Is a hybrid car worth the extra $$$

[Prairie Gal]

Looking at buying a hybrid Camry. It is about $3000 more than a regular model. Is it worth it? It is supposed to get 6L/100 km as opposed to a about 9L/100km for the regular Camry. It feels like the right thing to do, environmentally.

Does anyone have a hybrid? How are they for maintenance, etc.

[hyla]

Worth the extra money if you have a really long commute or drive a lot (probably not the case if you are posting in this forum), or if you care about using less gas for environmental reasons.

I have a prius for the second reason.  It probably would have been a slightly better financial decision to just buy a corolla or a similar economy car with decent gas mileage, but I don't have any regrets about the Prius.  Mine is at almost 200k miles and has been very reliable. 

[alsoknownasDean]

Depends on your driving as well. The fuel economy difference in city driving might be greater than 3L/100km too.

If you do 15000km a year and gas is $1.20 a litre, a 3L/100km difference means $540 less is spent on fuel a year, but you're forgoing maybe $2-300 in investment returns per year on the additional $3000 spent. Still in front, and if you keep it long term it'll be a better bet financially, especially if the price of fuel increases or you're doing a lot of k's a year.

I see a lot of Camry hybrids used as taxis here, so presumably the running costs make the extra cost of the hybrid well worth it.

Up to you and your values obviously. It might be marginally cheaper to buy the non hybrid, but if you value the reduced environmental impact, the hybrid might be worth any extra to you.

Personally I'd probably get the hybrid anyway :)

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[Sydneystache]

Looking at buying a hybrid Camry. It is about $3000 more than a regular model. Is it worth it? It is supposed to get 6L/100 km as opposed to a about 9L/100km for the regular Camry. It feels like the right thing to do, environmentally.

Does anyone have a hybrid? How are they for maintenance, etc.

I have one. Bought it at 20,000 kms, now at 110,000kms. My mechanic loves it. Had it serviced 6 months ago, told me not to come back until 18 months down the track. Fuel consumption is great. It feels funny at first when you brake because that's when the hybrid battery gets recharged. It's super quiet and really doesn't feel different from another non-hybrid car. Did Melbourne to Goulburn in one tank as I wasn't going to push my luck with traffic in the Southern Highlands. The downside is the bootspace as the battery takes room. Wish they did a station wagon and a convertible version. Given our distances between major towns not viable to do fully electric unless they can give a range of at least 1,000kms (going up and down the dividing range tends to hammer the fuel economy) - the hybrid is the next best option.

[WhiteTrashCash]

If you keep a hybrid for a really long time, then it is worth the price. You need to remember to factor in the reduced maintenance costs along with the fuel costs, plus in many states, they will give you perks like single driver use of the carpool lane, etc. A careful driver who keeps up with maintenance and drives Mustachian miles could probably keep a hybrid on the road for well over 30 years.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

If you can plug in anywhere, used plug-in hybrids don't seem any more expensive than regular ones, and you'll use way less gas. I've driven 984 miles since the last time I bought gas, and I still have over half a tank.

I should add that the increase in my electricity bill has been trivial, because electric motors are much more efficient than ICEs.

[Car Jack]

You sort of have to analyze how YOU drive.  If you're in California and can go into some special lane that goes faster and gets you places quicker, it might be worth it.  I tend to do a lot of long distance driving where a hybrid would get me nothing.  We don't have special lanes where I am.  Gas is relatively cheap but indeed do the math.  Hybrids usually have cool things like regen braking which reduces brake pad wear and gives you some energy back which will save you some gas.  But again, these days gas is dirt cheap, so you gotta get out the calculator and figure it out.  Oh, where I live, electricity is really expensive.  I see MMM always talking about how cheap it is for him while looking at my bill and swearing because mine is 50% higher by kWHr.

[SaveSpendGiveALittle]

Another zero regrets prius owner here. Go with the hybrid.