| Ever thought that 60 miles per gallon would cut your | | | | Price Difference $7,590.00 |
| monthly gas bill in half? Me too. The idea of the hybrid | | | | Months to Recoup Price Difference 409 |
| is almost too good to be true. And from a financial | | | | Years to Recoup Price Difference 34.1 |
| standpoint, it is too good to be true. The following | | | | The results are staggering! Look at how long it will take |
| information is a cost comparison between the Honda | | | | for the gas savings to pay you back for the |
| Civic Sedan and the Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan. | | | | difference in price of the car. 34 YEARS!!! Clearly not |
| Essentially the same car, except the hybrid uses half | | | | a wise investment. However, if you still are considering |
| electric, and half gas power, thus improving gas | | | | buying a hybrid car, the government does offer some |
| mileage. | | | | tax advantages. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 |
| According to Honda, the Civic gets 40 mpg on the | | | | allows a tax credit to be applied to an owner of a |
| highway, while the Hybrid Civic gets an amazing 51 | | | | new hybrid car, as long as it meets the programs |
| mpg. This is where the salesman gets you. "It will help | | | | requirements (at least until 2009). |
| protect the environment while saving you tons of | | | | The tax credit is derived from statistics run on the |
| money on your gas bill every month", a salesman | | | | particular make/model hybrid car you purchase, but |
| might say. This is very convincing, as it appeals to both | | | | usually will fall somewhere around $1,500-$3,000. This is |
| our emotional side in protecting the environment, as | | | | a deduction however, not a check. Depending on your |
| well as our wallet. But let's take a closer look at the | | | | tax bracket, the actual dollars of tax savings will vary. |
| two: | | | | The nice thing though, is the deduction can be applied |
| * Civic Sedan: Starting MSRP - $15,010 | | | | on top of the standard deduction! |
| * Civic Sedan: Highway MPG - 40 | | | | Having said that, if you are in the 20% tax bracket and |
| * Civic Hybrid Sedan: Starting MSRP -$22,600 | | | | got a credit of $2,000, your tax savings would be |
| * Civic Hybrid Sedan: Highway MPG - 51 | | | | $400. Not bad, but you will still need to drive that Honda |
| Now, I have compiled a spreadsheet that will aid you in | | | | Civic Hybrid Sedan for about 30 years to get the |
| your financial evaluation of the hybrid vs regular car | | | | payback. The bottom line is, if you want to buy a |
| purchase. As always, I have run an initial estimation | | | | hybrid car for the cost savings, forget it. If you have a |
| only, you will need to download the spreadsheet at the | | | | green thumb and want to help the environment, then it |
| bottom of the post, and update the numbers per your | | | | is still an option. Be warned though, the life cycle to |
| circumstances. Let's look at the findings: | | | | obtain and use the additional batteries for the hybrid |
| Buy a Hybrid Car Financial Comparison | | | | car puts extra pressure on the environment, not found |
| Make/Model Price MPG Hwy Miles Per Yr Price/Gal | | | | in regular gasoline cars. |
| Gas $/Month | | | | I hope that I did not shun everyone from buying a |
| Honda Civic Sedan $15,010.00 40 15,000 $2.75 $85.94 | | | | hybrid car, I still believe in the concept myself. However |
| Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan $22,600.00 51 15,000 $2.75 | | | | with the current technology, it just doesn't make sense |
| $67.40 | | | | financially. I look for the day of the fuel cell car, or other |
| Monthly Savings with Hybrid $18.54 | | | | concept car, that takes away the need for gasoline... |
| Yearly Savings with Hybrid $222.43 | | | | |