2017 Production A Long Shot...

Sethodine said:

I should have known my comment would have stung some folks, and I apologize for offending the fine fellows I've met on the forum here.

A new car will lose 1/3rd of it's value after 3 years, and the other 2/3 over the next 15. If you can afford it, then I suppose peace-of-mind doesn't have a price tag. But neither my family nor myself has, in my lifetime, ever been in a position to afford that kind of peace. Thus, my viewpoint is skewed by a life of poverty and frugality. That doesn't excuse my unkind words, just informs them.

As a side note: most miles a car has gotten in my family was my dad's 1987 Toyota Corolla; he bought it at 120,000 and got up to 440,000 on it before it would no longer stay in third gear and he was tired of driving while holding it in gear. He sold it to a guy who rebuilt the transmission and kept driving it. The most I have personally gotten is up to 220,000 I put on my 2002 Jaguar S-Type (it had 85,000 when I bought it). I've heard that's good for the Ford-made Jaguars. My 1996 Toyota Rav4 is still young with only 185,000 miles.

I am going to drive my (very well maintained) Elio into the ground, aiming for a 300,000+ mile lifetime. We'll see.

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ehwatt said:

Don't forget Common Sense Man.

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BIGTAZ said:

I am VERY new here, and I know Seth apologized and I am digging up a SIX month old thread...But he needs a lesson in buying used vs new. I bought a "Left Over" BRAND NEW 2010 Yaris 3Dr Hatchback in March of 2011, Now if the economy wouldn't have killed that job I, six years later, would currently have 190,000 on that car OR 180,000 as my spare car and 10,000 on a NEW one, (Currently has 105K) when you drive THAT many miles buying a $3000-5000 clunker doesn’t cut the mustard. I shopped for a Year for a car that was 2-Doors (I am large with WIDE SHOULDERS), have a Timing Chain (I know how belts snap at the most inconvenient time) and with an automatic (My wife and M/T don’t mix), and A/C get Double the Average MPGs of my Current vehicle (Not Hard Considering I had a 17-20 MPG 2WD Fullsize Pickup), have been on the market long enough to have a decent track record of making it to 200K without major repair. The Toyota Yaris won that hands down.

Like I said I shopped for some time before I purchased the car. Used private seller “MY already negotiated bottom dollar” price 2-3 year old cars with 35-50K miles were within $5,000 of sticker (sucker) price of a new one, I paid about $2000 sale price, and $3500 OUT THE DOOR (Tax, Lic. and all the other BS) more than most of the Private Sellers price after I talked them down and walked away, because it just wasn’t a good enough deal. And as far as Taxes; buying used in MN doesn’t save you anything; I paid about $175 more in sales tax (still pay Tax on Used cars over $3000). Sure I may have paid slightly more in Doc fees and whatever, and because of the mileage I put on per year and I know how auto insurance companies work, I did buy GAP insurance. AND, I got 0% financing vs 5% on any used car, I got at least 1 more “projected” year of use, 36K/60K warranty, free oil changes for 25K (like a 9 months for me), I also ended up with a car with more safety features (2009+ models added ABS, stability control, and side curtain airbags) and I KNOW how it has been maintained/driven since day one.

So some people buying new DO KNOW how to run the numbers. And that losing 1/3 the value when you drive off the lot must only apply to the NON-Japanese Vehicles, because Honda’s and Toyota’s don’t seem to have that problem.

Now that I got that off my chest…I have been following Elio since BACK when I was buying that car, I hope the Elio happens. Plug in Hybrids are a joke, People are too LAZY to plug in their cars here in MN in the winter, and I doubt they (the general public) will plug in their car “like their cell phone”.

As far as driving range of electric vs. Gasoline, I also agree 200 miles is a joke. Heck I thought 350-400 a tank was a joke after getting consistently 600 miles out of that 2WD truck in the summer, it was nice to fill up once a week vs twice! In my opinion anything less than 500 miles is plain silly, and really 750-1000 a tank would be better.

