Thinking of buying a hybrid -- discuss

Saving money "over the long haul" depends on three factors:

1. How "long" is the "long haul"? If that means 5 years to you, that is a very different calculation than if it means 10 years to you.

2. Since your mileage depends on how you will drive the hybrid you select, what will your driving habits/driving style give you in terms of overall mileage for the life of the car?

3. What will be the average price of gas over the life of your car?

[Note: I am assuming that maintenance costs and repair costs for your putative hybrid would be the same as those costs would be for a non-hybrid car.]


With that let me make one set of assumptions: You drive your hybrid 12,000 miles per year; you average 40 mpg and gas costs an average of $3.50 per gallon. That means you would pay $1050 per year to buy gas for your hybrid. If you bought a non-hybrid and the average mileage was 20 mpg, then it would cost you $2100 per year for gas. In that example, you save $1050 per year in gas. So, how long would it take for you to save the incremental cost of a hybrid vehicle?

If you bought a non-hybrid that got 30 mpg on average, you would spend $1400 per year on gas so the gas savings for your hybrid would be only $350 per year. Clearly, you would have to own your hybrid longer to amortize the added initial cost.

There is no way to do this calculation before the fact and get an exact answer because there are too many variables to try to fix. But this is how you go about the calculation...

Hope that helps.

I still think the over-riding factor in your decision needs to be the degree of comfort you have with a decision to by a hybrid or a non-hybrid. But that's just me...

 

All good points. I knew how to do the math. Just waiting for someone to do it for me. Thanks

I tend to be like bamadog. I drive cars till the bitter end.

The car before our present one was a 94 Camry that reached the end of the line in 2008. I think we had 300,000 km on it (180,000 miles. Maybe more. HC might remember

I would expect any new car I bought to last an absolute minimum of ten years.

In any case, we'd probably upgrade from our present '98 Dodge to a more recent "pre-owned" hybrid.

 

Toyota Camry LE Hybrid is a nice looking car. 41 combined mpg. Under $26k.

 

JR:

If you are going to keep a car for 10 years and you are going to drive it 180,000 miles, then a hybrid getting about 40 mpg is going to save you money when compared to a gas-engine car getting something less than 30 mpg.

I would have one bit of angst about a "pre-owned hybrid" if I were thinking of keeping it 10 years:


The battery that runs the electric motor for the car is a critical element of the car. It is analgous to the gas tank in your "non-hybrid" but it has lots more failure modes than a gas tank. I do not know if there is a whole lot of data out there regarding the reliability of the battery that drives the motor in a hybrid in the 10-years-plus timeframe.

I do know this. If you were to have to replace the drive battery in a hybrid, it would not cost you three easy payments of $39.95. The cost of the battery itself in a new hybrid is a part of the added price of the vehicle.


Someone here suggested you look at the Camry hybrid. A friend has one; I have ridden in it and it rides very comfortably. If you start to look at hybrids, it should be one of the ones on your target list.

 

The battery reliability question was answered in the link I posted above. And here.

www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2012/0306/Hybrid-cars-101-How-long-should-batteries-last

 

I am sure that these batteries are built to last as long as the car is on the road. And, I know that there are going to be anecdotal reports about how they have lasted for 10+ years. Nonetheless, when it comes to a "new device" such as this lithium battery big enough to power a car, there is nothing like a LOT of units that have actually made it to the 10 or 12 or 15 year lifetime status.

As I said in my post to JR, replacing a drive battery is going to be a major expense if it has to be done and that would be a factor that would give me pause if I were considering buying a car with a drive battery that was already several years old and I intended to keep it 10+ years.

 

The Prius drive battery warranty is 8 yrs/100,000 miles and is transferable. The Consumer Reports survey of 36,000 owners mentioned in that first link is not insubstantial in establishing the reliability and desirability of a car that's sold over a million units here since the year 2000.

As more aftermarket companies sell replacement batteries, the price will come down. Another strategy for replacing an old drive battery would be to get one out of a low mileage Prius at the scrap yard, same as you would an engine or transmission.

 

I have an 08 Prius that I got in 2010 with 13k mi on it at the time. I got it because of my lengthy commute. I was sick of filling my Jeep 2x a week and always having to take it in to get fixed. The Prius has been very reliable, even in Boston winters. It's not exciting and, yes, it is weird looking (though I've gotten used to it). But it does just fine on the highway - no trouble merging at. Does 70-80 comfortably (you don't maximize fuel efficiency at that speed but you still do better than in other cars). It passes other cars fine when necessary. Havent needed to repair a thing - I've put on almost 30k mi since I bought it and all ive done is the scheduled maintenance. Not my dream car but I have more cash in my pocket on a weekly basis than I did before because I'm paying so much less for gas. And I'm secure enough in my masculinity that I don't need to throw away gas and maintenance money away on a Jeep or another SUV to overcompensate. I couldn't give a rat's ass if some idiot is pointing and laughing (which I've never experienced, at least to my knowledge). I can get a bottle of Macallan every week with the money I'm saving.

Only downside is that it's not that roomy. I'm not a big guy myself, but you can't really take a family trip in it -- not enough packing space in the hatchback if you have kids in the backseat. Our other car is an SUV (Honda CR-V) and we use that for vacations and beach days.

 

And no -- I don't wear Birkenstocks. I don't even own a pair of sandals aside from a pair of Nike flip flops for the beach if that counts. And I'm not an environmentalist -- while I don't believe in deliberately destorying the environment for the sake of being an asshole, going green is not exactly a pet cause of mine either. I probably wouldn't have bought a Prius new either because I wouldn't save as much in the long run. But the one I bought was essentially new -- very low mileage and no wear and tear.

 

Perhaps a pull quote would be helpful. At least some description beyond the word "reliability."

 

Absolutely agree. I was posting in response to some stuff above it, and didn't think to pull specifics.

 

Ok, but just so you know, according to Mister Whats-his-face, the guy who's been married a buncha times, you're a self-righteous fool driving a vagina.