Bay Shore couple's move to hybrids pays off

Yes it is easier for them to drive a Prius. The last time these two old, rich, a$$holes had to deal with two or three kids was in the 19th Century.

Those of us who have two or three kids under five and are on a modest/decent budget are either driving a minivan, a midsize SUV or a CUV; and all don't get great gas mileage. Why, because most of us don't have a nanny or a babysitter to leave the kids with to go grocery shopping and run errands and room is important at that point. Don't count on family being around because they won't help.

The hybrid SUV's are mostly pushing 35-40K and are out of the range of someone on a budget. Therefore, we're pretty much stuck paying $3.85 a gallon and get only 23-25 on the highway. What makes my situation worse is I need the car to drive to work and can't afford the insurance for a second vehicle.

leerburg wrote:

I have two SUV's and I'll keep filling them up and not worrying about the price.
I don't see the need to buy a new car every 4 years like another poster, so I'll use that extra cash to keep on trucking.
Fact is, gas is not really that expensive. The guy that bought the little car did it because he wants to keep paying for the big screen TV's. He is making a trade-off. Me too. Mine is to keep driving the Expedition, and I'll forgo the flat screen TV and cable bill.
If you are worried about paying for the gas, ask yourself how much weight you should lose and stop eating so much. You can use the extra money to pay the gas bill, and your reduced weight will result in more effecient energy usage.

Unfortunatley these posters have been convinced that SUV's are the only cause. They forget teh energy that has to be consumed to make one of these TV's, computers, plastic cups, forks, knives, garbage/trash bags. They forget the fuel consumed cutting the grass, edgers, blowers, mowres, mulchers, chippers, chainsaws. But hell lets sell off all SUV's so the price would come down. The dollor would still be weak even if all the SUV's stopped running.

That for the difference they paid for the hybrid, those monies would NOT have been equaled by their gas purchases. Nothing wrong with getting a hybrid, I wish they were more affordable...but they cost 5-8K more than a non-hybrid, so don't make it as if the difference between the gas and the car is equal - it's not even close.

No, I don't own a flat screen TV, I don't live on LI (I live in Queens to be exact), I don't have a house, and two kids is enough. Don't also be fooled by the mid-size family sedans as there is little to no room after two car seats in the back and one stroller in the trunk.

Yes you cave on gas but I assume the SUV was paid off if it had 100,000 miles on it, now with a new car if the payments are any more than $150 a month you are losing money. Plus in 5 years when your battery goes either cough up $6k for a new one or get anotehr new car. Suddlenly that old truck doesn't look so bad. Plus do you have any idea the environmental impack of the manufacture of all the plastcis that go into a hybrid, not to mention the battery.

I think if you really are spending 300-400 a month on gas for your car, consider moving closer to your job.

GJP obviously you havent seen corollas or civics.

HEck have you even looked at a new Matrix? The new Matrix has tons of room, same engine as a corolla and awd.

No reason to have an suv over one.

NOw people who use atruck for towing things and work are different., BUt Dont tell me that you have an suv because of the room. If I fold my back seats down I have tons of room to store things also.

Also A minivan isnt that bad but why get an suv when you can get a minivan. Considering roll overs that can happen in an suv (since most suv drivers drive them like cars).

I recently purchased a 2008 Prius. It took me a year to convenience my husband that this car would be beneficial to me but also to our checkbook. My previous car was a 2003 Ford Expedition. It is easy for you all to say move closer to the office or to buy a luxury car which is better on gas than a SUV but you can not beat the ability to access the HOV lane with one passenger and that you truly do only need to visit the gas station once a week for $26.00 a hit at today’s fuel costs. My 2003 Expedition with no note cost me $90 monthly to insure and $180.00 a week to fill up at the pump. My Prius insurance is $100 a month and my note is $550 monthly for a loaded 2008 Prius with no money down. In my situation the Prius clearly pays for itself. My commute was reduced by 30 - 40 minutes a day one way only commuting from 34 East to 63. My anxiety level once 5 o'clock comes around is way down. I no longer dread the Long Island Expressway. This you can not put a price tag on.

If these hybrids use so little fuel and leave less of a carbon footprint, they should have to stay in the regular lanes and let the regular cars go in the 4th lane to get them off the road quicker. That would save the environment, don't ya think?

bored where do you get 6k for a new battery?

