UPDATE: The Fit is a GO - Type of car for a 24 year old business owner?

[StageLeft]

Actually where he is prius works fine. Hell, celebrities own them so in a sense they don't hint _at all_ about your worth, which is in many ways better than buying a car to try and project an image.

 

[Throckmorton]

So it's settled... he's buying a Prius

 

[angry hampster]

A Prius actually makes sense... Roomy and it has a hatchback. No one would dare hassle him about driving an economy car if it's a hybrid.

Golf TDI will have more space than a Prius while getting mileage nearly as good. It also won't make you look like a prick.

 

[MJinZ]

Golf TDI will have more space than a Prius while getting mileage nearly as good. It also won't make you look like a prick.

Fuel economy isn't even close, and it's arguable which one is uglier. The TDI will have a lot more power on tap.

 

[Throckmorton]

Golf TDI will have more space than a Prius while getting mileage nearly as good. It also won't make you look like a prick.

I don't think you read the OP. He's specifically trying to get a car that pricks (realtors) like.

Besides that, a hybrid is always going to be more efficient than a conventional car. A diesel's mpg number is artificially inflated by the higher power density

 

[chucky2]

Another vote for an Audi A3 TDI. More upscale than a VW, still great gas mileage.

You could do a Mecury Milan Hybrid also, very good gas mileage, somewhat more upscale than a Ford.

Chuck

 

[alpineranger]

Besides that, a hybrid is always going to be more efficient than a conventional car. A diesel's mpg number is artificially inflated by the higher power density

This is a very strange statement. Yes diesel fuel has slightly higher power density than gasoline, but that doesn't even come close to making up for the large differences in fuel economy. There are many causes for higher fuel economy in diesels, primarily higher thermodynamic efficiency due to the higher compression ratios, and the lower pumping losses from having no throttle plate restriction. It would be more accurate to say that gasoline engines have an artificially decreased mpg number.

A hybrid is not always going to be more efficient than a conventional car. Take a mild series hybrid, with just a motor strapped onto the flywheel of a mass market engine, and a conventional gearbox (keep in mind that some hybrids don't have cvts). Take a conventional car, give it a cvt, and an atkinson cycle engine, gear it for maximum economy - it's possible you could have a more efficient (although slower) vehicle. Some of the lean burn, lightweight economy cars from years past were incredibly efficient, even without low drag aerodynamics that cars like the prius have now. As a corollary, look at the fuel economy of the accord hybrid and the lexus ls hybrid - they aren't that great.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I think the Fit is awesome and very practical for a photographer. It sure as hell looks a lot better and projects a better image than a Toyota Echo. I'm on the fence as to whether you should care about that, but if it DOES matter, I think the Fit won't ding you much as long as you keep it in good shape and looking new. Let's face it, the Echo screams bottom-of-the-line econobox. So do a few other cars such as the Kia Rio. The Fit, not so much. Same with the Mazda3.

Go for it! Fit is go!

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Guys, the Prius is out of the running. I specifically mentioned a manual car. I want to enjoy driving because I do it a lot. I *need* a stick. Automatics make me sad.

So:

Honda Fit
VW Golf TDI
Mazda3
Audi A3

Not too keen on a station wagon. I like smaller cars.

As far as house prices, *every* house I take is like $1 mil or more. $1 mil gets you a small ass house where I operate. Around $2.5 mil + is where it starts to differentiate.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Is the Fit really that fuel efficient BTW? I get 36mpg mixed driving in my Echo, and Fit EPA is only 29/33. That's pretty bad for an econocar...

The first thing I noticed in the Fit is the gearing - it would spin 500rpm faster than my Echo in the same gear at the same speed.

What gives? Mazda3 would be similar to Fit mileage then?

 

[Arkaign]

Is the Fit really that fuel efficient BTW? I get 36mpg mixed driving in my Echo, and Fit EPA is only 29/33. That's pretty bad for an econocar...

The first thing I noticed in the Fit is the gearing - it would spin 500rpm faster than my Echo in the same gear at the same speed.

What gives? Mazda3 would be similar to Fit mileage then?

lol no, the Mazda3i (the 'efficient' one) is over 3000lbs and would return something like 26/31 on a good day.

 

[MJinZ]

Guys, the Prius is out of the running. I specifically mentioned a manual car. I want to enjoy driving because I do it a lot. I *need* a stick. Automatics make me sad.

So:

Honda Fit
VW Golf TDI
Mazda3
Audi A3

Not too keen on a station wagon. I like smaller cars.

