I am getting ready to buy another car now. When gas prices were $4 plus, I was really thinking about buying a hybrid. Now with gas prices back down to $2 or less, should I.

I understand the environment situation, however with the cost of a hybrid being $5k plus more, I will never make the money back over the life of the 4-5 years I am going to keep the car.

So any feedback of your experience owning a hybrid, or why I should or shoulnt would be appreciated.

 

Welcome, I am the type that drives the wheels off of my cars so I wouldn't buy one because I would worry about maintence in the long run.

 

At $4 I question the value of the hybrid - the only 2 that made a real splash were the Prius and the Insight (which I am not sure is made anymore).

If you drive in a city - prius. If you do mostly highway - forget it - at highway speeds (65-70) the prius is down to 35-38mpg - a Jetta D will toast it.

However the battery replacement of the Prius every 4 years makes it very questionable as a long term vehicle - at over $4000 a pop it sorta eats up the gas savings. Plus the inverters - when stuff in these cars break its a pretty penny. The technology is close - but I dont think is there yet.

My vote is to visit the VW diesels (and not just cuz I own one) Even used ones if you can pry one away from an owner. My friend got a 99-00ish bug and he gets 53mpg on a bad day. Thats like 38-40 mpg in a gas car (what with the price distortions)

 

Prius battery packs are warrantied for eight years or 150,000 miles and there is no evidence that they will die the day after the warranty expires. So, where did you get that four year figure?

Hybrid gas vs. diesel, bottom line is city vs highway. If most of your driving is highway go diesel, mostly city go hybrid. BUT, the only diesel cars available in the USA are the Mexican made VW Jetta or the very expensive German Mercedes. The list of hybrids is longer and includes Toyota (many models), Honda (Civic now, Insight is coming back soon) and Ford (Escape), all with many more dealers and better reputations for reliability and dealer service.

In CA, due to NOx emissions standards, we saw no new diesel passenger cars from 2004-2008 model years. The latest VW that meets those standards has more power but less fuel economy than before. 15ppm sulfur fuel is more expensive than premium unleaded here. Biodiesel is not available. Also, diesels were exempt from emissions checks until recently. I wanted one before, but for all the reasons mentioned, not now.

Jim

 

We're taking delivery of a Prius in a few weeks. I have no prior experience but have read much on the subject.

First, some hybrids add more of a premium over a standard model than others. There are some that will never get a payback. As a business decision, some are better than others. Do your homework. There are plenty of websites. Since they are so new, hybrids will require overcoming the prejudices of haters and simpletons. They are going to be around a long time and get better all the while.

As an aside, Prius batteries have proven much more reliable than what doubters thought. They routinely go way over 100,000 miles and 6 years. Also, they can be had for half what was normal (or thought) several years ago.

Hybrids can fail and cause anxiety in many new and exciting ways. I'm not looking forward to that part. But, the Prius has a good maintenance and warranty history. It is very important to find a good and reasonable dealership maintenance shop. Some are terrible, some are awesome.

While I believe there's plenty of oil in the earth, the only reason for any shortage is because of OPEC and and lack of refining will, and that man-made global warming is a sad and terrible hoax, I also believe it's just good business to use less of things in short supply (regardless of the reason they are in short supply).

Face it, don't for a minute think that fuel prices will stay low. Learn from history. It's not as if it's a surprise or anything.

 

The ford escape hybrid does well for an suv, up to 38 mpg in the city and it's not an econo box and you can even get 4wd. I would still get it if gas prices are your main concern, cause they won't stay this low, this is just a gift due to the bad economy I believe. Besides the more fuel we concerve, the better chance we have of keeping prices low. However, I don't buy japanese myself, it would be the ford escape or wait for the hybrid fusion to come out. I would rather walk than drive a japanese econo-box, but thats my personal opinion.

 

I've often wondered this myself. Are these batteries recyclable , or to be disposed of as hazardous waste? It may cost "x" amount of dollars to replace them but then how much are the fees going to cost to properly handle the spent batteries?

 

Ok, lets play devils advocate.

you buy the Prius and lets say they are lasting 150000 miles. Lets say you do more city than highway driving. Therefore lets say it gets 45mpg That will cost 3333 gallons.

at $4 per that will be $13333 in fuel costs over this time.

Lets say you get a small gas car Prius sized that averages 35mpg over the same time.

that will cost (at $4) $17142, which is just under the cost of the prius battery. Fuel savings - GONE.

Cost of the prius vs the prius sized car? You paid about $6000 more for the prius after the tax break.

Lets say you drive mostly highway miles. That Prius drops 35-38 mpg (based on all reports), that prius sized gas car hits 40.

Its just not there yet. If you are doing this to save money - you wont. The only way this will save you overall money is if you are daily driving to work in some big pickup truck - and thats assuming its not a pricey truck.

If you are doing this to save gross amounts of gallons burned - you will save that.

 

and btw - evey single prius owner I have talked to has failed at least 1 inverter in the first few years of ownership. None were warrantied. Toyota may change that, but thems is expensive gizmos. Average bill: $3000

What is my sample size: the 8 prii in the treasury parking lot (taking advantage of DC traffic and the sizeable early bird tax break)

 

First I want to say I have never owned a Prius, or any other hybrid.

I have only driven a Prius a total of about 30 kms ( 20 miles) and i found the seats uncomfortable, and the car nothing special, but guess it would get a person from point A to point B okay.

But the nice elderly couple next door to me bought a Prius, and it was a nightmare of problems from day 1.

They finally sold it after only about a year and a bit, after it spent a lot of time at the dealer for work, some warranty, some not, and it cost them a lot.

There old vehicle was a chevy suburban that never gave them trouble, and now they have a Honda Fit, that is perfect for them, gets as good as mileage they claim as the prius did, nd the Fit has been trouble free totally.

So I would suggest a honda fit over a prius anyday from what I have seen.

 

What non-hybrid gasoline cars sold in the US get 35mpg city? The comparison is faulty based on that assumption. Plus, the Prius feels roomier inside than most compact cars due to its 5-door hatch configuration.

Jim

 

Not city - combined mostly city (55/45) split - I think the fit, Yaris, cobalt XFE and the civic automatic should get abotu 35 here and 40 straight highway.

Of course the cobalt and civic are larger....but its the spirit that counts.

 

I'd just buy a used economical conventional vehicle.

I firmly believe in letting other people beta test new technology, and fuel prices aren't the only consideration. Buying cheap econoboxes and scrapping them when something expensive breaks is the most thrifty way to go. Buying any NEW vehicle to save money is usually pretty silly. For what I would pay for a Prius I could drive my paid-for F150 to work for years.

 

Everybody cant buy used forever. The supply of cars will get used up, like in Cuba. And look at what is happening to the economy where we, as a nation, are only buying about half as many new cars as "normal". The Prius is WAY beyond beta testing now. Chevy Volt, if it is ever actually is available, yes.

Jim

 

yeah but cuba has been frozen up since the 50's....

besides, if new cars are sooooooooooooo great, why was the average american trading at 58K miles? the whole push push push to buy buy buy a depreciating asset never made sense to me. Dealers actually using 'resale value' to try and swing the deal. with me, its 'parts value' or 'scrap value'