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FINANCIAL PROS AND CONS
Yes – helping the environment was on our minds first and foremost – now many of us are more concerned about saving money on gas. With this economy we’re concerned about saving money anyway we can. It pays to be knowledgeable about the car you’re driving – especially if you are considering a hybrid.
Hybrids don’t always equate to fuel economy. The larger and more powerful the car – take the Lexus GS450h – still uses a lot of fuel. More fuel means the more that spews out into the atmosphere. It’s better to simply get a strictly fuel dependent, but economical car – like the Toyota Echo (at an astounding 10K!) for example.
Generally speaking hybrids cost about 20% more than all-gas cars – for now anyways. You may be saving in how much you spend on gas – but what good is it if you are spending more for the actual car itself?
Also the weight of the battery reduces the efficiency of the car. And ironically these batteries are costly both financially and environmentally to dispose of.
Some financial experts believe that consumers are paying too much for a car that offers only slightly better gas mileage than traditional fuel dependent- but economical- cars out there. They feel that technology is rapidly improving and prices are coming down – better to wait.
Which leads to the next point: hybrids depreciate faster because of the rate of technology in improving them. Why pay for an older model when you can buy a newer one with better gas mileage at an affordable price? The up side is that the newer models that are out there now will not depreciate so rapidly as the older models.
There has also been mixed views on the government tax incentive. Some have thought that this is disappearing.
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