I just thought I'd say "hello" and introduce myself a bit here.

Sadly, we do not own a Hybrid vehicle at this time, but we are SERIOUSLY considering one as our next new-vehicle purchase ... probably a Prius, Camry, Civic or Altima. We want to come up with a 25% down-payment, though, so it may be another year before we actually get one.

While doing research on Hybrids, I chanced upon this site/database, and started submitting data for our 1997 Dodge Stratus which has 111,000 miles. The car "name" is Stone White; that's the manufacturer's COLOR name, by the way ... NOT some obscure reference to illicit drugs!

The main reason I'm keeping better track of our mileage on our old Stratus these days is so when we DO get a Hybrid, we'll have a better idea of how much money we save on gas.

Stone White's CITY mileage is quite poor, actually; probably 15-18 mpg. But she does QUITE well on longer highway / interstate trips. If I drive a bit BELOW the posted speed limit, our 28mpg highway-rated Stratus usually gets at least 32mpg ... and she's eeked out 41mpg a couple of times.

 

Welcome.
I also spent a long time researching and reading about hybrids before finally getting one last year. My former car had similar mileage to yours. It was a '91 Olds with 103,000 miles on it. City mpg only about 18 mpg, but like your car, it was good on the highway, sometimes getting about 40 mpg on long highway trips. I think sometimes it's not a bad thing to keep a dependable older car for a long time if it is capable of getting decent mileage. Unfortunately, most of my driving was short local trips, rather than highway. We still have the old car, but I really like my used hybrid.
There's always lots to learn about hybrids. I was surprised to learn, after buying mine, about things like the effect that cold weather has on hybrid performance, and the effect of using snow tires, or the effect of short trips on warm-up time and mpg. There's always something you might not have considered.
Take the time while you save up the money to do research and take test drives to see which car you like better. Maybe by the time you are ready to buy, there will be a new hybrid model out that was worth waiting for.

 

Welcome!
My route was a little different. In September 2005, I was in an accident and our 181,000 mile, 91 Camry that was getting 32 mpg had too much damage for the insurance company to cover. Worse, they took the title and paid me Blue Book minus the $500 deductible. I had been looking at a Prius but back then, the dealers were adding $2-4,000 to the MSRP and getting it. The local dealer even tried to run an auction and scam more money from me.

I was walking across the parking lot and was thinking about the possible battery replacement problem of a used Prius when had an epithemy. I realized the only people claiming the Prius batteries didn't last and would have to be replaced were wrong about everything else they'd ever posted about politics and life.

Knowing the battery was covered under the 100,000 mile warranty, I started shopping through Ebay and working with my bank to find a used Prius. Three weeks later, I bought in October 2005 a 2003, NHW11 Prius with 49,700 miles for $17,300. At the same time, I ordered $300 of Toyota maintenance manuals and was set.

There are some good, used hybrids out there. If you work with your banker, you can get a good rate. Bought from a dealer located via Ebay, you have options. If you decide to go this route, I would avoid the first model year of any hybrid, 2001 and 2004 Prius. All other years got the advantages of lesson's learned from the first model year.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Thanks to both of you -- Gairwyn and bwilson4web -- for your replies. It's nice to feel welcomed to a site / forum such as this even though I don't yet own a Hybrid vehicle.

As I said above, it will be some time before we make such a purchase ... a purchase my wife SEEMS to be wanting to make within a year-or-so. But she ALSO seems to be leaning toward the purchase of a used vehicle -- since a used one would cost several thousand dollars less than a comparable new one -- whereas I'm more inclined to buy new ... mostly for the manufacturer's warranty benefits one generally receives upon purchasing a new vehicle. Well, time will tell; won't it?

Anywhooo ... thanks again to both of you for the welcome and for the comments.

Now ... if I could only find that VERY lengthy post -- with photos -- pertaining to P&G driving again. I stumbled across it last night, but now I can't seem to find it. Was that, by any chance, posted by you, bwilson4web??? If so, perhaps you could help me find it again???

 

If you want to hear from P&G advocates, head over to:

http://cleanmpg.com/

I've only found one case, during warm-up of my 2003 Prius, where P&G makes sense and is practical in neighborhood streets. Otherwise, I just use cruise control, a set of 'sweet speeds' and pay attention to traffic. My signature pretty well shows the results.

BTW, as far as car warranties are concerned, my thinking is buy a used hybrid after the 3/36000 warranty. Our hybrids have 100,000 mile warranties on the batteries and control electronics. So between 36,000 and 100,000 miles is a sweet spot for a used hybrid. Regardless, try to avoid the first model year of any hybrid.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Hi, Ed.
I did a quick search on "pulse and glide" and came up with this thread; maybe it's the one you're looking for. It doesn't have pictures, but it does have graphs:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...driving-17025/

As far as warranties go, if you buy a used hybrid you can probably purchase an extended warranty if you wish. I got one that extended my car's warranty out to 7 years, which would be 2011. My husband was worried about all the electronics and stuff he's unfamiliar with, so we got an extended warranty for some piece of mind. So I suppose you'd have to enter that cost into the equation, if adding that on top of the price of a used car takes it up too close to what it would cost to buy a new one.

 

I have a 50 mile commute to work, almost exclusively freeway. Terrible stop/go/stop again traffic for at least 10 miles of it.

My 1994 Dodge Spirit (Stratus predicessor) 4cyl did 16-18MPG and was wore out at 110K miles. Wanted an '03HCH but waited a year to see if that new hybrid sedan "Worked out".

I use sensible driving techniques, go a bit slower in the far right lane, don't let it idle while stopped, use momentum etc and get fantastic mileage. Although I have no interest in the laborous effort of P&G, I still average around 60MPG.

2004 HCH CVT with 120,000 miles. Starts/drives/goes as day one.
Tires lasted till 88,000 miles. Still have "Plenty" of original brakes left.

200% satisfied with my purchase.
Will do it again without hesitation.

-Steve

 

it's been quite a while since i last checked this thread, but now that i'm here, i certainly want to thank you for adding your comments and thoughts to this thread.

you indicated the Spirit only got 16-18 MPG, but I presume that was "around town". just being curious now: do you recall its mileage on longer, highway trips?

edit follows ... PS -- oh, my ... 1000 miles and more than 70MPG??? that's quite an accomplishment! and averaging around 60MPG is nothing to sneeze at either!

 

it's been a couple of months since i started this thread, but i have an "update" to go along with my original post.

it seems we'll be purchasing our first hybrid car MUCH sooner than indicated above!

i won't bother anyone here with the potentially boring, financial "juggling" details, but i will say this: a few days ago, my wife and i figured out a way to come up with a more-than-sufficient down-payment!

long story short: we'll probably be "ordering" a 2008 Prius (PKG #3 / HI) by the end of next week.

there's a lengthy back-log of customers that have already placed orders, and it could be four months before "our" car would actually arrive.

still - and this probably goes without saying ... especially with gasoline having gone from $3.40 to $3.90 a gallon around here since the first part of April! -we're both getting quite excited about this already ....

 

Excellent news.

Bob Wilson