Bay Shore couple's move to hybrids pays off

Buy American wrote:

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I am quite certain my GMC Acadia was made in the US. Even if it were made elsewhere it would be in Ontario Canada but the profits would come back to the US and not go to Japan.
Every American car I have owned has gotten well over 100K miles. Two even went 215K+. The notion that we don't build good cars here is just false. I might not remember it due to my age but my Uncle dying on Okinawa solidified in my family that we would never buy any Japanese stuff if it could be avoided.

i have never owned a foreighn car myself. not that i wouldnt but just never have. always GM.
i own 4 cars @ present. all american. Dodge, GMC, Ford, Cadillac.
enjoy them all. they use gas, the price of gas sucks but hey, i enjoy myself and work hard so why not drive what i want to drive.

Molly wrote:

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How do you know he has a car payment. Not everyone finances a car, some people actually know how to save. Why would his insurance go up? I'm assuming you mean the Comprehensive and Fire & Theft part. I have never had those pieces of a car insurance policy because I always pay cash for my cars. In the 40+ years I have been driving I have saved thousands and thousands of dollars.

Insurance, like other things, is a gamble. The seller is gambling that you will not need it (thereby getting something for nothing.)

The purchaser is hedging their bets, thinking they might need it.

When you really add up all the insurance that you pay, keep in mind, what your employer pays out in insurance is actually money that he does not have to pay you. You are probably paying $12,000 -$18,000 a year in health/dental insurance,$1,000 -$2,000 in homeowners, and several thousand more in car insurance. Perhaps you also pay a few in life insurance.

In total, probably $15,000 -$25,000 a year for the average Nassau county family. Yes, if you self insured yourself, and put that $25,000 in the bank each year, you would probably have a fairly nice account. Unless your house caught fire. Unless your car was stolen/vandalize. Unless you or a family member was diagnosed with a bad disease.

Yes, in 25 years of driving, and about 15 years of home ownership, the only claim I ever made was a broken car window. But not everyone is so lucky. My friend’s kid has had 13 surgeries so far, at a cost of probably over a half million dollars.

You win some, you lose some.

Real Facts wrote:

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Insurance, like other things, is a gamble. The seller is gambling that you will not need it (thereby getting something for nothing.)
The purchaser is hedging their bets, thinking they might need it.
When you really add up all the insurance that you pay, keep in mind, what your employer pays out in insurance is actually money that he does not have to pay you. You are probably paying $12,000 -$18,000 a year in health/dental insurance,$1,000 -$2,000 in homeowners, and several thousand more in car insurance. Perhaps you also pay a few in life insurance.
In total, probably $15,000 -$25,000 a year for the average Nassau county family. Yes, if you self insured yourself, and put that $25,000 in the bank each year, you would probably have a fairly nice account. Unless your house caught fire. Unless your car was stolen/vandalize. Unless you or a family member was diagnosed with a bad disease.
Yes, in 25 years of driving, and about 15 years of home ownership, the only claim I ever made was a broken car window. But not everyone is so lucky. My friend’s kid has had 13 surgeries so far, at a cost of probably over a half million dollars.
You win some, you lose some.

very well put. people dont realize of factor in the cost AND VALUE of insurance. sure get a job off the books and make an extra $5k yr over your friend with the white collar job. but with the white collar job comes insurance, pension, 401K, disability coverage,etc...
sure you can save all that $ rather than pay insurance but like ya said,car stolen is a car lost.
it's an issue right now as less than 20% of population plan for their futures. less than 10% save $. not because they can't afford to, but more cuz they just dont.
if bills pile up and cant pay em, then they walk away, no assets, no $, no collection. bankruptcy and foreclosure is up what 37%...
unreal. me and wife...we buy 1 thing of major purchase and pay it off prior to buying more. sure, we dont have everything all at once but hey, we aren't drowing in debt either. i'm insured, i'm worth more dead (haha), and i should be fairly ok when i retire so long as my 401K doesnt go down the drain in the stock market. but i have another 27 yrs till retirement. my house will be paid off long before then and hopefully i wont be remortgaged for child's college.

