Lets see, our car before was a 1992 paid off Camry that got about 27 mpg. I get 10 better mpg in the new car, but with an increase in cost monthly of a $650 car payment, increase in car insurance costs of about $70/month I doubt the increase in mpg by 10 makes up for that.

LOL. Some people get so caught up in the price of gas that they only look at the gas costs when they have a free and clear car (or even worse are upside down in a 2-3 year old car) and think that a more FE car will fix all their problems. Maybe if people are so strapped for cash that they can barely afford gas they probably shouldn't be worrying about buying a new vehicle.

So to answer the question, I'm guessing that in the first year (assume a 3000 tax rebate / 12 months) I am still spending over $450 more per month.

 

Sooner or later you would have to get something else anyway. What about the growing maintanence costs of owning an old vehicle, you have to factor that in as well? In the end it still probably costs more to get any type of replacement vehicle, but by getting a new hybrid you minimize these expences.

 

That is true, with the Camry having 220K miles we were looking for something newer anyway. The better question would be to compare the 08 FEH against the X3 we were looking at.

But as for the cost of the Camry - at yearly maitnence of under $2K (works out to about $150/month), and a decrease in insurance (30/month vs. 120/month) it is clear the camry is hands down way cheaper - and it still gets pretty good gas mileage for a 16 year old car... high 20 mpgs.

That said, we still have the 92 Camry and might not be selling it - I drive it once a week (usually to the airport or a place I have to leave it overnight) - it's nice not to have to leave the new car or the 06 325i out overnight in some of the sketchier parts of town.

 

6/01/08 to 6/30/08
1533.3 Actual Miles
Price per Gal. $3.849 (not an average, this station maintained that price all month) 87 octane, No ethanol.

Former Vehicle: 2001 Ford Taurus 3.0L V6 Average of 23.0 MPG
Gals. needed for 1533.3 = 66.67 = $256.89

Current Vehicle: 2008 HCHII Average for the month: 54.4 MPG
Gals. needed for 1533.3 = 30.43 = $117.11

Saving in one month = $139.48

 

I just got my HCHII, but overall:
~350 mile a week driving
99 Ford Explorer: 18mpg, 19.5 gallons/week (1.3 fillups per week), $78 per week at $4 gas
HCH: 47.6mpg as of this morning, 7.4 gallons/week (0.6 fillups per week), $30 per week

So a $48/week savings in gas for normal driving. Wouldn't have been enough by itself to financially justify getting rid of the Explorer, but I was starting to have mechanical issues with it (one of which dropped its FE from ~18 down to 14-15), so I had the down payment for another car ready anyway, and I figured I could pay the difference off between the HC and the HCH with the savings while sending that difference in money to Japan instead of the middle east (I'd have rather sent it to Detroit, but the management types there are apparently bumbling idiots >.<)

Can't get rid of the explorer, though - not because I don't want to (I wanted to trade it in when I got the HCH), but because no one wants them >.< It's got a KBB value of $4k, but the dealer only offered $500 for it. I figured if they were gonna offer me something that low, I'd rather just keep the dang thing and use it to haul big stuff around. Plus, since it's not my only vehicle now, I don't feel nearly so squeamish about digging around in the engine to fix the problems its been having, saving the mechanics cost.

 

Hard to say for me. I had a Jeep and had a 50 mile commute to work. Traded it in and bought a prius, and then bought a home 2 miles from work. I just ride my bike now. Im sure it saves me money, but will take a while before I fully realize the savings.

 

 

In less than a month, driving approx 1950kms, I've saved $155 and $80 on monthly insurance (vs my 2005 Volvo S40 T5 - doing about 18-19MPG on required Premium Fuel). I'm happy that I've made the decision to go TCH instead of another vehicle.

 

I purchased my feh used at $21,000 so I don't get a tax break but I also didn't take the new car hit when I drove it home. Since May my fuel savings compared to the ranger I traded in is about $675 for the miles driven. over 4 months that's about $169 a month. My car payment went up by $6.00 a month.

I did replace all the air filters and changed the oil and filter when I bought it (with about 29k miles on it) as I didn't have a reliable maintenance history. I had the fuel filter replaced and oil changed at 35k miles for about $150 total.

Now that I have short cycled the oil change once I expect to go to a 10k oil change cycle.

 

I've had my hybrid for one month. I get almost twice as far on a gallon of gas now, so we're looking at about $200.
In ONE MONTH. And I was out of town for one of those weeks.

I should also be able to qualify for the tax credit, so there's $2,300, as well.
My insurance is just about the same as for my previous vehicle, so no savings there.
My dad does my oil changes, so no real savings there.

I lost money on the purchase of Harriet the Hybrid, but that's not her fault. Someone stole my previous car, and there were troubles with the insurance and all that. Calculating cost of ownership is probably best. I'm considering it an upgrade.