Vacillation

[madbaker]

We need to dump the 10-year-old Saturn wagon. It's got 145K and was never designed to go that far. I have regular (and increasingly expensive) maintenance performed, but entropy is still winning. Mostly little things - the indoor lights are broken, lots of plastic has broken, the driver seat belt holder is duct-taped together, etc. But it's also burning oil and sounding rougher and rougher. Basically, it could die at any time, or need so much repair that functionally it's the same thing.

We've been looking hard at the hybrid Toyota Highlander. It meets a number of our needs/wishes for SCA camping, and the mileage is lousy for a hybrid, but still far better than a regular Highlander or other light SUV/car crossover.

But.
Toyota hasn't produced many for this year. They're very popular, especially in the Bay Area. Each dealership is expecting about 2 per month, and they have hundreds of people interested.

So many of the dealers are putting them up on E-Bay. Which I don't fault, really - it allows people to get stupid and overbid if that's a "fair" trade for getting the vehicle now. I'm not so willing, which means I'll probably have to wait until next year. The tax break for hybrids goes down substantially next year (and probably away the year after). That's not a deal-killer, but it factors in.

See, I looked at a number of articles at Edmunds.com; while generally positive, they point out that at regular base prices and current gas prices, hybrids cost more in the first four to five years. If I wanted the hybrid I'd have to overpay, so it might push out the break-even point to six or seven years. Again, that's not a deal-killer; I expect to keep this car for another ten or so.

The other side of this is the possibility of going out, say this weekend, and buying a regular one. Right now. Getting rid of all the annoyances and worries embedded in the Saturn. Allowing us to do SCA events more comfortably. Having a CD player and air conditioning. (Which is a big deal with a black car, even in the temperate Bay Area.) Right now.

So it'd cost me more after five or more years. Is that a deal-breaker? When maybe the technology will be better by then. (The Prius is on the way to its third recall.) I've been planning to get a new car this year for some time. Am I willing to wait for exactly the right thing?

Shrug. I'm not leaning one way or the other... but last week I wasn't undecided.

What I'm reading: Andrew Bridgeford, The Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry (yes, I am a geek)

Comments

[farmount.livejournal.com]

OK, I've got to weigh in on this one since I do own a hybrid car -- the Honda Insight. Two seats, tiny car. I've gotten over 100K on it already (I drive a lot) and now the average MPG has declined from 53 to 48. Also remember, I push this little car up into the mountains DAILY. One person noted that on the highway the mileage "goes down" -- this may be true for the Toyota cars but NOT for the Honda Insight (nor for the Civic, I would presume). I have heard of Insights getting around 80MPG for long-distance highway driving, and one of these days I plan to take the I-5 down to LA to see how my little car does.

Re: overall costs. Yes, I do take it to the dealer when things go spoing. Realistically, that hasn't happened too much and I just bring it in for regular maintenance. The tires were really costly but now Costco is carrying the tires (at $60/tire, what a deal!) which fit my car.

Yes, I know I'm using something that is in beta test. It still makes me happy to see my weird-looking two seater in the parking lot full of SUVs.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

The beta-test aspect doesn't bug me as much as the cost/benefit analysis, and having to overpay to get one. (Go figure.)