Trading in under cash for clunkers? Think hybrid
By Susan Wilson
Hybrid cars have gotten a bum rap. Fuel savings over the car’s lifetime didn’t outweigh the higher cost of the car. Well a new report by IntelliChoice has factored in not just fuel savings but maintenance and repair. When all three, fuel, maintenance and repair are factored in, hybrids come out ahead.
In the interest of full disclosure, I drive a 2005 Prius and love it. Now let’s look at the figures from IntelliChoice’s 2009 Hybrid & Clean Diesel Survey. Specifically, let’s look at American hybrids. For the most part, hybrids hold their value better, use less fuel, have lower maintenance and repair costs and have a lower cost over five years of ownership.
The survey factored in initial costs for the purchase of the hybrid version of vehicles versus the gas only versions. It then factors in any rebates offered for the particular hybrid vehicle, fuel savings, and maintenance and repair costs to arrive at the survey’s five year cost of ownership of the hybrid vehicles versus their non hybrid counterparts.
Let’s begin with a given. All hybrid cars save on fuel costs. It varies by hybrid but the lowest is the Saturn Aura Green Line with only a $878 savings and the highest is the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid 4-WD (four wheel drive) with $8,079. But fuel costs are only part of the overall ownership package.
Several GM, Chrysler and Ford products do very well in comparison with their non hybrid versions. That is great news especially for truck buyers. The Chevy Silverado 1500 Hybrid 2-WD (two wheel drive) crew cab, is one of the biggest winners. The cost of ownership over five years is $4,513 less than the fuel only version. The hybrid four wheel drive version of the vehicle saves owners $3,821 over five years.
The GMC Sierra 1500 Hybrid 2-WD crew cab saves owners even more, $5,682 over five years while the four wheel drive hybrid version saves $1,505. Both hybrid trucks retain their value between seven and eight percent better then their gas only counterparts while breaking even on maintenance.
The GMC Yukon Hybrid 2-WD and 4-WD are both disappointing. Both SUVs only retain a little over one percent higher value than the non hybrid versions, cost $36 more to maintain and and cost the same to repair. The cost over five years is even worse. It costs $5,437 more for the hybrid two wheel drive and $6,248 more for the hybrid four wheel drive to own over five years. Of course the initial cost for the hybrid GMC Yukons is over $8,200.
Looking at the Chevy Tahoe hybrids, the two wheel drive and four wheel drive hybrid SUVs get significantly higher fuel savings than the non-hybrids with $3229 for the two wheel drive and $3,931 for the four wheel drive. Maintenance costs are reduced by $267 for the two wheel drive and $339 for the four wheel drive. They retain higher value and break even with their gas only versions on repairs.
Unlike its GMC cousin the hybrid Yukon, the Chevy Tahoe hybrid actually costs less to own over five years. The initial increase in cost for these hybrid Tahoes is over $2,405 more for the two wheel drive and $2,360 more for the four wheel drive than the non hybrid versions. The two wheel drive hybrid Tahoe costs $1,541 less and the four wheel drive hybrid costs $3,337 less to own than their gas only counterparts.
Chevy loses with its hybrid Malibu. The hybrid car loses .99 percent of its value, is the same to maintain and repair as its non hybrid version and costs $250 more to own over five years. The $1,357 saved in gas is nice but doesn’t justify the price increase of $3,050 for the hybrid version.
Former GM car company Saturn has two hybrids, the Saturn Aura Green Line and the Saturn Vue. The Saturn Aura Green Line retains 5.8 percent of its value, and costs $4 less to maintain. Repairs for the hybrid are the same as for the non hybrid. The five year cost of ownership is $2,185 less than for its gas only counterpart.
The Saturn Vue hybrid comes in 2.4L and 3.6L versions. Both engine versions retain higher value, 5.8 percent more for the 2.4L and 4.69 more for the 3.6L. The 2.4L Saturn Vue hybrid costs $60 more to maintain while the 3.6L version costs $24 less to maintain than their gas only counterparts. The repair costs are the same for both hybrid and non hybrid versions. The overall cost of ownership over five years for both vehicles is $1,232 less than for their non hybrid counterparts.
