Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Buying A Hybrid Car to Save on Gas

By Colin Jones

As you drive up to the fuel station pump and fill your car up with $10-$40 worth of gas, you may find yourself releasing a huge out sigh. How on Earth did gas become so expensive? Should you check out one of those new hybrid cars you saw on the TV? Everyone's talking about hybrid cars anyway. Hybrid cars and other types of cars may seem to be a good idea, but before you go out and do something rash, maybe you should ask yourself some basic questions about how you can start to save on petrol.

There are so many options out there including everything from staying home to buying a hybrid car, but you have to find out what is best for you. You can only do that by posing yourself the following questions.

Perhaps you should drive less often?

Of course, you could spend the rest of your life in the house on the couch, but how would you eat then? I know what you're thinking you will walk more and get more exercise. That may be true, but what happens when you get bored with walking and riding your bike? How are you going to be able to get to the gym? And, have you forgotten about work? You know you love listening to your books on tape while you sit in traffic at the end of the workday. Should you drive less? Perhaps not then. But what should you do? Well, have you ever considered buying a hybrid vehicle?

Should I buy a car that is more economical on gas?

Yes, you could do this, but what about when the vehicle starts to depreciate with age and it becomes less fuel-efficient than you thought it would be? Moreover, subconsciously, because you know you have a car that gets more mileage out of petrol, you are going to start travelling more miles than you traveled before.

Should I get up earlier each morning to look for the cheapest gas prices in town?

Come on, who has the time for all that? If you really think about it, you would probably spend your time more profitably finding the right answer to the real question. Do you really want to spend extra time looking for a cheap petrol station? What would your boss think if you arrive late for work and tell him you were trying to save money on fuel? And anyway, how long do you honestly think you'll keep doing that?

Should I find a way to run my car on electric batteries?

Let's see, you certainly don't want to have to charge your car's batteries every day before going to work because that might make you late as well. However, with a hybrid car, you wouldn't have to worry about that. So, the next question should be obvious.

How about buying a hybrid car?

Perhaps you should. It's possible that buying a hybrid car would be a sensible way to avoid higher fuel prices. Would your car depreciate as soon as you drive it off the forecourt? A hybrid won't do that so quickly as it brings the buyer in more and more money as they save on petrol. A hybrid car really might be a good solution here. However, it's still a good idea to conduct further research before buying a hybrid car.

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