New Hybrid Car? or keep the old?

[Andykev]

I have a '98 Toyota Avalon. It ONLY has 41,000 miles. I have changed the oil, tires, battery, and today did the full fluid flush/replace,oil and filter. tire rotation, and the brakes (cleaning and adjust only, they were still 70% and 80% front and rear respectively).

While waiting for the service (which was only $457), wife and I looked at the new Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Prius.

Now, the Camry is the only one we would go to. It looks just like all the other Camry's, had leather, moon roof, CD, etc. etc.

It shows an EPA mileage of 40 MPG in the CITY and 38 on the HIGHWAY. Internet research from owners comments indicate true numbers about 36 city and around 34 highway.

Now, with gas rapidly approaching $4 bucks a gallon...

DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BUY A HYBRID? Cost of a "standard" Camry is about $25K, nicely equipped. The Hybrid is $31K. And NO they don't dicker on the price.

My AVALON gets "true" mileage of about 24 MPG Combined Hwy/City.

Oh, and my car is PAID FOR.

Does it make sense to shell out dollars for a "NEW" hybrid car, or just keep the old Avalon?

BTW, the service guy says that at the rate I drive (about 4500 miles per year), the Avalon will last another 20+ years!

So? What would you do?

 

[scotrace]

Keep what you have.

Buy HATS.

 

[Hondo]

Keep what you have.

Buy HATS.

I Agree with scotrace, save $$$

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Yes, keep it. 41,000 miles is barely borken in, these days. As little as you drive, if you bought a new car, you'd be pouring money not spent on gas into a bank. So, you have a choice: A LOT more money going to a bank, or a little more money into the tank and still having a bit in your pocket.


Lee

 

[Lady Day]

You appear to be doing all the things a responsible car owner should. Now if you NEEDED a car, then I would totally recommend making that investment (and its cool that you are looking at a hybrid and not thinking of it as a passing joke). But as of now, keep what you have


LD

 

[scotrace]

In thinking about this... Andykev, it's obvious you should keep your current car. No brainer. So if you are considering a switch... you must have got the door of that new one open and got a good whiff of that highly contagious bug they call New Car Smell. Now you're infected, right? Gotta have one?

 

[Flivver]

At 41,000 miles, your Avalon is just nicely broken in! With care, your car should sail past 200K miles with no major problems.

Hybrids can look appealing but there are some downsides as well. The battery packs need periodic replacement, creating an environmental issue regarding their disposal. And many hybrid owners have been disappointed in not being able to achieve the claimed fuel economy. Hybrids show their greatest advantage over regular cars in stop and go city driving. On the highway, their real world advantage is minimal.

For most folks seeking good fuel economy, a 4-cylinder compact like a Corolla or Civic usually still costs the least in the long run...when purchase price, fuel economy, maintenance and resale value are taken into account. And don't entirely dismiss the American compacts like the Cobalt...they're better than you might think.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

.

Keep your Avalon. The amount you'll be paying the bank will far exceed the amount you'll be spending in gas driving the older car. Besides, as others have expressed, it's barely broken in.

 

[Roger]

Keep the old car. You don't drive that much. If you're going to pay cash for a new car, take the cash and; invest it, the Dow is doing great, take a vacation (like up to Oregon and see Art's hats ) It you're going to finance the new car then take the monthly payment you wanted and save/invest it. Why spend $35,000 to save $20 a month in gas?????[huh]

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Hybrids can look appealing but there are some downsides as well. The battery packs need periodic replacement, creating an environmental issue regarding their disposal.

Good point, Flivver. And, Andykev, don't forget the cost of replacing those batteries. http://hybridcars.about.com/b/a/222552.htm

And if performance is a concern to you - and to possibly avoid or lessen the impact of a collision, it should - consider this: even though the Prius isn't intended to be a performance car, acceleration is very disappointing. It takes more than twelve seconds to go from 0 to 60. (Those two engines and the battery pack are heavy!) My '85 Pulsar (with 179,000 miles the odometer) takes about eight. And my '67 Chrysler with it's 383 2bbl (270 hp; by no means a performance car, considering its size and weight) takes about six seconds.

The Prius also offers very little interior room, thus making it unfriendly to even a small family.


Lee

 

[Paisley]

A Suggestion

Take the money you'd spend on car payments and put in an ING account (ingdirect.com). It'll earn around 5% interest.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm seeing a lot of action taking place on the biodiesel front lately, so I'd see how that shakes out before getting into a new vehicle. You Avalon should give you many more years of service with proper maintenance.

 

[Pilgrim]

There's no economic point to trading the Avalon. You don't drive many miles, and the payoff for the extra expense of a hybrid is so far off that it takes more than 90,000 miles of driving just to break EVEN.

Is there an environmental point? IMO, no - because that Camry is already a recent model car that's well maintained. It's not contributing much to the carbon load or anything else, because it's running as clean as designed and because you don't drive it much. If you were driving a 20-year-old car that burned a quart of oil every 100 miles and got 10 MPG, I'd say go ahead and do it - but that's not the case.

