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Hybrid Payback: How Long For Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata? Page 2

 
3,812 views Mar 29, 2012
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2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid

It's worth noting though that most estimates predict that the hybrid versions of each vehicle depreciate heavier than the non-hybrids--a sign of consumers lacking confidence in battery life, perhaps?

As ever, we'd stress that these are only guideline figures--it's impossible to take into account all ownership costs, individual driving styles, and whether you have a special handshake that gets you money off the MSRP at your local dealer.

Still, the writing is on the wall: if you pick the right hybrid, it's not only the greener choice, but could save you a lot of money over five years. And if gas prices keep rising the way they have been, then expect that hybrid to be even more valuable over the next few years...


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Comments (12)

  1. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 3/29/2012 10:43am PDT

    @Tony, a great idea and mostly well done, but you showed the Sonata SE at $36,445 and the hybrid as $35,850, yet then you stated that the hybrid was more expensive. Which is correct?

    Also, the gap is $595, right? Savings for fuel over five eyars were $2,750, or $550 annually, right? So after five years, it'd take roughly one more year to make up the difference (IF the hybrid is more expensive, of course...), yet you claimed that "you'd need to keep it for many more years to account for the difference in price."

    Well, not many more years, about one more year, right? Still a good article, I don't mean to nitpick... I just did the same calculation for a 2012 Volt... From my current car, not a Camry or Sonata hybrid, specifically...
     
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  2. fb_61206378 avatar Antony Ingram Posted: 3/29/2012 12:54pm PDT

    Thanks for your comments, it appears I've made a few errors in my wording! I'll double-check the figures and correct as necessary.
     
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  3. johnnymars avatar johnny mars Posted: 3/29/2012 11:34am PDT

    I would like you to include more hybrid sedans in your comparison. The Fusion and Chevy Malibu E-Assist come to mind. Also, why not factor in residual value?
     
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  4. fb_61206378 avatar Antony Ingram Posted: 3/29/2012 12:59pm PDT

    Thanks for reading. I did mention residual value on the second page, but the research I did while writing showed that the expected depreciation varied wildly (often by $1,000 or more) so thought it better to summarize that the hybrids depreciated a little more, without putting potentially misleading figures to it. That, and if gas prices do rise significantly over the next five years, then the balance could be reversed!

    Thanks for mentioning the Malibu and Fusion too. Rather than squeeze them into this article, I'll try and do a similar comparison at a later date with those cars.
     
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  5. gmittar avatar Mittar Khalsa Posted: 3/29/2012 2:50pm PDT

    Your arithmetic is off for the Camry, if the non hybrid costs 35,610 and the hybrid costs 32,110, then the savings is $3,500, not $860. Unless you're backing out the additional cost of the hybrid in your 5 year cost, which it doesn't appear you do with the Hyundai.
     
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  6. fb_61206378 avatar Antony Ingram Posted: 3/30/2012 5:50am PDT

    Hi Mittar, thanks for the comment. You've hit the nail on the head - I actually removed that figure for the Hyundai as I'd confused matters by including it - I'll do the same for the Camry.

    I knew there was a reason I became a writer and not an accountant...
     
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  7. gmittar avatar Mittar Khalsa Posted: 3/30/2012 11:44am PDT

    Guess what I do for a living? ;)
     
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  8. fb_100001727000178 avatar Forest Randonneur Posted: 3/29/2012 5:38pm PDT

    I owned both a normal Camry and a Camry Hybrid. This article says maintenance costs are the same for both, but my experience says otherwise. The Camry Hybrid costs LESS to maintain than the regular Camry.

    The regular Camry needs brake jobs every 20,000 miles. The Camry Hybrid is still on its original brake pads at 94,000 miles on the odometer-- It uses regenerative braking.

    The regular Camry needs a transmission fluid change every 30,000 miles. The Camry Hybrid needed no transmission fluid change since it has a single planetary gearset as its transmission, with no gear-shifting wear-and-tear.

    The regular Camry had a timing belt change at 75,000 miles. The Camry Hybrid had no timing belt.

    Camry Hybrid costs less to maintain.
     
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  9. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 3/29/2012 6:09pm PDT

    New brakes at 20,000 miles! I have 110,000 miles on my Corolla on the original brakes with city driving and I just passed inspection. Weird.
     
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  10. fb_100001727000178 avatar Forest Randonneur Posted: 3/29/2012 8:35pm PDT

    It was an automatic-transmission Camry. You can't use engine-braking in an automatic Camry like you can on a manual-transmission car. Automatic-transmission cars typically need brake jobs every 20-30K miles or so.
     
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  11. LM12 avatar LUIS FALCON Posted: 3/30/2012 10:05am PDT

    Great idea to do this type of comparison. I think your final number for the Toyota Hybrid is wrong. 25,900 base price + 7,250 5 year gas + 1,600 maintenance adds up to 34,750 not 32,110. Which, if correct, makes the difference in cost between the two hybrids not as large.
     
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  12. fb_1637032732 avatar Georgia NeSmith Posted: 4/1/2012 11:29pm PDT

    What I'd like to know is whether it would be worthwhile to buy a "green car" used, now that they've been around a while. I never buy new, mostly because I can't afford it but also because I drive only about 5-7,000 miles a year. So far the most I've paid for a car is $4,200 (a '98 Honda Civic). I'd like to go green, especially with the price of gas these days, but is there a $5,000 used hybrid out there, and would it last another 5-10 years the way older model traditional Hondas and Toyotas do? My guess is no.
     
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