When Will a Hybrid Car Actually Save You Money?
There has long been a debate over if hybrids are actually worth purchasing. Some people claim that hybrids do not make up for their extra price tag. Nada Guides took that into account when they came up with their list of the eight best hybrids for the money. What Nada Guides did was figure out how long each hybrid would have to be driven before the purchaser would break even on the extra cost. In order to figure out the numbers, the company used the vehicle’s EPA rating, the 2008 MSRP, applicable federal tax credits, and gas prices.
1. Toyota Camry Hybrid-Owners will have to drive 18,292 miles to break even
2. Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid-After 32,206 miles, owners will break even
3. Nissan Altima Hybrid-Drivers will have to go 37,550 miles to break even
4. Toyota Prius-Surprisingly, owners will have to go a total of 41,626 miles to break even when driving the Prius
5. Honda Civic Hybrid-Even though this is considered one of the best hybrids for the money, drivers have to go 57,216 miles before they break even
6. Ford Escape Hybrid-While it is good enough to make the list at number six, Escape owners have to drive 63,820 miles until they recoup the extra costs of the vehicle
7. Mercury Mariner Hybrid-After driving 75,216 miles, drivers will break even and then start saving money
8. Lexus RX400h-Average drivers will have to own this vehicle for six years before they break even. They will have to drive the car for 96,013 before they make up for the extra cost
As you can see, things are not always as they seem. While we would like to think that hybrids give enough savings at the gas pump to make them worth the extra money that is not always the case. Currently, there is a rush to go out and buy hybrids, but reports such as these might slow consumers down. It is shocking to realize that hybrids have to be driven for years in most cases before owners can even break even. Hopefully, technological advancements will help hybrids become more affordable, so owners can reap the financial benefits more quickly in the future.
If you are looking to save money on gas, but don’t want to get a hybrid your not out of luck. Some gas credit cards give you 5% back on your gasoline purchases (One card even gives you 10% back if you redeem your points for gift certificates.) This is a great way to start saving on gas, without getting a new car. Creditshout.com has a page that outlines all of the best gas credit cards.
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Amy,
Thanks for the article. However, I don’t think things are this discouraging. After all, for any other type of car on the market, is there a break even point at all? Only in rare cases, I suspect (one I mention below). So, if the alternative is never breaking even, hybrids seem a lot more attractive than the alternatives, even with the figures you have.
I must add that these “break-even points” only take on much meaning when a specific gas price is mentioned, so that we can decide, or try to decide, if future gas prices will move up the break-even points in terms of miles driven. With gas prices changing so rapidly, it is very easy for such predictions to be off dramatically. In fact, if t gas prices continue to go up, the break-even points will become shorter and shorter.
What would have been most useful is for NADA Guides to publish a formula that calculates the break even point based a car price and gas price the the reader can input (with tax credits and gas mileage taken into account). Using different possible average gas prices calculated over the life of the car, break even points and total dollar savings could then be estimated.
Of course, there is a benefit to all of us when the demand for gas goes down due to more efficient cars. Plug-in electric hybrids are the best in this regard. Furthermore, the 2010 Honda hybrid is reputed to have a base price of $19,000 and to be available in late 2009, while the plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius should be available about the same time. Also, the 60 mpg VWJettaBlue, a “conventional” turbo diesel, has a base price of $22,000 and should reach the US by August of 2008. These high mpg diesel cars are already widely available elsewhere in the world, as are inexpensive electric cars. It is only the US that lags far behind in adoption of better vehicle technology, and given US ingenuity, one seems forced to conclude that the US could have helped lead the world in this area, if it wanted to.
In fact, much of the battery technology used in hybrids and electric cars (and plug-in hybrids) was invented in the US, but major US car companies have fought hard to ignore these home-grown advances, according to what I have read, and based on what we can see on US roads.
From a National Security perspective, as far as I can tell, it will do us a lot more good to get 12 mpg or worse cars off the road than to increase gas mileage from 25 to 35 mpg. Changing from 12 to 35 mpg is a 300% improvement is gas efficiency! Imagine if people made the switch from 12 mpg to 60 mpg! So, perhaps we should institute incentives to eliminate gas guzzlers and disincentives to keep them, in addition to having tax breaks for hybrid and other energy-efficient vehicle purchases (whatever technology they use).
Please see my blog and related sites I link to for more on the topic.
Best wishes, Jim
Two factors that folks often overlook on hybrids is the upcharge on the hybrid version (was around $10k on the Lexus!) and the actual mileage increase. On the latter, a lot of folks got burned on the Honda Civic Hybrid since the EPA numbers were off by 40% prior to the new 2008 testing standards.
I’m all for reducing emissions, and dependence on foreign oil, but hybrid =/= saving money. Not always.
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