Tell me about your hybrid car

[richmond282]

I am considering buying a hybrid car, specifically a honda civic but would consider another name brand if I could find one. The car I'm looking at is used. Is it OK to buy a used hybrid? Does it really save on gas? Is it significantly more expensive to repair a hybrid? Convince me one way or the other.

 

[crisi]

I get 55 miles per gallon in my Prius. It is expensive enough to fix that mine has an extended warrenty on it - the hybrid system is about $7k if it goes out.

 

[sydneysmom]

We bought a used Prius and absolutely love it! We've been averaging 47 mpg and are thrilled. We traded in a Nissan Frontier truck so the Prius cut our gas budget by $200 per month. it has great leg room and is very comfortable.

 

[blairbear]

I have a Toyota Camry Hybird. I love it, it has cut my monthly gas bill almost in half. I also purchased mine used, it still has a fantastic warranty on it that covers all my hybrid parts for 7 more years or 150,000 miles. I think that if you go with a hybrid you won't be disappointed.

 

[minnie1928]

I have a Toyota Camry Hybird. I love it, it has cut my monthly gas bill almost in half. I also purchased mine used, it still has a fantastic warranty on it that covers all my hybrid parts for 7 more years or 150,000 miles. I think that if you go with a hybrid you won't be disappointed.

I second this...I have a 2007 Camry Hybrid and love it. It has about 55,000 miles on it without any real issues. I just change the oil and follow the regular maintenance schedule. I dramatically cut my gas costs with better mileage. Not to mention, I can use regular gas instead of premium now.

 

[MAH4546]

Forget hybrids. Get a diesel - the fuel economy is just as good and diesel engines are far more reliable and cheaper to repair. Take a look at the Jetta abd Golf TDIs.

 

[chris31997]

I would also consider your cost to charge your hybrid. You might be better off finding a compact the gets a good MPG.

 

[starwood]

If you are looking for a new car you may want to check out the plug in Prius. I love my Prius but the new one uses the battery power first and then the engine kicks in. Mine uses the engine to warm up the car so it doesn't get as good mileage in the winter. I usually get around 38-40 mpg in the winter and 48-50 in the summer. But the plug-in gets much better mileage especially if you make a lot of short trips.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I have a Honda Civic Hybrid it's got more than 230,000 miles on it. I average about 42 MPG. The car still runs great. i would highly recommend it. Finding a used one. We drive mine everywhere and only used our other vehicle when we have to.

We had to have a rental for a few weeks because I got read ended so I insisted on a hybrid and I got a Toyota Pris, it was new and the gas mileage wasn't any better. I didn't like the way the dashboard was in the car. I felt like I was driving a bubble.

I have never figured out what it saves us but I know it's a lot.

 

[blairbear]

I would also consider your cost to charge your hybrid. You might be better off finding a compact the gets a good MPG.

I'm not sure how other hybrids work but I don't have to charge mine. Every time I hit the break mine charges it's self.

 

[minnie1928]

I would also consider your cost to charge your hybrid. You might be better off finding a compact the gets a good MPG.

Plug in's aren't widely available yet as new cars, much less used. I think the OP is considering a traditional hybrid that has a regenerating brake system to recharge the battery.

 

[sydneysmom]

I would also consider your cost to charge your hybrid. You might be better off finding a compact the gets a good MPG.

Not all hybrids incur a "charging cost".....our Prius doesn't plug in. when the gas engine is on or the car is on "glide" the battery self charges. The Prius switches between the "electro-motor" and the gas engine depending on the circumstance of how you're driving it. there's nothing to plug in at all.

 

[tlbwriter]

Do you do a lot of driving? When we bought an Accord for DH, we looked into the hybrid and found that he wouldn't drive it enough for the better mileage to cancel out the higher cost of the car (because my car is our road trip car). If you're looking for a hybrid to save money, make sure it's actually going to save you some money. And if you're looking for a hybrid to reduce your use of fossil fuels, make sure you'll be able to handle the higher cost of ownership if that turns out to be the case.

 

[maggiew]

Forget hybrids. Get a diesel - the fuel economy is just as good and diesel engines are far more reliable and cheaper to repair. Take a look at the Jetta abd Golf TDIs.

This is what I did. I have had my Jetta TDI for about a year and a half. I average about 40 MPG.

I test drove all the hybrids and didn't like how the drove. I liked the drive of the Jetta better.

Right now diesel is 4.09 and regular gasoline is $4.19.

