Hybrid Car Price vs. Gas Savings – When it comes savings on gas and the price, cost of a hybrid car, many wonder is it worth the investment? If you are one of these people, then you have come tot he right place because I have wondered the same thing.
The rising gas prices, prices of everything really, are forcing more and more people to find different ways to generate savings. Since we are so heavily dependent on our cars in our society, many people are looking to hybrid cars as the potential solution, but is it really worth the extra funds to purchase one?
Hybrid Car Price vs. Gas Savings
Hybrid Car Price vs. Gas Savings
When I first started thinking about getting a hybrid car because of the rising gas prices, I thought it would make sense. It seems like the gas savings would be something special, but the more research I do in this area it seems like the more I find out this purchase might not be such a good idea.
The thought of having a hybrid car is cool right now. You can be one of the first on your block to have one or in your social circle. Therefore, I guess there is some benefit to having a hybrid car if you are into social status and being first, but beyond that it might not be worth the investment.
The research I have done on this top suggest the average hybrid car cost about $5,000 to $10,000 more than a comparable car that is not a hybrid vehicle. This is a substantial difference between the two.
As far as gas savings go, it the experts are saying owning a hybrid car will save you anywhere from $500 to $700 a year in gas, which means it is going to take some time for you to make up the difference in purchase cost.
If you were to pay $5,000 extra for the electric, hybrid car and were to get $500 in savings per year, then it would take you 10 years to reach the break even point. Most people will never hit this number.
However, the government does give a $2,000 tax credit to those that are willing to purchase this new technology and go green as they say. This will reduce your extra cost to $3,000, allowing you to hit the break even point in 6 years instead of 10, which isn’t bad, but not good either.
With these sorts of numbers, it doesn’t seem like purchasing an hybrid car is such a good idea. And I would agree if this was as good as they hybrids were to get in the future, which I will be they will get much better and are able to drive further and further using electricity.
Take the Chevy Volt for example. Once more and more of the hybrid vehicles perform like this one, then they cost of purchasing an hybrid will make more sense.
What makes the Chevy Volt so Special?
This is a valid question and one that I can answer by giving you the crux of the matter. The first 40 miles you drive the Volt after charging runs on all electricity. Therefore, if you life within 20 miles of your work, there and back will not cost you one drop of gasoline for the day. This could mount to huge savings for people as tanks of gas begin to last them for a month or longer.
I can imagine this working out in my life as my wife and I work from home. Our longest commute each day is to Walmart, which is about three miles from our home.
To answer the question, does it make sense to purchase a hybrid? Not right now, but it will in the future. I believe more and more cars will perform or out perform the Chevy Volt and when this day comes, so will the influx of hybrid cars being purchased. - Hybrid Car Price vs. Gas Savings
no you are right, not always a hybrid car is a financially wise decision, I have 3 miles commute each day and drive 8K per year, I can;t fully recover the price of hybrid by saving gas. Hence I opted for non hybrid cars
Good to hear there are people able to get work close to home. That is the way to combat high gas prices!
Thanks for sharing!
32k for a Chevy? No thanks. I’ll just move closer to work. Then I can take public transportation or ride a bike. That saves lots of gas. I would also be waiting for the price to drop.
If you work from home and need to drive to the store only a few times a week, I doubt you’ll ever see the true gasoline savings when weighed against the high cost to purchase a Volt.
My mom drives 85 km to work each way. Her hybrid is amazing for her gas consumption. But I do believe that she is the exception not the rule as most people do not drive that much.
The ROI on a hybrid is porportional to the miles driven. For example if you only drive 30 miles round trip to work then the time it will take to re-coup the cost difference between hybrid and all gas is going to be significant. However if you are like myself and drive 60,000 miles a year plus then the time it takes to re-coup the cost difference will be significantly shorter. I drive a Camry Hy-Byrid and I am beyond pleased with the vehicle’s cost of drivership,ride ect. I am a big man so the Camry was my only choice. My only real concern is that if something goes wrong with the motor/electric drive then I am sure the cost is going to be significant..in that case I will proabably just by a new one….HA!HA!
LOL, thanks for sharing your story. Yes, the cost of the motor/electric has to be rather high these days, but it sounds like you got a good thing going right now. You drive a lot of miles per year like a friend of mine. Hybrid seems like the right option for now.