http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_new...udy-shows?lite

 

Typical flawed study. We don't know if owners are still driving their first one or not.

I don't fit this study. Owned an 09 Camry Hybrid, waiting on my 12 Camry Hybrid to arrive. Take that!

 

We also don't know if it was simply dissatisfaction with a specific brand's hybrid or maybe regret at paying the extra money to buy one.

 

I think it's clear that there's no great financial savings. At best, the average driver (not the fanatics checking their tire pressure every 20 minutes and only driving if there is a tail wind) paid back their "hybrid" premium in 5-6 years (on average). Only after that, they might save ~$300/year which is meaningless on a $25,000+ purchase.
So, without a financial incentive, many drivers might lose interest and move on.
I remember there were posts where people were fantasizing about flipping their cars for profits. Reality set in and people moved on.
Me, I like driving the car because it's efficient. I'll probably buy another one, but understand why the survey results came in the way they did.

 

We are seriously interested in buying a moderately loaded '12 TCH XLE this year, especially after renting a TCH LE over a weekend a couple of weeks ago. I loved the car, and more importantly, my wife liked it (more important, because she'll be the primary driver). I set up a spreadsheet to calculate how long it would take to break even on a TCH XLE vs. a similarly optioned Camry I4. Based on $4.30/gallon and 12K miles/year, and 41 mpg for the TCH vs. 27 mpg for the I4, the spreadsheet tells me it would take just under four years. Gas has been as high as $4.30/gallon around here, although it's less expensive now. However, all it would take is another crisis in the Middle East to send it up again. 12 K miles is pretty much what we do in a year, being retired. We generally keep our cars for 10 years. My wife currently drives a 12-year-old Volvo S70. We've had it for 11 years. It still only has about 130,000 miles on it; it runs well and she could most probably keep driving it for another five years. Actually, if we weren't interested in buying a hybrid, we'd most likely keep it.

 

That study does not mean much, would probably need more data:
for example I bought a car for my wife last year and it wasn't a hybrid, since my wife doesn't even drive quarter of the miles, I do, so it wasn't worth the extra cost, but OMG that thing burns a lot of gas. I would really feel sorry for myself if that was my main car. But when the time comes to replace my current hybrid car, it will be another hybrid, most likely Camry, unless they give other cars for free, or there is new, better technology. So I could be counted as buying non hybrid, but it's not really true, because I will be replacing hybrid with hybrid. Also, another study said on average we keep our cars for almost 6 years (I'm right there already, since I bought mine in 06), so how many people owned hybrid 6yrs ago, ready to replace it just now? Could be very small sample data, with most people, like me buying secondary car.
As far as savings go, we already went over this many, many times: depending on type of traffic, miles driven and extra cost, some people make money, some loose. Low miles, mostly freeway driving make no financial case for hybrid. Heavy traffic, city driving with a lot miles like me makes a lot of $ sense. I'm at 115k miles and I estimate I saved at least $500 on break pads alone and only because I do break jobs myself, it would be double or triple that if I used mechanic. Yep, in normal car I would be changing breaks and rotors every 30k-40k due to stop and go traffic I face everyday and most people don't even have a clue about savings like that
BTW if saving money was the only factor, all car makers except maybe Hyunday and Kia should be out of business and only cars on the roads should be Civic, not Porsche or BMW. So it has to be some other appeal as well. I hate wasting time driving to gas stations and therefore love 600 mile range my Camry has.

 

There's a million variables (weather, etc.) that can alter your calculations. The bottom line is...if you keep the car for five years, or more, you'll be spending a little less than you would if you bought a comparably configured gas Camry. Don't go crazy with the spreadsheet. It's a good value, but not the cheapest form of transportation. You can probably buy a gas guzzler for half the cost and end up ahead. If you like the car, buy it, but don't expect to see your bank account grow nor be able to retire on the savings.

 

You deserve a brake today.

 

Yup, I know all that. I just like the car, and I wouldn't want to replace our '00 Volvo S70 with any new ICE vehicle on the market right now. Rationally, we should just keep driving the Volvo for a few more presumably trouble-free years. But we're already comfortably and securely retired and we don't have to be rational.

 

I see no premium cost to my 2008 TCH, a 2008 Camry XLE V6 with the same options, would have cost the same or more.

I would certainly buy another TCH.