Highlander Question

If I buy a new Highlander, should I shell out the extra 3 to 4 grand for the hybrid?

-- wingnut "of no ilk"

Reply to
Wingnut
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In My Opinion: If you want to feel good about appearing to conserve oil, go ahead. If you want to save money there are too many variables (what will gas prices be over the life of the vehicle, how and where do you drive, how long will you keep the vehicle) to make a prediction. There are other, probably more cost effective, technologies in the works but they will probably not reach the consumer market for several years. Research carefully the secondary costs of Hybrid vehicles, battery replacement and disposal, service and maintenance costs, potential resale value(could be good or bad). Not a simple question.

Jack G.

2004 Highlander
Reply to
Jack G

The hybrid precludes any off road adventures according to Toyota -- TAK

Reply to
tak

in california the only toyota hybrid worth buying is the prius, since it s allowed in the carpool lane

Reply to
mike

If gas costs $2.50 and you get 25mpg, then your fuel cost is $0.10 per mile. If the car gets 30mpg on the same gas, then your fuel cost is $0.0833 per mile. You save $0.0167 per mile. If the premium for hybrid cost $4,000, you would need to go 239,520 miles to break even. While the cost of gas might go up, the DIFFERENCE in the cost per mile of a standard car or truck and a hybrid will remain pertty much the same.

Divide the cost of gas by the expected fuel mileage to find the Cost Per Mile. Do this for the standard model and the hybrid model. Now, subtract the cost per mile of the hybrid from the cost per mile of the standard model to find the difference -- fuel savings. Now, divide the premium you have to pay to get hybrid by the difference in the cost per mile. The result is the number of miles you have to go in order to recover the premium.

This calculation ignores the added value of hybrid, like being able to drive in carpool lanes by yourself (if that is allowed where you travel).

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

In the UK it goes a lot further. Already the Prius incurs a road tax of GBP30/year, while vehicles that emit more CO2 can pay far more (over GBP100?). I don't have the numbers handy. Maybe some UKian can cough them up. (If the Prius emitted 4gm/Km less, it'd incur no road tax at all: less than 100gm/Km is free. Drat.)

In southwestern outer London, the Borough of Richmond is talking about heavy parking permit charges for smoke-makers and none for electric vehicles. Prius doesn't get off free but scores low.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, is staking his re-election on raising the daily Inner London congestion charge to (IIRC) GBP25. The Prius and similar, if registered (GBP10/year), gets in free.

These little costs add up. (And UK fuel is about twice the price of that retailed in the US.) Most USians have little notion how comfy their driving life (still) is -- sorry, gang. :-(

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

In the US, you also qualify for a tax credit with the Hybrid. For a 06 model it is $2600, which goes a long way toward making up the 4000 premium.

By the way, the dealer cut the premium for me to around $2500, but didn't discount the MSRP as much as he would have on a non-hybrid. I think the total result was that the hybrid was about $3000 to $3500 higher. The tax credit means that it cost me about $900 or less extra for the hybrid.

DDD

Reply to
3D

Okay, so divide $900 by 0.0167, and you find that you need to go nearly

54,000 miles to recover the cost in fuel savings alone.

The point isn't that fuel saving is the only reason to buy hybrid, the point is to determine what the costs and savings really are, then you can find the return on investment (ROI). I illustrated a way to do that on fuel savings alone, but I did not factor in all of the other kinds of savings first -- incentives that affect the purchase price, tax breaks, etc., etc.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Really? Who would pay $4,000 to ride in the HOV lane ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

I don't know. But here in Calif., hybrid vehicles can go in the carpool lane with a single occupant. I suspect that other than the draw to save time, this is not a decision maker when buying a car.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Some rich black dude driving a Pinto?

Reply to
Scott in Florida

anyone thats ever needed to go north on the 605 freeway between 3pm and 8pm.

Reply to
mike

What do you get when you divide 328 by 325, you clueless dumbshit?

You did the above calculation before, the the BMW group. I never did understand, though, what it had to do with the reletive torque between BMW's 2.8L and 2.5L engines, as you suggested at the time...

I mean, the BMW 328 came with a 2.8L engine, while the BMW 325 came with a 2.5L engine, but what does the ratio 328 by 325 have to do with anything?

Care to clarify, Jeffy?

Reply to
dizzy

Me thinks you are confused. I can not clarify anything you say.

The 323 gets a 2.5L motor, the 328 gets a 2.8L motor. Since I have a Bentley Publisher's manual that covers both of these engines, I can't imagine ever suggesting anything to the contrary. I also have compression ratio specs and the net HP if you want to know. By the way, both of these give more torque than the 325.

Answer this Einstein, how do they get a 323 and a 328 to produce different displacements using the same M52 motor?

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Why did you divide 328/325?

Why did you divide 328/325?

Different stroke.

Now answer my question.

Reply to
dizzy

Note: Jeffy dumbshit running-away again.

Why did you divide 328/325, Jeffy? Is it because you're a dumbshit?

Also, Jeffy, why, in that same thread where you divided 328/325, did you claim that we were "both wrong" when, in fact, I made no errors, while you made at least two egregious errors? This wasn't a matter of opinion, this was a matter of objective fact. Is it because you're a dishonest asshole?

Reply to
dizzy

Well???

Reply to
dizzy

You and Jeff should go out to dinner sometime and then afterwards go to Home Depot so Jeff can buy you a new axe to grind -- this one's really worn out.

Reply to
badgolferman

Hell, I'd pay for that dinner...LOL

Reply to
Scott in Florida

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