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[flamingweasel]

I'm seriously considering getting a new vehicle. The Kia's handling in the rain has always been bad, but the higher rainfall and steeper hills in Seattle mean I'm really unhappy driving this thing. I figure I drive it about 400 miles per month, on average -- that's a trip to Portland plus some miscellaneous city driving 2 or 3 times a month. The

Comments

[roninspoon]

Were I you, and admitedly I am not, I wouldn't even consider a hybrid. I did some research on them when I got a new car last year, and they're really a sucker's bet

[flamingweasel]

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I want, very much, to go biodiesel. It's the only choice I could make that I'd be totally happy about. The problem is, to make that choice I have to pay too much for a vehicle of questionable build quality. My mom and sister had a ton of problems (little $100-$200 bits of body work or dashboard widgets falling off) with their New Beetles. Admittedly different car, but it's enough to make me a little gunshy.

[roninspoon]

If you really want all the straight dope on diesel and bio-diesel, ask job "Hey Ted, is diesel really the way to go?" Within the day, you'll get a response that is likely no less than 6 pages of very detailed information regarding fuel, vehicles, and emissions, and there's a good chance that you'll get weekly updates. The dude's seriously turned into a diesel evangelist. He, by the way, is a fan of the Golf TDI. He nearly convinced me to get one.

Re: *ahem*

[flamingweasel]

MHO, what you REALLY need to do is to put a good set of tires on the Kia, get it aligned and have any suspension problems fixed.

Least sexy option, ever. But since I've paid my insurance until July anyway, this might be what I end up doing. It's still running very well, and the few scares in the wet weather could certainly be chalked up to tires and suspension problems.

Thanks for the input, especially regarding the Golf TDI's maintenance issues. Given my attention to maintenance, I suspect Flexcars are my best bet if I do drop the Kia in 2 or 3 months -- someone else deals with all that stuff, and I just drive the things.

Buying a new car because it's "more efficient" is some hilariously bad math...

Yeah, my thinking is: "I need a new car, I want to get a reasonably efficient one" not "I want to be more efficient, I should buy a new car."