Well, I’m starting to think about a new car. I love my Passat, it’s been great – but it’s starting to show it’s age and I’d like something more fuel efficient. I only average around 18mpg in the city, and close to 30 on the highway.
With me moving to Decatur, I will be doing almost all city driving for the near future, so I’m thinking it’s time to upgrade. Couple that with the fact that my current car requires premium gas, which can cost anywhere between 10 to 30 cents more than unleaded, and you can start to see why it costs a lot just to drive around town in it. I want something fuel efficient, not only to save me money, but also to cut down on emissions. With all of that said, I think either a hybrid or a clean burning diesel are my best options.
I don’t need a big truck or a car that carries a lot of passengers. Usually, it’s either just myself or maybe Jourdan and Nadia at most in my car, so a smaller car will do just fine. I’ve narrowed it down to two suitors.
The 2006 VW Diesel Jetta, and the 2006 Toyota Prius. The Jetta The 2006 Jetta is a very nice car, with a new body design and loads more space than previous models. Also, with a clean burning diesel engine, the Jetta can get MPG around the 45highway/30city range.
That’s not too bad. With the type of options I’d like, you can get one of these for around $29, 000 . The Prius The 2006 Prius is a nice car as well, but for different reasons. Certainly not as sporty as the Jetta, the Prius’ appeal is for other reasons: fuel economy and money.
The Prius, due to the 2nd generation Synergy drive engine, can get around 50mpg on the highway and an amazing 60mpg in the city! Since most of my driving will be on city streets, this is a huge benefit, cutting my current fuel consumption in half, and at times in a third. Couple that with the fact that the Prius uses unleaded gas, vs. premium for the Passat, and the cost savings could become very real, very fast.
A conservative estimation I did this afternoon put my annual gas savings at around $1, 000 a year. Another factor pushing me towards the hybrid is the tax credit program currently in place. If I were to buy a car before Sept. 31 of this year, I could receive a $3, 150 credit on my taxes.
That’s pretty amazing. If I were to buy it after then, it drops to $1, 575, and then to $788 next spring. This isn’t a deduction of $3150 from your income.
If you owed $3k in taxes this year, you’d then just owe $150. If you expect money back, like I do, this could mean even more cash in my pocket – cash that could be spend on, say, a car payment.Bottom line is, I wasn’t really that sure about buying a car just yet, but the tax credit incentive really makes the Prius attractive to me. The price of the car is in the mid $20s, but when you consider the gas savings (almost $1k/a year) to go along with the $3k tax credit, and all of a sudden you’re looking at a pretty attractive package. I guess I have the rest of this month and next to decide if I want to take the plunge or not.