Rethinking the Cost Benefit Analysis of a Hybrid
photo credit: pedrosimoes7
Mom at Wide Open Wallet posted a response to my article, Top 5 Hybrid SUVs Ranked by MPG which resulted in my testing of our car’s MPG. The results? Our car, the beater that it is gets on average 26-27 mpg which is pretty awesome considering that most newer cars get less than that these days.
Why is this important? We’d been considering chucking our beater for a newer hybrid car thinking that it would save us money. Well, with our target hybrid, the Toyota Camry averaging around 37-39 mpg we’re not sure if it would be entirely worth it. I’m hard to please in this area but its just a thought that maybe we should wait a little while longer before running out and buying a new hybrid. We can surely take the metro more and just not gallivant around the city like we have been the last few weeks which would save us money on gas. So, IMHO to run out and incur another car payment, more/higher insurance, another gas bill, tags, title and registration fees just to gain 10 mpg doesn’t seem worth it to me.
I could be wrong, but with the amount of driving that I/we do for the month, its not enough to justify the extra costs associated with a new car. So it looks like I’ll be riding this car into the ground as its currently at 130k. So I think we can get another 30k out of it before it goes kaput. Until then I’ll be doing my research. Most of you don’t know this but I am a car enthusiast and I get attached easily, LOL! So if I chuck my precious Solara now, then it needs to be worth it. So I am on the hunt for a sexy, 4 door coupe style (convertible would be GREAT!) hybrid vehicle.
My current lusts include the CLS 500 and the Lexus 450h. None of them justify the hybrid requirements but they make great eye candy.
But I digress, 
Are you planning on buying a hybrid? If so, have you done your own cost-benefit analysis?
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