GFerg

So with gas prices hitting uncontrollable levels over the past few weeks, are hybrids even a better deal today than they were say 6-7 months ago?? I remember reading many articles that would say you necessarily wont save any money until 5-6 years of owning a hybrid or if gas prices ever crest 3 dollars. Plus, add in the fact that most hybrid owners arent experiencing the advertised mileage. Which in turn ment that some hybrid owners arent saving any money or are actually spending more money. Well gas is now locally 3.75 and many areas around $4.00. Are hybrid buyers getting an outstanding deal now than ever before??

I think an obvious answer would be yes, but how much money are they saving compared to the next non-hybrid owner if the gas prices stay the same for some time??

mkorsu

I say no. I base this on information I have heard regarding replacing the batteries in hybrid vehicles. Now I have not yet been able to confirm or deny this claim so all from here on is speculation.
But, I heard that the batteries in hybrids have a life span of only 3 years. At that time they must be replaced at a cost ranging between 3k & 5k.

If this in fact is correct, any savings on fuel costs are gone and additional expense incurred at the battery replacement!

Anyone know if this info I heard on the batteries in correct or incorrect??

biker

The greatest help for hybrid buyers is the subsidy that is about to start Jan 1, 2006.

On fuel savings alone it will still be many years to recoup the extra up front costs vs. the regular model of the same car.

Gojirra99

Definitely not true. I' ve never even heard of the 1997 Prius needing to replace their batteries yet. I think I recall reading that Toyota claims the battery should last at least 180K miles .

mkorsu

AHHHHH. Puts my mind at ease! Thanks Amethy!! Now I have ammo to go back to the relatives that are so anti hybrid!!

Leets

In my opinion hybrid technology is still no-where near its peak. My dad (a cost engineer) and I ran some numbers a few months back about how much money you'd save on gas compared to the equivalent non-hybrid model. When you factor in the extra initial cost for the hybrid model you don't actually save money on gas until after 100k miles. I'm sure that number has dropped due to increased gas prices, but that still leaves you with well over 5 years of ownership just to recoup the cost. Regardless of how assuring Toyota is of their batteries' life-span, perceived resale value is ultimately determined by the buying public. If the buying public is all under the belief that the battery will need to be replaced around 100k miles at a cost of $4k then the car will hold virtually no value over the length of time needed to recover initial cost difference. If this projection holds true, you will actually lose money by owning a current hybrid vehicle over the length of five years.

The near future should bring leaps and bounds in hybrid technology resulting in lower initial cost and lower replacement/repair costs. I'm predicting that the next generation of hybrid technology will be the REAL money saver. Until then, I'll stick with my strictly internal-combustion operated vehicle.

EvgeshaIS300

here something interesting
a friend of mine is a used car dealer, and was at the dealers auction last friday.
here is what he told me. hybrid priuse on Wednesday auction was going for 12K , on Fri same car went for 18k.

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

that is perceived value though not what i would base normal resell value on.

98LexusGS

This is an interesting topic for me. I've been debating getting my sister a Prius for her birthday but I couldn't quite balance the cost versus the benefit of a Prius. Even with gas prices around $3 in my area, I figured out that she would have to go at least 80 K miles versus a new 4 cylinder Camry to break even. It just didn't make sense. She's about to start med school and I wanted to get her a dependable car - there's the battery replacement cost too. I wasn't about to shell out $5 K over sticker (the going price for a fully loaded Prius) AND $4-$5K in a few years to replace the battery. The strange thing is looking over a few cars such as the Camry, 300C, Prius, Accord Hybrid - the Camry had the lowest total cost of ownership over 5 years. I factored in gas mileage, maintenance costs, acquisition costs, and depreciation into a matrix and the Camry once again came out ahead. Thirdly, the older generation Priuses don't seem to be too popular as people see it as older technology. This is what will probably happen with the newer Priuses once the next generation comes out - depreciation instead of bottoming out looks like it accelerates.