intersting - to drive a hybrid or not

[BarendR]

I found a comment from some one here that stated they were glad to have a hybrid since fuel priced are going back up, couple that with a comment on another board about additional fuel cost per 1000 miles if you had a 10% reduction in efficiency and I started wondering. 

Cost of a base Prius at 50mpg: $24000
Cost of a base Focus at 40mpg: $15000

based on estimated mileages and 12000 miles per year it would cost me an extra $210 in fuel (per year  and using premium grade prices for my area)

So I would be able to drive my Focus for 42 plus years to break even..........

And don't bring up AlGore's global warming, errr, ...climate change farce,  it don't fly. 

[..]

Yep some buyers just don't do the math. They get caught up in the hype.

http://www.edmunds.com/calculators/gas-guzzler.html

How much energy used to produce their new fuel efficent car? How many used cars get scrapped and parts off to the land fill - yeah I know materials are recycled but not all.

For me to trade in my 97 Tahoe for a 2011 Honda Element would take me over 10 YEARS to make up the gas saving $$$.

That's at 1000 miles a month.

I drive about 600 miles a month. It would take me 17 years at that mileage.

[gordorad]

40mpg on the focus???   From where did you get that figure?

EPA estimates are 27 city and 37 Hwy......Average that to 32mpg..Big difference from the almost 50 the Prius will get.

Yes, they do cost more, and it does take a while to "even out".....But if you are presently driving a car that achieves 16-20 avg, the Prius looks pretty good.

Of course, it is really all dependent on how many miles a year you do drive. 

[G-Man]

And don't forget the cost of replacing the battery in the Hybird after 6 years.  I think they're running about $3,000.

[G-Man]

But if you are presently driving a car that achieves 16-20 avg, the Prius looks pretty good.

The person driving a car that gets 16-20 wouldn't even consider a Prius in the first place.  The person buying a car that gets that kind of milage is buying something for horsepower (for fun or work). 

[WamegoRob]

40mpg on the focus???   From where did you get that figure?

EPA estimates are 27 city and 37 Hwy......Average that to 32mpg..Big difference from the almost 50 the Prius will get.

Estimates are good in the absence of real-world examples from actual vehicle owners.
Here are several hundred that put the Prius @ 47mpg and the Focus at 29mpg.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius
http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/focus

[Bob E.]

Do they still have tax credits for buying a hybrid?  if so, you have to figure that into the cost of ownership as well.

[..]

40mpg on the focus???   From where did you get that figure?

EPA estimates are 27 city and 37 Hwy......Average that to 32mpg..Big difference from the almost 50 the Prius will get.

Yes, they do cost more, and it does take a while to "even out".....But if you are presently driving a car that achieves 16-20 avg, the Prius looks pretty good.

Of course, it is really all dependent on how many miles a year you do drive.  

It would take me nearly 8 years to balance the cost of a Prius and that's my, PAID FOR a long time ago, 1997 157,000 mile Tahoe at 13 mpg and 1,000 miles a month.

If I inflate gas to $4.50 a gallon it would take 6 years to balance the cost.

PLUS

Having to spend about $22,000 on a used 2011 Prius. Maybe I'd get $3,000 trade in for my Tahoe (yeah right). So I'd have to spend $19,000. Now most people would finance the car so factor those extra $$$ in as well.

You do the math and tell me it's worth switching

[Red Diamond]

Food for thought: In September of '99, I purchased a 2K F-350 CrewCab dually, cost $34K including TT&L. I've had it for 12 years now and the average cost per year to own it is approximately $2840, not including fuel (oil/gas) and tires. It takes years to justify the purchase of any gas saving hybrid vehicle, since the cost is usually higher than standard.

[sheets]

107,000 miles on a first generation Prius. Only hiccup was replacing the tickler battery (to start it), a little one like the one on a MC, a couple years ago. "Lifetime" (I've never zero'd out the trip odo) MPG "average" is at 45.  Just adding fuel to the fire . . . sheets

[RainMaker]

We are considering adding a Prius V to the stable for most business driving and putting the Honda Odyssey into backup status.  In that case, we're moving from a 17mpg vehicle to a 42mpg vehicle and keeping the Odyssey for larger jobs.  The Odyssey has 140K on it and it's a 2007, so it has miles to go and it will be kept for quite a while.

We'd need a small station wagon/suv at a minimum and the room in the Prius V works.  The other choice would be the Honda CR-V but the price is close to the same and mileage far less.

There are places where the hybrids make sense.  As for battery life, I remember reading in Consumer Reports that the 10 year old Prius' are still on their first set of batteries. 

[BonS]

Depreciation is also a big factor. A 2012 Prius is about $5K more than a Camry. Yet a 2008 Camry and Prius have about the same resale. So you're down $5K in 4 years of ownership. Hybrids simply depreciate more rapidly than their counterparts.

[Earl in Pensacola]

In the simplest terms: My '95 --178K Aerostar 4.0 extended van  delivers 15 mpg in town, 20  hywy on regular-- is down to about 5K per year now--Those $500 (or so) per month payments that I'm NOT making will buy me a lot of gas--plus I have pulled my 5'X 10" with the Valk and a couple hundred more lb.s from Calif, to Fla. and got 17 MPG!  If I pull out the last seat, there is more than enough room and length for a 6'+ to sleep and STILL have four full size seats.

[BarendR]

Sorry, I've been working a lot and have not had time to counter.  I found it interesting that the first Pro-hybrid comment was an assault on my original claim and sources (internet, ....  duhhh!) and even subsequent claims contained put-downs on regular vehicles without addressing my original assertion that hybrids are economically not justified.  So then I see this on FB:

"Some interesting Stats via Larry Skeels , thks Larry.

Cost to operate a Chevy Volt

Eric Bolling (Fox Business Channel's Follow the Money) test drove the
Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors.

For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles
before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.
Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the
battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh
battery is approximately 270 miles. It will take you 4 1/2 hours to
drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and
you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your
average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.

According to General Motors, the Volt battery hold 16 kwh of
electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery.

The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I
looked up what I pay for electricity.

I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16
per kwh.

16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery.

$18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the
Volt using the battery.
Like · · 4 hours ago near Regina, Saskatchewan ·"

   

[BonS]

Here in Missouri it's about $0.12 per kwh. So for me it would be 16 * $0.12 = $1.92 for 25 miles which is similar to 50 mpg at local gas prices or $0.07 per mile.