HYBRID CARS NO BIG DEAL wrote:

OK, this is a vicious circle...the HYBRID was made about 10yrs ago, but had to wait until the gas went up to sell. I raise gas, you make $$$$, I make $$$$$. Meanwhile look at who's involved in the car business.
SO RUN OUT & BUY A HYBRID SO YOU CAN SAVE 10.00 in gas per tank which is 2 1/2 gals. HAHAHA!!!!!!! Meanwhile, you have a car payment & your ins. goes way up because it's a brand new car!!!! HAHAHAHA SO the bottom line is.......you saved nothing!!!!!!!
Had this conversation with my retired school teacher sis & she couldn't understand it for nothing!!!!!

You hit the nail on the head man. People trading in thier paid off cars and getting a new 5 or 6 year loan full coverage insurance to save 20 dollars a week in gas..LOL... What a bunch of morons. ANd the sad part is the Prius is made in Japan, you are handing your hard earned money right over to the evil dinks..

man wrote:

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i have never owned a foreighn car myself. not that i wouldnt but just never have. always GM.
i own 4 cars @ present. all american. Dodge, GMC, Ford, Cadillac.
enjoy them all. they use gas, the price of gas sucks but hey, i enjoy myself and work hard so why not drive what i want to drive.

Always GM? Your Dodge and Ford vehicles are not GM cars.

SchumeyF1 wrote:

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Always GM? Your Dodge and Ford vehicles are not GM cars.

i know, as i was typing i was thinking of all my prior cars, chevy, pontiac, buick, Oldsmobile...
i NOW own GMC, Dodge, Ford, and my Caddy.

Guardian Angel wrote:

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Will they, or will they be spending more in repairs ? Will they last that long ? Dont call others STUPID because your speculating. SOmeone mentioned that if you properly maintain a car it could last 10 or 20 years. Do you know what maintenacne would be required on a hybrid to keep it running that long ? Could be the car companies are sticking you where the sun dont shine ??

FYI, The Prius is a model first introduced OVER 10 Years ago, and yes it lasts. As to low in maintenance, you bet ! In the western Canadian City of Vancouver, British Columbia the city's Taxi Cab fleet is filled with Toyota Prius cabs because they have plenty of room, and cheap to run, and never seem to break down. No Cab owner is gonna keep cars that cost him big bucks to run or maintain. So, Yeah we do know how the Prius will last over the next 10 years. I was NOT speculating, I know the facts. Too bad you don't !

For the Morons too stupid to know how much a Prius can save in Money ....

I have never, not one time needed 10 gallons to fill up the Prius, and that carry's me farther than the full tank in a mid size sport ute, like my Jeep grand cherokee with a 24 gallon tank, so I save $ 40 bucks per tank of fuel, and I can only imagine what a Chevy Tahoe, Lincoln Navigator, or Chevy Suburban swallows at every fill up. Worst mileage I ever got was 36.5 when fully loaded AC max'd, and 80 mph, the Jeep would get 15 or less under those conditions, so the Prius is like me buying gas at 2 bucks a gallon, not 4. You jealous clowns should try shutting up, and save your nickels so you too can own a Prius !

Toyota sucks wrote:

<quoted text>YPeople trading in thier paid off cars and getting a new 5 or 6 year loan full coverage insurance to save 20 dollars a week in gas

Erm.. Some of us pay cash for our cars - and have since 1987.

Sloppy Stools wrote:

While price of gas sucks, I am all for SUVs and cars. Keep on truckin'. The real problem is OPEC not releasing enough supply. Which is a bunch of bull considering how much money we spend to defend them and American lives lost to protect that oil. The gas should be $2 a gallon.
I not a "green" person and believe job creation and industry take precedence over the environment. I can't do anything about it anyway.

This isn't true. The price of gas isn't up because the supply has been cut off or because the demand has increased. The price of gas is up because of inflation and because our dollar is much weaker.

When a nation's currency is weakened, it takes more of that currency (more dollars) to buy the same product, in this case gasoline.

But inflation is one of those things that we're not supposed to talk about.

ToyotasucksObamaswallows wrote:

<quoted text>Sorry son, will never own a Prius or anyother Jap mobile. The thing is dog ugly and is made 100% in Japan. No Thanks, I drive trucks, I would never stoop to this homosexual mobile. I just point and laugh at guys driving these things.

Larry David drives a Prius. Hmmm...maybe your homosexual reference to their drivers is correct.

