What's the best of the hybrid bunch?

HELPDESK:Answering all your motoring queries

From RW, Dublin 2: I’ve read that there is a host of new hybrid cars coming out this year. Can you let me know when they might be available and what’s the best of the bunch? I’ve never driven one before and I’m slightly wary. Is there a lot of added costs in maintaining them? My budget would be about €10,000 on top of a 2004 BMW 320i saloon in good condition as a trade-in.

You have nothing to be unduly concerned about when it comes to hybrids. The technology has been around for well over a decade now and the only issues that have arisen with any of these cars are to do with elements that they share with “regular” models. Servicing costs have not proven to be out of the ordinary either.

It’s true that there are several hybrids on the market now – and many more to come in the next 12 to 24 months – but they vary greatly in the “hybrid” element and the amount of driving you will actually do powered solely, or even partly, by the battery. Given that you live in the city, I am guessing you are using the car in town traffic and that’s where you will notice the greatest benefit. When you get out on the motorways, the benefits start to disappear as most of the power at higher speed acceleration comes from the petrol engine.

Taking your budget into account, you probably have a conservative estimate of about €20,000 to spend, so you may just persuade a friendly Honda dealer to agree a deal on a new Insight 1.4-litre hybrid, which starts at €22,375. You should also strongly consider a used second generation Toyota Prius from 2009 within your budget. If it’s city driving you are largely doing then you will see the benefits.

From LP: I’m appalled at the trade-in values on offer at present. I’m told the price of new cars has dropped so that’s hit the value of my car. But just like houses that have fallen into negative equity, I’m sitting on a debt due on a car I was hoping would cover a large portion of that charge upon resale.

I owe €12,000 on my car and the bank aren’t going to reduce that because new car prices have fallen. I was banking on it being worth at worst €15,000 when I went to sell it on. I’ve been told it’s now worth about €10,000 because the new model is now so much cheaper since the tax changes in 2008.

I’ve told the upside is that I will save money when buying the new car compared to what I would have paid back in 2007. But I now need to pay off the loan on the car and get a new vehicle, which means finding the deposit for a new car and starting down the finance road again, only without the support of my previous lender who is no longer active in the car market.

Your predicament is shared by thousands of other motorists and we discuss it with readers on a weekly basis. No one expected to make money from the sale of their used car, but most had made their budgets on the basis of smaller losses on trade-in. The timing of the tax changes could not have been worse and since then the gap between new and old has only become greater as the motor industry works to lower its carbon footprint.

In the long-term you might save both on tax and fuel bills by buying a new more efficient car, but that’s not going to solve your problems now. One alternative is a private lease deal, where your costs are fixed over the term of future ownership with a guaranteed minimum return on trade-in provided the car is maintained. It still means you will have to find a deposit for it, however.

Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times,

Dublin 2 or email motorshelp@irishtimes.com