V6 or Hybrid?

If I'm correct a 1300 tax credit does not equal a 1300 saving on taxes. It is just an amount that you do not have to pay taxes on. So if you pay around 25% in taxes then you would save about $325.00 on your taxes. Can you claim that amount every year or just the year you purchase the car? It is a sales tool whish is misleading if I'm correct. Have you looked up the safty rating on these cars those hybird do not look like they provide very much protection in case of an accident.

I am pretty sure it is a credit not a deduction as tuna said.

hybrid = 1500 more dollars than 4cyl alone

tax credit = 1300 dollars

dont pay personal property taxes in my county = a few thousand more in savings over 5 years

gas = 8 mpg more


+ $3000-$4000 to replace the batteries when they go out in 5-7 years. You have to own it that long to make up the additional cost when you buy it in gas savings.


Hybrids are overhyped. You pay WAY too much for the car in the first place (if a Prius was an all-gas car, it would be $11-12K like a Chevy Aveo, but the Hybrid motor knocks it up to $20K for a HATCHBACK). The other models that look like normal cars still cost more than they should because there are people who will buy them for emotional reasons or just gullibility. Many Honda Hybrid and Prius owners have been very angry because their actual MPG are far below the advertised fuel economy. I know someone who has a Mercury Mariner hybrid small-SUV who is documenting his fuel economy and is getting between 20-28 MPG...not much better than a regular gas engine but with the extra sticker price. The Accord Hybrid has been dropped because no one was buying them after early problems with fuel economy.

Also, if you do a lot of highway driving, you might as well save some money and get a better-performing "regular" car and get the same MPG. The Hybrid technology only really helps with stop-and-go city driving. That's when the electric motor works. The technology is still new and not yet perfected, so like a new version of Windows, I'd let others do the debugging. Hybrids are not a solution to any energy issues, they're just a bandaid to make people feel better. No one buys a Hybrid, especially a Prius (slow spaceship for midgets) for the looks or for their lackluster performance. Those buying for financial reasons are second-guessing when the "hidden" costs and sometimes disappointing fuel economy (good but not as good as the window sticker says).

I'd definately go V6. MUCH better performance and a better driving experience, less markup so you can get a better car for your money and you won't have to take out a loan to replace the batteries.

I would go with the hybrid car, if you are gonna keep it until its dead, the hybrid sounds like it will be the one to last you the longest...

WRONG.

The batteries are not only difficult to change, but will cost you more than the car is worth when it is time.

Another downside of a Hybrid...I have a mechanic who is a family friend and is GREAT. He charges me $10 for an oil change and hardly any labor costs. He even gets parts cheaply. With a Hybrid, ONLY dealers can work on them in most cases and they'll clean your bank account out. Toyota dealers are the worst, not only because foreign parts cost so much more, but their labor rates are ridiculous. A coworker was charged $450 for an inspection of her 1-year old Toyota Avalon and nothing serious was wrong!

A car with a normal engine can be worked on by non-dealers (non-crooks).

Damn Buster! I'm sensing some anger in that font! Did a hybrid hurt you as a child???


J/K... The battery replacement does scare me... you're right...

Prius's have records of running for 200k+ without having anything replaced, but I have heard of it being done just over 100K....

The cost is going down though, and I work for crooks, so they hook fellow crooks up on labor (plus my brother in law is a mechanic if I ever have to get a real job)...

and in this case its only a 1500 dollar premium for the hybrid over the 4cyl. model...

In the case of the highlander hybrid, I completely agree... you pay 5 grand up front for maybe 6-7 mpg... you'll never recover the cost... they're just for people who want to be green...

Ive been reading at toyotanation.com and priuschat.com and consumers, along with edmunds, motor trend, etc... have all gotten very vvery close to the sticker mileage... which would make it about a 10mpg difference above the 4cyl...

I think the ethanol blend (e85) is the future. In a flex-fuel car, you can run normal gasoline, or e85, and you don't lose much power (it's only 2 octane lower than normal unleaded). You can even mix regular unleaded with e85. Run either type, whenever -- it's very flexible. The only problem is that the ethanol blend is not readily available -- yet.

Does Toyota make any flex-fuel cars?

Damn Buster! I'm sensing some anger in that font! Did a hybrid hurt you as a child???


J/K... The battery replacement does scare me... you're right...

Prius's have records of running for 200k+ without having anything replaced, but I have heard of it being done just over 100K....

The cost is going down though, and I work for crooks, so they hook fellow crooks up on labor (plus my brother in law is a mechanic if I ever have to get a real job)...

and in this case its only a 1500 dollar premium for the hybrid over the 4cyl. model...

In the case of the highlander hybrid, I completely agree... you pay 5 grand up front for maybe 6-7 mpg... you'll never recover the cost... they're just for people who want to be green...

Ive been reading at toyotanation.com and priuschat.com and consumers, along with edmunds, motor trend, etc... have all gotten very vvery close to the sticker mileage... which would make it about a 10mpg difference above the 4cyl...


No, I'm not angry. Anyone can drive whatever they want...but I have spent a lot of time researching these so I can talk about them with some information in my head instead of just with emotion...the main target of their marketing.

It's tough to actually save money with one of these vehicles because of the costs they don't tell you about. Most of them I see have some kind of strange tree-hugger sticker on the back, so I can tell most people are buying with their hearts instead of their heads and calculators...but it's their right.

I just won't have one in my driveway. I prefer a car that's fun to drive, even at the sacrifice of a little money and MPG.

Does Toyota make any flex-fuel cars?

No. Ford, GM and Chysler make the majority of them instead of investing so heavily in the hybrid hype like the Japanese companies are. Nissan DOES have a few though, as does Mercedes, but not as many as the Domestic brands.

Go to Search for Cars that don't need gas (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfueltype.htm) and choose Ethanol-Gas and you'll see all of the flex fuel cars made.

Right now, it costs you more to run one of these vehicles because of the scarcity of Ethanol stations and because Ethanol burns faster than gasoline at this time, resulting in poorer fuel economy. That will change over time though. It's not as economical, but it does get you away from gas if that's what you care about.