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BIGTAZ said:

Now that I got that off my chest…I have been following Elio since BACK when I was buying that car, I hope the Elio happens. Plug in Hybrids are a joke, People are too LAZY to plug in their cars here in MN in the winter, and I doubt they (the general public) will plug in their car “like their cell phone”.

As far as driving range of electric vs. Gasoline, I also agree 200 miles is a joke. Heck I thought 350-400 a tank was a joke after getting consistently 600 miles out of that 2WD truck in the summer, it was nice to fill up once a week vs twice! In my opinion anything less than 500 miles is plain silly, and really 750-1000 a tank would be better.

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BIGTAZ said:

I am VERY new here, and I know Seth apologized and I am digging up a SIX month old thread...But he needs a lesson in buying used vs new. I bought a "Left Over" BRAND NEW 2010 Yaris 3Dr Hatchback in March of 2011, Now if the economy wouldn't have killed that job I, six years later, would currently have 190,000 on that car OR 180,000 as my spare car and 10,000 on a NEW one, (Currently has 105K) when you drive THAT many miles buying a $3000-5000 clunker doesn’t cut the mustard. I shopped for a Year for a car that was 2-Doors (I am large with WIDE SHOULDERS), have a Timing Chain (I know how belts snap at the most inconvenient time) and with an automatic (My wife and M/T don’t mix), and A/C get Double the Average MPGs of my Current vehicle (Not Hard Considering I had a 17-20 MPG 2WD Fullsize Pickup), have been on the market long enough to have a decent track record of making it to 200K without major repair. The Toyota Yaris won that hands down.

Like I said I shopped for some time before I purchased the car. Used private seller “MY already negotiated bottom dollar” price 2-3 year old cars with 35-50K miles were within $5,000 of sticker (sucker) price of a new one, I paid about $2000 sale price, and $3500 OUT THE DOOR (Tax, Lic. and all the other BS) more than most of the Private Sellers price after I talked them down and walked away, because it just wasn’t a good enough deal. And as far as Taxes; buying used in MN doesn’t save you anything; I paid about $175 more in sales tax (still pay Tax on Used cars over $3000). Sure I may have paid slightly more in Doc fees and whatever, and because of the mileage I put on per year and I know how auto insurance companies work, I did buy GAP insurance. AND, I got 0% financing vs 5% on any used car, I got at least 1 more “projected” year of use, 36K/60K warranty, free oil changes for 25K (like a 9 months for me), I also ended up with a car with more safety features (2009+ models added ABS, stability control, and side curtain airbags) and I KNOW how it has been maintained/driven since day one.

So some people buying new DO KNOW how to run the numbers. And that losing 1/3 the value when you drive off the lot must only apply to the NON-Japanese Vehicles, because Honda’s and Toyota’s don’t seem to have that problem.

Now that I got that off my chest…I have been following Elio since BACK when I was buying that car, I hope the Elio happens. Plug in Hybrids are a joke, People are too LAZY to plug in their cars here in MN in the winter, and I doubt they (the general public) will plug in their car “like their cell phone”.

As far as driving range of electric vs. Gasoline, I also agree 200 miles is a joke. Heck I thought 350-400 a tank was a joke after getting consistently 600 miles out of that 2WD truck in the summer, it was nice to fill up once a week vs twice! In my opinion anything less than 500 miles is plain silly, and really 750-1000 a tank would be better.

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DAVID BROWER said:

MY NEW CAR IS A 2006 SPRINTER .
IT IS BIG ENOUGH TO HAUL MY MICROCARS & SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT IN A REGULAR PARKING SPACE

IT HAS 318,000 MILES ON IT AND IS THE ONLY VEHICLE I HAVE OWNED THAT WAS MADE IN THIS CENTURY .
IT IS A DIESEL , WEIGHS 6000 POUNDS & GETS 22-24 mpg . PRETTY MUCH THE GOLD STANDARD FOR IT's DAY .

GOTTA DO SOMETHING WHILE I WAIT FOR MY ELIO
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