Growing up & growing old

"and 100 more" (nth256) 06/19/2014 at 14:11 • Filed to: None

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15

It's been a rough year.

(tl:dr - being broke sux)

(Also, please note, for those with a soft spot for Hondas; this is less about hating on the Civic than it is about bitching and whining)

My finances are simply not where I need them to be, and at thirty-something its not cute anymore. The kids need dental work (hell, I need dental work), I need to get out of the shitbag apartment we've been in, and frankly, my commute to work is not going to get any shorter or less boring. I pray for days where the traffic lets up, and I can drive at speeds at least approaching the posted limit, but those are scant at best. And since my current DD is beginning to nickle-and-dime me, maybe all this is indication that it's time to jump into something a little more... !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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I love manual transmissions, for the sheer fact that they keep me engaged when I drive, more focused and more attentive to the task, less likely to fidget with something while driving. I'm a fidget-er. But that slog , that grind , for two hours out of each day finds me somewhere between 1st and 2nd gear - never happily in one or the other for any longer than a few seconds - and it's just getting old. I had a rented Altima for about a month, and it dawned on me after the second or third day how much less tired i was after my commute than when I had my manual-shifted DD. Granted, my DD also has a far less refined suspension setup (in attempt to be "truck-like"), and probably the new-ness of the rental offered a placebo; but the feeling persisted, and after finally getting my DD back (and I was happy at this notion, i genuinely missed my car), i realized how much energy goes into driving it.

Aside: After having driven the Altima, it's still not a car I'd want to invest in, but the effect it had was clear.

And while my boxy CUV pulls down a respectable 25 MPG average, I began to wonder exactly how much money I could save by going hybrid. I was tempted to slap myself across the face at the very thought, but god damn, when it comes down to it, cash is king. I hate that fact, but when you check your bank balance and notice that what very little you have in savings just shunted automatically into your checking to cover that emergency trip to the urgent care last night, well... Money can't buy happiness, but having some certainly fucking helps.

So I fire up the Google and start doing my homework; if I get a car that can pull down about 35 mpg, I can save myself about $500 per year. About $41 - or about two of my average fill-ups - per month. Its not a fortune, but it'd certainly help offset the increased insurance premium from my last accident. Diesel doesn't pan out quite as well, as it costs more per fill-up.

And, frankly, I'm sick of putting my current car in the shop. It's been great and trouble-free up until a few months ago, and now it seems like everything is going wrong at once. I don't want to be the guy who dumps his car once the trouble starts. I want to be the guy who owns his car, and takes care of it, and fixes it when it's broken. I don't want to treat cars as disposable appliances. But there's something I call the McDonalds paradox (I'm sure someone with an actual college degree has a more eloquent name for it), wherein the monetary cost to feed your family at McDonalds is actually cheaper than the cost to go buy groceries, as long as you're willing to pick off the dollar menu. There's a similar correlation with cars; sometimes, it's just less expensive in the short term to ditch a troublesome vehicle than to invest the time and money into fixing it. And when you're living paycheck to paycheck, the consequences of the short game become more immediately severe than the potential payoff of long-term thinking.

All this to say, maybe I'm not the jalop i wish i was. Maybe its time to stop wishing, stop swimming upstream, grow some lungs and legs, and evolve my thinking. Stop throwing good money after bad, and make a strategic move. Stop dreaming and wake the fuck up.

In a beige Civic hybrid with an automatic.

Except, maybe I'll just refer to it as "sepia" instead of "beige".

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 14:21

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Although I do agree with everything you said, Id be a bit scared of that particular car... Its 8 years old and has over 150,000 miles. Thats when you need to start worrying about the batteries going on you. The work to get them replaced would be nearly half of hat you paid!

Its a smart idea, but buying a used hybrid like that can get kinda risky.

Ever consider the Insight?

New ones start at $18,000. Amazing gas mileage, decently equipped, and a huge hatch to load a ton of shit in. Also, paddle shifters.

I know dealers have great lease deals on them too if you wanted (like $120 per month). Or they have used ones for rather cheap.

I dont know what your budget allows here though, so I may not be helping at all

Sn210 > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 14:31

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are you sure an 8 year old 150+k mile hybrid is the route you want to go? I'll certainly tell you how awesomely reliable and efficient my eighth gen Civic was to me, but it had half the miles and was half the complicated without hybrid stuff. I would get 32-34 mpg pretty regularly, and that was non-hybrid

Jagvar > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 14:34

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Dude. There are plenty of affordable, family-friendly cars that get that kind of gas mileage that are more Jalop than a beige Civic. Like this one.

and 100 more > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 06/19/2014 at 14:40

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Your suggestions is certainly appreciated, thank you! I have no idea what i'm doing when it comes to hybrids, so any knowledge like this is helpful.

and 100 more > Sn210 06/19/2014 at 14:43

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Am I sure? No, not at all, not even close... Yes, I'm considering it, but mostly just spitballing right now. I certainly can't argue with you regarding the complexity of hybrid drivetrains, and if you're pulling down 32 MPG in a gas engine, that puts me in the ballpark of where I'd like to be. Thanks for your input!

crowmolly > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 14:44

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I would reconsider diesel.

