Friday, June 15, 2007

Time for a new vehicle.

Currently my wife and I own a 2002 PT Cruiser with around 110,000 miles, a 1998 Mercury Tracer with around 210,000 miles and a 1985 Ford Ranger with about 176,000 miles. It is time for me to probably purchase a new rig. I have had my eye on the Dodge 1500 truck for a while or a Toyota Prius. I have always been pretty much a US car person, but we have come to a time where Fords and Dodge vehicles are made in Mexico and Toyota builds in Fremont California. Anyone out there know much about the Prius? What is the best car on the road currently?

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hear great things about the Prius. They are making a Hybrid Camry now as well. After driving and owning Fords and Chrysler products for years and now being the owner of 2 Camrys I can tell you that I will probably never drive anything but a Toyota product from now on.

Anonymous said...

PT Cruiser is the same engine and chassis as a Neon; need I say more. I own 3 Toyotas, including a Prius. It doesn't get the 60/51 miles to gallon as advertized, but I just got back from a trip on which I averaged 49 miles per gallon. Prius is also covenient as it is a hatchback design with rear seats that fold down for extra cargo room. Rear seats are also quite roomy plenty of leg room. They are definitely woth checking out, and far superior to the PT Cruiser.

Anonymous said...

Richard I vision you as a YUGO kind of fella . I believe thers one sittin outside of Chesbro's place you could have for a song. I think the song is "Please regrease me or let me go. Wes is gettin scared, keep it up Rich, your friend.

Anonymous said...

Subaru Legacy wagon. Same as an Outback but an inch or so lower and a lot cheaper. I have a stick and get very high 20's mpg on the highway. Not anywhere near the Prius but the Legacy is AWD.

Anonymous said...

Check out the new Scion XB's, they look much better than the older ones do. Those are made by Toyota also, good car.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE my Neon! But my next car will be a Prius. What goes up never comes down when it comes to gas prices and I think we'll be looking at $4/gal by year's end.

Anonymous said...

Wes is a f#%*#%g as%*%e but hey you need a car. The Hundyi (forgive the spelling) is a very good car at about 38mpg in the 4cly. plus it has 100,000 mi. protection. The best over all is the 06 Dodge diesel 250 getting 30 mpg for many. It drops some under a big load but only down to 24+ which is stunning for a big rig. You've got a big job in mind ,you'll need a big rig. If for nothing else than to off all the crab Wes will be slinging.

Anonymous said...

My Isuzu was built in Shreveport, LA

samoasoftball said...

Robin loves her PT. I am way attached to my Tracer and Ranger. But both have been having issues, and I would like a car I can take out of town. I am leaning toward a Prius, but they are adding fees locally. I want to buy at Mid City, but I can save thousands buying out of town? What to do?

Anonymous said...

If you are a member of AAA, in their magazine they have a couple of pages for purchasing cars. This actually takes an appointment with the person at the dealer listed and the car is sold at discounted price. I have purchased several cars this way and saved a lot of money over local dealers.

Carol said...

The Hybrid Camry is the 2007 Motor Trend car of the year. We got a tax break prior to the end of 2006 for our 2007 Hybrid Camry. Great car and very comfortable. Toyota manufactures in the USA. Ours was made in Kentucky. We have a 2001 Toyota Sienna Van, which is a great family car. We decided not to sell the 1995 Chrysler Sebring Convertible after taking it for a ride. It is worth more to us than we could get for it. Our mechanic says it is a keeper, too.

Anonymous said...

6:53, let us know the date and time when Wes will be slinging crab. I'm on a limited budget. Richard, I have had the awful experience of buying a car at Mid City which is inconvenient, has the worst service department in the county and does not honor its warranties. Personally I would buy out of town rather than put one more cent into the pocket of H Harper.

Anonymous said...

I'll echo those negatives about Mid City. I would never spend a cent with them after the way I was treated there when I bought my first Camry. Bobs fine cars often gets low mileage
Toyotas, but I wouldn't expect you would find a Prius there. If I was going to buy one new off the lot I would not spend locally in this instance but rather head for the other Bay Area.

Anon.R.mous said...

If you want a hybrid, get a Honda, they are going to stop making them soon because more people drive a Pruis, not because they are "better cars" but because of the "look at me" factor.

You could save that way. OR if you really want to help the enviroment you dirty wannabe hippie, you could get a Dodge diesel and burn bio in it. Just don't get a new Volkwagon TDI and try and burn anything more then B20 in it.

I can't believe everybody here is telling you to buy a gas burning hybrid, it's a worthless set-up and you don't get the mileage. Get a good diesel and you'll get the mileage and if you want too, you can smell like something good to eat while driving.

Anonymous said...

Ethanol is a crock of shit. Already you have Mexicans who have been priced out of their own goddamn corn tortillas, a staple of the diet. What do Mexicans who cant afford Tortillas become? Mexicans crossing the border.

Anonymous said...