ToyotasucksObamaswallows wrote:

<quoted text>Sorry son, will never own a Prius or anyother Jap mobile. The thing is dog ugly and is made 100% in Japan. No Thanks, I drive trucks, I would never stoop to this homosexual mobile. I just point and laugh at guys driving these things.

And you are usually standing by the pump as they drive by, right?

ToyotasucksObamaswallows wrote:

<quoted text>Sorry son, will never own a Prius or anyother Jap mobile. The thing is dog ugly and is made 100% in Japan. No Thanks, I drive trucks, I would never stoop to this homosexual mobile. I just point and laugh at guys driving these things.

You 'Bragging' about driving a truck ?

You referencing 'Homosexual Mobile'

I suspect you protest Too Much, I think you just exited the "Closet"

Good for you ! Be who you are, don't let anybody intimidate you.

Oh, and you can stop pretending now; of course selling your 'testosterone validating truck' will cost you plenty at the moment.

hybrids are like a pacifier for a whining liberal nation
they are stupid. they dont decrease our use of foreign oil, they dont cost less in the long run (batteries, computer systems, energy absorbing break pads) and they usually dont look good.
i love it when i run into a liberal azzwipe that is braging "oh im saving the environment by driving my prius" yea, no. that lithium ion battery you got in there is terrible for the environment to make, also it wont last much more than 100k miles, which, by that time, you will have to throw it out and get a new one. yea, the environment really loves that. DUH!!!!

HYBRID HATE wrote:

hybrids are like a pacifier for a whining liberal nation
they are stupid. they dont decrease our use of foreign oil, they dont cost less in the long run (batteries, computer systems, energy absorbing break pads) and they usually dont look good.
i love it when i run into a liberal azzwipe that is braging "oh im saving the environment by driving my prius" yea, no. that lithium ion battery you got in there is terrible for the environment to make, also it wont last much more than 100k miles, which, by that time, you will have to throw it out and get a new one. yea, the environment really loves that. DUH!!!!

OK, first of all, the "break" (spelled "brake", actually) pads are just like any other car, just smaller. The energy absorption comes from reversing the polarization of the electric motor, charging the battery back up. The battery you refer to as bad for the environment is the Nickel-Cadmium battery, which manufacturers are going away from. BTW, do you care at all about the zillions of phones, PDAs, Gameboys, etc that use tons more nickel than hybrid batteries?

Finally, the batteries are lasting 180 to 250Kmi and even longer. This is being reported by companies using hybrids as taxis. Speaking of which, do you think a business is going to adopt a technology that is economically unsound? They won't last long throwing their money down a toilet. Cab companies are using hybrids because they're cost-effective.

Gas Saver wrote:

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OK, first of all, the "break" (spelled "brake", actually) pads are just like any other car, just smaller. The energy absorption comes from reversing the polarization of the electric motor, charging the battery back up. The battery you refer to as bad for the environment is the Nickel-Cadmium battery, which manufacturers are going away from. BTW, do you care at all about the zillions of phones, PDAs, Gameboys, etc that use tons more nickel than hybrid batteries?
Finally, the batteries are lasting 180 to 250Kmi and even longer. This is being reported by companies using hybrids as taxis. Speaking of which, do you think a business is going to adopt a technology that is economically unsound? They won't last long throwing their money down a toilet. Cab companies are using hybrids because they're cost-effective.

Hybrids are great for city type driving that a taxi would do mostly due to the regenerative brakes. There true cost saving are debatable. This is even truer if gas prices should take a major down tick, say go from $4.00 to $2.50 by Christmas.

However, it is certainly clear, the more miles you drive while lowering your cost, the more you will save.

In terms of businesses adopting policies that technology that is economically unsound; well companies do indeed make those decisions every day. For example, advertising an all hybrid fleet may cause some “Green” people to choose that taxi service over another one.

There are hidden costs to the “Green” movement as well. I do use the compact florescent bulbs, but while there energy saving are big, their mercury problem is also a concern.

Despite what many soccer moms say or believe, most people do not have driving habits like taxi drivers. NYC taxis operate 18 hours a day. I am not an expert in batteries, but I believe time does indeed play a role. My point being a battery may last someone 250k miles, while it may only last someone else 100k.

