Putting my money where my mouth is equals Buyers Remorse

These last few days have convinced me that I need to get off my proverbial ass and find a work from home position, or failing that; one that only needs me in the office two or three days out of the week.

My 2012 Kia Soul (stock photo)

The reason is that recently I "threw a rod" in my car.   This is basically the worst type of engine failure possible.  My starter also died at roughly the same time, which means that they can't even turn over the car to try to determine the extent of the damage or what exactly failed.  A new starter won't be in for a week.   Now this type of engine disaster can be fixed but it's going to take anywhere between two to three weeks at minimum even if I can get the parts in a timely manner.

Living out in the "boondocks" requires that my wife and I have two cars.  We work in two different parts of the county and two different schedules, so it is just a requirement. There is no public transportation, no car sharing services, no taxi services.  In other words, a car or truck is simply a necessary of life here.

The cost to repair the engine is actually not that bad, but the biggest issue here is time; as my wife and I will have to arrange alternative means to and from our jobs for the foreseeable future.  Considering my car is 11 years old and has 190 thousand plus miles on it, it may be time to look for a replacement anyhow, although I was hoping to get at least two or three more years out of it first.

My vehicle is a 2012 Kia Soul which has very little rust on it, is paid for in full and has a MPH of 32 miles to the gallon which is comparable to many of today's cars.   

Working from home like I used to do would mean no commute, no spending money on gas and reducing my Carbon Footprint. It also means that I really would not need to have a second car payment, or a second car. However I currently don't work from home and we have to play the cards we are dealt.

So I find myself wanting a hybrid vehicle.  I would not mind an electric vehicle or EV but charging stations are rare in this area and the range of the vehicle is going to differ due to weather and driving conditions.  Plus, if I were to have to travel to Pittsburgh a few days a week for an office job - a distance of approximately 141 miles (227 KM) round trip; then I might be stretching the EV distance for a single charge.   

Or to put it simply, there are still too many variables with the EV to make it effective choice at this time.

So I would like a hybrid to increase my gas mileage but at the same time I don't want to have an additional payment, as we are currently paying for my wife's brand new pickup truck.  Thankfully we have enough money saved where we can make a significant down payment or even pay for a vehicle in full, as long as it's a used vehicle.

What I would love to do is research on what hybrid cars are available and determine which one, if any, would be the best choice for me.

We simply don't have the time to put in the research due to our schedules, but I am able to do some initial investigating work.  For example, I learned that a used hybrid should be bought with fewer than 100K in mileage and should be within 10 years old due to the battery packs; which may fail as the vehicles increase in millage and age.  Or that fuel efficiency drops in winter due to how colder temperatures affect the battery pack and other issues.  

2016 Ford C Max - A hybrid I'm considering

I also have some concerns about lithium mining, as most of it is done in countries that have little to no environmental regulation and can result in widespread environmental damage that lasts decades.  In fact, there is some evidence to indicate that the production and manufacture of these cars outweighs any savings that a hybrid provides.

Here in the United States the battery has to last a minimum of eight years and/or 100,000 miles by law.  The cost to replace that battery is going to vary somewhat by make and model of the vehicle and labor charges but generally speaking is going to be between $2000 to $8000 dollars.  Not that dissimilar from the costs of an engine replacement on a non hybrid.  However buying a used hybrid means keeping this cost in the back of my mind because the batteries will fail sometime.

Imagine my disappointment when I learned hybrids were simply not what I thought they were.

Considering how fuel efficiency, even in the most fuel efficient non hybrid cars is similar to the fuel efficiency that I was obtaining with my older Kia is making me wonder if repairing what I have, even with the time and inconvenience it will cause is the best of all options.

In any case decisions will have to be made within the next day or two as issues with work schedules and other things tighten.  It's becoming more and more obvious to me though that the best option for me is one where I find a position that really would not require me to have a car at all but that's been discussed elsewhere in this blog.  That however, isn't going to happen overnight either.

It strikes me however that no matter what choice I make in the next few days will resort in some sort of buyers remorse, as no matter what choice I make will have consequences.