Breakeven: It's getting shorter, says USA Today

[hill]

Hybrids recoup higher cost in less time - USATODAY.com

Someone better tell Mr. Spinella his figures were skewed.

[NYPrius1]

Since I was due for a new car anyway, My payback started on day one!

[morpheusx]

I still don't get why people say that there is a Hybrid premium on the Prius. If you compare the Prius to any other car make that is in its size class (midsize like for example a Malibu, Accord, Avenger, Fusion, etc) and equip them with a few of the options and all of a sudden the price difference is gone.

[Spoid]

Maybe the premium is lack of decent seats.

[acdii]

Originally Posted by Spoid

Maybe the premium is lack of decent seats.

No no no, you got the wrong part, its lack of front legroom thats the premium!


My return on investment was immediate with the first tank of fuel I put in it.

[a priori]

Originally Posted by hill

Hybrids recoup higher cost in less time - USATODAY.com

To much traffic? I can't find any way to get to the USA Today site!

[OrlandoGuy]

Payback?? Giving up my 17.36 MPG Dodge Durango and going to the Prius is more cash in my pocket every month. My savings in gas pays the car payment and and fuel and STILL it is less than I was paying for fuel ALONE for the SUV. At today's prices, it is going to be about $100 less in net cost per month.

[morpheusx]

Originally Posted by OrlandoGuy

Payback?? Giving up my 17.36 MPG Dodge Durango and going to the Prius is more cash in my pocket every month. My savings in gas pays the car payment and and fuel and STILL it is less than I was paying for fuel ALONE for the SUV. At today's prices, it is going to be about $100 less in net cost per month.

LOL
after my old car finally broke down last year I was driving our spare vehicle ('91 Explorer) for a few months. When I traded it in gas was 2.59 gallon, the savings from that vs. driving the explorer almost evened out $70 a week in gas x 4 = $280 or practically making my NEW car free. Now that its $4 gallon it would be costing me $105 a week to drive that vehicle. It's like I am getting paid to drive it now. I love my Prius.

[Ichiro]

It's all about cash flow, man.

Even if I had to pay a few thousand dollars cash to a Toyota dealer, up front, I'm saving a couple hundred bucks a month, every month.

Even if it were break even, I'd rather give X of my dollars to a JDM than the same X dollars to Big Oil.

[hill]

Originally Posted by OrlandoGuy

Payback?? Giving up my 17.36 MPG Dodge Durango and going to the Prius is more cash in my pocket every month. My savings in gas pays the car payment and and fuel and STILL it is less than I was paying for fuel ALONE for the SUV. At today's prices, it is going to be about $100 less in net cost per month.

Same here ~ we dumped our 4x4 Ford Exploader (18mpg driving careful) in '04 and if we'd have waited another year to dump it, the extra cost of gas would have caused us to take an even harder hit with its already horrible resale. Even with gas doubling faster and faster, the Prius is STILL cheeper to drive then the Exploader was back then.