Well the time to buy might be about here. Our local dealer has a MT HCH magnisium metallic on the books for delivery in about 2 months and I'm tempted to buy it.

Questions:

In 2 months will it be an '04 or '05?

If "04 should I wait another month or 2 for the '05?

By that time will the Accord be out and should I wait instead for an Accord?

Do you think gas will come back down (looks like it is still going up short term)? The reason for asking is that demand for hybrids will go down and I'll still want one anyway even if gas goes down. Price would be lower and availabilty would be higher.

What is the story on that Euro 2.2 Accord Xcel talks about, the one that is high power and gets better mileage than an Insight??

Should I check other dealerships? I hear they got HCH's in Texas just sitting around. Or should I buy local (from the horrible salesman)?

Ok what about service?

Do you think they would change the hybrid alloy wheels for regular civic alloy wheels? I think the regular wheels look a lot better.

I'd be buying a MT sight unseen based off of a 2003 CVT test drive. Should I find a MT to test drive first? Is the 2004/5 any different than the 2003?

TIA!

Woah. Slow down there, cowboy!

I can't answer most of those questions, but I wouldn't expect an Accord with Insight++ mileage any time soon in the US market.

Some members have crossed state lines to get their cars, so it's definitely possible. Just make sure you work out any legal issues and make sure it won't be a problem to have your dealer 300 miles away!

Also, the salesman doesn't make the car. He just sells it. At this point in time, no one seems to know much about what hybrids are. Even the ones who should. So, don't make that your deciding factor.

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Hi Lakedude:

___Since there really isn’t a deal on Hybrid’s, I would wait for an 05. Just take a look at Black Book, Kelly’s Blue Book, or even Edmunds used car pricing for an idea of price differential on any car with 2 to 5 years on them. The 1 year newer automobile is always worth more and I highly doubt you will save this amount on the year older model if purchasing in 2 or 3 months.

___The HAH is going to be one very expensive automobile. $27 - $30K more then likely. The dealerships are taking deposits on them for December delivery however.

___Even with the price of a barrel of oil breaching all-time record highs this week, gasoline is a bit suppressed. I wouldn’t doubt this has to do with the elections (conspiracy theory). With that, I don’t see a drop in demand from anyone given Japan has finally took off, China isn’t slowing down, India is in the same boat, Europe is still growing … In other words, I thought we would see much lower fuel costs later on in the year given the December future prices as of 3 months ago but those prices have vanished. It appears as if we might see a $0.05 - $0.07 drop by January/February of this year. In other words, expect possibly higher demand as new car buyers are faced with $2.00/gallon + from the elections onwards all over the country. <-- Total speculation on my part of course.

___I would purchase the Euro Diesel Accord Saloon sight unseen if it was available here in North America. It will not anytime soon unfortunately given our high sulfur diesel and the fact the auto manufacturers are still afraid of the diesels market appeal here in the states. VW and Mercedes will be eating everyone’s lunch in this regard if fuel prices continue to climb.

___If you have your sights set on a particular vehicle, who cares where it comes from. Your warranty is just as good from the dealer down the street as it is from one on the other side of the country. Find a dealer with the automobile you want at the price you are willing to pay and go for it. Don’t expect a few hundred over on Hybrid’s anymore however

___Wheel’s … That is a question you will have to work out with the dealership. Since their probably isn’t much of an aftermarket demand for the HCH’s alloy’s, don’t expect much in trade is my best guess.

___Changes? I don’t know but you really should test drive the CVT and the 5-speed within hours of each other to get a feel for them. The HCH’s fuel economy appears to be so close between the two that it shouldn’t make much difference. That is when comparing Hot_Georgia_2004’s HCH CVT vs. the many HCH’s equipped w/ manuals in the Hybrid Mileage Database.

___Finally, let’s hope the HCH owners will chime in to help you out as well …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Wayne touched on a more in-depth analysis but what I've personally observed is gas prices increase, then everyone gets concerned and it stabilizes, usually going down some and the exitement subsides.
Then it increases and begins the cycle again.

In my case Dec 2003 my 9 year old car needed replacement and I had my eye on Prius and HCH but decided to wait and for any maintenence issues.
Seeing no major issues I bought my HCH in Jan 2004 while gas prices were in the reduction cycle for some time. I had 4 or 5 to choose from the lot and haggled a good deal lower than MSRP with dealer extras. (Tires, oil changes etc)

Had I waited for the next gas increases to hit I'm sure I'd pay more w/o the deals.
Earlier this week I was at the same dealership and they told me there is an HCH waiting list and only selling strictly for MSRP, no haggling.

Others have reported dealers today who have them on their lot ready to sell.

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

Be aware those alloy wheels on the HCH are designed for better mileage, low weight, and I don't know if they have lower drag.
Now that you know that, if you still want to swap them go ahead.

BTW, I got my 04 HCH CVT AT-PZEV in April 04 for $19,300, sticker was $21,300, but I'm a very hard negotiator.

Are people paying full list now, or above?

Need fewer troops to support.
Drive a hybrid.
Best tank 71.65 MPG.

Before this car I spent two years learning hypermiling on my 2004 HCH1.

Thanks everybody, sorry about the unanswerable questions, I alway get nervous before a major purchase. My local dealership is selling them as fast as they get em with none on the lot. They are selling for list plus a small "paperwork" fee. They are wanting something like $21,600.00 or $21,160.00 (remember I had that horrible salesman) for the cvt version HCH.

I am debating between buying a 2005 Honda Civic CVT and 2005 Ford Hybrid Escape 4 x 4. There are a lot of trade-offs: closest Ford hybrid dealer is 2 miles, closest Honda dealer 110 miles; live in snow county of Upper Peninsula of Michigan; Ford has a better warranty on hybrid components than Honda; most of driving is semi-urban; retired. I have studied both cars "to death" and cannot make a decision between which would be best in my situation (my wife hates "small cars"....). Can you give me some advice, suggestions?

Based on the info you've provided, all of your criteria point towards the Escape. What did I miss?

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dzitlow,
Based on what you are saying I would say the Ford Escape sounds like a good choice.
Especially the part.
Have her sit in an HCH, and then sit in an Escape to see what she thinks, and then go with it.

If you buy an HCH, it sounds like the first time there's a problem you can may hear the old "I told you so..." line.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest 2008 - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Madison, WI July 19 & 20, 2008