For my safety and the safety of my family, I'll take a solid, well-built, non-rollover SUV any time. My family's safety is worth more than $300/month. Let them talk about their savings when their Prius ends up under an 18-wheeler on Sunrise Highway.

everyone likes to blame the SUV for thegas prices. so everyone says people are crazy to drive SUV they should sell it etc... are they tryng to say that SUV uses that much more gas than a pick up. so we should do away with all SUV and all PU and all LIMOS, andbuses and big work trucks etc...?
hmm, if me and 5 friends want to go say to the zoo or on trip, my SUV would use more gas than the 2 cars we'd need to drive 6 of us???
can i take a Prius on the beach?

it is what it is.

Ed Burke wrote:

<quoted text>
If she does, it must be Brain Food, cause she's saving a ton of money you dopes are so envious of that you have to insult people.

You seem to do your fair share of insulting.

I'll be blasting out to Wading River this weekend. Ed, what's the driving report for Saturday morning on the LIE. I like to drive my SUV at 75 plus, should I run the HOV lane, or will I get held up by hybrids crawling along at 55?

GJP wrote:

Yes it is easier for them to drive a Prius. The last time these two old, rich, a$$holes had to deal with two or three kids was in the 19th Century.
Those of us who have two or three kids under five and are on a modest/decent budget are either driving a minivan, a midsize SUV or a CUV; and all don't get great gas mileage. Why, because most of us don't have a nanny or a babysitter to leave the kids with to go grocery shopping and run errands and room is important at that point. Don't count on family being around because they won't help.
The hybrid SUV's are mostly pushing 35-40K and are out of the range of someone on a budget. Therefore, we're pretty much stuck paying $3.85 a gallon and get only 23-25 on the highway. What makes my situation worse is I need the car to drive to work and can't afford the insurance for a second vehicle.

Actually I paid 31k with 0% interest last memorial day (and with a trade in of a 2004 Jeep grand Cherokee that took off another 11k) for a highlander hybrid that is currently averaging 26mpg combined. And I don't understand everyone's misguided hatred for hybrids, what is wrong with people who want to save money on gas and lessen the country's reliance on oil, that also funds terrorists that hate us. If you remember I believe all 19 of the September 11th hijackers were from Saudi Arabia our biggest supplier of oil.

These were all pretty funny posts and I did enjoy reading them. But, gosh, wouldn't it just be great to have bus transportation that would run along the LIE with some stops at popular exits along the way? And then one can take a local bus to work. Why can't we have better public transportation in Suffolk County?

Oh and I almost forgot a $650 tax credit too.

bored wrote:

Yes you cave on gas but I assume the SUV was paid off if it had 100,000 miles on it, now with a new car if the payments are any more than $150 a month you are losing money. Plus in 5 years when your battery goes either cough up $6k for a new one or get anotehr new car. Suddlenly that old truck doesn't look so bad. Plus do you have any idea the environmental impack of the manufacture of all the plastcis that go into a hybrid, not to mention the battery.

From website How Stuff Works

And Toyota claims that not one has required a battery replacement due to malfunction or "wearing out." The only replacement batteries sold--at the retail price of $3000--have been for cars that were involved in accidents. Toyota further claims that the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery packs used in all Prius models are expected to last the life of the car with very little to no degradation in power capability.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/hy...

Great reporting....
This is a gas/electric HYBRID. That means it has batteries that need to be charged. What happened to their LIPA bill? Where do you think electricity comes from? And Long Island's electricity is among the highest priced in the nation. They traded a bill from Exxon for a bill from LIPA. Didn't the Newsday reporter think to ask that? And what about the replacement of the batteries. That has to happen in 5 - 10 years, and I understand that costs thousands of dollars.
What you have presented is a false, one-sided view. Look at the whold picture, or don't bother doing the story at all!

If you plan on owning a hybrid for a long time - price in the cost of replacing the batteries.$$$$$$$

Also what toxic waste dump is going to take all these hybrid car batteries and who is going to pay for the disposal costs?

I don't know what all you people who are driving these monster vehicles sucking all the oil and gas up when these fuels run out and what about thinking of the kids what are they supposed to do.