THE COST OF HYBRID VEHICLES
With the winding road of 2007 before us and more and more people gaining interest in a cleaner and healthier environment, hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly more popular and more available.
Dealing with an economy where our wallets are growing thinner and issues of cost effectiveness and return on investment are fueling national decision making. Americans are wondering if hybrid vehicles are really worth the higher cost.
There is no doubt that higher gas mileage means lower emissions, which equates to cleaner air and a healthier environment. We can all feel good about that. But, there are still heated industry debates on whether a hybrid vehicle is an economically sensible choice for the American car buyer.
Hybrid Cars tend to run anywhere between $4,000 - $6,000 more than their gas saving counterpart. Over a ten-year period it is estimated that a hybrid owner will save $2,300 in fuel bills over a comparable car of its kind. ($405 per/year for a Honda Insight versus $635 per/year for a Honda Civic), which means a hybrid owner may never recover the increased initial cost for a hybrid.
Because the hybrid comes with the all new technology of being powered by both an electric and a gas motor it also has the challenge of the added complexity, and matching ancillary systems to manage them. This could add up to more time in the shop and higher repair bills. On the other hand, to offset reliability problems, makers are offering strong guarantees: The Honda Insight has an eight-year/80,000-mile warranty on most of the power train, including batteries, and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on the rest of the car. The Toyota Prius has an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the battery and hybrid systems and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else.
Another factor to consider is the U.S. Tax Incentive for Hybrid Owner’s that can save them as much as $3,400 depending on the cost of the vehicle. Owners have to take advantage of this right away because it is only offered for the first 60,000 vehicles sold for each auto manufacturer.
Just like buying any vehicle it will serve the car buyer well to do their research, research, and more research to see if the Hybrid is right for them.
Hot Tip for Hybrid Buyers: Never run out of gas. A walk with a gas can won’t cut it. You will need a tow, which means another bill!
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