How Long Until a Hybrid Vehicle Pays Back?
- Thread starter Ed_T
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What till you need a battery pack..............
For me it looks like the day after never, using that calulator
That comparison has its' flaws. It all depends on how many miles are driven per year, and in the case of the Prius, there is no model that is not a Hybrid.
It all depends on how much you drive. If I didn't drive 600 miles a week, I wouldn't have a Prius, though I do like the car.
As much as I drive, I save 15 gallons a week, figuring I average 50 mpg (55 in the summer, 45 in winter.) This is comparing it to my last car that got 22mpg.
15 X $2.69 a gallon for regular = $2098 per year.
When it was $4.19 a gallon, I was saving $62 bucks a week.
I'm saving so much on gas, the Prius "bought" me a new Goldwing!
It all depends on how much you drive. If I didn't drive 600 miles a week, I wouldn't have a Prius, though I do like the car.
As much as I drive, I save 15 gallons a week, figuring I average 50 mpg (55 in the summer, 45 in winter.) This is comparing it to my last car that got 22mpg.
15 X $2.69 a gallon for regular = $2098 per year.
When it was $4.19 a gallon, I was saving $62 bucks a week.
I'm saving so much on gas, the Prius "bought" me a new Goldwing!
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gathermewool
Site Donor 2025
I drive mostly highway miles and, even though the Prius gets fantastic gas mileage, it's not THAT much more than any other small-engined, aerodynamic vehicle. I don't think it would be fair to calculate a "pay back" time frame as compared to what I'm driving now - 24 mpg hwy Subaru. I think a more realistic comparison would be to something similarly thrifty, say a Honda Fit.
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Used aftermarket batteries & reasonable labor will deflect the high cost of replacement.
And when gasoline hits $5/gallonU$, suddenly the resale values of all model years will skyrocket, just like last time.
With the Saudis bombing rebels on the Yemeni border, can that time be far away? With Iran threatening to close the Straits...
With the quality of the Toyota gear that goes into these cars, I and millions of others believe there is very little to worry about. At 40/mpg lifetime average at 55k miles, and nothing but routine maintenance so far, I hope that belief becomes reality.
And when gasoline hits $5/gallonU$, suddenly the resale values of all model years will skyrocket, just like last time.
With the Saudis bombing rebels on the Yemeni border, can that time be far away? With Iran threatening to close the Straits...
With the quality of the Toyota gear that goes into these cars, I and millions of others believe there is very little to worry about. At 40/mpg lifetime average at 55k miles, and nothing but routine maintenance so far, I hope that belief becomes reality.
My 2007 Honda Accord gets me 34 to 36 MPG every day on the highway..... That is good enough for me..... Plus it is a very dependable car to own...
...beats the tar out of the value proposition for a hybrid..
gathermewool
Site Donor 2025
Originally Posted By: Ed_T
Used aftermarket batteries & reasonable labor will deflect the high cost of replacement.
And when gasoline hits $5/gallonU$, suddenly the resale values of all model years will skyrocket, just like last time.
With the Saudis bombing rebels on the Yemeni border, can that time be far away? With Iran threatening to close the Straits...
With the quality of the Toyota gear that goes into these cars, I and millions of others believe there is very little to worry about. At 40/mpg lifetime average at 55k miles, and nothing but routine maintenance so far, I hope that belief becomes reality.
To get your money back you'd have to drive your car >>>100kmiles. At this point who cares about resale value? I always laugh a little when I see low mileage Prii for sale or on a lot...What a waste even if they do get top dollar for the trade in
Used aftermarket batteries & reasonable labor will deflect the high cost of replacement.
And when gasoline hits $5/gallonU$, suddenly the resale values of all model years will skyrocket, just like last time.
With the Saudis bombing rebels on the Yemeni border, can that time be far away? With Iran threatening to close the Straits...
With the quality of the Toyota gear that goes into these cars, I and millions of others believe there is very little to worry about. At 40/mpg lifetime average at 55k miles, and nothing but routine maintenance so far, I hope that belief becomes reality.
To get your money back you'd have to drive your car >>>100kmiles. At this point who cares about resale value? I always laugh a little when I see low mileage Prii for sale or on a lot...What a waste even if they do get top dollar for the trade in
Originally Posted By: montero1
Replacements batteries for the Prius are $3000 with Labor, though many last to 200,000 miles. A lot of them get ruined from people thinking "if I run out of gas, I'll just cruise on electric." Quickest way to kill one.
If the Prius is like my Lexus hybrid, if you run out of gas, you can't cruise on electric alone. Where are you getting this information?
Replacements batteries for the Prius are $3000 with Labor, though many last to 200,000 miles. A lot of them get ruined from people thinking "if I run out of gas, I'll just cruise on electric." Quickest way to kill one.
If the Prius is like my Lexus hybrid, if you run out of gas, you can't cruise on electric alone. Where are you getting this information?
Sorry about the empty post, some (all?) older Prius can run battery only until one bar, then it shuts down and cannot restart.
The 2010 Prius handles this like the other Toyo hybrids: no battery-only driving.
The 2010 Prius handles this like the other Toyo hybrids: no battery-only driving.
For me, it says 6 years and two months.
I used $2.99/gal, $5000 premium (cost difference between a similarly equipped Mazda 3 hatch and a Prius III with solar roof), 25 mpg for the Mazda and 45 mpg for the Prius.
The hybrid battery packs have been trouble-free in the Toyota models. Of course, most of the high mileage ones right now are from highway commuters, so that doesn't tell you the true durability. When you need to replace the battery pack, you can find a low-mileage one from eBay for under $800 and perform the simple swap yourself.
I used $2.99/gal, $5000 premium (cost difference between a similarly equipped Mazda 3 hatch and a Prius III with solar roof), 25 mpg for the Mazda and 45 mpg for the Prius.
The hybrid battery packs have been trouble-free in the Toyota models. Of course, most of the high mileage ones right now are from highway commuters, so that doesn't tell you the true durability. When you need to replace the battery pack, you can find a low-mileage one from eBay for under $800 and perform the simple swap yourself.
Not THAT much more huh? Aside from the tdi VW's, the next thing down is the Mini Cooper, whch s 37 mpg. I get an honest 55 in the summer, or should I say anything above 65 degrees. 18mpg isn't THAT big a difference? Who are you kidding?
Originally Posted By: rcy
Originally Posted By: montero1
Replacements batteries for the Prius are $3000 with Labor, though many last to 200,000 miles. A lot of them get ruined from people thinking "if I run out of gas, I'll just cruise on electric." Quickest way to kill one.
If the Prius is like my Lexus hybrid, if you run out of gas, you can't cruise on electric alone. Where are you getting this information?
Trust me, people have tried.
Originally Posted By: montero1
Replacements batteries for the Prius are $3000 with Labor, though many last to 200,000 miles. A lot of them get ruined from people thinking "if I run out of gas, I'll just cruise on electric." Quickest way to kill one.
If the Prius is like my Lexus hybrid, if you run out of gas, you can't cruise on electric alone. Where are you getting this information?
Trust me, people have tried.
I prefer doing this sort of thing on a spreadsheet in Excel, myself, it's so easy to make all the formulas and be able to recheck everything, rather than rely on someone else's decimal placements.
If I replaced my daily driver 1976 Ford Gran Torino (that gets driven about 4000 miles a year so far) with a Prius, it would take 810 years to pay me back.
If I replaced my daily driver 1976 Ford Gran Torino (that gets driven about 4000 miles a year so far) with a Prius, it would take 810 years to pay me back.
Up here you would have junked that GT a long time ago due to rust. And probably a few other vehicles along the way.
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