Looking to buy a prius based soley on economics

[zhackwyatt]

I'm interested in the 08 (possibly 09) Touring Prius package #6. Looking at Toyota.com this comes to $28,205. I'm a total newbie at pretty much everything. I don't know if I can get below this price or not in the Phoenix area. What is a good price that I should be looking for at a dealer? What price range is a good deal and what price range is the dealer screwing me over?

I currently drive a '98 Ford Explorer that gets between 13-17 mpg. I am thinking about keeping my Explorer to have as a secondary car and for its size. Should I buy a Prius or should I try something else? I'm not interested in it because of Carbon Emissions or because of OPEC (Those are just extra benefits.) I know I like the car. My decision is purely economical. Does anybody have any help for me?

Lol, I don't think any of this post made sense.

[jjkell]

I'm pretty much in the same situation you are but I have done some research. Right now you'd be hard pressed to find a dealer selling much below MSRP. I'm waiting until either the market eventually settles down or the 2009 models come out. Good Luck.

[a priori]

Greetings and welcome to PriusChat!

I have to agree with you and wonder exactly what makes sense in your post, but I'll give a shot at an answer!

I don't know how you'll make your decision based "solely on economics."

If you like the car and don't care about other issues, and you can afford to buy it, then it doesn't appear your economics equate to mine.

If the Prius were to be your primary car, and you would need a secondary car only occasionally (twice a month or so), then I suggest you consider selling the Explorer so as not to worry about continuing depreciation, maintenance and insurance on that car. Instead, you could just call Enterprise and rent one when you need it. That way you'd have a new car every time, and some one else would worry about all the other economics of the second car.

Are my responses anywhere close to your questions?

[TonyPSchaefer]

Alright.

I ran some quick numbers.
averaging 12,000 miles per year:

• at 55mpg, the Prius requires 218.18 gallons of gas
• at 15mpg, the Explorer requires 800 gallons of gas

Assuming $4.00 per gallon gasoline

• The Prius costs $872 per year in fuel costs
• The Explorer costs $3,200 per year in fuel costs

The difference is $2,327 per year in fuel costs. Almost $200 per month.

If you can get a lease for $200 or less per month, then the car really does pay for itself. And you can keep the Explorer for when you start feeling bad for OPEC.

[diversified]

I'm in the same boat as you. My decision to buy a Prius was purely economic. I drive between 25,000-35,000 miles per year and for the past 25 years used either a Cadillac or Town Car. The Caddie cost me $88.00 a week in gas whereas the Prius cost me $25.00 per week. The higher the gas price the more I save.
I paid $25,000 for a 07' #2 and got the $800.00 federal tax credit. Between the fact that the Prius is half the price of the Caddie and I'm saving approx. $3,300.00 a year on gas in which I typically keep a car till 125,000-150000 miles, the Prius is a win-win situation for me. I still keep the Caddie for "vip" clients, but I like the Prius better than the Caddie and with all the aftermarket parts available, I've made the Prius almost as nice as the Caddie interior.
With the way energy costs are going its hard to imagine the Prius being a bad economic decision right now.

[galaxee]

well, if your decision is purely economical you'd be looking at a 5 year old civic.

if you're wondering whether it's worth it on your monthly bills to buy the prius vs keeping the explorer (assuming it's paid for)...

we need to know how much you drive. the average is about 1000 mi/month.
1000 mi @ 17 mpg (optimistic) is 58.8 gal of gas
1000 mi @ 40 mpg (pessimistic) is 25 gal of gas
at $3.79/gal (here) that's $128/mo saved on gas.
using the pessimistic numbers for the explorer and more optimistic about the prius mpg, that's closer to $200/mo.

you may or may not have collision and comprehensive insurance on the ford. if not, and you finance your prius, you'll be cutting into your monthly $ savings because your loan will require you to have this insurance.

the prius gains on maintenance, especially since you have an older ford. i will bite my tongue on how i feel about ford. :P

then there's the whole car payment issue. car payments suck, and it usually costs several extra car payments in finance charges to have a car loan. if you're cool with that, then it's not particularly economical but car payments are pretty much the norm.

so your decision is not purely economical. you found a car *you like* that gets a lot better mpg than what you've got now. that element of liking the car goes pretty far.

[Sheepdog]

It doesnt really matter what your reason for buying the Prius is. A side benefit is that it is helpful to the environment. It also helps that is gets 50mpg plus. It also helps that it is so darn reliable for so many miles. It also helps that the value of the car seems to not fade much at all over the years compared to other cars.

Its a good decision whatever your thinking!

[zhackwyatt]

Originally Posted by a priori

Greetings and welcome to PriusChat!

I have to agree with you and wonder exactly what makes sense in your post, but I'll give a shot at an answer!

I don't know how you'll make your decision based "solely on economics."

If you like the car and don't care about other issues, and you can afford to buy it, then it doesn't appear your economics equate to mine.

If the Prius were to be your primary car, and you would need a secondary car only occasionally (twice a month or so), then I suggest you consider selling the Explorer so as not to worry about continuing depreciation, maintenance and insurance on that car. Instead, you could just call Enterprise and rent one when you need it. That way you'd have a new car every time, and some one else would worry about all the other economics of the second car.

Are my responses anywhere close to your questions?

Well, I know I need a new car. I guess I am coming back to that age old question, get a Prius, or get something else. The only reason I am looking at a Prius compared to some other car is because of the MPG. But 28K, possibly 30K... I'm thinking the higher the gas prices the higher the demand, the higher the price. (Classic Supply and Demand) I attached two pictures from hybridcars.com that I thought was interesting.

[lowspeed]

Originally Posted by zhackwyatt

I'm interested in the 08 (possibly 09) Touring Prius package #6. Looking at Toyota.com this comes to $28,205. I'm a total newbie at pretty much everything. I don't know if I can get below this price or not in the Phoenix area. What is a good price that I should be looking for at a dealer? What price range is a good deal and what price range is the dealer screwing me over?

I currently drive a '98 Ford Explorer that gets between 13-17 mpg. I am thinking about keeping my Explorer to have as a secondary car and for its size. Should I buy a Prius or should I try something else? I'm not interested in it because of Carbon Emissions or because of OPEC (Those are just extra benefits.) I know I like the car. My decision is purely economical. Does anybody have any help for me?

Lol, I don't think any of this post made sense.

Test drive the Nissan Sentra. Highway it gets on flats 36mpg.

It's at least 8K less than the prius. (granted the prius is a much better car, but purely for a non fun just get to work car, i think the sentra is a good buy)




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[patsparks]

Buy a Prius, you won't lose.