Buying new car

Get a Z-71 Silverado. They're great trucks and the money you will save right now because nobody wants them will more than pay for your gas for a few years. You'll thank me when you do your next home project.

Plus you'll be 10x safer than in either of those tin cans.

A prius averages about 40-43 mpg...

We own an 03 corolla we average 35-38 mpg.

We paid almost 10,000 less for our corolla with comparable gas mileage

Being that close in mileage average, the only difference I see here is price.

is 10,000 more in sticker price and 100.00+ a month worth a 4 mpg difference?

Buying new car
Shewolfm - what kind of driving do you do? local? highway? mixture?

I like my Toyota Camry, and lean toward a Toyota, whatever I (probably very eventually) choose.

So, I went looking for a web page that would show gas mileage of the corolla and the prius for you.. but I find things like this one

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bestworst.shtml


according to THIS webpage, my car should only be getting some where in the 25-28 mpg range inner city, and about 385 per tank.

I have no clue where these sorts of averages come from, but I gotta say , at least with my car, this is absolutely not true.

We drove to New Mexico almost 800 miles one way on one and a quarter to almost a half.. tank of gas.

When I watched our mileage we were getting almost 480 miles per tank..
Not 380.

I drive 22 miles round trip just to get ian from work at the end of the day. My daily driving including that is to get Jillian back and forth to day care and get myself to work. I easily put 100 miles on my car a week.
If I go no where else but my normal route a tank of gas lasts me 2 weeks.( including weekends) If I drive to go do things that are not necessary, I have to fill up every 7 days or so.

I do not find this page accurate in any way.. and I highly doubt I have the one Toyota Corolla in the world that gets gas mileage like this..

I also do not change my oil every 3 thousand miles like it is suggested.


I can go almost 10,000 between changes.

I take my car in at the slightest noise or change in performance and have what ever it is fixed right away.

All in all.. repairs for this car have cost me about 1,300.

At 75,000 .. like it is supposed to.. the clutch went out.

I have had to replace a spark plug, the battery, ...... and something on my right front brake.. Not much at all.

I drive 90% of the time in city, with a few hops on to the freeway to go to north austin. I dont drag race, and I average about a 40 mph speed..

Chai just got a Corolla a few months ago.
Maybe she will weigh in on this too..

just heard a report re. hybrids versus regular cars on TV yesterday .
a regular small car (toyota , honda ... ... even the new chevy malibu - very highly rated btw. ) is more economical at current gas prices unless you drive about 20,000 miles plus a year .

of course , the russian oil producers have just announced that they think $150 barrel/oil is too cheap - they forecast $250 barrel .
perhaps one of those electric bikes might be handy - we see quite a few of them here .
hbg

Your use pattern is perfectly suited for a plug in hybrid. Plug in hybrids also charge off a standard electrical outlet at home and can go short distances off such a charge. With your use in short runs you'd not use any gas in ideal circumstances.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of options for a plug in right now but this is the future of green cars and you'll see them next year.

But hamburger makes a good point, unless you drive enough the fuel efficiency won't make up the difference between the initial investment in the technology.

While the Prius is very dependable, service and repair will be more expensive on it than on the Corolla.

RH

Buying new car
Well! Now I have plenty to think about, and my next thought is the emissions question. Does the hybrid really make for less emission of undesirable pollutants?

Certainly.

The whole highway/city driving thing is all a myth. Really, it is.

There are all these stipulations as to how they figure it out.

Even the best don't get much better than say your average car.

Now, I am not talking a Hummer versus a Pirus. But my car gets 26-30 mpg and isn't a hybrid. I get about 285-300 miles out of a tank.

I do between city and highway driving (not too much stop and go but more than an express way)

I wouldn't go by what "they" say the mpg is. Go by what actual car owners say.

absolutely.

You dont drive that much. The amount you will put out is minimal.

Is it worth the sticker difference ?

EDIT: Addition

If I did express only, I'll bet I'd get 30-35mpg easy.

Buying new car
I did it! I went in to buy a Corolla, and walked out with the promise of only a three week wait for my new Camry Hybrid.

My old Camry is still in pretty good shape, but definitely beginning to show its age - not so much in direct wear-and-tear, but things like what I suppose could be called "natural deterioration" of materials.

I love Camrys - been driving them for about 20 years; the hybrid was irresistible - smooth, quiet and, I hope, virtuous.

The only drawback was color - I would have liked green, but the options were white, silver, and black. I told the salesman I'd take whatever came first; each color has its good and bad points.

I am excited!

Way to go TomKitten!