If you demand it, companies will come up with it. This has never been more apparent than with hybrid autos, the companies answer to a consumer nation that has become more environmentally aware.
Any type of trend soon grows attributes that are often not exactly accurate. These can be both positive and negative attributes, depending on who is pushing the point. Two false ones have surrounded the hybrid vehicle.
Everyone hates taxes, but not when it comes to hybrids. The common myth is you can get a huge tax benefit if you buy a hybrid. As with anything involving taxes, you should know this is sometimes true and sometimes not.
When taxes are invovled, it should be no surprise there are pitfalls with claiming a tax credit for buying one. The first requirement is you must buy a new vehicle, not a used one. The second requirement is the IRS must have approved the vehicle.
The funny thing about the tax benefit of purchasing a hybrid is it is a moving target. The IRS initially sets an upper limi and then has the option to lower that amount each quarter of the year after it analyzes the number of cars sold.
The interesting and scary thing about the tax credit is it is designed to disappear for each car after a certain number have been sold. For instance, Toyota hybrids are about to lose their tax benefits entirely. Yes, there will be zero tax benefit.
The Japanese manufacturers have always been way ahead in the game. Toyota is about to lose its tax credit, and Honda can see the end of its in a few years time. This is just the way the law was written, not a territorial matter.
The batteries used in hybrid vehicles give us our next area of controversy. These are not the run of the mill batteries found in your average automobile or truck. Rumor has it they don’t last long and are incredibly expensive to repair.
The great hybrid conspiracy is truly funny once you look at a key fact. Each new hybrid comes with a battery warranty between 80,000 and 100,000 miles. This would suggest that they last a long time, no?
Should you make your next vehicle a hybrid? If you want to cut your driving costs and help the environment, then the answer is definitely yes. Just make sure to buy it new and check with the IRS on your tax credit amount.