Bottom line:
(1) depends what you are comparing it to
(2) depends how you drive it
(3) depends how much you drive it
(4) depends on your climate, terrain, etc.
When people say that it's not worth the extra cost... what extra cost and compared to what? Prius vs what? HCH vs what? In the case of an HCH, I would say that the package is closer to an Civic EX than it is to a baseline Civic. Factor in the tax credit and you come out ahead if not break even. Then factor in the resale value and you really come out ahead. Look at the resale value of whatever car you are comparing the hybrid to in X many years and you will see what I mean.
I've saved such a buttload on our Hybrids...couldn't even begin to calculate how much it's been. Not counting the tax benefits and resale, lets just say that before hybrids (bh), I had to budget for monthly petrol ($150-$200)...now, it's not even in my budget. With 2 cars and very little travel, we average around $20-$25 per month in fuel. With that, we don't budget, but rather just use the pocket change.
Rich, Jennie & Boston (with little Piper on the way in April 2006)
2005 Toyota Prius (Driftwood Pearl #4) - 54 mpg average
Mine is 2001 Prius 84k miles. I intend to drive it for 300k, in which case the purchase + financing costs are about 9 cents per mile. Another scenario would be to sell it at 150k miles for $9000, increasing the above to 12. This is the area where buying a used compact sedan would do substantially better; perhaps in the 5 cents/mile range.
So far the maintenance cost has been 2.4 cents/mi, and the largest component has been tires. Projecting that to the future is uncertain, but for now I am comfortable with an estimate of 3. It might turn out to be a bit less with a 30 mpg conventional sedan (for example), but there is not very much "room at the bottom". Everybody needs tires...
Fuel costs have been about 4 cents/mi, and would have been about 6 with a 30 mpg vehicle. I would expect those (and their difference) to increase in the future.
Insurance + registration about 5.4 cents/mi, and I reckon those would not change much with a different car.
All in, I am looking at 22 cents/mile, and there is room for some substantial late repair (or gasoline) costs within 25 cents/mi.
Agree. When I looked at Civic I decided the normal $15-16,000 model with 38mpg would be cheaper. The Hybrid's $1000 over 100,000 mile gasoline savings don't make up for the $4-5,000 higher pricetag.
So bought an insight instead.
Your logic is flawed but your conclusion saved you.
The HCH is not 4-5K higher in price. It's more like 2K if that. Try comparing it to an EX. Also, you were not factoring in tax deduction and resale value.
Kevin, I admit that I haven't researched and compared the latest models but back in 2004 most had quoted a $3-5K premium when my car was new.
I did my own research and bought my own HCH for about $18,500 (+tax etc).
Looking at a similarly loaded Civic EX at the time was around $17,000.
How in the world did they come up with $3-5K more?
The base, no frills lowest of the line economy DX went for $13-14K.
That's how they got to claim a $5K hybrid premium.
This is like comparing a base, no-frills roll-it-up window Ford Explorer to a Lincoln Navigator....and complaining the Lincoln has a higher premium.
(Of course I'm not comparing a Civic to a Lincoln but you get the idea)
The $3K came from a base, or near base EX model.
The EX was by far a better comparisson.....as long as one loaded it up with similar features.
The argument hasn't changed since then and suspect the deals are the same as well.
Efficient drivers do it better. 1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT
Last edited by Hot_Georgia_2004; 02-01-2006 at 01:04 PM.
Lowest-price civic - $15-16,000. Hybrid civic = $20-21,000. I see a $4-5-6000 price difference. How do you get $2000???
You can't compare the lowest price civic to the Hybrid. The Hybrid has many more features and options than the lowest price Civic. You need to compare it to the highest priced Civic ... the EX. Because the Hybrid has just about everything it has plus more.
Wish I had time to do the math, and I know the point's been made before, but wouldn't this make a great one of *those* commercials?
Gas savings: $xxxx
Tax credit: $3,000
Contribution to the environment: $.10
Increased resale value: $xxxx
That feeling you get everytime you get behind the wheel of the coolest vehicle in the universe: priceless!
Prius. Because the future is now.
(OK, so I'm a little enthusiastic, what can I say? and I know it's not the "coolest vehicle in the universe", more like the "coolest common terrestrial automobile, readily available in north america, within my very restricted price range, that seats four, has a reasonable cargo carrying capacity, and runs on fuel commonly available in my geographic area". Whatever.)
Non-hybrid @ 35MPG versus hybrid @ 50MPG will save you about $300 @ 15000 miles a year($2.30 gal). So after 150k you save about $3000. You'll make up the cost difference and help the environment. That's predicated on no major out of pocket hybrid repairs.
You will also save time at the pump with a hybrid with decreased visits. In the above example thats not a big deal saving 10 hours over 150k.
My buddys Z28 would save him about 65 hours at the pump over 150k as he only gets 12 MPG. He would visit the pump 694 times versus 252 with a HCH.
Re: Does a hybrid = a lower cost of ownership?
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT
