I am going insane. I need help. Not the professional kind, although if I could hire someone to just take care of this for me I would.
I am in the market for a new (used) car. Originally, I was basing my choice based completely on looks. I was drawn to cars like the Toyota Matrix, and the Honda Fit. I liked the idea of a hatchback, because I’m assuming this car will last until I have a pie shop and I will need the trunk space to stack up all the pies I’ll be toting all over the place. Scoff, mock, chuckle if you will, but that is where my head was originally.
Then someone pointed out that perhaps miles per gallon should be taken into account.
Restart.
Then I stumbled upon the Honda Civic Hybrid. Touted to have a whopping average 37 mpg, I thought that might be a good way to go. I spent an entire morning at the library looking through volumes of consumer reports and browsing through online forums that discussed pros and cons from the perspective of people who already own the car. Needless to say, I almost immediately became overwhelmed. I am somewhat familiar with the hybrid technology available in toyota’s prius, as my father owns one. The honda civic hybrid is set up a little differently though, with a integrated motor assist or IMA. Apparently, there are some forums out there that are a little dismayed with the quality of the IMA. Some owners have had a problem where after 12,000 miles, the battery either needs to be replaced or the IMA software needs an update. After either of those things happen, the IMA then prevents the car from using the battery as much as it started out, so the gas mileage decreases significantly.
Does any of that make sense?
Basically, I have some reservations about the civic hybrid’s battery power. I’m not sure if those forum’s only represent a small portion of the total, or if this is a widespread thing.
Now I am sort of in the world of hybrids, but I don’t think I can actually afford a hybrid.
Yeesh. There are too many kinds of cars, and after test driving some of this stuff, I wanted to just scream. I’m also not the biggest fan of car dealerships…no offense. The whole process is just completely draining.
Somebody just tell me what to buy!!! End the madness!!
Sagacious Student 