how important is fuel economy?

Question

if you got a $1,000 car that gets 25 mpgs why would you buy a $35,000 hybrid to get 30mpgs? people are always asking for cars with good mileage, and people always tell them "prius, civic hybrid, ect..." but how does that cost anyless than continueing to drive a paid off car that doesn't get great mileage? or buying an older car that gets 40mpgs?



ps - DO NOT MAKE THIS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING!

i actually drive a '81 Bronco and get about 5 mpgs, it blows black smoke too, but i have planted thousands of trees in my life, and my family has for ages, so if i was simpleminded enough to go for this manmade warming theory, i would be exempt anyway right?

Answer 1

You are correct in your line of thinking. It is not cost effective to buy an expensive car just to save $ on fuel. Fuel is the least of your expenses of owning any newer car over $30,000. The average $30,000 car depreciates more in a year than most people spend on gas if it gets upwards of 20 miles to the gallon.

Answer 2

Fuel economy depends on how you drive your car.
A hybrid car is ONLY effective in urban and city driving. The price premium would realistically be covered by the tax deduction offered by the government and the daily commute during rush hour.
For those Southern Californians and Hollywood stars that own a Prius, it is merely to satisfy self conscience that they are doing the earth some good and saving some coin in the weekly allowance for gas. The price premium paid to get to this point is of course in the past and easily forgotten.
Realistically, a hybrid car does not outrun an economical compact by much on freeway driving. And common, although gas prices are high these days, gas does go a long way.

Answer 3

Your right on the money. If you purchased a new Toyota Camry Hybrid it costs $5000, more than a regular 4 cylinder gas model.
If you math mileage and a standardized fuel price saving with the Hybrid compared to the other car It'll take 5 plus years to pay off the difference of the cost of gas for the Hybrid.

Does this sound like a deal you want to pay for?

After 5 yrs. your staring at battery replacement.

Answer 4

Fuel economy is what you can afford. Some people don't like to wast money on gas so they go to a smaller car. Others don't give a f-ck and get the biggest SUV out there. I always balance fuel economy with the value of the car. Since I'm a mechanic, an older car does not scare me (repair anyway) and I would prefer to spend my money on something else than gas.

Answer 5

I would look at how much I would be saving over time and if the cost of savings in gas would be worth paying the extra amount. You also need to think about repairs, because if the cost isn't going to pay itself off in a short time, you'll be dealing with repairs and finding a place which knows about hybrids instead of the local mechanic which usually fixes your car.

Answer 6

What about a $23000 car that is brand new which gets at least 50 mpg and a $3,500 rebate from the gov't? Of course, if you're not in the market for a new car, then your $1,000 deal is awesome! We'd need to know how far you plan to drive per year, and then we could find out a happy median between mpg and car price. Happy car hunting!

Answer 7

Yea that's a great point you bring up. A lot of people just don't think things thru sometimes. I own a 95 Grand Am and its not worth more than 2k and it gets anywhere from 25/36 per gallon. Now that's a car that is worth it. My parents own a Cutlass Cierra that cost em 2k as well. Well over 200,000 miles on it. No major problems and gets 30+ per gallon as well.

Answer 8

i dunno, but i'm into performance cars so to me milage means nothing, sure it breaks the bank sometimes, but really, id much rather drive something i enjoy, than drive something that i dont, just because it has beter gas milage.
oh by the way all you green concious people, i choose to offset my carbon emissions with the planting of trees, so the need for me to drive a hybrid just doesnt exist ;)
here's another thought, a vehicle running on lpg, or even purchasing and converting a vehichle to lpg, will work out alot cheaper than the purchase of a hybrid, and will produce quite similar emmisions to the hybrid do to the nature of how lpg burns in an engine. also, the cost of repairs and maintenence of a modern high efficiency car tends to offset the savings you make in its fuel economy

Answer 9

----------------
This sort of thing has to be approached on an individual basis, as it entirely depends on your mileage,driving needs and even your tax situation. Here's an online calculator that will take your info and tell you whether you can save money in a hybrid:
*
http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/hev/calculator/single.php
*
Now, just to make an extreme example, I actually drive a pure electric vehicle. The type of EV I drive is a conversion, a regular car that has been converted to run on pure electricity. Cars like this can be bought for as little as $5000. Here's a link:
*
http://www.squidoo.com/cheap-electric-car/
*
Since my car gets 5 miles to the kilowatt-hour, and I get a special overnight electricity rate of 3 cents per KWH (electricity is cheaper overnight, just ask your utility for a split rate), my cost per mile is less than ONE cent. My battery pack is good for about 20,000 miles, and costs $850 to replace.
*
Adding the battery cost makes my total cost per mile only about 5 cents, still much cheaper than gasoline (which costs about 10 to 15 cents/mile.) This low cost is similar to what you would pay per mile for driving a plug-in hybrid.
---------------

Answer 10

to prevent global warming