Comments on: Will Buying A Hybrid Sedan Really Save You Money?

By: Mark in Biketown

Mark in Biketown — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:01:37 +0000

I subscribe to the belief that while it may not be any cheaper for a hybrid right now, it may be easier to float a loan for one as nobody is going to float me a loan for several years for fuel. When restrictions return (not if) on how much you are allowed to purchase, a hybrid may squeeze enough miles from it to get you where you need to go, whereas a thirstier vehicle will not. I am still waiting on a hybrid that leans heavier on the electrics, is a plugin, and uses a very small diesel or micro gas turbine to generate re-charging electricity for a new generation of battery. I’d like to see 200 mile ranges in sedans and 100 miles in pickups the size of the original Tacomas (all unloaded, driver only) and fast recharge times (80% in under 30 minutes) but this may take awhile. A small diesel that could run on WVO or gas turbine that could run on darn near anything from alcohol to heating oil would be my ideal. Besides, electric vehicles need some sort of noisemaker to alert the populace of their presence.

By: azalea4va

azalea4va — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:24:48 +0000

I think you missed a few things in your analysis. Lets just look at the civic. I think a better comparison is between a comparably equipped EX and the hybrid. Honda’s website lists the comparably equipped prices as 20180 and 23270. But I’ll split the difference with you and say the hybrid costs $4000 more. So there is no additional cost to you out-of-pocket, lets assume that $4000 comes from a 5-year loan at 7%. That means your extra payment for buying a hybrid is around $960 a year. Your estimate of gas savings was based on gas averaging $4 a gallon, maybe you want to revise that now? At $5 a gallon average, the savings is $960, the exact cost of the loan. So it looks like you are breaking even. BUT WAIT, we left one thing out, THE TRADE-IN value! Look at 5 year old civics in good condition with 75,000 miles, the hybrid is worth $1700 more!!!

So lets see, you pay no more money out of your bank account, the extra cost of the hybrid comes from a loan that pays for itself in gas savings. You pollute less, in some states you get to drive in HOV lanes or get priority parking spots, more of the money you spend stays in the USA as opposed to going to OPEC, you spend less of your valuable time in gas stations (not to mention, what do think the chances of are of there being 1970s gas lines sometime in the next 5 years?). And after 5 years you get an extra $1700 for your trade-in.

Sounds like a very good deal to me.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:20:04 +0000

@Rick: What I was doing was comparing the hybrids to their non-hybrid counterparts to show that it’s not really a money saver for people who keep their cars less than 5 years. I couldn’t include a Prius because it was like having a hybrid to non-hybrid horse power shootout and throwing a Corvette in there.

The Prius is admittedly a hybrid champ and makes good economic sense, but it has no traditional counterpart to fairly compare against.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:02:35 +0000

I drive >25k miles/year, and in 2005 looked at the Prius vs. a similarly-equipped Corolla. I figured the cost difference was about $5000, which at $3.30/gal should be paid off in 5.5 years.

Now that gas is $4/gal., that has dropped to 4.5 years. Glad I bought the Prius! I am NOT a tree-hugger by any means, but this car makes economic sense to me … I plan on driving it for many years.

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 26 May 2008 15:23:48 +0000

I agree with Brian.
While we’re so focused on going “green” by trying to save a few gallons and the associated $$$, we lost sight of the major environmental effect the metal hydride batteries have when they need to be disposed of.
Our focus should be on non fossil and renewable fuels as a source of our energy needs.

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:11:13 +0000

@Eric: I’m sure that the hybrids have high fuel economy, but because the premium is so high over the non-hybrid, you never recoup the cost with gas savings. If you typically own a car for less than 5 years, buying the non-hybrid generally ends up being cheaper.

@Brian: You’re right. The answer to all that is evil and unholy about petroleum consumption isn’t a hybrid. It’s a program of free unicycles for everyone that keeps getting shot down in Congress. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you.

@leah: Thanks fro the link.

@Mark: That’s not a bad deal at all. We have a few similar tax breaks in the U.S., but they’re not nearly as high.

@Andrew: I that there are many different reasons to buy different kinds of cars, but the common wisdom is that bying a hybrid will save you money. What I was trying to show was that the premium paid for a hybrid is difficult to recoup with savings at the pump.

By: Andrew S

Andrew S — Thu, 22 May 2008 03:32:55 +0000

I’m a bit late here, but i’ll add my 2 cents…

The engines in these cars simply are not equivalent. Most cars offer some sort of engine choice with different characteristics, and people typically pay $1000-3000 more for an engine which is bigger or better in some way. Hybrids are similar–the engine characteristics are completely different, so that plays a big part in what people buy. Many people like the quietness and high initial torque that electric motors provide.

Some of the hybrids in your comparison have more horsepower and faster acceleration than the non-hybrid version. I know the Lexus GS450h does. That’s the main reason for the variation in mileage advantages for hybrids.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:34:29 +0000

In the Netherlands on a 25.000 Euro car (Prius) you get 6.500Euros back for having bought a greener car.

By: Leah Ingram

Leah Ingram — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:09:49 +0000

Thanks for the great comparison chart on this post. I’ve linked to it from my blog, in a posting in which I discuss lots of different quandaries where you have to wonder if paying more for something that’s energy efficient is worth it in the long run. If you’re interested you can read my posting here:

http://suddenlyfrugal.blogspot.com/2008/05/pay-more-to-save-more.html

Keep up the good work.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:52:59 +0000

Whoa, Jo Jo… step back from the ledge, man.

You’re right on both counts, though - spending money to make money only works when you have money to spend in the first place. And the costs of these technologies will only come down due to very large economies of scale.

I think we’re still quite a few years away from the legitimate claim that “i bought a hybrid car to save money”. Save gas, maybe. But save money overall, no.