Considering Buying A Hybrid

pinkfloydian

I have a petrol car which is 8 years old and I want to change.

I am not interested in a full electric vehicle but would like to opt for a hybrid.

The issue is that I do very little mileage (to shops and relatives only) and my current car has only 24,000 kilometers.

My question is this:-

Given that I only do 3000km. a year, would there be an issue with the charging of the battery in a hybrid, or do I need to be doing reasonable mileage to ensure correct life-time of such a battery.

pale rider

neighbour does 2500 kms a year in his petrol hybrid, he travels a lot. when away another neighbour drives his car after maybe 3 weeks parked up in the drive, he has had no issues.

Having a 12v battery jumper left charged in the car might be no harm.

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058396572/considering-buying-a-hybrid

What kind of hybrid? Plug in or the more pointless type?

PaulRyan97

A regular hybrid is perfectly fine with your type of driving. What are you looking at purchasing?

User1998

Low mileage won’t affect a hybrid battery. But if your buying one to save money/fuel it’s fairly pointless as your mileage is so low you barely use any fuel as it is.

CMOTDibbler

At 3000km a year (60km a week) you could granny charge a small EV without troubling the SEAI home charger grant. 60km a week would be barely 10kWh. Nuts that people are looking at petrol hybrids with that mileage.

And the joke is that hybrids are pretty much the most expensive out there. Take the Kona, very popular in all flavours, the cheapest is the entry level EV, the most expensive is the hybrid. Completely nuts. Buy a petrol if you don't like or are afraid of EVs.

timmyntc

With such low mileage, the best value option will always be to stick with the car you have.

pjdarcy

Why opt for a hybrid when you're only doing 3,000 kms per year? A plug in hybrid is a very complex vehicle as it's both a traditional ICE car and an EV combined. There's so much to go wrong when you could have a straightforward EV instead. I'm doing about 5,000 kms a year and I only have to plug in my fully electric car every two weeks.

AMKC

@OP. Have you ever driven an automatic or a car with an electronic handbrake? My Dad recently changed from a diesel Sportage to a Hybrid Sportage and it has taken him a while to get used to an electronic handbrake and it being an auto as well but he has the hang of ut now. The brakes too in the beginning it took him a while. They were very sensitive to even the slightest touch.

He is in his 70s. Has driven lots of cars including old school autos before but this was all new to him.

If you change it might take you a while to get used to the new driving style.

freddieot

What's the budget and how long would you keep the car?

pinkfloydian

Thanks for all the comments.

I'm currently driving a Toyota Corolla and I love it. thinking about a Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Not a Plug-In.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123173864#Comment_123173864

This all day long.

If you love the car you have, and if there's no issues with it, why are you looking to change?

pinkfloydian

Trade-in value. It's already nearly 10 years old. I won't get another 10 years out of it. If I wait, say, another 5 years, the retail price of new car will have risen and also the trade-in value will be close to nil.

monseiur

OP read post no. 7 again and after a day or two contemplating the sage advise read it again twice….very slowly and consider the following……….. Why get rid of good, reliable, low mileage car that is parked up 90% of the time and hand over what is equal to a deposit on a house for a slightly shinier tin box with an engine that will be parked up 90% of the time. You'll put a smile on the faces of the tax man, the car sales person and most of all the person lucky enough to buy your 'old car' It is said that a fool and his/her money is easily parted - don't join that club.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123175047#Comment_123175047

The worst depreciation has already happened to you, from 0 to 10 years. Beyond that depreciation is not that big. If it's a financial only decision, sticking with your car is best one.

If you want to change just to have a newer car, that's fine too - but don't be fooled into thinking a new car is a better investment financially. It is not.

pinkfloydian

Thanks for all the financial advice. The issue still remains that I will have to change it at some stage as it won't run forever and is it better to do it now or to wait and pay more.

If possible, I'd like to hear more responses to the original request, which was a technical one.

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123175174#Comment_123175174

The answer to that is not technical. A hybrid is a waste of money given the mileage you do. It's either stick with what you have or a petrol. I assume you have no means of plugging in a PHEV, so any other class of hybrid is pointless in your case, it's just a more expensive petrol car.

Edit: Just to add that hybrid batteries are tiny in comparison to EVs, so would not last as long given the same mileage since they go through so many more charge cycles.

kanuseeme

Don't mind him, same rubbish every time someone asks about a hybrid.

There are hybrids for the last 25 years, if any of that rubbish was true, why are they the go to car for taxis, where are the threads asking for help fixing them,

Complete nonsense about small batteries, just ignore him.

4 in 10 cars registered are hybrid of some sort, the only ones complaining about them are EVangelicals,

I was thinking of how to reduce your total cost of ownership , did you investigate leasing?

Maybe trading in at 4 years instead of 8,

Maybe buy a high mileage 2 or 3 year old car , your low annual mileage would then bring down the average.

Anyway good luck with your choice, I have had plug in hybrids shipped from Japan then drove around on electric for a month before needing to top up the 5 or 6 month old petrol in them.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123175047#Comment_123175047

Thats crazy logic. So that means your currently driving a 2015 Toyota Corolla, one of the most reliable cars ever made, and your worried about it not lasting another 10 years? And you’d rather spend thousands upon thousands on new car depreciation, instead of a slightly lower future trade in value? Do I have all that right or am I missing something?

MojoMaker

Absolutely nuts logic alright.

OP, if you're reasoning is based on a simple "I want a change/something newer" then just say so. Any other arguments here are flaky!!

pale rider

If you can afford it and want it then decision made, a hybrid will work just fine.

All other points are not really relevant if that’s your position.

Now of course you will have a Q a Mile long looking for your 24000 km Corolla and that says all you need to know about how good they are for long term ownership but is a different argument.

PaulRyan97

A used Corolla Hybrid will set you back anywhere between €18k and €25k depending on year and mileage. It's a great car, will absolutely get the job done but I wouldn't be shelling out that money just because you feel you need to trade.

Your existing Corolla will probably last for many years yet with good maintenance.

You've told us the distance you drive, but what size car do you need, any features you look for?

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123177110#Comment_123177110

I can understand wanting a change after 8 years, it's a long time to own a car. But I really don't see the point of getting a hybrid given the mileage. Even an EV would only save a max of maybe €300 a year, which is a pittance really. So a hybrid would be a lot less. I see no other reason to get one bar maybe a better driving experience which is debatable, but obviously personal.

kanuseeme

Near impossible to get anything but a hybrid from Toyota, super reliable, warranty for 10 years only need to service it with them , even available for cars out of warranty, just make sure under 185000km and European

ELM327

If you specifically want a hybrid and don't want a plugin or an EV, then it will do the job fine and you can't go wrong with toyota.

Of course, an EV may be cheaper to run, but, you don't spend much on fuel anyway at that mileage so you may not even see savings anyway.

I sense this is a want to have a nicer newer car, rather than saving money.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123175947#Comment_123175947

Sorry, I just realised its actually a 2017 Toyota Corolla that you drive? So your logic just became even worse. If you want to upgrade then just say so, but doing it for financial reasons is madness.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123175423#Comment_123175423

Slight correction. There was a hybrid car 100 years before Toyota launched the Prius in the late 1990's. Made by Porsche.