4,000 over the Blue Book trade in value).

And to me, lowering my car payment by $190, AND getting a car in warranty again (as my HCH was long out of warranty...48K miles)....makes fiscal sense to me, when the total monthly gas difference will be $20 or less, AND I get a bigger car with more cargo capacity (important with a new baby). (Oh, and my insurance went down too).

 

As long as you're happy with the deal -- that's all that matter.

 

Picked up the new car. Sad to see the HCH go, but day care is pricey! I like the new car a lot, and I'm so happy to be driving a manual transmission again!

 

wow, a beautiful looking car, geez you guys are spoilt for choice there in America!

and your cars are so much cheaper too!!

 

Nice color!

 

Hey, I didn't know there were Australian folks on this forum. You know there is a town in the S.F. Bay Area named Brisbane, but of course it's pronounced in the American way. I actually know an Aussie who lives there and said he chose the town because it was named after the one down under. So, does Holden make a hybrid yet?