Is 2006 a year to buy a hybrid?

At 250,000 and 300,000 BTW, you'd likely have to replace the very expensive (+$3000) battery and if parts of the vehicle were to fail... you'd certainly lose out because the maintenance and repair of such vehicles are sky high.

Most places won't service them... only authorized dealerships.

I don't think the time will be right to buy them until most auto shops can repair these vehicles.

Tax credit for hybrid was already considered in OP's calculation (-$3150)

But I do believe comparing to $25,000 Prius, similar equiped Corolla will cost more than $15,000. More likely will cost around $17,000 to $18,000 and still with less options. Driving in HOV lane by yourself in a hybrid is another plus.

Don't forget some POS politicians tried/trying to add tax to hybrid. Reason: Hybrid does not pay as much tax (low gas consumption) compare to lincon navegator.

so do any FWers own a hybrid currently? Other than the fact you can drive in HOV lanes, if you're not really saving yourself any money by saving gas, what was the reason to get one?

cabernet said: didYOUsearch said: most reports are that it would take 250,000 - 350,000 miles of driving to see any cost savings by buying a hybrid

I had heard that the batteries only last 3-4 years and the mileage they quote can be inflated by as much as 2x (this from some friends who own the Prius). If so, you might never realize any cost savings. I'm waiting until they come up with longer lasting batteries.

My vote is the Civic/Corolla route for now.

There's a lot of misinformation about Hybrids out there and this thread is contributing to that.

I have a 2001 Prius I bought in Nov 2000 for $19k (dealer's test car, was a 2K discount). It is now more than 5 years old and my battery has not worn out. Of course, it would be OK if it did, since the battery and entire hybrid system is guaranteed for 10 yrs / 100K miles by Toyota. The Prius also comes with a 3 year bumper-to-bumper warranty that includes all service (oil changes, etc.). I could probably trade it in now for about $10k (the resale market is strong). Depending on how you do the math, I think I did pretty well thus far.

The $25k the OP cited for a Prius would have to include many options -- probably the GPS? I don't think it's fair to compare a stripped down Corolla to a loaded Prius. The Prius is a superior car to the Corolla -- bigger, nicer interior, better fit/finish. There isn't a directly comparable car (why not compare the price to a Camry?), but I'd estimate the price premium at about $3k for hybrid -- certainly not the $10k some imply. If you don't care about anything but getting economical transportation, then the Corolla is probably a better deal (or maybe a Kia?)...

When you figure in the quality of the car, the warranty, the Fed + State tax credits and/or how you value the right to use HOV lanes in some states it can make the Prius quite appealing. You may then be able to add in the personal value of polluting a lot less than other cars (more so than the mpg difference). For me the appeal was the technology (energy engineering is my field), the cool LCD screen, the fuel economy, and the pollution reduction.

I don't think you can normally achieve 60-70mpg without something like the pulse and glide method of driving which is not very practical for freeway driving

BTW if you just drive slower you can get an extra 10 to 12 mpg out of your gas engine on the freeway. I once gased up, drove 55mph (set by cruise) at 2am for about 300 miles, then gased up again and got around 42mpg with a car that normally gets 30mpg at 75mph

Archived Hybrid Car Thread

i read somewhere that the tax break for 2006 will come as a credit and not a deduction. how is that different and is it better?

NRGguy said: The $25k the OP cited for a Prius would have to include many options -- probably the GPS? I don't think it's fair to compare a stripped down Corolla to a loaded Prius. The Prius is a superior car to the Corolla -- bigger, nicer interior, better fit/finish. There isn't a directly comparable car (why not compare the price to a Camry?), but I'd estimate the price premium at about $3k for hybrid -- certainly not the $10k some imply. If you don't care about anything but getting economical transportation, then the Corolla is probably a better deal (or maybe a Kia?)...

Prirus is a brother of Corolla not Camry. That's why Toyota will come out a Camry hybrid. Regradless whatever you want to say, I don't think many people will agree with you. It's not because prirus has a little better clothing and sexier, it makes it on the par of Camry. It's the same when people compare Accord, Altima and Camry, these cars is at the same class regardless some people feeling that the Camry is better or the Accord is better.

Also, many people love their HP, so hybrid is a no no choice. IMO, I don't think buying a hybrid is a way to save $$.

Interesting data point - the passenger volume of the prius is right in the middle of the corolla and camry. My visceral impression of the prius is driven by the horrible rear visibility. Can't get excited by the technology of anything I can't see out of when I'm driving.

