|
Subjectively - It's cheaper for now, as you notice overall lower costs. It's also going to consume more gas and pollute more than before with the hybrid. Your maintenance will go up because of the wear and tear on the less durable machine (the truck needs more appointments). But if you save in a car payment this offsets the increased gas/service bills.
Objectively - if everyone else around continues to drives less, then the pollution and fossil fuel consumption still goes down in the aggregate even if yours individually went up.
Should there be a rebound within a year like what happened in 2008 then you'll be stuck with higher gas prices, and higher service bills, and without knowing how much your payment was you could be worse off.
If this was strictly an environmental/economic question, then your truck is worth more and you should sell that as well and instead put the funds towards an inexpensive luxury hybrid (say an off lease lexus) that gets better gas mileage and is an overall nicer ride that you can pay off faster. They also cost less to maintain due to consumables lasting longer (brakes, oil, etc.) and just being one of the least repair prone vehicles extant. That would leave you with a better environmental footprint and lowest economic footprint of all.
All in all, by lowering your personal economic burden you made a wise move.
Seth
|