I am surprised that you even have time to go out of town with aaalll the overtime that your employer forces you to work. Or maybe they don't force you and you are a victim of your own greed. Could it be Richard, that your employer is tired of you bashing their labor practice's while you "shovel" doubletime into your wallet? I have heard Evergreen to be an excellent company to work for and have hired nearly 60 poeple in the short time they have been here. And since you have publicly stated here that you are seeking other employmet, I am sure they would'nt mind hiring 1 more. As far as your new car, may I suggest the family wagon from the 'Vacation' movies, it would provide great comfort for all 4 of your voters in your upcoming assembly bid. Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

Listen to you people! Go out of town to purchase your next car? You liberals spout shop local, shop local, shop local and when it comes time for you to put your money where your mouth is, you hightail it like the hypocrits you are.

Richard, what in the heck are you thinking. Of course, buy local.
If you don't want to buy from a certain dealership, then go to one of the independents. Opies, Roy's, Mickey's, Crivellos and so on. The bigger independents can get you a 2007 vehicle. Whatever you want, they can get from lease returns and what not. Does the Prius have to be brand new?

Whether you like a dealership or not, you do not have to have their service department maintain the vehicle for you. There are larger independent mechanics who are authorized to do your car's regular maintenance the same as a dealership.

I cannot believe what I am reading.
Then, I don't want to ever hear your "Shop Local" crap ever again.
No, I don't work for the auto dealerships and yes, this pisses me off.

Richard, If you go out of town to buy your next vehicle, my respect for you will falter.

Anonymous said...

They ain't nothin worth a shit in Ureka, don't yall no that? No body aroun here is smart enuf to do anythin rite. We alls just o bunch o hicks and dang millworkers. Only you citified transplants is smart euf to git anythin rite. Lets go shop in santy rosa and see us summ theaterr shows in Frisco.

samoasoftball said...

ekovox-I will challenge you with this...I have bought 2 cars from Harper, 1 from Mid City, 1 from Mickeys, 1 from Opies, 1 from Mcreas, 1 from BC, 1 from sole savers, 1 new from Barker 1 from Lithia, 4 from Frisbee. I have bought 14 cars local. How many have you bought, "Local?" This Liberal is the consumate consumer, as are most of us working class Democrats. I just don't like getting gouged.

"Shop local!" When reasonable and taking into account the circumstance. I do follow this rule daily.

Anonymous said...

Most places are overcharging for the Pruis now anyway. Toyota has a hit with the people who want to feel like they are really doing something crowd.

Anonymous said...

Samoa,
I have purchased every vehicle I have ever owned from local dealers. 3 from McCrea. 1 from Mid City, 1 from Opie. The rest from local private owners. Yes, you have the score on amount of vehicles purchased.

I know you do live the "shop local" creed, so why change now? Do you think the auto dealers are gouging more now for automobiles than they were in 1975?
You, of all people, realize the economic value of spending your money here in our county. The feeder industries alone spread the money far and wide. Except Lithia and perhaps Coastal, every one of the auto dealerships is locally owned and operated contributing to the local workforce. And in the case of Harvey Harper, employing close to a hundred people (if not more) amongst his three dealerships.

I don't give a hoot whether he is the most ardent Republican supporter in the county or if Bill Pierson is the largest contributor to the Democrats, they both are operating large tax producing businesses and need to be supported or the fear of a full-fledged SantaRosatizing of Eureka will surely prevail.

Is the extra $2000, ($33 or $41 dollars per month you might possibly save), spread out over the 48 or 60 months of the contract
worth it? And yes, I DO know that every dollar counts. Boy, do I know it.

Justifying purchasing out of the county sounds like a very Republican-based ideology.

Greg and Carol, your thoughts?

P.S. Does my livelihood benefit from local automobile and local hardware sales? Yes, very much so.

Greg said...

Both Toyotas came from Mid-City and the old Chrysler was from North Coast Motors. We bought the last one on New Year's Eve to get a tax credit. To me, the expense and inconvenience of going out of town to shop for cars is not worth any supposed savings over "buying local".

New cars aren't even a factor for the smart shopper who saves up and buys used cars with cash, just for those of us who think we need a brand new car. If that's the case, and you're making payments anyway, why not get something fun to drive?

I can see you in a ragtop, Richard.

samoasoftball said...

ekovox and 9:46am-The mark up over manufacturing retail price is nothing but a gouge on the Prius locally. And it is because they are selling. I am still shopping..... Locally.

Anonymous said...

Samoa, thank you. Sorry for taking you to task on this subject. It's just something I feel strongly about.

P.S. Don't sell the truck. No matter how rusted, it'll always come in handy.

Derchoadus said...

Got a 2005 Prius. Love it! I get ~46 mpg, but drive it like a sports car. I have gotten 55 mpg for a whole tank of gas on a trip down south once. Mileage seems to be dependent on air temp and tire inflation. Hotter weather, better mileage. Tire inflation due to rolling resistance. Just search for Prius Chat. It's a huge online Prius community.

Had to buy ours down south as the wait list up here was 6 months at the time, and you couldn't choose your package/options. You just got what they (local Toyo Dealer) ordered, which were the more pricey options.

I did buy my F250 Power stroke locally though!

Anonymous said...

dont buy a prius you sissy!!!!!

samoasoftball said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
samoasoftball said...

Hake: ¿Está esto no mi hijo que tomó mi Corvette? ¡No más de vehículos accionados altos para usted!

Hopefully you remember enough of your Spanish to translate.