In conjunction with Dan's question, I ran some numbers on another car, this time Toyota's Camry which like the Saturn Aura comes in gas and hybrid options. The numbers tell the same story. Insurance coverage remains the same, and all details on the Toyota models came from the manufacturer's website.
| Toyota | Camry | LE | Hybrid | ||
| Base Cost | $ 22,370.00 | $ 28,050.00 | |||
| Registration (annual, not depreciated) | $ 424.00 | $ 524.00 | |||
| Insurance (6 month premium) | $ 586.56 | $ 666.49 | |||
| Tax (at time of purchase only) | $ 1,733.68 | Fuel econ | $ 2,173.88 | Fuel econ | |
| Gas Miles/$ | 7.00 | 21 | 11.00 | 33 | |
| *assumes $3/gal | 10.33 | 31 | 11.33 | 34 | |
| Annual fuel cost | |||||
| *assumes 10000/year | $ 1,428.57 | city | $ 909.09 | city | |
| $ 967.74 | hwy | $ 882.35 | hwy | ||
| Hybrid tax credit | $ (1,300.00) | ||||
| Monthly payment | $ 427.29 | $ 535.79 | |||
| Total cost | $ 42,499.53 | city | $ 46,851.63 | city | |
| *assumes 5 year ownership term | $ 40,195.38 | hwy | $ 46,717.94 | hwy | |
| *assumes 5.5% interest | |||||
| Savings for hybrid | $ (4,352.10) | ||||
| $ (6,522.56) |
Interestingly enough, to buy a Toyota Camry hybrid costs you more than a Saturn Aura hybrid over the comparable model in the five year term, though it is interesting that a Camry regular comes in cheaper overall than an Aura. Keep in mind the insurance data is also calculated for me, and I have ZERO moving violations ever in any state or country and no claims against any insurance company for any reason. Additionally, USAA is exclusive to military and dependents, current and former, so you may get different quotes, especially for different risk tolerances.
To answer Dan's question, I picked the Saturn based on a Yahoo! Autos post to which I no longer seem to have a link rating it as one of the cars that supposedly breaks even. The auto in this example was also on that list. I opted not to use the Toyota Prius because there is no gas version to use as a comparison. Despite the amazing fuel savings of the hybrid in this example, the extremely higher price of the car at time of purchase swallows up most of the savings.
Beyond this calculation, I remind you again that repairing a hybrid costs a lot more. With all of the smart gadgetry they use, it becomes by near impossible to fix the car yourself, meaning that you must pay someone an hourly wage to fix it, which is probably greater than or equal to the cost per hour of you doing the work yourself. A former wingman of my father reported that near the end of his warranty the console in his Prius went out, and the cost to replace it was near on $5000. In the entire time I've driven my Saturn, I have spent $1000 total in parts, and this for a vehicle that is old enough that you expect things to fail, not at 36,000 miles. That means the part costs 1/6th the total price of the vehicle, and it's not something you CAN do yourself, assuming you know how. They make cars so complicated that you have no choice but to throw them away and buy new.
Hybrids are a red herring. Buy one if you care what other people think. I don't give a flying flapjack.
Be who you are and say what you think because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. --Theodore "Dr Seuss" GiesselAddendum: 25 Oct, 2008
I found an article on insurance costs that seemed relevant. Shows someone backs me up ;)
2 comments:
Thanks Doug, interesting stuff. I have never looked into hybrids much.
"I opted not to use the Toyota Prius because there is no gas version to use as a comparison."
If I were considering buying a new car, I think I'd be looking to compare any good hybrid--Prius or whatever--with any good normal car; I don't know if the model comparison (hybrid Aura vs. normal Aura etc.) would be applicable. Why wouldn't a hybrid with no normal version be a reasonable option? Are there even very many of those?
Well, you've stoked up my interest. I should probably just dig into Consumer Reports. But if you have further info, do share.
I wanted to compare cars that were as similar as possible. Although the Prius is one of the most famous hybrids, there was no baseline, non-hybrid model to which to compare. Would it be a good comparison to compare a Prius to a Lexus coupe or to a Delorian? People get mixed up comparing apples to oranges, or even oranges to tangerines. Whatever similarities they share, if the differences are significant enough, then it robs the comparison of statistical relevance. There are lots of nice hybrid cars, but if you're buying them to "save money", you're being hoodwinked. For the record, I did read a report somewhere from AAA that basically said the same thing I do here- hybrids aren't economical to own in the long run. You save money per fillup, but you buy gas more often. Same thing holds true for alternative fuels like E85 and E10.
One thing I left out mention is the batteries. When you swap the gas engine for batteries, there's a difference in GVW (car weight). These batteries have a limited useful life, and they cost a considerable amount to replace. I don't know anyone who's owned one long enough to have to do this, but I imagine they're not cheap, and you can't get them from Autozone or Wal-Mart...
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