Posted on 05/23/2008 12:48:59 PM PDT by KeyLargo
The article should have given two examples, not just the expensive hybrid Escape....maybe a good used car also.
Some people are considering a more reasonable purchase, maybe a used Corolla or used Ford Focus. Can get these cars for around $8,000 or so, depending on model and year.
Still may not be as economical as keeping the old SUV that’s already paid for, but having to pay $90 to fill up at the gas station is almost robbery.
Check out post 22.
Use guzzlers for short trips (such as weekly shopping), and make fewer of those. Fuel economy is worse on short trips. Use a small, fuel efficient, basic car for commuting.
“there would be more fuel to go around, and it would be at a lower price for everyone.”
Prove it!!!!!!
Here’s another way to look at the math.
If you have paid for your old SUV, you are likely ready to trade it in for something else anyway. The average American does not keep their vehicle for more than 4 or five years.
Most people that buy SUVs would probably buy a 6 cylinder Escape rather than the 4. A similarly equiped Escape hybrid is priced within a few hundred dollars of a V6 Escape. The acceleration is very similar between the two vehicles the only thing you really give up is towing capacity.
Now you are comparing two vehicles that cost about the same with one getting about 25% better miliage. In our case, my wife was trading in a 4 year old Trailblazer that got 14 mpg that we bought used two years before. It had a 6 year loan, financing was about 3%, we had 4 years left to pay on it. We financed the new vehicle for 4 years. Figuring savings with gas priced at $2.50 we figured that were getting a new vehicle that would be paid off at the same time our old one would have been at no additional expense. With gas at $4.00 we are actually spending less money on the new car than we would have been keeping the old car.
The Escape is 4wd, handles the mud, ice and snow with aplumb. It is big enough to protect my family and gets an honest 32 mpg bumping round our semimaintained gravel roads as well as in town and cruising down the highway.
I never thought I would buy a hybrid but the Ford is priced very well for what it does and does a terrific job with the effiency.
Your situation sounded like it worked out best for you.
My comment was more toward the content of the article. The author should have given two examples, a low price car along with the high price Escape.
He claims you don’t save money with purchasing the Escape. My point was give another example with a less-expensive car and see if the savings are there.
Some families cannot even afford the Escape and have to look for something cheaper. Other families may have two cars, both gas-guzzlers, and are considering getting rid of one and buying a good used car with better mileage (used Focus, used Corolla, etc.).
So, the article would have been better to include a second example of a less-expensive car-—and then compare to see if you end up better off with that purchase or just keeping the old SUV.
Guess I could figure it out myself, but it’s nice to have someone else do the work for you in an article. :)
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