Maggie

 

[adventure_woman]

Something else to think about...someone PLEASE correct me if I am wrong... My neighbor has an Escape Hybrid. He told us just recently that he has to replace his battery after 5 years and that each battery is $6000 - and there are 2 of them!! YIKES! (Again, that is what he told us, so if that is incorrect, please forgive me). Just something to think about too - other/different costs associated with those vehicles.

 

[Colleen27]

My advice would be to make sure you have someplace nearby that can service them. We considered an Escape hybrid briefly until we realized that not all dealerships have mechanics qualified to service them. Even though we were looking at "certified used" from a local dealership, that dealership doesn't service them and the closest one that does is about 40 miles from our house. That's just a headache waiting to happen so we ruled it out.

 

[Bell30012]

In February I purchased a 2000 Honda Insight MT with 65,000 miles on it. The car has its original IMA battery pack. I get 55 mpg in the city and 60+ on the highway. Honda warranted the Honda Insight IMA battery pack for 10 years or 150,000 miles.

While Honda does charge a lot for a battery pack replacement there are already places that do refurbishment as well if not better than the dealership, at a far more reasonable price.

The Prius is able to be driven on electric power alone for short trips, while the Honda Insight is not. I enjoy my Honda and I have watched my monthly fuel bill drop drastically. I am looking forward to the end of May when my DD8 and I are making a run to WDW in the Insight. We'll be watching the mileage on the trip. I'm estimating about $65 round trip if gas is around $4 / gallon

 

[richmond282]

Plug in's aren't widely available yet as new cars, much less used. I think the OP is considering a traditional hybrid that has a regenerating brake system to recharge the battery.

OP here. Yes, I'm considering a traditional hybrid. I drive my car all day around town for work and my DH's commute is 45 miles one way (he works night shift, so we could theoretically both use this car.)

I drove the Civic hybrid (it is literally the ONLY hybrid available new or used within at least a 50 mile radius of my house). I liked how it drove and the features, but it is pretty small. Are the Camry or Sonata any bigger? specifically the trunk and back seat.

Thanks for suggesting checking on the mechanics. I'll look into that too.

 

[blairbear]

OP here. Yes, I'm considering a traditional hybrid. I drive my car all day around town for work and my DH's commute is 45 miles one way (he works night shift, so we could theoretically both use this car.)

I drove the Civic hybrid (it is literally the ONLY hybrid available new or used within at least a 50 mile radius of my house). I liked how it drove and the features, but it is pretty small. Are the Camry or Sonata any bigger? specifically the trunk and back seat.

Thanks for suggesting checking on the mechanics. I'll look into that too.

I just saw your location OP. I am near you. I bought my Camry at Phil Bachman Toyota in Johnson City last year. It's defiantly a small world!

The Camry is pretty roomy to me, I had a Ford Mustang before I traded it in and it was super small.

I have never had a problem with space in the Camry. We have had luggage for 4 people in the trunk plus shopping for a 4 day 3 night trip and were fine.

The sales man did tell me that the trunk was a little smaller due to the hybrid parts being there but we haven't had an issue with it.

 

[book_junkie]

In February I purchased a 2000 Honda Insight MT with 65,000 miles on it. The car has its original IMA battery pack. I get 55 mpg in the city and 60+ on the highway. Honda warranted the Honda Insight IMA battery pack for 10 years or 150,000 miles.

While Honda does charge a lot for a battery pack replacement there are already places that do refurbishment as well if not better than the dealership, at a far more reasonable price.

My father-in-law has a 2000 Honda Insight, and was able to drive from Iowa to Texas on a tank of gas- averaged I believe 65 mpg. Downside to his car is that there really is no back seat.

When my car was totaled in a wreck and my husband's started having electrical issues the same week, we went car shopping and ended up getting 2009 Honda Insights, the middle grade model (I forget the exact model type). Frik and Frak (our twin cars, just different colors) have back seats (traditional sedans), do not need plugged in (batteries charge by brake usage), and have extended warranties on everything including the battery packs and hybrid engines.

Hubbie went from filling up every 4 days to every two weeks (depending on errands and side trips), and I went from every week and a half to every three weeks. I average between 40-45 miles per gallon in city highway traffic (DFW metroplex, so sideroads plus normal highway cruising plus stop-and-go traffic). He has close to 15,000 miles on his car while I have a little over 7k.

I have found that Frak (my car) seems to like Chevron and Shell gas more than QuikTrip or Vallero, enough to raise it 3-4 mpg, and I swear it runs better when put it through the car wash...

FWIW, my previous car was a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid, and while it was a bit better on mileage compared to a regular Escape, it did not get near what it was estimated to get on the EPA rating in the two years that I had it- no matter who was driving. And I was driving a lot more during that time.