Aptera annual fuel cost vs Prius-Interesting math

[F8L]

I was playing around with estimated annual fuel costs between my Prius and the hybrid Aptera.

The point of this thread is to flesh out my creeping suspicion that to make a solid economic choice on a future gasoline/hybrid car, the car must A. Be extremely cheap. or B. Get over 6x the MPG the Prius currently gets.

The cars:

Prius 2004-2008
MPG = 50mpg avg.

Aptera Typ-1h 2009
MPG = 300mpg avg.
EV = 60Wh/.6214 miles or .0965kWh/mile

My math: assuming a $0.10 kWh rate (please correct me where I screw up)

Prius: $4.00 * 20,000miles / 50mpg = $1,600/yr in fuel

Aptera: $4.00 * 20,000miles / 300mpg +.10 * 20,000miles * .0965kWh = $459.70/yr ($266.7 gas + $193 electric)

Annual fuel savings with the Aptera = $1140.30 / 12months = $95.025/mo

So assuming an average loan rate you would have to obtain an Aptera for roughly less than $5,000 more than you could get for your Prius in a sale to break even correct? IE. if the Aptera was say $30,000 OTD then you would have to get $25,000 for your Prius to break even correct? This is assuming for every $1000 borrowed you add $20 to your monthy car payment AND you own the Prius. The math gets too specific and complicated when dealing with specific loans and payment options so I'm not going to go into that. I just wanted to present the basic math for your inspection and corrections so that I can plan out my next vehicle purchase.

Sources:

Google RechargeiT.org (for calculation formulas)

Aptera Motors - Wikipedia (The Typ-1 is expected to consume 60 Watt-hours/km,[8] making it a low energy vehicle.)

[jammin012]

Originally Posted by F8L

So assuming an average loan rate you would have to obtain an Aptera for roughly less than $5,000 more than you could get for your Prius in a sale to break even correct? IE. if the Aptera was say $30,000 OTD then you would have to get $25,000 for your Prius to break even correct? This is assuming for every $1000 borrowed you add $20 to your monthy car payment AND you own the Prius. The math gets too specific and complicated when dealing with specific loans and payment options so I'm not going to go into that. I just wanted to present the basic math for your inspection and corrections so that I can plan out my next vehicle purchase.

I appologize. I'm not understanding what you mean concerning this $5K to break even thing.

Sounds like you're talking yourself out of getting one because it wouldn't be cost effective, or something.

I dont' know, it's late, break it down Barney style.

[PriuStorm]

This sounds similar to the arguments and calculations people use against buying a Prius. If you want one, you get one, regardless how the math computes. If you figure an additional cost factor for the inconvenience of not being able to travel with 4-5 adults and/or have storage for anything substantial, your $5,000 suddenly balloons. You can sell yourself either way depending on why you're getting it in the first place.

[F8L]

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear.

This thead is directed to those who want to buy a new car simply for fuel savings assuming you already have a Prius that does not NEED replacing. Many people here claim they would purchase a new plug-in Prius if it suddenly became available. Economically that doesn't make much sense because the fuel savings are not enough to justify the purchase. If you wanted to reduce your emissions or you ran a solar array then maybe you could work it out and justify the purchase.

If you are in need of a new car then this discussion does not need to take place and then I agree with you guys completely. But if you are driving a 2008 Prius with low miles and want to jump on the next cool car that gets 75mpg then the math doesn't add up unless you are disregading the economics of it and just gotta have a car that gets 75mpg.

jammin012, With the Aptera you could potentially save about $95/mo in fuel. This could be applied to a new car payment. Generally speaking I have seen that for every $1000 financed you add roughly $20 to your monthly payment. So if you save $95/mo than you could get a loan for as much as $5000 over what you got in return for your Prius $5000 / $1000 = 5. 5 * $20 = $100 . So if you got the Aptera for the exact same price as you sold the Prius then you would save $95/mo. Since that won't happen you would be required to get within $5000 of the sale price of your Prius to afford an Aptera and break even in the short term. Does that make any sense? I'm not a financial wizard so bear with me. This is way over simplified but I figured the math would bear out my opinion despite minor inaccuracies.

[F8L]

I think maybe I shouldn't drink beer and try to do math....

[patsparks]

I did the same calculations on buying a Ferarri and trading my Prius, and there was no break even point on the Ferarri but people keep buying them.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by patsparks

I did the same calculations on buying a Ferarri and trading my Prius, and there was no break even point on the Ferarri but people keep buying them.

People smoke meth and sleep with sheep too (not sure if they do it at the same time) too but that doesn't make it a good choice. I guess as long as they are happy and the rationalized in their minds that is was a good idea then that is all that matters....

[Stefx]

The calculation seems to assume that the Prius/Aptera is a second vehicle.

If the Prius is your only vehicle and you replace it with an Aptera, you have to add some costs to the occasional car rental for those times when you need more cargo room, etc.

The calculation did not include insurance costs. It can be expected that the Aptera might be expensive to insure due to the lack of past statistical accident/theft rates (Insurance companies will play on their safe side) and due to the higher purchase cost.

Anyway, as was said above already, getting an Aptera won't be a financial analysis decision­. If you insist on an objective financial analysis, please include a 5-10 year old Toyota Echo in your calculation and see which one wins.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Stefx

The calculation seems to assume that the Prius/Aptera is a second vehicle.

If the Prius is your only vehicle and you replace it with an Aptera, you have to add some costs to the occasional car rental for those times when you need more cargo room, etc.

The calculation did not include insurance costs. It can be expected that the Aptera might be expensive to insure due to the lack of past statistical accident/theft rates (Insurance companies will play on their safe side) and due to the higher purchase cost.

Anyway, as was said above already, getting an Aptera won't be a financial analysis decision­. If you insist on an objective financial analysis, please include a 5-10 year old Toyota Echo in your calculation and see which one wins.

I didn't include insurance because this too is too variable. I believe the Aptera is supposed to be less to insure since it is categorized as a motorcycle.

I didn't include old vehicles because people generally would not give up a semi-new Prius and downgrade into a 10yr old car. I did, however, state that purchsing a low priced high MPG car could save money. Again, since the majority of posts I see are based on upgrading to a new vehicle with lots of technology I thought I would post up the basic economics of fuel savings and what it would take to keep payments even in the short term.

I'm broke and cannot afford a new car but when the day comes that I can afford one it is going to have to get better than 100mpg.

[hyo silver]

I think for many people the Aptera is a great choice. But they'll never make up "the car premium" in gas savings over a decent bicycle.

A bit tongue in cheek, yes, but only to illustrate a point. If you have to have a car, get the highest mileage model you can. If it's minimum environmental impact you're after, I don't think there's a car in the equation. Move closer to work, or work from home.