Hybrid Cars

[Hopkirk]

A few questions.

Do you actually save much fuel in real world driving?

Are they more expensive to service?

Do they hold their value, or does battery life cause resale problems?

Are you risking problems buying one that is a few years old?

[Buenchico]

Possibly worth a read:
https://www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/economical-cars/hybrid-cars/858/hybrid-cars-pros-and-cons

[jno]

I don't know about saving fuel - I've got a hybrid Jazz but as I haven't owned a non-hybrid Jazz I've got nothing to compare properly. It does use the least petrol of any car I've had (sorry, I've lost the piece of paper where I was checking just how much). Also, road tax is only £10.

Can't answer your other questions yet.

[ToraToraTora]

"Do you actually save much fuel in real world driving?" - yes, they harvest all the energy they can from braking etc and put it into the batteries. Of course itr depends how you drive it but yes it should do.

"Are they more expensive to service?" - yes a bit more.

"Do they hold their value, or does battery life cause resale problems?" - yes resale is a problem, potential buyers will be very weary of having to replace the batteries which can be thousands.

"Are you risking problems buying one that is a few years old? " - same answer as above.

[TonyV]

My neighbours just bought one and he is pretty money savvy, but always amuses me seeing his car plugged in

[bhg481]

I think some models have no spare wheel - the space is required for the batteries. This may not apply to all models and it might not bother you but it's worth looking into.
Our local bus company invested in a couple of dozen of them back in 2011. As the batteries reach the end of their life they are replacing the power train with conventional diesel. Not directly relevant to cars but might give you food for thought.

[Ryzen]

Many hybrid cars can be a very expensive way to save money..:-)

[BenDToy]

Many of them are a major tax saver for company car drivers. The perceived benefit is significantly lower than a similar spec “normal” car, despite their very dubious green credentials.