If they aren’t putting on the miles, and with the time frame you are looking for, I would suggest avoiding a hybrid. The gas savings aren’t worth the additional expense and potential problems/issues from little use. Also keep in mind that 10-15yrs is getting into battery replacement territory, and that’s not cheap. Of course you might get a particular unit that lasts longer, but 10-15yrs is when a lot of them start dropping. Age has just as much if not more to do with that rather than miles/use. In other words, it’s not like the rest of the car where keeping miles and usage low means longer life before the car is used up so to speak. Also keep in mind if you go used, that clock has already been ticking on the battery.
Went thru the same thing myself recently. More of a want than a need. They have an 07 camry they were looking to replace. Still runs and drives just fine having barely more than 40k miles on it, but the heat/sun in this area and time has taken its toll on the interior. Still not all that bad at all….a couple minor warps, some parts have become a bit creaky, that sort of thing and just not as tight and nice as brand new. In fact if it were me I’d just keep that one if I were them, but they wanted a new one and have about the same driving time left if not a bit less that you are looking for, and they can afford it. They were really interested in a hybrid and really like mine and the idea of it, but when sitting down and truly looking at the pros and cons, it just wasn’t a good fit for them by their own admission. They ended up settling on another camry before they go all hybrid next year, both to have that regular na gas engine and preferring to have something from the tail end of a model run with the kinks and bugs worked out vs the growing pains of a fresh new model.
If they aren’t putting on the miles, and with the time frame you are looking for, I would suggest avoiding a hybrid. The gas savings aren’t worth the additional expense and potential problems/issues from little use. Also keep in mind that 10-15yrs is getting into battery replacement territory, and that’s not cheap. Of course you might get a particular unit that lasts longer, but 10-15yrs is when a lot of them start dropping. Age has just as much if not more to do with that rather than miles/use. In other words, it’s not like the rest of the car where keeping miles and usage low means longer life before the car is used up so to speak. Also keep in mind if you go used, that clock has already been ticking on the battery.
Went thru the same thing myself recently. More of a want than a need. They have an 07 camry they were looking to replace. Still runs and drives just fine having barely more than 40k miles on it, but the heat/sun in this area and time has taken its toll on the interior. Still not all that bad at all….a couple minor warps, some parts have become a bit creaky, that sort of thing and just not as tight and nice as brand new. In fact if it were me I’d just keep that one if I were them, but they wanted a new one and have about the same driving time left if not a bit less that you are looking for, and they can afford it. They were really interested in a hybrid and really like mine and the idea of it, but when sitting down and truly looking at the pros and cons, it just wasn’t a good fit for them by their own admission. They ended up settling on another camry before they go all hybrid next year, both to have that regular na gas engine and preferring to have something from the tail end of a model run with the kinks and bugs worked out vs the growing pains of a fresh new model.