How do you think gas prices will trend?

[dizneegirl]

Don't rule out an electric vehicle. At least as far as a Tesla goes - there is almost no maintenance (and that can add up). No oil changes. Very rarely will you have to worry about new brakes if you use the regen to stop (very easy to do). Just tire changes, basically. And the occasional cabin filter change.

You can charge to "full" every night in your garage, so you start every day with a "full tank." Here, with a Model 3, it costs me about 3 cents per mile to charge at home. Depending on the model you buy, and how far you drive on a daily basis, you might not have to charge more than once or twice a week.

Trips? No problem. We regularly drive OH to FL, and have no trouble finding chargers when and where we need them. We stop about 20-30 minutes on average to charge - enough time to go to the bathroom, get a drink, eat, whatever. Occasionally it's longer because we've gone longer in between stops.

Just a thought.

 

[tvguy]

IMO, it comes down to what is the price difference between the Hybrid and the ICE? If I could afford the hybrid version, I'd get one.

BUT, your driving habits factor in too. If you do mainly highway driving, that's not a huge increase in mpg for the money.

And it depends on the market conditions at the time you buy. I bought my Camry Hybrid on July 4, 2020 at the peak of the pandemic, and before anyone had heard of a chip shortage. We were one of two customers on the lot on a Saturday. It also only has 2 options on it, overpriced floor mats and a protective strip on the back bumper. The dealer had 56 Camry Hybrids in stock and Toyota was offering 0% loans. I got it for $2,000 off sticker price, about $3,000 more than a gasoline Camry.

I just checked the dealer and they have ZERO Camry Hybrids in stock, and 2 in transit. The 2 in transit are loaded with options....about $10,000 worth and the dealer is asking $6,000 over sticker prices. NOT a good time to buy.

 

[goofyernmost]

Gas prices here went up for a couple of weeks but I noticed today that they have dropped down again.

 

[EACarlson]

Gas prices will go up as we hit the summer driving season and the SPR needs to be refilled. It's been cut almost in half in the last two years.
I would be interested in a Hybrid, especially a plug in hybrid, but have no desire to have a fully electric vehicle. Too many issues with where I live, people I know that couldn't drive their Tesla's this winter.

 

[kdonnel]

Gas prices will go up as we hit the summer driving season and the SPR needs to be refilled. It's been cut almost in half in the last two years.
I would be interested in a Hybrid, especially a plug in hybrid, but have no desire to have a fully electric vehicle. Too many issues with where I live, people I know that couldn't drive their Tesla's this winter.

Why were they unable to drive their Tesla this winter?

Range loss can be significant in cold weather meaning that road trips have more frequent and longer charging stops but there should not be anything that prevents driving.

 

[EACarlson]

Charging was non-existent with temps below 0. He was unable to get enough of a charge overnight to make the round trip to and from the office when we had an extended cold streak.

 

[RamblingMad]

Summer blend costs more. And more people drive in the summer. This is normal.

I keep my vehicles for 10 years. I don’t base my decision on what to buy based on gas prices when I purchase. I buy based on my use case. I have no clue what gas prices will do over a span of time.

 

[abdmom]

I'm on my second RAV4 hybrid. There was nothing wrong with the first one, I just moved overseas and transport would have cost $$$. There are online RAV4 forums that discuss the gas vs hybrid issue frequently. My real world mpg on my current model RAV4 is 45 mpg. That's with perhaps 25-50% highway driving. 2019 and newer RAV4 hybrids get much better mileage than the 2016- 2018 models. My '16 model got 34 mpg, mostly highway.

The RAV4 is the most popular non-truck vehicle sold in the US. People are waiting months for a new vehicle. As a result, used RAV4s are not cheap. Dealers are adding $5K over MSRP to new vehicles.

The hybrid RAV4 is a better performer than the non-hybrid version. It has better pickup.

There's also the RAV4 Prime, which is a plug-in hybrid. It runs about $50K and is hard to find. I ran the numbers for cost savings. It will take until about 70,000 miles to break even on the hybrid due to gas savings. I save about 100-150 gallons/year. The length of time to break even on the Prime will vary depending on the cost of electricity. For me, the Prime doesn't make sense.

 

[kdonnel]

Charging was non-existent with temps below 0. He was unable to get enough of a charge overnight to make the round trip to and from the office when we had an extended cold streak.

Sounds like he was using a 110 outlet.

A 220 outlet would have no problems charging and keeping the battery warm with temps below 0.

A little investment in better home charging would allow them to use their car no matter the weather.

 

[leahgoogle]

I'm on my second RAV4 hybrid. There was nothing wrong with the first one, I just moved overseas and transport would have cost $$$. There are online RAV4 forums that discuss the gas vs hybrid issue frequently. My real world mpg on my current model RAV4 is 45 mpg. That's with perhaps 25-50% highway driving. 2019 and newer RAV4 hybrids get much better mileage than the 2016- 2018 models. My '16 model got 34 mpg, mostly highway.

The RAV4 is the most popular non-truck vehicle sold in the US. People are waiting months for a new vehicle. As a result, used RAV4s are not cheap. Dealers are adding $5K over MSRP to new vehicles.

The hybrid RAV4 is a better performer than the non-hybrid version. It has better pickup.

There's also the RAV4 Prime, which is a plug-in hybrid. It runs about $50K and is hard to find. I ran the numbers for cost savings. It will take until about 70,000 miles to break even on the hybrid due to gas savings. I save about 100-150 gallons/year. The length of time to break even on the Prime will vary depending on the cost of electricity. For me, the Prime doesn't make sense.

Thank you for this information! The RAV4s are incredibly popular and I think overpriced, but that's not stopping us from wanting one....lol. We do seem to have quite a few that come through our area, but they do seem to be purchased quickly. We are not looking to get a plug-in hybrid at this time. I honestly didn't know there was a plug-in RAV4 model. I'm sure it will become more popular as time goes on.

 

[leahgoogle]

Don't rule out an electric vehicle. At least as far as a Tesla goes - there is almost no maintenance (and that can add up). No oil changes. Very rarely will you have to worry about new brakes if you use the regen to stop (very easy to do). Just tire changes, basically. And the occasional cabin filter change.

You can charge to "full" every night in your garage, so you start every day with a "full tank." Here, with a Model 3, it costs me about 3 cents per mile to charge at home. Depending on the model you buy, and how far you drive on a daily basis, you might not have to charge more than once or twice a week.

Trips? No problem. We regularly drive OH to FL, and have no trouble finding chargers when and where we need them. We stop about 20-30 minutes on average to charge - enough time to go to the bathroom, get a drink, eat, whatever. Occasionally it's longer because we've gone longer in between stops.

Just a thought.

I know that a lot people love their EVs. With all the traveling we do for travel basketball, I am not ready to have to worry about charging. DH has mentioned maybe getting one to drive to work one day (he drives 100 miles round trip every day), but right now the Tesla he would want is out of our price range for that purpose.