Just Maggie

Check up

Well, I took my car into the shop this week. I had a couple recalls that needed to be taken care of, got an oil change etc. I had this noise going on when I would cut the car off and of course it didnt do it when I took it in...figures, isn't that how it always happens?

Then the guy calls and says, well, you need this, that and every other thing done...estimated costs....about $600....I was like, yeah right, I dint think so. I did have him do a couple of things...but they didn't fix what I took it in for...I have both of my fog lights broken from the cold air, a decrease in my gas mileage and of course they couldn't explain or fix either of those. Then I picked it up and my brakes were grinding....so my questions is...do they cause problems just to have you bring it back? Are they suggesting services that really aren't recommended? My poor car seems worse now than when I took it in.

Lower Mileage

I put new tires on my Prius and now my gas mileage has dropped significantly. I was getting in the low to mid 40's and now im lucky to get mid 30's.

The tires I had were bald after 35k miles so I put some new ones that are 75k mile. I wonder if having the better tires causes it to decline. Are we suppose to go to the dealer to get a special tire for these cars?

If so, I had no idea and if not then why is there such a difference in my mpg?

I bought my car new in August of 05', after some time, does the hybrid begin to lose the high average that it has in the beginning? Is it possible that as it gets older it isnt able to work as well? Just a thought, anyone that would like to comment or make a suggestion as to why it is losing mileage please post.

Thanks......Maggie

Cars that will save the world!

Ok, I have a friend that introduced me to the hybrid cars. I test drove a Toyota Prius and fell in love. I have owned it now for over a year and think its the best thing the car companies have come up with yet.

I get over 400 miles per gallon and its only an 11 gallon tank. Im still trying to figure out how to get more miles out of it. One thing I did learn is that if the tire pressure isnt right you do lose mileage. Some people I know can get in the mid to high 50's per gallon...the best Ive done is right at 50.

The oddest thing that happened was about 3 months after I bought the car, the dealer sent me a letter asking me to sell it back to them. I guess that is when the demand was high and they couldn't get them to people fast enough. I suppose I should have seen what they would give me for it. It would have been interesting to see if they would have actually paid more for the car than what I paid...yeah right!