Valley Stream car dealership sees huge increase in people buying hybrids as gas prices spike
Experts say the rise in gas prices is because of tensions in the Middle East.
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A local car dealership says that in recent weeks, they've seen a major change in the type of vehicle customers are buying as a result of rising gas prices.
"We're seeing a lot of people are switching over to the hybrids, which gives you the best of both worlds," says Jay Sarasky, general sales manager at Gregoris Subaru. "You still go to a regular gas station. There's nothing extra that you have changing in your life, other than you're going to get a little bit of gas mileage."
Sarasky said he's seen a huge increase in people buying hybrids in the last two weeks.
"It's probably a 50% to 60% increase," he says.
Experts say the rise in gas prices is because of tensions in the Middle East.
According to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas on Long Island reached $3.70 on Thursday. That number is up 24 cents compared to this time last week and 85 cents compared to this time last month.
"Even if, let's say the war ends tomorrow, it's still going to take a little bit of time because we've seen some major disruptions and destruction of oil facilities," says Anoop Rai, a finance professor at Hofstra University.
Sarasky says he's not seeing the same trends with electric vehicles.
"People are still leery of it because they're still concerned about charging the car, running on empty, stopping when you go on a long road trip," says Sarasky.
Long Island residents say the rising gas prices are continuing to hurt their budgets.
