Fit to drive

Two weeks ago I picked up my Honda Fit. It's blue and it's beautiful and I like it a lot. We had a trailer hitch put on for the bike so that I can easily bring the bike to local events. The seats fold down absolutely flat so it will be good for hauling other things as well.
Hannah and Emma have tested out the back briefly. Hannah liked it fine but Emma is not a big fan of the automobile and she was a bit skeptical.

So far I've been getting 33-35 mpg for my regular driving which I would classify as in town -- to and from work, grocery getting, to and from the gym and so on.

The funny thing is that this is the first automatic that I've had since 1990. I having to relearn how to drive without a stick shift!

Oh, the first weekend that I had it, I took it on a round trip drive to Wilmington, NC for a 10k where I placed in my age group. Woo hoo! This was only one week after an 8k that I felt less than good about (in my defense, the 8k was on a Sunday and I rode 70 miles on my bike on Saturday). Anyway, the car was nice on the highway too!

Idiot Lights

About two weeks ago the Check Engine light came on in the Outback. The car was running fine and once before it came on because of the gas cap not being tightened enough -- DH didn't know that it had to go click-click-click.

I had filled up my Subaru Outback at a gas station near work that I don't usually use. It had Costco-like gas prices and I didn't have time to run over to Costco and I had no other Costco-related errands so I used this station. Either there was something with the pumps, which are in the running for the world's slowest gas pumps, or I didn't put the gas cap on tightly enough (doubtful, after 85,000 miles I think I can get that right) or it was just a thing...

I removed and tightened the gas cap and kept my fingers crossed that the light would go out within a tank or two of gas. The Outback has a March inspection date so I couldn't let it sit forever. DH offered to work from home and take care of the issue. He called the Subaru dealer and they said come in on Friday and we'll put it on the machine for $110. I suggested AutoZone since he didn't want to wait until Friday. I took his car to work and he took my car to AutoZone over lunch. On the way to work, the check engine light in his car came on. Yikes! Oh, it as 15% of oil life is left. Annoying but not problematic. (Note to self, if getting Honda Fit, make sure that they can turn that annoying thing off at the dealer. I can remember to change the oil by myself, thankyouverymuch. I really only want my car to tell me if there is a problem.)

AutoZone checked the Outback, determined that it was nothing and reset the computer for a whopping $0.00. Yes, for nothing. DH took the car across the street to the state inspection place and they couldn't read the car's computer. They did not charge him but said that he needed to drive the car around for a while to get everything to reboot. DH ran an errand and came back and the Outback now sports a spiffy March 2009 inspection sticker.

Kudos to AutoZone and the state inspection center for being so nice about everything.

A big thumbs down to Subaru for not being as nice.

More car stuff

I've been thinking about my next car. On Saturday at the Frostbite bike ride I saw a Honda Fit with two bikes mounted on a roof rack. They had their from wheels ff which isn't exactly what I am looking for but I was both interested and excited to see a car that I am looking at an event that I'd like to take it to. I mentioned this siting to DH when I called him to let him know when I'd be home and he asked what kind of rack (Yakima). I had my camera with me so I took a picture to show him.

Yesterday, DH suggested that we swing by the Honda dealer to pick up literature on the Fit and the Element. The dealer was closed but we looked at both the Fit and the Element. The Fit seemed more me but I worry that I'd miss some of the good things about the Element (camping, bike inside). On the other hand, do you buy a car for the few times of the year that you go camping? Seriously, we could take two cars if that was an issue. In fact, in some ways that might be preferable since DH could go whitewater kayaking seperately.

A new car on the (distant) horizon

A new car is on the distant horizon. The Outback has been with me since 10/2002 -- just over 62 months -- and has about 80,500 miles on it for an average of 1300 miles per month or roughly 16,000 per year. I'd like to get at least 100,000 miles on the Outback but there's an issue of spacing between DH's car and mine and he feels that if we don't replace mine soon, he'll have to wait too long to get his next car. Basically, I think that DH just wants a new car sooner!

I haven't test driven anything. The whole new car purchase deal is a ways off. I'm just starting to notice what models are out and think about what I might be interested in driving in the future.

What I want in a car

• reliable
  
• good mileage
  
• ability to haul bikes, prefer to use rack attached to trailer hitch
  
• ability to haul dogs
• good for camping
  
• ability to haul kayaks (there's some give and take here)
• cute (or at least not ugly)
• manual transmission?
  

What's in the running

• Honda Element
• Subaru Outback or maybe Forester
• Honda Fit Sport
  

Yesterday, I was at a group ride. Afterward, I noticed that one of the other riders had arrived in an Element. I asked him about it and he said that he loved it. I've talked to a few other Element owners and they all had good things to say about it. I feel that in my heart, that's what I really want.

The practical side of me forced me to break down some costs associated with car ownership.

• Honda Element
• EPA estimated combined mileage of 20 mpg
  
• 4WD available
• 1500 towing capacity
  
• about $20,000
  
• The Subarus
• 19 city, 26 highway for Outback and similar for Forester
  
• AWD
  
• 2700 towing capacity (2400 for Forester)
  
• The Outback and Forester both run about $22,000
• Honda Fit for Fit Sport
  
• EPA estimated combined mileage of 31 mpg
• 2WD
  
• towing not recommended, can you get a trailer hitch for bikes?
• about $15,000
  

So, if I drove drove the Element for six years with my current driving habit of 16,000 miles per year and gas cost $4/gallon during those six years, it would cost me $19,200. Based on my current Outback and lacking the EPA estimated combined mileage from Subaru, I think that the Outback and Forester would be similar in their fuel usage

• 16,000 miles * 6 years = 96,000 miles / 20 mpg = 4800 gallons of gas * $4 = $19,200

The Fit is less thirsty and I calculate a six year fuel cost of $6,800 less than the other models

• 16,000 miles * 6 years = 96,000 miles / 31 mpg = 3100 gallons of gas * $4 = $12,400

Of course, if gas were $3.50/gallon, the difference in cost is smaller but with an additional 1700 gallons of gas being used, it's never going to be the same.

Today, I was on another group ride. We passed a Honda Fit Sport in Milano red. It was kind of cute...