Okay, I didn't know that about electric cars. All I can say, is that they'd be horrible and a complete risk in most parts of Australia (I wouldn't want to run out of power on the Nullabour, for example). They'd only be half-way suitable in cities.

Oh, that's cool. I'm glad for you that your dad doesn't have to deploy. Good on you!

It is cool. Thanks.

SnowAngel

Okay, I didn't know that about electric cars. All I can say, is that they'd be horrible and a complete risk in most parts of Australia (I wouldn't want to run out of power on the Nullabour, for example). They'd only be half-way suitable in cities.

What about a hybrid? You could switch over to gas when you start to run out of power... I think some if not all do it automatically

They do, wolfy, but you can achieve the same thing with the new "power efficient" gas models (using almost the exact same principle, too!). Our county switched over to those for all of the non-emergency official vehicles, and it hasn't changed much of anything. They are great for conserving energy, though, because the re-wiring basically lets your car shut down every time you come to a stop (not a stop-sign stop, but a stop at a stoplight or something).

Basically, what it does is harvest the energy lost every time you break, and store that in an extra battery, which it draws down regularly. It is a completely self-charging mechanism, but it is essentially a more conservative model of gas vehicle. If you want to get a more efficient type of car, the hybrids/power efficient models are really good options, but they are still gas reliant and definitely reflect the prices at the pump.

Can I just site here that I love the key mechanism on the hybrids? I don't know if it is on all hybrids or just the county's, but instead of having a metal key, they have key "fobs" that you basically leave in your pocket. The car senses if someone with its fob is close, and you can control it completely with the fob. You can still open the door with a normal key, but you have to have the fob to be able to start and drive the vehicle. If you walk away from the car, the car will automatically lock and power down when the fob gets a certain distance away. Not too handy if you have pets/etc in the car, but other than that, I think it is an absolutely great advancement, and I wish my car had it.

Hybrid cars could maybe be considered a little bit better, but it takes a long, long time to pay off the extra $10,000 you paid on the car with the money you saved on gas. Like, quite literally, 70-80 years and I don't know many cars that run that long.

Just out of curiosity what is a price for a "normal" car? My 09 Prius is costing me $28,717.60 That's after everything. I don't know what it was before that.

@LA I like that key feature a lot. I don't have to dig my keys out of my purse to get in and drive my car.

^Watch some episodes of The Price is Right and you'll quickly learn the various prices of normal cars.

It depends on the car, and there are some surprisingly cheap hybrids out there; for example, the Honda CR-Z costs only about $20,000. (In comparison, the Ford Focus, which is a similar car structure-wise, costs about $17,000-$19,000.)

Again, though, for "normal" cars, it depends on the type of car, the trim of the car, and whatever options you want to load it with. Compacts and hatchbacks tend to go for the cheapest ($14K-$17K), then you have your sedans like the Honda Civic ($17K-19K), the mid-size sedans like the Honda Accord ($20K-$23K), and coupes like the Mustang and the Camaro ($22K-$24K; these are different from the convertibles that share their name).

Of course, there are also luxury brands that cost over $30K or $40K or even higher, but...

Though one can get them cheaper when one's father is a mechanic... but that's if you don't mind old cars that need a few fenders, a new hood, and a couple of other replacement parts

Honestly though it's not that bad... actually I'm hoping that's what Dad'll do when I finally drive. My mom's current car is an '05 Ford Focus with an '04 front on it... (or else the car is '04 and the front is '05) so while there's a small gap between the nose and the hood it runs amazingly smooth.

But I rather like used cars... I'm always listening to dad complain how like "80%" of the cars in the junk yard would work perfectly fine with a small fix up job... but no one (this is still according to him) seems to care enough to spend the time to get them fixed... and would rather buy a new car... which of course leads to business being bad for people like us and our cousins whose business is based on used parts and a bunch of cars rusting away into the water supply rather than being re-used (ok so the last point is me). I suppose there's an economic factor in some cases where it may be cheaper to just get a new car than fix up the old one, but I'm not sure if that's be all of them... I mean that's a lot of cars. Nowadays to it's more trendy to have new cars... a shame in a way as some of the older-ish ones are perfectly reliable (and I grew up with them so there is that nostalgia ) Though it'd be helpful if the car companies made it easier to find parts in some cases... oi. I suppose it's all supply and demand though... I guess I sometimes wish they were aligned differently Who knows though... trends change

My parents are always working with a budget, so they generally buy used. It's very hit-or-miss for them, but my dad is pretty knowledgeable about cars so he can fix a lot of things...

My current car is a '99 Ford Contour that my dad found in someone's yard and bought for $200 it runs great, and has no real problems at all - there are little quirky things, like the gas gauge doesn't really work, there's a leak so it rains in the car, one of the seatbelts is broken, etc... - but for that price, it's fantastic! Other used cars, though, they haven't had so much luck with. They've had a couple of times where they've bought cars that have been wrecked previously and it hasn't been disclosed in the paperwork or anything all very, very uncertain.

I'll be getting my licence in the near future, but like most everyone else, budget is going to be an issue in finding a good used car. I'm actually contemplating a used scooter... I've had an interest in them for a while, and a lot cheaper. But I know that there are good used cars out there. Many possibilities...

I hear you about rebuilding old cars. My car (the Buick I mentioned earlier) is about ten years old, but it was the last of its kind, so it makes it rather hard to be able to find replacement parts now. I am blessed that the last thing they had to rebuild was able to come mostly from the junk yard. Either way, though, sooner or later I'm going to run out of options, since there was so much trouble finding the last part.

My next car, actually, is going to be off-the-lot new, if my plans don't change. I'm planning on buying my next car specifically to be able to spend about three months driving the US (and possibly Canada). I don't want to chance having any major car issues during that time, so I'm planning on bucking up and paying the exorbitant new-car price.