Hybrids are probably better for people doing a lot of city driving. Clean burning Diesel is probably better for people doing long highway driving.

Again, I would love to see legislation that allows golf carts on roads here in Nassau. If for no other reason then because true electric cars are not that far behind.

Real Facts wrote:

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Hybrids are great for city type driving that a taxi would do mostly due to the regenerative brakes. There true cost saving are debatable. This is even truer if gas prices should take a major down tick, say go from $4.00 to $2.50 by Christmas.
However, it is certainly clear, the more miles you drive while lowering your cost, the more you will save.
In terms of businesses adopting policies that technology that is economically unsound; well companies do indeed make those decisions every day. For example, advertising an all hybrid fleet may cause some “Green” people to choose that taxi service over another one.
There are hidden costs to the “Green” movement as well. I do use the compact florescent bulbs, but while there energy saving are big, their mercury problem is also a concern.
Despite what many soccer moms say or believe, most people do not have driving habits like taxi drivers. NYC taxis operate 18 hours a day. I am not an expert in batteries, but I believe time does indeed play a role. My point being a battery may last someone 250k miles, while it may only last someone else 100k.
Hybrids are probably better for people doing a lot of city driving. Clean burning Diesel is probably better for people doing long highway driving.
Again, I would love to see legislation that allows golf carts on roads here in Nassau. If for no other reason then because true electric cars are not that far behind.

And yet no one seems to be replacing the battery in the Prius at 100,000 miles, or anything even close to it. The technology is evolving and yet the Toyota Prius has been sold for over ten years with no evidence they either pollute, or require costly maintenance.

What we DO KNOW FOR CERTAIN is that the Oil barons and their Whitehouse puppet will push the gas prices into the stratosphere, and most Americans are still carrying around an extra ton or two of iron everywhere they go. We Prius owners recognized the stupidity of following the herd off the cliff, and took a chance on the new technology to our financial benefit. The Prius may only do 80 or 90 miles an hour, and not 'rocket-us' at every stop light, but it sure is nice to visit "George W. Bush's Oil Profits Collection Pump" as often as the rest of you.

Ed Burke wrote:

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And yet no one seems to be replacing the battery in the Prius at 100,000 miles, or anything even close to it. The technology is evolving and yet the Toyota Prius has been sold for over ten years with no evidence they either pollute, or require costly maintenance.
What we DO KNOW FOR CERTAIN is that the Oil barons and their Whitehouse puppet will push the gas prices into the stratosphere, and most Americans are still carrying around an extra ton or two of iron everywhere they go. We Prius owners recognized the stupidity of following the herd off the cliff, and took a chance on the new technology to our financial benefit. The Prius may only do 80 or 90 miles an hour, and not 'rocket-us' at every stop light, but it sure is nice to visit "George W. Bush's Oil Profits Collection Pump" as often as the rest of you.

Please understand, I am not the one that is saying hybrids are the worst thing in the world.

Hybrids are a good first step, but clearly we have a long way to go. Everything involves a tradeoff.

I agree with you 100% that the Oil Barons will try to extract every last penny from us. I disagree with you that the Whitehouse wants to do the same thing.

The fact of the matter is that the laws of supply and demand are indeed working. For the first time in a long time, people are lowering their consumption of oil. The problem is, cheap oil does not encourage conservation.

Hopefully, with LIRR ridership us by over 10%, and similar increases in other forms of mass transit, some of these changes will become permanent.

However, what I am saying is that hybrids are not the final answer.

Look, my school district basically has no bus service. This creates a situation in the morning of 600 parents trying to drop off their kids at the school. What a waste of time and fuel. No, you may say just let the kids walk, like we did when we were kids. Great idea, except that I have about 15 letters from the school district this year alone about kids being “approached” by strangers on the streets of our town.

We need to be encouraging mass transit. We need to be looking at the cars of the future. The technology is there. There is no reason that we do not have electric cars today, with the optional solar cell trickle charge system on the roof. Perhaps an electric car may not work for the guy in Montana that is commuting 100 miles each way, but it will probably work for the soccer moms of Long Island and the rest of the North East that travel 25 miles a day between the schools, the supermarket, Roosevelt Field, the soccer game, the track meet, and the scout meeting.

I think in the US we all have to refine our thinking, and perhaps our expectations.