Why buy a Hybrid if you don't drive very much?

People who do not drive frequently, or only drive short distances are on my 'who should not buy a Prius' post

considering a Prius | PriusChat
Honest, if it is just going to sit in your driveway, a Nissan Versa is a good car.

 

Good analysis..

Also there's the green benefits and don't forget Prius strong resale value. Also, there are alternates to factory batteries so you don't have to buy a factory one.

How about people who don't drive far my just short trips?

 

You assume "worth it" means $$. In that case, I'll believe your numbers. But people buy cars for various reasons. What's the $$ value to using less foreign oil? What's the emotional value for doing one's part in using less foreign oil? Etc. We already pay an extra price (the "hybrid premium") for our Prius. Is that extra price "worth it"? By just crunching the numbers, the average person will recoup that premium after 8 or so years. I'm just not sure you can make $$ sense out of buying a Prius until after year 8. Many people here have already said they would not keep their Prius that long. Mike

 

...the way were are headed in Virginia penalizing hybrid ownership with very high property taxes and hybrid car surcharges, I think you really need to evaluate if using a hybrid under <12000 miles a years makes any sense. Getting a non-hybrid you could save ~$4000 on vehicle and $2000-3000 in taxes. And presumably better MPG non-hybrid ICE's coming out these days. Implication is we need a Prius ICE version.

PS- Obviously if your state is kinder and gentler re: hybrid car fees, then you are OK with low miles as long as you know how to keep the battery happy.

 

I drive 9 - 10k miles/year but I really like my hybird. It's quitet drive, high tech engine. Of course I could go for a way cheaper car and get much better TCO. Especially when insurance is calculated on the displacement rather than power (so 1.0 Ford Ecoboost owner pays half of the Prius insurance only because of engine).
So not everyone buy a car based only on TCO. Some people just like one or another car and that's drives their decisions

 

I agree with sfcyclist, the Prius has excellent resale value, and who expects gasoline prices to remain below four bucks a gallon long term. The Prius is a well made, solid and very reliable car with upscale appeal for many owners. Also, my wife just purchased a new Lexus 300h after owning a Camry Hybrid for four years. The Lexus 300h comes with a small premium of less than $3,000. Toyota has almost perfected hybrid technology and manufactures desirable cars.

 

Yes, less reliant on oil!

 

I'm assuming this is NOVA only?

 

There are many factors that enter into the choice of car.
My wife and I find the packaging of the Prius appealing--easy ingress and egress, flat floor, roomy back seat, hatchback cargo capability, etc. I don't know of too many other vehicles that can match it.
We have no idea where fuel prices will go in the next ten years.
At least in these cooler states, the battery is unlikely to go bad on the schedule that you've set for it and non-Toyota sources for replacement batteries will continue to pull the replacement costs down.
I'm very happy to commute in a vehicle that arguably spews less pollutants than anything else around.

As a rust belt resident I could just as easily question why Californians buy new cars at all! It's not as if they're going to rust away in your lifetime and new cars depreciate like crazy. Much wiser to keep your cars 15-20-30 years.

 

The new hybrid fee $100/yr is everyone - Go to NoHybridTax.com to sign petition if opposed.

As far as property tax, NoVa is probably worse but you may have similar taxes. Each locality has its own property tax structure, but they tend to be similar. Localities are also allowed to give tax relief to hybrids, but I only know one locality that does so (Arlington) but they have reduced that benefit in recent years.

 

I have no problem justifying my new 2012 Prius Plug-In Advance, purchased seven weeks ago, short of $36000 (not counting TTL), financed at zero percent for sixty months, including ALL extras. Whether I keep it a few years, or many years, low mileage or high mileage at trade or sell. Everything considered, it's a bargain. Plus, it's fun to drive, and I'm saving money on my driving expenses. If not a Prius, what? Chances are a higher priced, less fuel efficient, less reliable, but higher depreciating vehicle at trade or sell. Made sense seven weeks ago, makes more sense now.

 

^^^Good question I do not think Virginia is CARB state, but somewhere I saw it said maybe.
If it is CARB you have 10yr/150k mile warranty, right?

 

I chose the most fuel efficient Prius currently available. Considering the rebate and 0%, sixty month financing, I'll spread the cost of the PIP option over the next five years. Comfortable with my purchase, I'll utilize it to minimize my transportation expenses for the period of ownership. Only hindsight will tell.

17 states (& DC) have now adopted our strict California Air Resources Board standards for vehicle emissions. These states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Utah, and Washington.

 

Without a MTBF this is a useless analysis. The point is NOT the price of a replacement battery / dollars saved per mile * miles driven. It is expected replacement cost, in other words cost of replacement battery * likelihood of failure / dollars saved per mile * miles driven.

For 'other plugin cars' it is even more flawed. A Leaf, for example, is going to benefit from being optimally charged most of the time, and that battery will last correspondingly longer.

Here is an important question. If one is only driving occasionally, does it make sense to have a car at all? If one adds up price, insurance, taxes, gas, parking, etc. at what point is it better to just hire a taxi? If a car costs $6,000 per year, how many taxi trips is that?

 

I would re-title the thread to read "Why buy a -car- if you don't drive a lot!" A friend has done this, no car, using public transportation and rentals. He saves a lot of money.

 

How long one keeps it doesn't matter. What matters is how long the car lasts. Better fuel economy translates into resale value, so if the lifespan of a Prius is ten years, and it pays back in 8, then ALL its owners benefit.

For many, it isn't even a matter of payback. If one borrows money to pay for the car, then what matters is monthly payments, and for many people, like myself, the Prius was the cheapest car to buy from day 1.

 

If I only drove 6K a year, I would be bicycling most of it, so you are right, the purchase definitely doesn't make sense.