My wife wants a new Ford Escape Hybrid or something simular. She is wanting to be more "green." I'm in favor of her keeping her current vehicle simply because there is nothing wrong with it, and it is almost paid for.

She has a 2001 Yukon XL that gets right at 20 MPG on the Highway and 15 in town. She drives about 10,000 miles per year, and lives within 5 miles from work.

We currently owe about $3,000 on the vehicle she has now, and it will be paid off in a year.

The new Escape Hybrid will run close to $30,000.00 with what she wants on it. Her current vehicle is worth about $9500-$10,000 with a $3000 payoff. I would be selling outright vs trade in.

So let's say we roll over $6000 equity into the new vehicle and leave the balance to be financed at $22,000-$24,000.

Her payments are $278/month now. With it being financed at $24,000 the estimated payment is $521/month.

What would you guys recommend? I don't see how the extra fuel savings is benefiting us a bit. Don't get me wrong. I have no problems living greener. But I don't see how going another $24,000 in dept and $300 more per month will pay off over the next 6 years.

What would you guys do?

thought those hybrids cost about $10K more than the equivalent gas engine with same body options? I dont see a benefit financially, only for the enviroment. Which isnt a bad thing, we could all help out a little to clean the enviroment.. I quit eating so many bean burritos each week...

Hybrids and electric vehicles are no more "green" than the vehicle she has now, if you account for the toxicity of building and disposal of the neccessary batteries they require.
Having a family, safety in an auto accident should be her greatest concern, and her current vehicle beats any Hybrid hands down.

Right now the Hybrid vehicles do not make sense based on cost of the hybrid and savings on gas per year or over the life of the unit. Buy a hybrid because that is what you want. My wife has a Honda Civic and she loves it and it gets 38 mpg. My 4 cyl Honda Accord gets 28 and then i have a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 that gets about 14mpg. The only thing the truck does is to pull the boat or go to Home Depot. I would keep the truck and have her buy a smaller car for work.

Also factor in the insurance difference to see if there is more of a savings there.

If she is not driving in stop and go traffic and going less then 30 mph. It's not worth it.The Ford Focus is a nice choice.

Almost all the lakes have Hybrids, Take her fishing and let her catch one that she likes

Sorry, I could not resist.

Keep the current vehicle, and when when it is paid off, continue make payments only increase them to 300 for 6 months and then to 350 for the next 6 months, do that for two years putting it into a savings account. At the end of two years, sale the vehicle and take the cash out of savings and go car shopping.

Get her Yukon detailed and tell her to fall back in LOVE with it!!!!

Happy Birthday Monte

Thank You.

Yeah, I've tried that. I just wished she didn't have this bug up her arse so bad. Good thing is, all the 2008 Escape Hybrids are gone (at least what I've seen). Bad thing is, when you do find one on a lot, it is from a deal that fell through and the dealer is asking 2-3K over MSRP because someone doesn't have to wait 6 months or longer for one.

All I see is being put into the "Red" by spending $24000 + interest for trying to be "Green!"

Michael,

My wife has a 2006 VW diesel Beetle that cost $17k and it gets 48 MPG. What I am saying is, my wife wanted a 2006 VW diesel Beetle and everyone is HAPPY.

Dwight

if mamma aint happy.. you aint going fishin HEHE!!

fly to califonia, a couple days fishing- buy a hybrid and drive it home

Michael, buy her another Ford diesel. Set up a processor in the back of your shop and make your own fuel.

Seriously, my neighbor has one of those Ford hybrids. It gets near 30 mpg but they are pricey and like you said are hard to find.

If she wants green, the Toyota Prius is probably highest mileage vehicle out there but nothing out there is cheap.
My wife's Jetta diesel gets over 50 hwy but its not as clean burning as a hybrid.


Also I was kidding on the biodiesel processor....kinda.

My wife has the 08 Escape V6 and it gets between 22-24 most of the time with more highway than city driving. If they aren't getting the mpg over 30 then I would look at something else.

