Quote:
Originally Posted by Arminius
I assume someone would buy a hybrid for the efficiency. Most studies show that the added cost of the hybrid is payed for after about 8 years, if the hybrid is one that is covered by the Fed tax incentives (some no longer are). However, a lot of econoboxes sell for less than 7k once they are 4 or 5 years old. The difference is at least 15k, which buys a heck of a lot of gas.
|
Your comparing a smaller used car to a larger brand new car. Thats not really a fair comparison. Also, with gas prices increasing you'll see faster payback times. The stats I've seen by Intellichoice show payback as being around 5 years. Of course this varies quite a bit depending on what companies have tax incentives left yet. Also, the payback times don't include any of the other benefits that are included by purchasing a hybrid such as emissions reduction.