Need Advice: Selling A Swift 2008 And Buying An Aqua/ Fit

Hiran_j · December 19, 2014

Hi,

I have a Japanese Swift 2008 with nearly 42K Milage. No issues with the car and maintained well.

I hope to sell it and move for a Hybrid Like Aqua or Fit GP5.(with fuel economy in mind)

But, after reading some posts; it seems that Hybrids may not be that economical in long run.

Hybrid battery issues
Fuel economy is not that much, etc

Can somebody enlighten me on this issue:

Is it really worth ? Please help me Dear experts !!!

Edited December 19, 2014 by Hiran_j

bycap · December 19, 2014

First off, Experts will help you more clearly.

But if you stick to the realistic fuel figures on Hybrids you will see that what manufacturer says is quite different than the reality. If you run hell lot of miles per month, then car will be economical. For 2-3 thousand miles per month, I dont think you will gain a much saving on fuel. Save few hundred thousands at the beginning, buy a normal reconditioned, comfortable car such as allion.

For the battery issues, If you are going to buy a brand new hybrid Im sure battery will last at least 3 - 4 years. By that time there will be lot of hybrid experts and parts will be at a reasonable price. So I assume that wont be a big problem.

ans · December 19, 2014

I owned a swift (Japanese - 2009) . I dont know how people interpret swift. but fuel economy was very good with it.

I was able to keep avg fuel consumption meter around 18KMpL in both high way and trip from colombo to kanthale given the fact that very less traffic condition.

It always how you drive. even in mid traffic conditions still you will find it is working around 11.

In other hand, my vezel is working like 16-17 in mid traffic conditions. I didnt tested it in highway, but i dont expect much more than 18-20 range. So it is not significant fuel saving when it comes to hybrid. But depends on the driving pattern some found swift is less fuel economical. in that case, it is hard to believe magic numbers from hybrid as well.

You don't need to worry about battery if you buy it from reputed dealer. They will give 3 years warranty. and companies guarantee the battery life span up to 10 years. so you will be comfortable to use it around 5 years.

Aqua will be the best when considering fuel saving as per crowd mentioned in the forums. but it is the very less appeal car in the hybrid market. GP5 is a good option. but loss in the second hand market will be larger than Aqua.

I am not an expert. just my thoughts and experience.

The Don · December 19, 2014

Ans the battery is designed to last up to 10 years, but sadly was never tested in our environment. At the moment they seem to start failing at around the 5 year mark (and this is 5 years from the date of manufacture). At that point the cars still run, but may feel under powered and you lose fuel economy.

We can have a look at it in a very objective way.

If we say the cost of a battery replacement is Rs 500,000 (BRC), the average petrol car does 10 KM/L (PE) and the average Hybrid does 16Km/L (HE) in the same conditions (mid traffic as ANS has referred to). I'm going to asume a litre of petrol is Rs165 (P)

So the saving of using a hybrid per liter is = P / (EP) - P/ (EH) = Rs 6.18 (SPK)

So to save up for a battery replacement the number of Kms you need to run is = (BRC)/ (SPK) = 500,000/ 6.18 = 80, 906

So basically if you run the above before your battery goes kaput, then you have made a saving. In most cases you need to make this saving within 3 years as most cars are imported after being run for 2 in Japan.

Hiran_j · December 20, 2014

Thanks a lot for the great explanation....!!!!!

autocruise · December 20, 2014

Sorry to jump out of the topic.... If u are planning on selling how much would you expect for ur car?

i have a good friend of mine searching for a swift...

ans · February 4, 2015

Good calculation Don.

I just realized Hiran is looking for Aqua / GP5 to replace the Swift. Been 7 years as a Swift fan, including the experience of my last 2009 swift , i would say you might analyze some other option than Aqua. Sometimes it is not just the cost does matter. Aqua interior sucks. the design is poor. sound, acceleration is very much poor to my standard. it's not worth if you find the new vehicle does not impress you in driving. i got more driving pleasure with swift than Aqua. but in other hand i believe most people like Toyota though they are very standard basic vehicles. you may have to choose from two options. I guess you choose swift over Vitz few years ago for the same reason. These are two different options. Go with any non Toyota vehicle tend to loss more in second hand market, but if you value quality, driving pleasure, design, stability like qualities, go for Honda.