Indecision becomes decision with time.
~Author Unknown

I really don’t know what to do.  Gas prices are killing me and my car only gets 22 MPG on a GOOD day.  Right now, my Hyundai Tucson fits all the dogs.  I don’t think it will when Skah is adult size.  But that won’t be for another year or so.

So I’ve been thinking about getting a new car.  A hybrid.  Most likely, I’ll be commuting at least 40 miles one way when B and I move, so it’s a pretty good idea.  So B and I went to check out a two cars this weekend: the Honda Civic hybrid and the Toyota Prius.

My brother now works at a dealership that also has Hondas and can get at least what the dealer pays for the car. I was really hoping that I’d like the Civic more than the Prius or at least like it well enough that the $2,000-$3,000 price difference would convince me that it was a better buy.

But it didn’t.  The Civic drove like a cheap car.  I could feel every pothole that West Michigan has (and that’s a lot).  In fact, B’s truck and Jeep both have smoother rides than the Civic. It really was jerky and made a loud noise (sounded like a far away ambulance siren so much so that I kept looking for the emergency vehicles coming) when it shifted from the battery to the gas engine.

In the Civic, you also can’t fold the seats down in the back because the battery pack takes up 1/8 of the trunk space.  And the interior colors! *rolls eyes*  You don’t get any choices.  The inside color is dependent on the outside color.  And the silver that I wanted… comes with blue cloth seats.  And not just blue… 1980s ugly medium-dark blue.  That’s right… leather seats just isn’t a choice.  The other color is a tan… but not a light tan, one that’s medium dark and old-ish looking.

So we went to check out the Toyota Prius.  B hates the look of them, but I don’t mind. MUCH more room inside than the Civic and the back seats can fold down with a 60/40 split. Very quiet when it goes from battery to gas.  And it has a screen that shows you where the power is going underneath the car… B thought that was really cool (boys!).  It also has a back-up camera which is neat.  The saleswoman even got on her hands and knees to show us that if there was a small child in the back, you’d see that with the back up camera.  That was hilarious. Priceless!

The only problem with the Prius (other than the price!) is the annoying bar that goes across the back windshield.  That would bug the heck out of me, but I’m sure I’d get used to it.

But the Prius is expensive.  If I sell my car on my own, I’ll probably get $5,000-$6,000 out of it above what I owe.  Which is awesome.  But that would still put my monthly payment of the Prius at $100-$150 more per month than what I’m paying now ($50-$100 more than my original payment plan when I bought the car–I’ve since refinanced).  And with gas at $3.50 a gallon, I’d be saving about $100 a month in gas.  So it’d be a wash.  However, if gas goes to $4 a gallon, I’d be saving $120 a month.

B and I are doing a roadtrip down to Texas in June and by having a Prius, it’d save us $250 in that trip alone if we only went to our destinations and back (assuming gas is $4 a gallon, which it will be because that will be 4th of July time)… and we plan to do some touristy things along the way!

So my dilemma is: is buying the new car worth it?

And if the answer is yes, then I have something else to think about: rumors have it that the 2009 Prius that will be coming out this fall may get up to 85mpg and possibly be a plug-in where you can go at least 7 miles without using gas (up to 50mph)… I live about 2 miles from work, so that means I could possibly never have to use gas to get to and from work.  They are also saying it might have solar panels on the top of the car.

But it’s all guessing at this point.  Toyota isn’t going to be telling even the dealerships what the ‘09 model is going to be like because if it is anything like what people are saying… no one would buy and ‘08 model and would just hold out for the ‘09.

So, right now, I have two choices: buy a new car or not.  And if I buy a new car, I have two choices: buy one and start saving gas money now or wait to see what ‘09 brings… and possibly be disappointed if the new models aren’t anything worth mentioning.

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