So if you trade, you would be spending extra money to make an environmental and/or political statement. I have no problem with that if you're clear about what you're doing, and are willing to spend the extra money to do so.

I'd say wait another 5-10 years for the technology to mature so that it will make more sense.

 

[MrPumpernickel]

Is there really a point in getting a hybrid at all aside from tax reduction? There are new gasolene cars with similar, and even lower, mileage that doesn't have to carry around the extra weight of the additional electric engine and batteries, that you also get better performance from. I'm not a pro-gasolene person, nor am I a rabid environmentalist, but I do think that hybrid cars, at least at today's performance, are a swing and a miss.

There are of course other options as well which are more or less viable depending on where you live and what refueling options you have. Though, etanol powered (or E85 at least, which is cheaper than gasolene), or bio-diesel powered, vehicles could be something to look into as well.

Though, you could have much higher prices for gas, here in Sweden it's over $7 a gallon, approaching $7.50.

 

[GoldLeaf]

I also would recommend you keep your existing car. If you had a long commute in stop and go traffic, I might recommend differently. However, the cost of the new car doesn't seem to offer enough benefit.

I would be a happy camper if I had a 1998 with so few miles that ran that well. I would love to get rid of my dreaded car payment.

I think hybrids are really neat, and in the right conditions they can be a real advantage. I don't think your conditions are the right fit

 

[Dutch McCoy]

I would also keep the old one. I have a 1990 Chevy Lumina with about 100,00 miles. I thought very briefly about getting a Hybrid but with as little as I drive, it really makes more sense to keep the Lumina. I feel that you are in the same situation. If you drove more or actually needed a new car, I would say go for it. But, as you do not, I would say keep it and spend your money elsewhere.

 

[Twitch]

STOP the madness! Have I got your attention Andy? If you buy a Prius over a Corolla for example, you will need to drive 66,000 miles a years for 5 years or gas has to go to $10 for you to come out ahead with the higher cost. Corolla is closest equal non-hybrid. This was worked out by my engineering editor friend at Road & Track.

Obviously with the miles you drive it will be a monetary losing proposition for you.

Back in the 70s and again in the 80s when the gas prices were upward bound I saw too many idiot people panic and sell paid-for medium sized V-8 cars with little mileage and buy new 4 cylinder import.

Buying a hybrid is a feel-good thing. Your low auto usage actually produces less pollution and uses less oil resources than a heavy user of a hybrid. When you factor in the extra resources it takes to manufacture the electric motor components and the batteries and their transport to final assembly you'll see the hybrid is initially using more material and resources at manufacture that a regular car which it has to make up somehow.

Unless you drive a lot there is no way to justify it. If you simply desire a different car the Camry would be fine.

 

[reetpleat]

In thinking about this... Andykev, it's obvious you should keep your current car. No brainer. So if you are considering a switch... you must have got the door of that new one open and got a good whiff of that highly contagious bug they call New Car Smell. Now you're infected, right? Gotta have one?

I know everyone loves new car smell, but frankly, I could not even buy a new car. They are so toxic I would nto be able to drive for more than fifteen minutes at a time with the windows all down.

I agree about keeping the old. I owned a prius and loved loved loved it. THey are fun and the savings are great.

But. Firstly, that mileage is not so impressive. The prius got over fifty on a regular basis. MY old volkswagon rabbit truck was an 81 diesel and got over 40 on a regular basis.

When they are getting sixty or seventy mpg, then I will be impressed.

Secondly, to buy new with a decent old car does not make financial sense. Unless you need a new car, you are just paying for the excitement and knowing you have a new car. No need. The only way to truly compare hybrid to current would be choose between a similar used hybrid, not old car to new. Then it becomes not about hybrid, but about old versus new.

Thirdly, a hybrid will probably never pay for itself. If you are buying new, the hybrid choice might pay off eventually with gas what it is.

On that basis, if you are buying new, I would say go hybrid because your mileage and resale will probably equal the extra price, so why not do something good for the environment? When it is time for a new car, then go hybrid.

 

[reetpleat]

At 41,000 miles, your Avalon is just nicely broken in! With care, your car should sail past 200K miles with no major problems.

Hybrids can look appealing but there are some downsides as well. The battery packs need periodic replacement, creating an environmental issue regarding their disposal. And many hybrid owners have been disappointed in not being able to achieve the claimed fuel economy. Hybrids show their greatest advantage over regular cars in stop and go city driving. On the highway, their real world advantage is minimal.

While I have heard there may be issues iwth the batteries, I have yet to hear about the 2001 priuses (priui?) having serious battery issues that could not be fixed by replacing one or two cells.

My 2001 prius ran great, and I did get great mileage 41-50 on a regular basis. And I found that at the right speeds with attention paid to the meter, I could get jut as good mileagle or better o nthe freeway I know everyone says that, but I found the opposite.

 

[Zig2k143]

I'd keep the old car... Until Hybrids are plug in they aren't much use...

I wish GM would of kept the EV1's a fully plug in car. No gas needed.

I think I'm going to go with a motocycle to save on gas... But how do I carry my fedora.