Now that these gas prices are climbing to increasingly high record prices daily, in some places going up $0.02 a day. More and more people are looking to sell or trade in the current car, especially SUV owners. So if your thinking of changing over to a hybrid vehicle, Have a read below.

1. So your thinking of taking a nice summer trip? Well, There is no mistake that the new hybrid cars are expensive, way over the price of the normal SUV or convertible. In fact, hybrids can cost at least $6,000  to $8,000 or more, which is a steep rise in price from normal cars. Not too mention you will be paying this big price upfront for the vehicle, the hybrid comes with a load of bells and whistles that you probably were not expecting. Be ready for additional taxes for buying your hybrid, as well as the tricky addition of premium feature, and not-so-premium car mats or paint jobs. Unfortunately, purchasing a hybrid isn’t one standard price, but a whole lot of extra nips and grabs that will have you taking out a loan that you’ll be paying off until the car’s no longer in style.

2. The insurance game, Well you know with your current vehicle you know what to sometimes expect in paying insurance premiums. With a hybrid they are still figuring out the cost for insurance premiums. some are high some are low, replacement parts markets are very few in between.

3. Maintaining a hybrid car is very up in the air, giving a new meaning to the term variable expense. The trick behind these vehicles is that the car will either run beautifully, where you have no need to worry about regular maintenance costs as the car is much kinder on filters and fuel injectors, or the vehicle will have one part fail, which is the major issue. The parts used in hybrid vehicles are lighter and cheaper to manufacturers, but are going to be hard to find. In fact, they can be impossible to find in some cases. So, while the vehicle may seem to have no problems, a sudden failed part could cost you in the thousands. The additional problem is even finding a mechanic that can fix your car. If that’s a bust, you’ll probably be heading to the dealership, and that’s an expensive errand.

4. One big cost with owning a hybrid is the battery pack. Consumers are often unaware that the battery pack is supposed to be replaced every 80,000 to 100,000 miles. While some battery packs claim to last even longer, closer to 150,000 miles, the fact is that even to replace an individual cell on the pack is around $180, and that does not include labor. If you wanted to replace the whole shebang, that’s going to be around $4,000 - at least. Either way, the battery will evenutally have to replace like with any type of batteries, just these cannot be purchased at wal-mart for under $10.00

5. Warranties for typical cars are not cheap, but hybrid cars have warranties that are consistently more expensive. That seems like a headache, but, thankfully, the vast majority of the warranties are able to cover your hybrid beyond the shelf life of your battery. They tend to last 8 years or 100,000 miles, so, for the most part, if your battery fails, it would be under warranty. Just know that you will be paying a hefty sum to secure a comfort zone for your vehicle.

So honestly in the end, long run… It is more expensive to own and operate one of the current hybrid cars, But maybe that is just a matter of opinions.