Looking to buy a prius based soley on economics

[Bohous]

Originally Posted by tkil

As others have pointed out, if you just want the cheapest commuter car, you're better off finding a low-milage used Civic or Corolla and buying it.

If you want certain creature comforts, then it's no longer a "solely economic" decision, is it?

[snip]

The general point is that you have to list all the options that are acceptable to you; analyze each for the benefits and costs; weigh each of those factors according to how *you* perceive them; then determine which is the best fit.
...

I know we all love our Prius and would encourage almost anybody to buy one but I am happy to see somebody making the argument. For us we needed a hatchback as well as a little extra backseat space for child car seats, otherwise I would have been plenty content to keep our Matrix. However, we purchased used and took advantage of a special 4.99% "hybrid rate" from our bank so from an economic standpoint regarding the actual cost of the car it was a really a lateral move, thus worth it.

[SgtTurtle]

I also live in the Phoenix area and recently got rid of a Nissan Armada 4x4 for a Prius. I feel like I lost 2,500 pounds! A big reason was economic (I drive 2000 to 3000 miles per month), but I also believe that the US dependence on foreign oil is THE biggest threat to national security. I also was tired of possibly contributing to climate change and pollution. The blue HOV plate cuts my drive times in 1/2 and eliminates a lot of frustration during rush hour. Also the air conditioning in the Prius is GREAT.

I bought my Prius for a few hundred over invoice at the end of March. It is an 2008 Touring with Package #6. I had no problem getting a good price on the Prius, but getting rid of the Armada was difficult. I am an attorney and a tough negotiator and I was working over the phone playing 3 different fleet departments against each other. They just could not get me enough for the Armada.

I finally ended up going with an auto broker who was recommended to me named Tracy Weaver. She works out of a dealership in Casa Grande, but she got me a great deal on the Prius (I think $200 over invoice) and $2,000 more than anyone else would give me on the Armada. I handled everything over the phone, fax, and email including financing and she delivered the car directly to me. This was definitely the easiest way to go. The only downside was that I had to wait about a week for the car to come in.

If you or anyone else, wants her contact number, let me know and will provide it to you.

P.S. Before the Armada, I had a 1999 Ford Explorer 4x4. I used to post on the Explorer Forum all the time.

[zhackwyatt]

Originally Posted by SgtTurtle

I also live in the Phoenix area and recently got rid of a Nissan Armada 4x4 for a Prius. I feel like I lost 2,500 pounds! A big reason was economic (I drive 2000 to 3000 miles per month), but I also believe that the US dependence on foreign oil is THE biggest threat to national security. I also was tired of possibly contributing to climate change and pollution. The blue HOV plate cuts my drive times in 1/2 and eliminates a lot of frustration during rush hour. Also the air conditioning in the Prius is GREAT.

I bought my Prius for a few hundred over invoice at the end of March. It is an 2008 Touring with Package #6. I had no problem getting a good price on the Prius, but getting rid of the Armada was difficult. I am an attorney and a tough negotiator and I was working over the phone playing 3 different fleet departments against each other. They just could not get me enough for the Armada.

I finally ended up going with an auto broker who was recommended to me named Tracy Weaver. She works out of a dealership in Casa Grande, but she got me a great deal on the Prius (I think $200 over invoice) and $2,000 more than anyone else would give me on the Armada. I handled everything over the phone, fax, and email including financing and she delivered the car directly to me. This was definitely the easiest way to go. The only downside was that I had to wait about a week for the car to come in.

If you or anyone else, wants her contact number, let me know and will provide it to you.

P.S. Before the Armada, I had a 1999 Ford Explorer 4x4. I used to post on the Explorer Forum all the time.

That is exactly the car I was looking at. I'm not interested in Trading in the Explorer. What's the name of the dealership? Do they have a website or something? Appreciate the info.

Actually everyone has been very helpful on this site.

