With the demand for used cars rising as the economy continues to flounder and the interest in hybrids lagging as gas prices remain low, some people think it might be a good time to trade in a late model used car and buy a used hybrid.

Writing for the Freakonomics blog on the New York Times website, Daniel Hamermesh says he’s thinking about doing just that.

Hamermesh says that history has shown that when economic times are tough, people gravitate toward used cars, which could greatly benefit him by trading in his 1999 Honda Civic SI with only 64,000 miles.

He says the trade in would allow him to then make a purchase of a car that’s not in such high demand now meaning it can be had for a steal. Plus although hybrids aren’t selling well at the moment, they’re likely to become popular again in the future when oil returns to more than $100 per barrel.

“I could then buy a new Prius: there are no special price premiums today on the Prius, and I would save money on gasoline now and when gas prices spike again,” he writes.

In a report from USA Today last week, Juan Flores, director of vehicle valuation for Kelley Blue Book said sales of used hybrids are down 23.5 percent since last summer.

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