Hybrids are they worth it?

dimetime · #1 07-25-2008, 04:52 AM

Everyone likes the idea of saving money on gas and reduce our dependence on oil. Hybrids are a great way to help do just this.
It would be nice to have a car which could be driven all day on a single nights charge and that emits no emissions, but that is something in the future still. Hybrids are the cars for now.
Hybrid cars get about 20% better MPG than most cars, Though they do cost around $3,000.00 more. The high quality of these cars and the gas saving advantages makes this dollar amount difference worth the purchase. These cars run for about eight years with out the need for major repairs.
A concern of those who purchase a Hybrid is the costs of battery replacements, though these batteries last for more than five years, and with new batteries being developed all the time, these batteries may be lasting much longer.
The goverment also does its best to entice people to purchase a Hubrid by giving a rebate of twelve-hundred dollars.
The Hybrids save gas by shutting down the motor while temporarily stopped or by shutting down some of the cylinders while your coasting. Now some Hybrids can be driven for short distances on the batteries alone. This is a great feature if you are run out of gas and are close to a gas station. Now the four cylinder engines are just as sophisticated with compression, full injection and high flow intakes that they are as powerful as six cylinder engines we use now.

pennypinch · #2 07-26-2008, 04:58 AM

I would love to be able to purchase a hybrid vehicle right now. Thats not in the cards for me at this time though. It is my opinion that they are well worth the extra costs for purchasing one. I cannot even imagine the savings I would have if I didn't have to buy so much gasolene. I spend about $80 per week for fuel right now, that amounts to over $4,000 of my income each year being sucked up in my vehicles engine. There is a lot of things I could do with that money!

dimetime · #3 07-26-2008, 07:30 AM

I am with you there. We have a full size pick up, only because my fiance needs it for work, and we end up putting at least $100.00 in it per week. Now come the end of the week it is running simply on fumes. Its sad and I to wish we could just go out and purchase a hybrid. As soon as we have the cash for one we will be getting one.

moneysense · #4 07-31-2008, 06:36 PM

I cant get too excited about these cars. For one thing, we live in a very hilly part of Ohio and I wonder how well they would do under those circumstances.

Plus 20% savings on gasoline is not enough to induce me to even consider buying one of these cars.

Another thing, if you are driving across country, where do you stop to charge the batteries? And, speaking of batteries, how much do they cost to be replaced when they no longer hold a charge? That cost, if very high, would also be a deterrant to the purchace of a hybrid.