Do think the camry hybrid is a clear sign that toyota knows folks don't see the prius as a camry sized thing.

Robat said: ... call me an environmental nut but I think more about what it will do for the environment rather than my wallet.
You can do that by driving less also.

By the way, I just cannot imagine with this 76HP, how hard is that to merge into the HOV lane?

Any one here knows which places in USA has "NO SALES TAX" for a brand new toyota cars which rolls out of a Toyota dealers?

You may well use much of the fuel difference in driving betwixt toyota dealerships and waiting on a wait list for the prius than you'll save versus a corolla. And depending on your driving patterns you may well do very close to prius mileage in a corolla.

Certainly you'll do a lot more good if you can convince one F150 driver to buy a corolla than you would getting 10 corolla drivers to drive priuses. Best thing to get less fuel burnt is HIGHER prices, not gimmicky dodads for the rich and bored(read prius).

BTW, see no oil crisis in the future - but then I'm kinda dim that way.

unknownshopper said: didYOUsearch said: But This is a finance forum. We only care about cents per mile here.
The Prius may be a gee whiz technological marvel, but thats not relevant to a finance discussion.
A hybrid , any hybrid, is simply not the cheaper financial option unless driven over 250k miles....

Gotta luv a financial forum where presentation of financial facts gets negged.

The tranformation from informational center to affirmational center is complete.

What financial facts? I see a statement that COULD be supported by facts, but not facts themselves.

Besides, part of the idea of the thread is comparing the timeliness of buying a hybrid (as indicated by the title) not merely hybrid vs non-hybrid discussion. Of course, it could just be mistitled.

arkleseizure said: unknownshopper said: didYOUsearch said: But This is a finance forum. We only care about cents per mile here.
The Prius may be a gee whiz technological marvel, but thats not relevant to a finance discussion.
A hybrid , any hybrid, is simply not the cheaper financial option unless driven over 250k miles....

Gotta luv a financial forum where presentation of financial facts gets negged.

The tranformation from informational center to affirmational center is complete.

What financial facts? I see a statement that COULD be supported by facts, but not facts themselves.

Besides, part of the idea of the thread is comparing the timeliness of buying a hybrid (as indicated by the title) not merely hybrid vs non-hybrid discussion. Of course, it could just be mistitled.

Reminds me of a guy I frequently debate over various issues who likes to state: "It's a well-know fact that..." but has no sources to back his arguement.

can someone explain to me the benefit of a hybrid car?

does the cost of ownership, the cost of the electricity bill, and the cost of gas for a hybrid really offset a regular car?

when people keep saying you can now rely less on gas for your cars it just seems stupid to me because for all they know their electricty came from a coal plant and it's working overtime to meet the demand for electricity.

can someone that own a hybrid explain how much their electric bill is?

Another Edmunds webpage that everyone thinking about a Prius should read. I'm not saying that it has more problems than any other car but potential buyers should be aware of these frequently reported problems before buying one.

Prius Problems

well, i was going to buy a prius anyway, so I'm biased, but I rented one while mine was in the shop, and I loved it. The amount of space it has is great - I won't be giving up any room over my 1996 Camry, I'll actually be getting a more usable rear - yay for the hatchback. I admit I am a conservative driver - I go the speed limit (most of the time) and I try reasonably hard to anticipate my upcoming stops. In two days with the Prius, I went 170 miles and averaged 54.5 mpg. Not quite the EPA combined estimate of 55mpg, but pretty darned close.

I guess it's really down to this: If the car you would otherwise be getting is the Corolla, it's not worth the difference, unless you *really* like technology. If you were planning on any midsize car, the Prius may well meet your needs just as well, and it comes with oodles of nifty features and great gas milage,and it won't cost you a premium at all. For that one niche, this gar is a great value with these tax credits. It's an even better deal for techie geeks who would have bought a much more expensive vehicle, and be willing to 'downgrade' to a Prius just to get the cutting edge status. I don't happen to care that much about it, but there are a whole class of engineer geek Prii owners, and there are lots of them.

One last thing - OPs math assumes that after 5 years, the price of a $25,000 Prius will be the same as the price of a $15,000 Corolla - and thats not going to be the case

Robat said: Your numbers look about right. But I am still considering a hybrid... call me an environmental nut but I think more about what it will do for the environment rather than my wallet. And being a usually frugal fatwalleter that is saying a lot. I'm hoping this hybrid thing catches on, prices will eventually come down, and we'll become less of a gas-guzzling country.

I don't think that a huge battery is that great for the environment.