Each fill up may be more expensive but you will be filling up less. I would not buy an older hybrid since the repair costs are probably expensive and you don't know it's history. A seller might not be honest or informed.

And don't let the beige thing bother you. You need to get the optimal vehicle for your situation. I went diesel Passat since I do 80+ miles a day. It's a DSG auto and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure there are probably a lot of people on here who would throw rocks but at the end of the day there's a big fuel savings, getting stuck in traffic is no big deal, and the big one: it handles so well on the highway that I don't show up at home EXHAUSTED from a long drive. Walking through the door and being in a good mood and ready to play with my daughter is a big deal to me.

and 100 more > Jagvar 06/19/2014 at 14:50

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Certainly, and I'm not saying "give me a Civic hybrid or give me death"... The article was more about offloading my brain contents, but i just happened across the Civic ad on CL. I'm in touch with a dealership that wants to buy my current car; we'll see what they're willing to pay for it, but as for what the replacement would be, I'm certainly open to suggestions. Thank you for yours, I appreciate it!

and 100 more > crowmolly 06/19/2014 at 15:01

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You get what I'm saying about being exhausted. I love my kids, but after a full day at work and my commute, I'm just wiped.

I'm keeping my options open, and I've often pined after clean 4th-gen Jettas & Golfs (which are dirt cheap lately). I'm under the impression (possibly an undue one) that small turbo diesels require more meticulous maintenance than their gas counterparts. Please set me straight on this, do they?

crowmolly > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 15:09

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Yep, I totally get it! If you can save some energy for your family it goes a long way.

Some of the earlier diesels do require some work, especially now. Timing belts come to mind. I do not know enough about them to really speak at length.

The other thing that may be worth a look is something like a Sonata. Good basic transportation, pretty solid on the highway, and they would still carry the 10 year warranty. My in-laws have a fleet of them (no joke, all 4 of them have one- 2006 to 2010 models) and they seem to give little trouble. Less to worry about if you've got a longer warranty. Stay up on your tire pressures, maybe throw a set of Ecopias on there and roll on.

And just in case nobody says this to you, I will. Even though I don't know you personally.

Kudos to you for taking up the grind to make a better life for your family.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 15:12

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I only warn you because one of my coworkers bought a used 06 Prius and 2 months later, her batteries died. Car had 160,000 miles on it. She paid 7500 for the car. Batteries were $4,000. Luckilyx she bought from the Toyota dealer and they warrarntied the batteries. So if you like the idea of that, maybe look at buying off a Honda dealer lot!

and 100 more > crowmolly 06/19/2014 at 15:18

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Thanks again for your input, i really appreciate it. Your comment hit me squa' in the feels...

Where have all the lightweights gone? > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 15:19

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Unless you're going to buy from Carmax with the warranty, I wouldn't touch a high-mileage hybrid. In addition to the battery issue, you have to watch out for the CVT transmission. My friend has an 07 Civic hybrid, and he had his transmission either rebuilt or replaced at around 90k miles.

DipodomysDeserti > and 100 more 06/19/2014 at 18:03

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You'll save more money by investing in a cheap tool set and learning to work on your car. Then once you have the skills you can buy old POS cars of of CL, fix them up, and save lots of money. Also, there are plenty of old Honda Civics that easily get 35 mpg an can be had for a few k. Buying a hybrid is never the cheaper option.

and 100 more > DipodomysDeserti 06/19/2014 at 18:34

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I appreciate your sentiment, and I agree with you, in that working on your own cars can be tons cheaper than getting a shop to do it. I'm no stranger to changing engine mounts & O2 sensors in a real estate office parking lot (not to be too specific). I guess I just became too intimidated to do my own shit when we moved down to a one-car, one-driver household. The consequences of screwing up just got to me.

As to hybrids, I get them conceptually, but as for ownership experience, I have no clue what to expect. I'm glad some of y'all have chimed in regarding used hybrids and the lifespan of their battery packs.

I keep looking at older Civics, among other older cars. I miss having cars where diagnosing a CEL meant finding the plug under the hood, inserting an unbent paperclip, and turning the key. Shit was simple back then, before electronic throttles and electric steering.

But after vacuum hose spiderweb monsters, fuck that shit.

thebigbossyboss > crowmolly 06/20/2014 at 08:41

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*gets big rock*