Hybrids don't make financial sense

I bought a 2008 Prius 2 recently with about 55k miles for approx €9k / us$12.1k.

My last car, a 2006 1.6FSI Golf was doing approx 35 uk mpg / 30 us mpg, annual road tax of almost €500 / us$675

The Prius has no loan / repayments and is averaging 54 uk mpg which is 45 us mpg and te annual road tax is €190 / $250 per year

As a result of buying the Prius we do not use our second car (Honda CRv vtec) as much, thus saving more money

By changing the Golf to the Prius we are saving thousands of euros each year. I never buy new, so save a lot there too

 

I Drive 250-350 miles a day.. I need 500 mile range to make me feel safe

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Alan

 

...now that sounds very good...$12k is not too much more than we would pay for 2008 w/ 55k

 

But remember how much more they cost this side of the pond than yours new; about 50% more in US$. Depreciation is much higher.

 

There it is in a nutshell. Very few people want the cheapest car they could get.

So true! New cars are never the most economical choice. By buying used, you cut the "hybrid premium" down to a manageable amount where the hybrid actually can be the most economical choice, depending on local conditions and miles driven.

The OP should have titled this thread "New cars don't make financial sense except as toys when you just want a new car."

 

True, especially since most prius are good for 300k

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Alan

 

I don't think I have 300,000 miles of driving left in me. I drive about 5,000 miles a year. I cannot imagine driving 300 miles a day. What is that, five hours on the road every day? I drive a little farther than that twice a year: driving up to Canada for hiking in the summer, and driving home at the end of the hiking season. A six to seven hours' trip each way including a couple of stops to rest, use the facilities, maybe get a bite to eat or a coffee to keep me awake, get gas.

For my winter snowshoeing trip (assuming my current medical problem does not force me to cancel it) I'll take a shuttle, so that I don't have to drive on winter roads.

 

I only do it maybe 3-5 times a week...

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Alan

 

"Only" ??????

 

Troy, you are not comparing apples with apples. You are comparing a 25k car with a mickey mouse 12-16k car, so a bnllshit comparison IMO

It's like comparing an Audi A1 TDI with an A6, TDI. The A6 will be twice the price (here in Eire), so no comparison

Also, you don't mention what the car is worth in the end. If using your explanation, your friend should have bought a used car, maybe a VW or Audi TDI of some sort and drove it the same distance and time and also would have saved more than what he did with the prius

 

but those cars don't get what is advertised, so you're way, way off. also, noe of them come close to prius in other characteristics. you'd be better off trying to make your case between camry and hycam or fusion, etc. at least you would be comparing apples to apples.

 

Troy:

Edmonds gives the Versa 30 mpg combined, not your 38 mpg. A driver who gets real-world 38 in a Versa will probably get 60 in a Prius.

I agree that for the average driver, a Versa will be more economical to own than a Prius. But does it really make "financial sense" to send money overseas to buy gasoline from people who donate part of their profits to al Qaeda, so that we have to tax ourselves extra to fight terrorism? Does it really make "financial sense" to burn even 25% more fossil fuel so that our air and water are dirtier, leading to an increment in the number of cancer cases and an acceleration of global climate change?

I think the answer to that is no.

Sometimes it makes more financial sense to spend a bit more money, to get a better product, or to reduce external costs (in this case pollution, carbon emission, and the "terrorism tax" on gasoline). And note that in addition to burning significantly less gas than other gas cars, even smaller ones, the Prius has the lowest emissions among gas cars. That is a very real benefit that does not show up in your cost analysis. The only automobiles that make more financial sense than hybrids are BEVs, once you include all the costs of gasoline.

BTW, I applaud your restraint, in remaining civil in the face of so much disagreement. But I think you are absolutely wrong in your premise

 

A civil troll is still a troll.

Heagy writes highway MPG and may not designate it as such; and he refuses to admit that *most* people also drive in the city. He ignores reliability, resale value, and differences in the car sizes, features and quality.

His analysis is garbage, and only meant to incite response.

 

Half truths are deceiving, as intended.
The OP apparently enjoys the attention. And is getting oodles of it.

Time to put this to an end. I'll start.

 

say no more.

 

Then your argument is that a 25k vehicle costs more than a 12k vehicle.

No argument there...

 

The troll is comparing an old version well-equipped Prius against newer base models of smaller cars.

I did a quick check and found the Mirage and Fiesta where not even contemporaneous with the Prius G2. Fiesta joined the US market in 2011, Mirage in 2012.

The 2009 Fit automatic was rated 35 highway, 31 combined, with users reporting an average of 35. The best automatic Versas were rated 32-34 highway, 27-30 combined, with users reports averaging 28-30. Even the highest outlier Versa didn't reach 38.