I went from an SUV to a HCH2 a year ago. The decision was easy because I don't drive over rivers and mountainous terrain to get to work. Also a year ago, I started using my credit card for anything I could, paying it off every month and using the points for $25 gas cards.

Well, 8500 miles and 16 tanks later, here's how much money I saved:

without gas cards: $867.95
with gas cards: $1,107.20

total out-of-pocket spent on gas last year: $177.32!

inputs:
SUV MPG: 17
HCH2: 53.1
Avg. $ per gallon: $2.55

 

Congradulations. I bet your break even point was when you signed on the doted line. If you don't mind me asking, what was the price difference between the HCHII and a comparable new replacement SUV for your old SUV? Louis

 

Congratulations!

I expect the lower repair bills will be still another savings for you.

 

7.5k, 9.6k with the tax credit. It was a 99.5 Pathfinder with a 30k sticker. The sticker on the hch2 was 22.5. A no-brainer for me.

 

MOOSH

I like the way you think. You trade in a expensive gusseler for a cheaper sipper and you are ahead driving off the lot not ten years down the road.....Louis

 

Yep, good job Moosh. I am even *farther* ahead of you but only because of how many miles I drive (avg 1,000 miles/week for the 23.5 weeks of ownership). My last car was getting 20-25 mpg and was a 2-door hatch with plenty of maintenance and power but I didn't use the 2 extra drive wheels on my All-Wheel Drive for 10 months of the year so I ultimately sold it based on my job's requirements.

I also get reimbursed for miles driven for work (about 150 miles/day) so getting a car that uses less gas actually makes me money now. My monthly car payment is $400 and I get about $200/week in mileage reimbursement. That means that in two weeks of work this pays for the monthly car payment so the other two weeks of the month goes straight into my pocket.

I've driven 23,171 miles so far in 23 weeks and used 475.2 gallons costing $1,138 or 4.9 cents/mile for gas. The previous car would have consumed 1,140.5 gallons costing $3,000 (at the same price of cheap gas when it should really have high-octane gas). This is a savings of 665 gallons and $1,866 in just 23 weeks!!! The mileage reimbursement from work pays for the car but just the gas savings alone would have also paid for the car. This is why it was a no-brainer for me to get a Hybrid.

 

I was doing some math the other day, and figured the total cost per mile of my TCH with car cost, insurance, maintenace, fuel, etc... and came up with $0.32 a mile. My company pays a measly $0.35 a mile, so when I drive for company business, I am actually making money with my car.

 

Wow - 35 cents is a dream ... I only get 33 cents a mile. I just ran the numbers for mine and this is what makes me so giddy (and people STILL don't want to believe that driving a Hybrid is the way to go when you travel lots and lots of miles).

Bought the car Aug 7 with 20 miles and the last tank ended at 23,200 miles. Maintenance cost includes 2 oil changes, 4 tire rotations, and installed an Engine Block Heater -- also, this is including $740 for winter tires which will actually last 3-4 years so it should only be 1/3 or 1/4 of that but I included the total cost anyway.

Total cost of maintenance only is $114.66.
Maint cost for the car is $0.0049 per mile.

Total cost of fuel is $1,138.35 (43 tanks).
Fuel cost for the car is $0.0491 per mile.

Total operating cost is $1,253.01 for 23,200 miles or $0.0540 per mile.

I would guess that at least 90% of that mileage is for work so 20,800 * $0.33 is $6,890 but it has only cost me 20,800 * $0.054 or $1,128 to operate meaning that I have saved $5,763 in the first 5.5 months. These numbers REALLY work in your favor the more miles you drive. Just imagine if I could get the Gov't rate of 40-something cents per mile. Jeepers.

 

I did get the government rate for a little while in my Insight, It was like I had an extra part time job.....Louis

 

Yep - so I'm not going crazy when the numbers are this staggering -- just the mileage reimbursement every 2 weeks pays for the monthly car payment so everything else goes to the pocket -- it is finally nice to get paid to drive around for a change. A friend of mine was looking to replace his '96 Cherokee Laredo and I suggested a Highlander Hybrid or the Escape Hybrid (since Honda doesn't have this option available on their Pilot or CR-V yet). He didn't take that option citing he thought the Hybrid premium markup was too high and he didn't think the payback from owning a Hybrid was very mich. I tried to give all the info I could to help sway him to "our side" but he decided on an '03 Sante Fe. Some people will just never learn I guess. I mean at worse he would be at break-even though I doubt many Hybrid owners are in a break-even or a losing situation. *sigh* I had my chance to bring one over to our side but couldn't close the deal. =)