4 ms·

No, you don't have to drive half a million miles, the car just has to have an overall lifetime of at least that. Otherwise, you're saying that all your investme

by pkulak 15y ago

No, you don't have to drive half a million miles, the car just has to have an overall lifetime of at least that. Otherwise, you're saying that all your investment would be used up by the time you sell it after 100,000 miles, which will hardly be the case; the used hybrid will still be worth considerably more than a used non-hybrid.

fr0sty 15y ago
Do you have a source for your "considerably more" claim? Does that claim factor in the inevitable battery pack replacement?
- pkulak 15y ago
  I just did a price check for a 2008 Camry SE and 2008 Prius. They both cost about the same new ($23000), but the Prius is now worth about $500 more. Not only would you not have lost your initial investment in a hybrid power train, but it depreciated slower. But, let's say in 2008 you thought that hybrids were all hype and bought a Corolla instead. According to KBB, you paid $16000 for your Corolla and I paid $23000 for my Prius. My Prius is now worth $15000, so I lost $8000 to depreciation. But your Corolla is now worth $9500, so you lost $6500. The difference in the depreciation numbers is about the same ratio as the difference in initial price, so the argument isn't really against hybrids, per say, but that when you pay more for a car, you lose more in depreciation. Of course, in 3+ years I've probably saved a couple grand in gas, which pushes my operating costs _below_ yours, even though you bought a very cheap, economical car and didn't buy into all the hybrid hype. And as to battery pack replacement... well, who knows. But there are plenty of original Priuses on the road right now on the original packs; which makes them over 10 years old. It's just a maintenance cost. When a car is 10 years old, you pay a lot for maintenance. Replacing a timing belt is not cheap either!

4 ms·

No, you don't have to drive half a million miles, the car just has to have an overall lifetime of at least that. Otherwise, you're saying that all your investme

by pkulak 15y ago

fr0sty 15y ago
Do you have a source for your "considerably more" claim? Does that claim factor in the inevitable battery pack replacement?
- pkulak 15y ago
  I just did a price check for a 2008 Camry SE and 2008 Prius. They both cost about the same new ($23000), but the Prius is now worth about $500 more. Not only would you not have lost your initial investment in a hybrid power train, but it depreciated slower. But, let's say in 2008 you thought that hybrids were all hype and bought a Corolla instead. According to KBB, you paid $16000 for your Corolla and I paid $23000 for my Prius. My Prius is now worth $15000, so I lost $8000 to depreciation. But your Corolla is now worth $9500, so you lost $6500. The difference in the depreciation numbers is about the same ratio as the difference in initial price, so the argument isn't really against hybrids, per say, but that when you pay more for a car, you lose more in depreciation. Of course, in 3+ years I've probably saved a couple grand in gas, which pushes my operating costs _below_ yours, even though you bought a very cheap, economical car and didn't buy into all the hybrid hype. And as to battery pack replacement... well, who knows. But there are plenty of original Priuses on the road right now on the original packs; which makes them over 10 years old. It's just a maintenance cost. When a car is 10 years old, you pay a lot for maintenance. Replacing a timing belt is not cheap either!