Monday, August 11, 2008

Time for some new wheels


I love my 1998 Honda Civic, I really do.  But it's time for it to go.  In the year I've owned it, I've probably put $3,000 into repairs, including new shocks, timing belts, electrical (sensors), and more.  The check engine light has been on the past 1,500 miles and sometimes goes off if I put the fuel cleaner additive stuff in the tank.  I suspect the fuel injectors are dirty, but it may be early transmission failure too and I don't want to shell out bucks for an 11-year-old car.

So with my average mileage of 17,000 (7,500 of which are just commuting to/from work), I decided to go green and get something easy at the pump.  I wanted a Toyota Prius at first, but after doing a little homework here and there, I saw how a lot of people didn't like their dash/layout, making it more awkward to drive.  It was also more costly and a larger vehicle.  I also didn't want a Smart Car .. or.. half a car.  Whatever they're called

So after some shopping around, I found a nice used 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid (the guy had to sell it back to the dealership because he was moving back to China.. it had 3,840 miles when I bought it, barely used) and snatched it up.  I absolutely adore the thing.

It's rated 45 MPG highway/40 MPG city.  Finding a place to put my GPS was kind of a pain because of the sloped windshield, but I finally settled in the far bottom/right corner and it works out okay.  I also decided to leave my new car stereo I bought in the old car -- I couldn't put it in the new one with the Hybrid's dash design and it'd be a pain to take out anyway.

No comments: