Job change, bought a new car

AMS417

AMS417

"The Ayatollah of rock and rolla"
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So, I’ve been with the same company for 23 years. I went to the corporate side 7 years ago and it’s been a really good run. Oct 31 2023 I was “separated” from the company due to a corporate decision to release my team. I was rehire two days later into a Regional interim role while waiting for a new sales strategy to roll out in Jan 2024. This week was my first full week of the new job. I drove my 2020 Ram 2500 1000 miles and averaged 14.5 mpg. With my customer list and sales territory I’m estimating I’ll be driving 6-8k miles a month. Not good.

I do get a car allowance and mileage but it’s based on much better fuel economy, so I did an ROI comparison and decided to buy the most fuel efficient vehicle I could fit into for malicious compliance, I want to make money every mile I drive. I took delivery of a 2023 Kia Niro hybrid today.

First thing my son said when he saw my new car was “what’s its pronouns?” I practically died.

Anyone else drive a Niro or a hybrid? Curious what your experience has been.
 
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AMS417 said:
So, I’ve been with the same company for 23 years. I went to the corporate side 7 years ago and it’s been a really good run. Oct 31 2023 I was “separated” from the company due to a corporate decision to release my team. I was rehire two days later into a Regional interim role while waiting for a new sales strategy to roll out in Jan 2024. This week was my first full week of the new job. I drove my 2020 Ram 2500 1000 miles and averaged 14.5 mpg. With my customer list and sales territory I’m estimating I’ll be driving 6-8k miles a month. Not good.

I do get a car allowance and mileage but it’s based on much better fuel economy, so I did an ROI comparison and decided to buy the most fuel efficient vehicle I could fit into for malicious compliance, I want to make money every mile I drive. I took delivery of a 2023 Kia Niro hybrid today.

First thing my son said when he saw my new car was “what’s its pronouns?” I practically died.

Anyone else drive a Niro or a hybrid? Curious what your experience has been.
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Raising em right!
 
Rented a Prius once. Saw it get 54mpg at one time doing 75mph. Scared the hell outta me when I got in stop and go traffic and the motor kept shutting down switching to battery. My mail carrier drives a Prius and scoots around the hood like a demon. Too bad our government didn’t push hybrids instead of straight ev. The transition would be smoother. Not a fan of ev just giving an opinion.
 
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I wish you luck with your new vehicle. I hope it serves you well.

I own a 2021 Hyundai Sante Fe AWD hybrid bought new in the pandemic, and driven 50,000 miles in just 2.5 years.
It's rated for 36 city / 30 mpg highway. Even the small 1.6Turbo + electric with AWD is fast accelerating from a stoplight

Hybrid-1.png


Even doing 90 on I-90 I can get 29-30 mpg in summer. (Chicagoland is flatlands)
however, in winter, I'm getting 20mpg highway, which basically means the Hybrid battery isn't doin much

After doing the math on the fuel savings after 50,000 miles, I'm looking to get rid of it
because the math isn't going to make sense long term once the battery comes due. It's a $$$ liability

It's a $40,000 SUV that I'm goin to destroy in just 4-5 years with the mileage
I'm driving and I will lose on depreciation due to battery needs

I'm going to trade out for a 13th gen Accord Sport that's a non-hybrid, because even those in hybrid
form don't make sense long term. I thought it all made sense, but after 1st hand experience, it does not
 
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CreepinDeth said:
I wish you luck with your new vehicle. I hope it serves you well.

I own a 2021 Hyundai Sante Fe AWD hybrid bought new in the pandemic, and driven 50,000 miles in just 2.5 years.
It's rated for 36 city / 30 mpg highway. Even the small 1.6Turbo + electric with AWD is fast accelerating from a stoplight

View attachment 493261

Even doing 90 on I-90 I can get 29-30 mpg in summer. (Chicagoland is flatlands)
however, in winter, I'm getting 20mpg highway, which basically means the Hybrid battery isn't doin much

After doing the math on the fuel savings after 50,000 miles, I'm looking to get rid of it
because the math isn't going to make sense long term once the battery comes due. It's a $$$ liability

It's a $40,000 SUV that I'm goin to destroy in just 4-5 years with the mileage
I'm driving and I will lose on depreciation due to battery needs

I'm going to trade out for a 13th gen Accord Sport that's a non-hybrid, because even those in hybrid
form don't make sense long term. I thought it all made sense, but after 1st hand experience, it does not
Click to expand...

That’s good info, thanks. I was looking at the Fuelly website and looks like most of the Niros reporting in are averaging mid to high 40 mpg average. Mine has 7k miles and I paid $25k for it. It was a service dept loaner at the Kia dealer. It was nearly 30% less than a new one. I’ll probably drive it to 200k and replace it.

I also had to consider wear and tear and depreciation on my Ram 2500. It was the Niro or a Prius and I didn’t like the seating position of the Prius.
 
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gasiorv said:
Yeah true statement, I know his mother 🤣

Happy to hear things are going well, if work brings you down to the Memphis area again shoot me a text.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that’s fair 😂. No more Tennesee for me. I’ll get close to Kentucky when in southern Illinois.
 
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AMS417 said:
I also had to consider wear and tear and depreciation on my Ram 2500. It was the Niro or a Prius and I didn’t like the seating position of the Prius.
Click to expand...
The new Prius is light years ahead in design then the old one that was an abortion on wheels.

Comfort is everything tho, so ya gotta go with what works best for you. Unfortunately my Hyundai ended up at the dealership on Monday for 2 major powertrain codes that limited the CVT from goin past the 3rd simulated gear. Happened to me on the Interstate, couldnt go past 60mph

I ended up at Honda and got the Sport Accord I wanted. Im just goin back to the proven Japanese. The Hyundai hybrid is gonna be sold. My cousins 2019 Kia Forte is at 120K all highway and burning a quart of oil every 2 weeks

So I had a decision to make
 
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CreepinDeth said:
The new Prius is light years ahead in design then the old one that was an abortion on wheels.

Comfort is everything tho, so ya gotta go with what works best for you. Unfortunately my Hyundai ended up at the dealership on Monday for 2 major powertrain codes that limited the CVT from goin past the 3rd simulated gear. Happened to me on the Interstate, couldnt go past 60mph

I ended up at Honda and got the Sport Accord I wanted. Im just goin back to the proven Japanese. The Hyundai hybrid is gonna be sold. My cousins 2019 Kia Forte is at 120K all highway and burning a quart of oil every 2 weeks

So I had a decision to make
Click to expand...

My Niro has the dual clutch automated manual. It’s averaged 47mph over the first 1000 miles I’ve put on it. Lifetime average is 42 but it was a service loaner so I doubt it got babied. I was able to fold down the back seat and haul my entire computer station including desk, chair, cpu, and monitors in the back. We will see if it holds up, but it’ll get regular service (from me) and I can work on it if it has issues out of warranty. Just need to buy a Kia capable diag tool if it comes to that.

So far I like it. I haven’t driven my truck in a week. I drove it today and it felt like I was driving a semi 😂. The Kia is nice to maneuver around and park. Can’t wait till the first time I pull my 36ft trailer.
 
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Congrats on the new vehicle! If I was going to be driving that much, I'd probably get a hybrid. My wife did the same in 2013 when she had a 1.5 - 2 hour commute for a while. She traded in her Toyota Highlander for a Prius plug in (now called Prius Prime). She never plugged it in. Mostly got it because, at the time, she could drive in the car pool lane. So was saving money on gas and saving time in the car pool lane.
 
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