Ford has four different versions of its hybrid Escape and two different hybrid versions of the Mercury Mariner. The four Escape versions are: Ford Escape Hybrid AWD (all wheel drive), Ford Escape Hybrid FWD (front wheel drive), Ford Escape Hybrid Limited AWD, and Ford Escape Hybrid Limited FWD. The hybrid AWD versions of the Escape don’t do nearly as well as the hybrid FWD versions. All four versions retain over five percent more value than the non hybrids, but all the hybrids cost $366 more to maintain. While repair costs are the same for both hybrid and non hybrid escapes.
The major difference between the four hybrid versions of the Ford Escape is in their five year cost of ownership. The Ford Escape Hybrid FWD costs $2,123 less to own than the non hybrid. The Ford Escape Hybrid AWD cost $329 less to own. Both of the limited editions have higher costs of ownership than the regular hybrid versions. The Ford Escape Hybrid Limited FWD only saves $333 over five years while the Hybrid Escape Limited 4WD actually costs $1,385 more to own than the non hybrid version.
Both the Mercury Mariner Hybrid editions, the AWD and FWD versions will save money overall although both cost $336 more to maintain than non hybrid Mariners and cost the same in repairs. They both keep over five percent more of their value than the gas only versions. The front wheel drive hybrid Mariner costs $1,627 less to own over five years while the all wheel drive cost only $93 less.
Both of the Chrysler hybrids did not fair well. The hybrid Dodge Durango has over 3 percent higher value retention and has lower maintenance costs by $124 but breaks even on repairs. Overall though it costs $317 more to own over five years. The Chrysler Aspen is even worse. The cost of ownership over five years is $4,455 higher than the non hybrid Aspen. It loses almost one percent of its value and breaks even on its maintenance costs. It does cost $77 less for repairs but that is not enough to change the $4,455 higher cost of ownership.
In the same losing category is Cadillac’s Escalade hybrid. It has a higher cost of $2,893 for the 2-WD and $2,265 for the 4-WD over five years than the non hybrid. It also is one of the few hybrids to lose value (both hybrid versions lose over five percent) and have higher maintenance costs, of $355 for each hybrid.
If you are in the market for a truck, best value is the GM Sierra 1500 Hybrid 2-WD crew cab. This truck will save you $5,682 over five years with the Chevy Silverado 1500 Hybrid 2-WD crew cab coming in second at $4,513. The best four wheel drive truck is the Chevy Silverado 1500 Hybrid 4-WD crew cab that saves $3,821 over five years.
The best large SUV is the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid 4-WD. This is the only American four wheel drive vehicle that excels in all areas and has a five year cost savings of $3,337. The Ford Escape Hybrid FWD is the best two wheel vehicle with a five year cost savings of $2,123. The only American hybrid sedan that will save you money is the Saturn Aura Green Line. This hybrid sports sedan will save you $2,185 over five years, and $878 in gas.
Purchasing the right American hybrid will save you money over the five years that you own it even with a higher upfront cost. The gas savings are significant and will only improve the higher the price of gasoline rises. With the current cash for clunkers rebate, buying a hybrid only makes sense.
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August 4th, 2009
“Let’s begin with a given. All hybrid cars save on fuel costs.”
Your analysis though is based on this incorrect base assumption. While all hybrid cars CAN save you money on fuel costs, that’s ONLY true if you drive them in an environment where the gasoline portion of the engine isn’t being used. Millions of Americans buy a hybrid and don’t drive it in the type of traffic where a hybrid engine can operate in it’s most fuel efficient mode. For these folks, they’ve spent a LOT of extra money on the hybrid engine that will NEVER be recouped in either fuel savings or maintenance costs or anything.