Magazine: Hybrids don't save money

Magazine: Hybrids don't save money

By Matt Nauman
Mercury News

If you're thinking of buying a hybrid vehicle to save money, you won't

El Castor...

1. Tax Credit: At the moment (it will dry up later in the year) Prius
buyers get a tax credit (not deduction -- credit) of (I believe)
$3,150. If the car is bought at or below MSRP, that brings the price
into a more reasonable range.
2. Maintenance: The only maintenance for the first 150,000 miles is
oil changes at 5K intervals, occasional air filter changes, a short
list of things to check -- like fluid levels, and tire
rotation/replacement. Sparkplug replacement is governed by clean air
regulations, and in California and some other states, is at 150,000
miles -- which is the extent of a tuneup -- replacement of 4 plugs at
150K! In the rest of the country it's 120,000 miles. The transmission
is sealed and the fluid is never replaced! The engine uses a timing
chain, so no $600 - $1,000 timing belt major tuneup every 60K.
3. Brake Jobs: The Prius recaptures energy when it slows -- taking the
load off the brakes. Typically brake jobs are around 100,000 miles.
4. Smog Inspection: This is an expensive pain in California, but the
Prius is exempt. At least for now, no inspections, ever.
5. Battery Replacement: In California the hybrid system (including
batteries) is required to be guaranteed for 10 years or 150K miles. If
the batteries (there is a bank of them) fail in less than ten years,
that's good -- free batteries! But ... they may be good for the useful
life of the car. Toyota introduced the Prius in Japan in 1997. As of
2005 they had not had to replace a single battery because it wore out

Jean Smith...

It's all about the HOV lane.