She loves the vehicle and that is good cuz it is hers and I don't like it. Once you drive a SuperDuty all week and jump in that little box it is hard to like it. She got it last March or April and has 10K miles on it with not a single issue.

Good luck but I would just buy her a regular Escape before I would the Hybird...price a battery pack for one, they definitely aren't worth it monetarily.

Mike
You will miss the room of the Yukon. My wife has a 03 Durango that gets 13-14 MPG. We talked about getting a Honda or Toyota to help on gas and the enviroment. Bottom line, we need the room of the Durango when we have all the kids together. And its not cost effective to buy new right now. Plus someone else will be driving your Yukon so you really will not be helping the environment as much as you think. 90% of every giant gas sucking S.U.V. stays on the road after being traded in on a Hybrid. Now if your Yukon gets wrecked and totaled (No one gets hurt of course)then it would be environmental friendly to replace your Yukon with a Hybrid. I have been in your shoes. Not an easy decision.

so.... whens the trip to Cali??? hehehe

If i was going to get a hybrid I would lease it. The technology improoves so quickly that anything you buy today you will be tanked in after a few years. At least with a leased hybrid you are guarenteed a residual value and have very little risk of getting the shaft.

Did you show her the montly cost of keeping the Yukon vs buying a hybrid? Bet she'll change her mind when she sees how much it'll cost to be 10% more fuel-efficient.

In my opinion you can't get green enough for me to pay over sticker price for any vehicle. That's just a flat out ripoff.

I decided to quit going to the pump so often and sold my Oldsmobile Aurora. I bought a 1996 Saturn Wagon with 106,000 miles on it.

Two weeks ago, I had to replace my washing machine and being the cheap person that I am, I took it to pick up the washer. Now I have a 1986 Chevy Silverado that I use to pull our boats with and pick up large items, but I did some measuring.

I was laughed at by everyone, but that washing machine slid right in the back of that station wagon and I saved $17.00 in gas (my truck's gas mileage stinks).

So my suggestion would be to find a 1996-1999 Saturn Wagon...You can pick them up for about $2000. Have her drive it for a bit....she'll get anywhere from 34 to 40 mpg and save the wear and tear on the Tahoe...

Then look at the Saturn Vue hybrid, if she must have one...

Laugh if you will, but my stuff is paid for...Now I'm looking for a 1994-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham or Buick Roadmaster to tow my boats...they get really good gas mileage for a V-8.

Michael,

We looked at the Hybrid Escape about a year ago. The thing that was a deal killer for me is that the AC only runs when the engine is running. If you're sitting at a light or basically anytime you are running on just battery power, the AC does not run. That just won't work in Texas. Maybe thaey've changed that, I dunno.

I am looking hard myself at a Saturn as a 2nd vehicle for me and gonna leave the truck for the boat and trips to Lowes. Now I don't know if I'll go as far as to buy a Saturn Wagon but do the Saturn sc1's and SC2's get that good of mileage as well? By the way, my wife turned in to a tree hugger as well. Must be some kind of bug going around. We recycle everything now, and we take our own bags to HEB, Walmart or where ever. We were extremely close to getting a Prius, but my wife didn't like how it drove.

The SC1's will get about 35 - 38 MPG in mixed driving , the SC2 will get slightly less. If you get a manual, they should get a couple miles more.

Plus the Saturn has a timing chain, instead of a timing belt, so you won't have to have them changed.

I had a 1992 Saturn SL2 my sister purchased new. It was a 5 speed and it had 353,000 miles on it when I sold it in 2005....Great car. We never replaced the clutch or had any major problems...I got 34 mpg on avg doing 80 with the a/c on.

Michael, That is a tuff choice.. To get the best of two out of three worlds... Buy a Gm Yukon Hybrid.... Size and saftey, Green hybrid.... Bad..purchase price.. I have to do my part as I build these everyday and that what pays my bills and allows me to go fishing! Good luck on your decission.