Car anxiety

[BuccaneerBrad]

Life tips for D4L:

1.  Don't get a nose job
2.  Keep yourself groomed including unibrow
3.  Plan on getting a new vehicle soon, used honda or toyota is reliable
4.  Stop talking about your love life, no one cares
5.  Try some Buddhist mediation techniques to deal with your anxiety
6.  Don't talk about the Patriots anymore...at all

7.  Get over this fetish of literally picking girls up

[dolphins4life]

back to the car    my questions are   1)  can driving over rough terrain wear your car out much faster?  2) is it smarter to bring it in when the maintenance light goes on   when it reaches the miles on the sticker the men at the repair shop put on it   or as soon as you think something went wrong? 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

yes to all four

[dolphins4life]

yes to all four

     but which of the three options is best?     also if I am going to need a new car soon than I must have messed up with this one    if those cars are supposed to get over two hundred thousand miles and I am nowhere close to that   I am trying to figure out where I messed up

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

     but which of the three options is best?     also if I am going to need a new car soon than I must have messed up with this one    if those cars are supposed to get over two hundred thousand miles and I am nowhere close to that   I am trying to figure out where I messed up

all of them.  if you ignore a warning light you are running a huge risk of having what could be an inexpensive adjustment become a major repair, if you don’t do regular oil changes and basic maintenance it will be more expensive in the long term, if you ignore the car not driving right you risk a minor problem becoming a major one.

you just sunk money in it, no point in getting rid of it now.  do all the relatively inexpensive repairs and maintenance it requires and then if you have another major repair consider getting a new car.

[dolphins4life]

I wonder how the maintenance light works.  Is it programmed to come on after a certain number of miles?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I wonder how the maintenance light works.  Is it programmed to come on after a certain number of miles?

No, modern cars have sensors. Something is not functioning properly. 

[pondwater]

No, modern cars have sensors. Something is not functioning properly. 

Actually, my 09 Camry Hybrid maintenance light comes on a few hundred miles before 5000 miles since it was last reset. It's basically an oil change reminder dummy light.

Now if he's talking about check engine light. I could be emissions/catalytic converter, O2 sensor, loose gas cap, ignition system, MAF sensor. Really just have to pull the OBD error code to find out.

[dolphins4life]

Actually, my 09 Camry Hybrid maintenance light comes on a few hundred miles before 5000 miles since it was last reset. It's basically an oil change reminder dummy light.

Now if he's talking about check engine light. I could be emissions/catalytic converter, O2 sensor, loose gas cap, ignition system, MAF sensor. Really just have to pull the OBD error code to find out.

I've been interested in Hybrids but I doubt I could afford it.

The light has not come on in my car yet, but it is past the mileage on the sticker.

Yesterday, I had to make a sudden stop.  Normally, I wouldn't think much of this, but after that bill, I think "What damage did I do?".

[pondwater]

I've been interested in Hybrids but I doubt I could afford it.

The light has not come on in my car yet, but it is past the mileage on the sticker.

Yesterday, I had to make a sudden stop.  Normally, I wouldn't think much of this, but after that bill, I think "What damage did I do?".

Don't bother with the Hybrid. Unless you drive a shit ton of miles you'll never make up the extra cost difference on the mileage savings. Not to mention, it's a newer technology and if you have to fix something it costs a lot more. I haven't looked at the price of newer Hybrids lately. I would still buy one if they cost the same as the equivalent ICE alternative, but if they still cost substantially more I wouldn't even consider it.

[Spider-Dan]

Don't bother with the Hybrid. Unless you drive a shit ton of miles you'll never make up the extra cost difference on the mileage savings.

200k miles - D4L's stated goal - is "a shit ton of miles."  So let's do the math:

D4L bought an eight-year-old 2005 Camry in 2013.
After almost 6 years, he has 140k miles.  He didn't say how many miles he bought it with, but let's say the previous owner(s) had similar driving habits. 140k miles/14 years = 10k/year.

Sticking with an eight-year-old car, the blue book on a 2011 Camry is $8,205.  The blue book on a 2011 Prius is $9,029.
The national average gas price today is $2.75/gal.
A 2011 Camry gets 26 combined MPG ($0.1057/mile).  A 2011 Prius gets 48 combined MPG ($0.0572/mile).
With gas at $2.75/gal, the Prius would pay for the extra cost difference after 17k miles (less than two years of driving).
If we look at just the 60k additional miles that D4L wants to get on his current car, a 2011 Prius would save $2,908 over a 2011 Camry of the same model year.

[BuccaneerBrad]

200k miles - D4L's stated goal - is "a shit ton of miles."  So let's do the math:

D4L bought an eight-year-old 2005 Camry in 2013.
After almost 6 years, he has 140k miles.  He didn't say how many miles he bought it with, but let's say the previous owner(s) had similar driving habits. 140k miles/14 years = 10k/year.

Sticking with an eight-year-old car, the blue book on a 2011 Camry is $8,205.  The blue book on a 2011 Prius is $9,029.
The national average gas price today is $2.75/gal.
A 2011 Camry gets 26 combined MPG ($0.1057/mile).  A 2011 Prius gets 48 combined MPG ($0.0572/mile).
With gas at $2.75/gal, the Prius would pay for the extra cost difference after 17k miles (less than two years of driving).
If we look at just the 60k additional miles that D4L wants to get on his current car, a 2011 Prius would save $2,908 over a 2011 Camry of the same model year.

Didn't you own a Hybrid at some point?  How was that experience?

[pondwater]

200k miles - D4L's stated goal - is "a shit ton of miles."  So let's do the math:

D4L bought an eight-year-old 2005 Camry in 2013.
After almost 6 years, he has 140k miles.  He didn't say how many miles he bought it with, but let's say the previous owner(s) had similar driving habits. 140k miles/14 years = 10k/year.

Sticking with an eight-year-old car, the blue book on a 2011 Camry is $8,205.  The blue book on a 2011 Prius is $9,029.
The national average gas price today is $2.75/gal.
A 2011 Camry gets 26 combined MPG ($0.1057/mile).  A 2011 Prius gets 48 combined MPG ($0.0572/mile).
With gas at $2.75/gal, the Prius would pay for the extra cost difference after 17k miles (less than two years of driving).
If we look at just the 60k additional miles that D4L wants to get on his current car, a 2011 Prius would save $2,908 over a 2011 Camry of the same model year.

I was referring to new car prices. And no, I definitely wouldn't buy a used hybrid at this stage of their development.

[Fau Teixeira]

you could also look at a straight electric.

this is a good example of a low price electric car:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/776901951/overview/

13k .. about a 100 mile range  .. for a daily commute, it's a good car

[Spider-Dan]

I was referring to new car prices. And no, I definitely wouldn't buy a used hybrid at this stage of their development.

A new Prius is straight up cheaper than a new Camry, so that comparison is even worse with new cars.  And I don't know what you mean by "this stage of their development," as the technology is pretty mature.  For example:

I'm kind of in the same boat, I have an '09 Camry Hybrid with 110k miles. Been a good car but it's starting to get a few issues. The biggest one at this point is that the A/C has a refrigerant leak.

If the "biggest" issue you've had with your hybrid is a refrigerant leak in the A/C, that doesn't really have anything to do with the hybrid drivetrain.