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When word that the cash for clunkers rebate program had started, I emailed my husband:
“What if we took the $4,500 rebate on the truck and sold the Passat?” We’d like to get a hybrid. This would take us down to one car, but with HourCar coming to our neighborhood, and me working from home, I thought maybe we could swing it.
With prices for hybrids running around $25,000 (I was surprised there wasn’t much difference between sedans and compact SUVs), he estimated we’d still have a gap of at least $12,500, and, thus, a car payment. I checked his math tonight against some hybrid sites, and he was right on.
Given the program’s limbo state, and also our reluctance to take on a car payment, I guess we’ll be hanging onto the rusty but reliable Ford 150, which gets an embarrassing (estimated) 8 miles to the gallon, and our !Emissions Workshop! beeping wagen der volks.
But that so many people immediately jumped on this deal puzzled me. ‘Til last week, no one was buying cars.
From a purely financial standpoint, isn’t $4,500 the equivalent of the dealer incentive to get you into a brand new car payment? And aren’t we all dutifully not taking on new debt?
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Tags: cash4clunkers · emissions · HourCar · hybrid · hybrids · rebate program2 Comments
We are a 1 car family and even though there are some struggles, we are doing pretty well with the situation. We don’t plan on getting a second car unless it is absolutely necessary for Mark’s future job (i.e. a job in Rochester or Duluth).
Also, our car is a Toyota hybrid and I LOVE it! We usually fill it up once a month (if that) and I don’t even have to fill it when we drive to visit my folks in Chicago. It is the way to go!
We just did the same research on the Ford Escape hybrid – a relatively small 4wd SUV and came to the same conclusion. The price, $30,000.00 give or take, minus $4,500.00 (essentially a down payment), still leaves $25,000.00 to either be paid from our savings or to be financed, and thus we would be stuck with a car payment.
The Ford Escape hybrid small SUV claims to get 34 mpg around town and 31 mpg on the highway, and you do get a $1,500.00 tax deduction because it is a “green” vehicle, BUT we just can’t afford to do the car payment or to reduce our savings account that much.
My Jeep Grand Cherokee is 9 years old and gets about 16 mpg on average, but it is in excellent condition at 100,000 miles, so we are going to continue to pollute the air (grrrr!) and just wait until the money facts get better.
Ike