Which hybrid car should I buy?

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
ford should work on a hybrid focus

They are, opps I shouldn't have said that.

<-- Looks to see if anyone heard that.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

 

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

I see. So only if price drops on the hybrid vehicles or gas skyrockets do they become somewhat economically feasable?

Im not trying to argue or be an asshat, I truely do not know. I'm not in the market for a car, thus I don't pay attention to it.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

Cost of replacing battery pack with ~2 year lifespan-thousands???

Seriously, does anyone work @ a Toyota or Honda dealership &amp; can look up the cost of a battery pack?

 

[mikebb]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

I see. So only if price drops on the hybrid vehicles or gas skyrockets do they become somewhat economically feasable?

Im not trying to argue or be an asshat, I truely do not know. I'm not in the market for a car, thus I don't pay attention to it.

Don't you qualify for a huge tax break for owning a hybrid/electric car though?

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

They seem much more feasible in say...Europe where the gas is from 3-7 dollars a gallon.

 

[thedarkwolf]

A few stories about the hybrids not getting near their rated mileage.

1
2
3
4
5

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

Cost of replacing battery pack with ~2 year lifespan-thousands???

Seriously, does anyone work @ a Toyota or Honda dealership &amp; can look up the cost of a battery pack?

2year life span on batteries? Where did you get that info?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

I see. So only if price drops on the hybrid vehicles or gas skyrockets do they become somewhat economically feasable?

Im not trying to argue or be an asshat, I truely do not know. I'm not in the market for a car, thus I don't pay attention to it.

as the mileage/year, cost of gass, and percent mpg gained goes up, the economic feasibility goes up.

example: truck that gets 10 mpg gets 15 as a hybrid. using the previous numbers, 500 gallons of gas saved is $1000.

being able to use HOV lanes in states/cities that allow that is another plus for feasiblity.

and any tax credit is another plus. (of course you can get huge tax credits on giant trucks, which is retarded. a realtor uses their car for their business more than some guy who only commutes in his)

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

Cost of replacing battery pack with ~2 year lifespan-thousands???

Seriously, does anyone work @ a Toyota or Honda dealership &amp; can look up the cost of a battery pack?

2year life span on batteries? Where did you get that info?

Pulled it outta my a$$, honestly...

Every time I've asked @ a dealership they just say "It's warrantied for 3 years/36K" etc, what do you care?

Just found this on Honda's website, will have to eat my words, sorry🙁

Q: How long does the battery pack last?
A: The battery pack is designed to last ten years under normal driving conditions.

 

[dabuddha]

The prius is nice. One of my co-workers has one and I've ridden in it. Nice smooth quite ride (especially when driving on the streets at low speeds!)

 

[Vette73]

Seems the Toyota Prius is the most proven one on the road today. I don't have any exp. with longterm, but everything I have read and heard is good.

Also you can get tax credits is some states and maybe even at the federal level.

 

[hans007]

wait for the next acura nsx or the mitsubishi eclispses to come out... they are supposed to be hybrids.


the most luxury hybrid to come out soon should be the lexus rx400h

 

[Braxus]

If you're gonna use a car solely for commuting, get a Honda 5spd manual Insight for the utlimate milage. 70MPG is possible if most of your commute is on the highway with little stop/go traffic. Otherwise, a more realistic estimate is around 63-65MPG.

A lot of people I find don't get the high milages due to not maintaining their car properly. Proper air tire pressure, using the right LRR tires, using the correct motor oil (0W-20)... to name some things.

My family owns the Honda Insight (~13,600 out the door after all gov't rebates) and Civic Hybrid (~18,000 out the door after all rebates). If you're gonna go for a sedan, the '04 Prius is the one to get. Better tech and overall milage. We didn't have to wait to get the Civic Hybrid. Dunno if there is a waiting list now for it as there is with the Prius.

 

[sixone]

Has anyone heard about problems with hybrids following an accident? I heard something recently about very high voltages, basically the car could electroute anyone who touches it. I don't know if it's true, or the beginning of an urban myth, but it sounds scary.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
A few stories about the hybrids not getting near their rated mileage.

1
2
3
4
5

If those reports are to be believed you would do not that much worse on the non-hybrid version of the same car, and definitely better with a VW TDI (not to mention diesel is cheaper, at least now, than regular).

As mentioned above hybrids are not cost-effective right now for most people. Unless you a) Drive a LOT, or b) Gas prices skyrocket and hold steady far above what they are now, you're just throwing money down the drain.

 

[Balthazar]

Hands down, Prius....the Honda doesnt get much better gas mileage than my non-hybrid Maxima (26 according to REAL non-EPA tests).

In pretty much every other category the Prius bests the rest too....

 

[Lmronby]

Is there really a tax break on owning a Hybrid? That doesn't make sense...would a person who didn't drive at all get a tax break? Educate me.

 

[faZZter]

Why get a hybrid anyway.....they don't get anywhere close the mileage they claim.....

False mileage claims...

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: DAM
I really think I am going to buy a hybrid what options are out there?

Buy a civic HX and gut the interior. 😛

 

[busmaster11]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Passions
Hybrids are overrated. They will end up costing you MORE money in the long run. Forget about them and grab a normal Civic or Corolla. :thumbsdown: Hybrids!

how so?

say you drive 15000 miles a year.

say a regular civic get 35 mpg.

thats ~430 gallons a year. at $2/gallon that is $860/year in gas.

say a hybrid civic gets 45 mpg.

thats ~330 gallons a year. at $2 a gallon that is $660/year in gas.

savings/year: $200.

cost of hybrid up front: $3000

time it takes to make up the cost: 15 years.

and that doens't include any added maintenance the hybrid drive system requires beyond the gas engine.

Those two are in different categories alltogether. Even if the difference in mileage is only 10 mpg (I believe it will be more) you need to consider the Prius is closer to an Accord/Camry class in size than a Civic. It will also come with amenities to match. It will also burn cleaner. Would you not pay 3k for a Civic to Accord upgrade alone - even for 4cyl?