Public Opinion Poll

[ladysprite]

For a little while now my sweetie and I have been bouncing around the idea of getting a second car. It's really a necessity at this point; with me working at various random places around the state it's extremely difficult to drive him to and from work every day, and public transportation for him is an expensive hassle.

We've been kind of assuming we'd get a used car, just to save money, but I'm realizing that that's actually somewhat of a hassle. Neither of us is much of a car guru, and in spite of the help of extremely knowledgeable friends, I've had enough bad experiences that I'd never quite completely trust anything particularly old. So this put us looking for a fairly high-end, gently used car with no known vehicle-health issues.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that it would probably be more efficient, overall, to get a second new car. The car I currently drive is, in fact, a fairly high-end, gently used car with no known health issues. If we bought another used car, odds are we'd need to replace one car or the other within a few years. On the other hand, if we get a new car now, the car I currently use can become my sweetie's, and there would hopefully be no need to buy any more vehicles for at least a while. Part of me feels like I'm being overly extravagant and spendthrifty, but another part realizes that, if we can afford the payments, this may be the most reasonable way to go.

The other reason the new-car concept has so much appeal is that I'm thinking of buying a gas-electric hybrid. With all of the driving I do, and with the ludicrous gas prices, it seems a lot more efficient to have a car that gets much better mileage. However, I also know that my knowledge of cars is not merely woefully lacking, but functionally utterly absent, and I don't want to hop into something like this without a lot more information.

So - does anyone out there reading this own a hybrid car, or know someone who does, or at least have a strong opinion about them one way or the other? And if so, would you be willing to share any info or opinions with me?

Comments

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

I test-drove a hybrid before we bought our current car a few years ago and decided to stick with the standard system for a few reasons, some of which will apply to you and at least one won't:

• Hybrids cost a lot more than comparable models with a standard combustion engine, something like $8,000 more. You can buy more than 3,000 gallons of gas with $8,000.
  
• The car we eventually ended up with (a 2003 Corolla) had decent mileage to begin with (about 33 mpg highway). (So, assuming we really average 29-30 mpg, the cost differential would pay for about 90,000 miles' worth of gas.)
  
• When I turned on the a/c on a warm but not hot Florida day, the mileage on the hybrid I drove (a Prius) plummeted from 45 mpg to 31 mpg. In other words, a hybrid presented no real advantage for much of the year here. (This is the reason that wouldn't apply to your situation. But the equivalent may apply if a heater also makes the hybrid less efficient, which it inevitably would.)

Incidentally, we're very happy with our two-year-old Corolla. The 2003 model had much better crash-test results than the prior Corolla, and I hope that's kept up. It was our first brand-new car purchase.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Hybrids cost a lot more than comparable models with a standard combustion engine, something like $8,000 more. You can buy more than 3,000 gallons of gas with $8,000.

See above, but that's just not true -- at least, not nay more, and not around here. THe cost of hybrids seems to have come down significantly.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

You might want to look at my reply to New Man. I researched it just now on Cars.com

[griffinick.livejournal.com]

I had been thinking about the Prius, but also ended up with a 2003 Corolla last year, which I love. I paid about $13,000 for it very gently used (one of those certified used Toyotas), and have found it gets, on average, about 35-38 mpg.
I'm certainly one who likes the "environmentally-responsible" aspect of the hybrids, but they were all pretty much out of my budget, even if I considered the longer term benefits of less fuel usage.
I guess the biggest question, ladysprite, is whether economics are going to decide things for you.