USVI-On-Line

I got my Mariner hybrid (like Escape, but a little dressier) back in may. I used to drive an expedition. WOW! what a difference in gas! I was tired of paying $500 gas bills for the Expedition alone, and now I pay under $200 a month (I commute alot, being in the country). I have two kids so the prius just seemed too small and I still wanted an SUV, granted it's a small SUV. I absolutley love my car. I avg around 36-42mpg depending on driving conditions, using AC, etc. I live in the country, and when there's not many people on the road, I can "hyper-mile" it (researched this from hybrid junkies forums) and I can get over 60 mpg!! (The Max they show is 60 mpg). It drives so smooth and have had no problems with it.

Sorry to be late to the party, but we were driving our 2006 Escape Hybrid (about 28 MPG) to Dallas this weekend. We also have a 2003 Civic Hybrid (about 41 MPG). I guess you could say we are committed to the hybrid technology. I drive a 60 mile round trip to work and take the Civic. She drives about 20 miles a day and takes the Ford. When prices were so high, we were pleased with the performance. We have not, at this time, had a lot of repair costs (knock on lots of wood!). After 89,000 miles, I am tired of bringing it to the Honda dealer for the oil changes. It uses a special oil, 0w20, that only the dealer has.

The tax crdits will be back after the first of the year, if you can wait. I can't imagine anyone in Washington saying, "let's not do that." at a time like this.

Good luck with the new car and the "grown up" children.

JIM

are there currently no tax credits for hybrids? we got it in 2007.

soxfan22 wrote:Then of course, there are the accident scene dangers:

http://www.nbc4.com/safeandsecure/5078972/detail.html

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15 ... etail.html

Dang Soxfan - thanks for the links. I am nowhere near buying a new car but I had no clue of the dangers emergency workers/first responders face and the second article about what they have to go through when working on the cars may explain why it's so expensive to get them repaired.

Thanks for the links!

No problem - Like I said, I drive one, but really only because my company has moved towards hybrids. Not a bad car, but there are certainly some scary details!

Hey - big win by the Saints today (well, if you can call a win over the Raiders big...any win in the NFL is big though, right?)...Drew Brees is my fantasy QB, so I needed it!

It was nice after the disaster we had last weekend...jeez, last weekend we did all we could to lose

I am just glad Deuce is back in the lineup! Drew Brees for your QB - nice choice

Chip has been in the automotive business all of his life and with Toyota for 5+.
He is very particular about what I drive and NEVER would allow me to buy a new car. That being said, the last time I was complaining about my 1993 4Runner and whining that I wanted a NEW car, he told me to just buy the Prius.

We have driven them on numerous occasions; around town and on long trips, and we both love it. We used 5 gallons of gas to get to Maine last weeked. I loved that!!!
He is extremely familiar with all of the service needs and costs and there is no difference than a non hybrid Toyota. Maintenance costs are about the same as a Camry. He just said that the only battery pack that he has had changed since they came out was on a 1st generation Prius with over 100,000 miles on it. (and Toyota picked up the cost of it, although out of warranty)
I think that sometimes people assume that repairs will be costly with the hybrid technology but that is not really the case at all.

He does not really get involved with the collision part of repairs at all but said that his certified techs go out to area fire departments in CT to teach them how to properly respond to a major Prius accident, so you may want to check with your area EMS service, if that is a concern.

Am I buying a Prius since he said I could? Nope, I am too cheap. I need to get to STJ

why wouldn't he want you to have a new car?

New cars don't really make sense financially, because they depreciate so much the minute you drive them off the lot. If you finance them, you're always in a hole, but if you pay cash, you still lose a lot of money. If I had someone in my life who was handy with cars, I wouldn't buy new ones. But because I have to pay someone to fix everything, I get new ones so I at least have a warranty for a few years.

I just drove my mom's old car when I got my license. I did have an accident, and I came out without a scratch. It's almost inevitable to have at least a fender-bender as a teen, and most are just excited to have wheels, and aren't too worried if they're new or not.

Volvos have amazing safety records and the older ones are usually very reasonably priced.

MB-After being in the Auto business (I was for over 10 years too) we know what cars really cost and how much they really depreciate within the first 3 months. It is really much smarter to purchase a demo or "trak" car with low miles since what you are paying is actually closer to what the vehicle is really worth at that moment.

I started in the business was I was 19 and have never had a brand new car. I have driven them often, as demos or loaners quite often. The Prius we took to Maine had 5 miles on it, so I guess I don't miss having that new car feel and I certainly do not miss a car payment.

Xislandgirl wrote:MB-After being in the Auto business (I was for over 10 years too) we know what cars really cost and how much they really depreciate within the first 3 months. It is really much smarter to purchase a demo or "trak" car with low miles since what you are paying is actually closer to what the vehicle is really worth at that moment.

I started in the business was I was 19 and have never had a brand new car. I have driven them often, as demos or loaners quite often. The Prius we took to Maine had 5 miles on it, so I guess I don't miss having that new car feel and I certainly do not miss a car payment.

I gotcha, thanks for the explanation.

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I got so caught up in Ruth's campaign last night, I neglected to read my own thread. Thank you all for the helpful information and good advice. We're going window shopping today, so I may be pestering you for more advice later. Thanks again.