As far as house prices, *every* house I take is like $1 mil or more. $1 mil gets you a small ass house where I operate. Around $2.5 mil + is where it starts to differentiate.

Not even GT-R's come with a stick.

Fun and manual? You sound like last generation types who think this way. (I'm guessing you're old..er).

 

[IronWing]

Is the Fit really that fuel efficient BTW? I get 36mpg mixed driving in my Echo, and Fit EPA is only 29/33.

Over the 16k miles we've put on it, our Fit has averaged 33.5 mpg with a mix of urban and urban freeway driving. It has the auto transmission and I use the A/C quite a bit (Tucson, AZ). With the Fit, the A/C noticeably robs power.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Not even GT-R's come with a stick.

Fun and manual? You sound like last generation types who think this way. (I'm guessing you're old..er).

You sound like you drive an auto.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

FBB, I have a 2010 Jetta TDI (the golf gets a bit better mileage) and I easily get 48ish MPG per tank with my DSG transmission. If you head on over to TDIclub, you'll see people with the manuals getting into the 50's and 60's with hypermiling. The US spec golf comes with the sport suspension and a bit more aggressive gearing than the Euro one so it does not feel like a slouch off the line at all. It is a bit lower and it has a valence kit so GC may be an issue for you, but people retrofit steel skid plates onto their TDIs all the time with an easy kit so I think you would be fine there.

 

[jpeyton]

Fit Sport

 

[MJinZ]

You sound like you drive an auto.

All Autos have manual options. So you don't get to use a clutch, who gives a shit.

Get with the times.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Sounds like you made up your mind, get the Fit...I think it's an ugly blob, but to each their own .

 

[Knavish]

Depends what kind of homes you're photographing. If they're 100-250k homes, your current vehicle is fine. If they're 250-500k, I'd suggest stepping up to something like a G37 sedan. If you're photographing homes over 500k, you really should be rolling up in a full on luxury car... BMW... Mercedes... Cadillac. If my home is worth a million dollars and you roll up to photograph it in a Fit, I'm not letting you through the front door.

LOL! Had to reply to this one too...

Imagine if you had the same opinion of your lawn care guy(s): "If they roll up to my house towing their equipment trailer in anything less than a 2009 Escalade I'm going to turn my dogs loose on them..."

 

[Throckmorton]

All Autos have manual options. So you don't get to use a clutch, who gives a shit.

Get with the times.

Driving a manual is fun in and of itself. It's not just being able to pick your own gears. He's completely justified in not buying an auto.

 

[MJinZ]

Driving a manual is fun in and of itself. It's not just being able to pick your own gears. He's completely justified in not buying an auto.

That's what a manual transmission is.

 

[Jeff7181]

LOL! Had to reply to this one too...

Imagine if you had the same opinion of your lawn care guy(s): "If they roll up to my house towing their equipment trailer in anything less than a 2009 Escalade I'm going to turn my dogs loose on them..."

My "lawn care guys" don't enter my house.

 

[Jeff7181]

I'm probably going to offend you here, but do you REALLY think like that? If I'm selling a $1m house and you turn up in a top of the line vehicle I'm going to think I'm paying too much for your services, then I'm going to call up the talented young man in the Honda Fit.

You don't get to own a $1m+ house by paying over the odds for services just because you can.

I'm not offended. If a photographer is going to be hired to photograph my high dollar house, chances are he's going to be taking photos inside, too. Who sells a house without photos of the inside? I don't want some hippie in a Fit walking through my house. I mean really... you might as well walk in like Jazz on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and slap me 5 and say, "Maaaan... You loaded!"

 

[Ronstang]

Considering who is asking I suggest you seek out a used Oscar Meyer Wienermobile and paint it pink.

 

[razor2025]

Get a european econobox. Somewhat affordable with air of "success". Or if your image is "smug", get a Prius. The advice for TDI, GTI, Golf,or Mini would be what I'll be saying too. I figure SV houses are at least $400k+ for medium size, so rolling in on a Fit would be a little off. Again, business is all about impression. Doesn't matter if you or anyone aren't "shallow", I can almost guarantee you that your client is.

Or.. lease the damn thing. Since you're small business, right it off as expense, and cover your taxes.

When I was doing a little consulting work. I had a thinkpad and my partner had a macbook. Our clients thought we were "serious business" and "well-rounded". Since, your average joe thinks thinkpad=uber nerd coder, macbook = awesome designer. And this is just for some dingly little laptops. It's always about image, baby.