Readily available electric cars are years aways. And even when they first come out they won't directly compete with hybrids -- their range will be too limiting.

 

A friend of my in Southern California, just paid more than $20K for a 2006 HCH with more then 40,000 miles on it. Because the HCH have a HOV Sticker! In California the HOV sticker are good til year 2011. That's reason I have no plan on selling my HCH anytime soon!

 

Good point, especially when Li Ion batteries come into major use in hybrids, or diesels can get 50+ mpg in zero-degree weather like we have now where I live.

 

When I was shopping for my car, i found that HOV stickers add an extra 1.5-2K to the value of the car in Cali. Who knew $8 stickers could be so valuable!!

 

Well, I can tell you that they do hold their value pretty well.

I received one of those letters that said that my 07 was in demand and they wanted to trade me into an 08 for the same payment. (yeah yeah, I know this is always a scam)

Well, long and the short of it, they did it. payment is about a buck less, and I miss on the next big maintenance charge, get new tires, the 08 dvd for the NAV, and of course a new car. Of course I have an extra year of payments, but the trade in was at $18,500 and the new one was $21,000.


So, yeah they hold their value!

 

Mercedes (and Lexus) consistently have the some of the highest resale values in the business. The last line is the reason - demand. You may see the $$ drop and say that resale value is low but really it is % and they do pretty well. I do think MB has been hit a bit recently b/c of reliability issues but it is still pretty good. In my mind, Civics do well because of demand and reliability (and now gas mileage). Most people have no idea if a car is technologically advanced. The 9th gen is pretty advanced even apart from the hybrid.

Hybrids will have good resale value for awhile. Buy a 2009 Civic and you may do poorly if the redesigned Prius with PHEV smokes you. But the people buying used cars are not directly competing with new cars. I also suspect that most people buying hybrids are planning at least 4-5 years with them since they a) are sensible people b) did the math on payback with a bit cheaper gas then now c) they are very happy with their cars.

There are buyers (like me) who are ready to dump my HCHII for a good PHEV and will do it even if it is a big money loser. But at least I am dumping to my wife so that she can dump her 96 Civic - so I won't add to the used car pool.

 

That's true. Unfortunately, they are not years away in the future. They are years away in the past. Since automakers are no longer required to make BEVs, there are only a few small companies, like Tesla Motors that makes a BEV that goes from 0-60 in 3 seconds, goes 130mph, and goes 200 mi on a charge. It will be a while before automakers mass produce BEVs, which will bring their prices down and improve the technology.
Plug in Hybrids can solve the problem of "limited" range, by allowing for EV mode for a daily commute, but the ability to travel across the country.

 

Oil is skyrocketing in price, far faster than most imagined. Sure plug-in vehicles are the solution, but as noted earlier they are years away. My guess is at least 10 years away from even 5% adoption.

Until then those cars that burn the least fuel will be the most sought after. The hybrid premium really makes sense at 4$+ gas if you drive 15k/year.

I wouldn't worry about your HCH depreciating due to new hybrids. Its a great commuter car and the new hybrids from Honda are going to use the same hybrid technology. So unless they're smaller (less practical) or more lightweight (less safe) they're not likely to have better FE.

 

I am just happy I bought a Japanese card and not an American. Regardless of the depreciation- it will never be worse than those American cars.

 

*cough* mitsubishi *cough* suzuki *cough*

LOL