Hybrids - Electric… Gas… What Should I Buy????
Hybrids - Electric… Gas… What Should I Buy????
Written By: Jeff H. Reynolds
With fuel prices rising through the roof… our household budgets shrinking every day… we all are looking for ways to save money. Many of us have inefficient vehicles… that is, cars or trucks that simply do not get reasonable gas mileage.
And, when we start to look around at new vehicles, one of the first things that comes to mind is “what about a hybrid?”. The answer to the question… don’t do it. The technology is still too expensive for the general public.*
Many of the major car manufacturers are producing some rather nice hybrid vehicles. But, the prices of those vehicles are much higher than comparable gasoline powered vehicles. In many of those instances, the difference can be more than $5,000.
So… think of things like this….
If you drive 1,000 miles a month… and your present vehicle gets 15 miles per gallon on average… then you are spending $200 a month on gasoline @ $3.00/gallon. That’s $2,400 a year.
If you purchase a new vehicle that burns gasoline which gets 30 miles per gallon on average… your costs will drop by 50%… that is, to $100 per month. That translates to a yearly savings of $1,200. As an example… a new Toyota Corolla is suppose to get 30/city and 38/hwy.
Now, lets look at buying a hybrid… something like a Toyota Prius. The 2006 Prius is suppose to get 55 mpg on average. With this car, your fuel costs would be about $55 per month. That would represent a savings of $145/month or $1,740 per year. By buying the Prius rather than the Corolla, your fuel costs would be $540 less per year based on these assumptions.
With decent equipment, the sticker on that Prius will be around $28,000. But, that hybrid is going to cost you about $8,000 more than a similarly equipped Corolla. That price difference is substantial. Especially when you figure you are only going to save $540 a year by spending $8,000 more. In simple terms… it would take you more than 14 years to get the hybrid to pay for the difference between the two cars. And, during those 14 years… you may have to spend a fortune to replace/service the batteries and electric drive system.
So… the point that you need to consider for yourself is just this…
If you have money to throw to the wind… to take a “green” position… then by all means buy the hybrid. But, if you are on a budget and trying to spend your money wisely… you are likely going to be much better off just buying a fuel efficient car like the Corolla rather than spending all that money for the hybrid.
Until the hybrid vehicles get cheaper… it’s just not going to make a lot of sense for those of us on a budget to make the switch.
__________________* I’ve had a few people mention that I have overlooked the federal tax credit that is available to those that purchase a NEW hybrid vehicle. It is true that I did not address this. As I understand it, the credit can be more than $3000. But, the availability of the credit is expiring and very limited. For instance, Toyota has already reached the production limit for the Prius and those NEW cars bought after October 2006 will not carry with them that big tax benefit. Regardless of the potential tax break… I still stand behind my recommendation of staying away from the hybrid vehicles.