[zhackwyatt]

Originally Posted by Keri

I googled before I made that remark and I did not count that site as being all about one vehicle, like PC. This was the description of the forum site and my reason for discounting it:
Ford Explorer, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Ford Ranger Enthusiast Forum

I could be wrong, but that seems to me to be a multi-vehicle forum. I love that PC is all about the Prius. Even though there is an area for people to discuss other cars, it is a site dedicated to one certain car.

Those are practically the same vehicle actually.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by zhackwyatt

Those are practically the same vehicle actually.

Yep. Explorer and Mountaineer are the same vehicle except for trim pieces. The Explorer Sport Trac is a 4 door SUV with a small pickup bed that uses the same powertrain as the Explorer.

The Ranger is a pickup, but the original Explorer was based on the Ranger. They share a lot of common parts such as the dash, 4.0L engine, and other misc parts. The Bronco II, which was the predecessor to the Explorer is even more Ranger like.

[lefat1]

i was in a similar situation, only it was 12 months ago, after all kinds of bs from dealers and the demand wasnt as high last year, i waited til september to put on the real search, and got an 08 in november, still difficult cause i wanted a touring package 6, but one day it was just there at the dealer and i happened to be a very agressive buyer and beat the rush

[richard schumacher]

How do you know you need a new car? If you're going to keep the old one that pretty much means that you don't need a new one.

And buying any new car is guaranteed to be *not* the least expensive solution. Depending mostly on how much you drive, the least expensive solution is either to keep the old gashog until it falls apart, or get rid of it and buy a used Civic or a Kia or the like.

[zhackwyatt]

Originally Posted by richard schumacher

How do you know you need a new car? If you're going to keep the old one that pretty much means that you don't need a new one.

And buying any new car is guaranteed to be *not* the least expensive solution. Depending mostly on how much you drive, the least expensive solution is either to keep the old gashog until it falls apart, or get rid of it and buy a used Civic or a Kia or the like.

I know I need a new one because I just spent 1500 bucks to get the A/C fixed. So it is obviously missing its age. Other than that there really isn't anything wrong with it. Its paying 70 dollars to fill it up constantly that is killing me. I'm moving from a city of pop 60,000 to Phoenix, which has even worse Stop&Go traffic. So I guess it depends that when gas prices climb more. The savings in gas & maintenance from my Explorer will more than pay for the Prius. Right? At 28K? With hardly driving the Explorer, reduced Insurance coverage, I don't think it will cost that much to keep it. I just hate to get rid of it, it has been a good car and its cargo capacity has come in handy. It's worth about 5K and hard to seel w/ the increasing Gas Prices.

[dogfriend]

One way to look at it is to use the right tool for the right job:

I decided to keep the Explorer, I can use it when the weather is bad (4wd) or if I need to tow or haul something. But I don't commute to work in it, and will save on gas, wearing out those big tires, etc. So the cost is registration, insurance (just liability because its not worth much) and maintenance.

For my commuting and just driving around on weekends, I use the Prius. I am making payments but that is partially offset by gas savings. It is faster than the Explorer, holds almost as much stuff, is easier to park and gets >3x the mileage.

[DVDTracker]

I've been crunching a lot of numbers over the past couple weeks, comparing my 2001 Tundra to new and used cars, playing with the cost of gas, purchase price of the vehicle, interest rate on the loan, etc.



(The Prius MPG is from a friend's real-world stats. Everything else is from KBB's city MPG for the model.)

Based on pure economics at $4/gallon, it would be cheaper over the next four years to keep driving my Tundra SR5. It's 7yrs old with 78k miles. Even with a major repair, which isn't likely, it would still be cheaper.

Now if gas hits $6/gallon, it's a whole new ballgame, so I'm still looking at getting a Prius, or a Camry if they're a lot more comfortable. I'm 6'5" and test drove my friend's 2004 Prius (since no dealers in Austin have any to test drive) and it was a bit of a tight fit, but acceptable.

Another reason I'm looking for something new is that the Tundra is still in good shape and I can get a decent price for it today. A few years down the road, I may not be able to. It's been a great truck but I'd like something with a trunk that could comfortably seat more than two people.

Toyota is also running a 0% APR for three years on the Camry which is another reason I'm leaning towards it vs a Prius.