I need to get a car. Should I justify a Prius?

[rocketwidget]

Hi all,

New poster here, thinking about my automotive needs. I'm all set to graduate from my college in the spring, and I am very fortunate in that I have a good job lined up already. Of course, I need a car to travel to said job.

I've looked into the Prius quite a bit, and I'm in love with the idea of driving an extremely fuel efficient car that seems to make no sacrifices in terms of performance and features. Since I'm coming from an institution that is often thought of as a liberal bastion, I also want to promote conservation. I know there is no stronger statement then your wallet. Furthermore, I'm a techno-geek and the Prius itself particularly fascinates me with all its cool features.

The problem is that I'm having a real hard time justifying the cost of a car that, in the end, would probably cost me about 24K in total. I was brought up to be very frugal with money, to always save 15% or more of what I make, to invest wisely, and since cars are big, expensive money sinkholes, ALWAYS buy used, NEVER go into debt to buy a car, and KEEP a car for as long as it is cheaper to repair than to replace.

Now, I am AGAIN very fortunate to not have any college loans to repay, and I have ~11K saved up to spend or save however I would like. If I were to buy a Prius, because of how I feel about money, I would at a minimum want to wait until I could pay for the car in full without any debt, so at a minimum I would want to save for 3-6 months.

So, my question is, Can I justify buying a Prius, if
1. I need a car before I can afford a Prius, and
2. A used, reliable car that costs 3-5K would suit my transportation NEEDS just fine, and would be monumentally cheaper than a Prius, and
3. Used Priuss (Priui?) are so new and in demand that it would be hard to find one used, and I really wouldn't save much buying one used anyway. If I wouldn't save much, I would really rather have the 2004+ models because I like their feature sets much more than the 2001-2003 models.

Thanks for your input guys! (And sorry to be so longwinded)

[Tideland Prius]

1) Yes. Given that you're going to be running it til it blows (figuratively speaking), a Prius will do you well since a used car would've half of its life done. If you think it's worth the sacrifice of no car for 3-6 months to enjoy what is possibly could be your favourite car, then go for it. I'm a college student myself (2nd year) and I love the car! We needed a second car for my bro and I to go to university but my dad didn't want to spend a lot of fuel since we drive a lot so spending the extra cash made sense to him.

Note, aside from fuel savings, you save on brake pads (since you don't use them very often) and other things such as spark plugs, timing chain (or is it a belt in the Prius?) and other normal wear and tear items have their lifespan extended. The hybrid system is warranted for 8yrs/100,000 miles. The HV batt costs abt $1,200 right now so it'll be cheaper by the time the warranty is up.

2) A Pro for buying a used car is that the first owner took the depreciation hit and that it's much cheaper to buy but again, since you're going to be keeping it for as long as it lives, a new car would be more justified (and probably pollutes less and uses less than a 8-10 year old car).

3) Don't bother. A used one is probably being advertise the same as a brand new one.

[Ray Moore]

Perhaps it would be best if you just stick with your core values and get a small efficient used car. It's easy to get used to driving new cars with the latest features. You can even justify the purchase by focusing on the improved safety of newer vehicles. Good luck with your decision.

[osmaster]

Hi I am New.

I saw this website in Borders - Wired Magazine

Toyota is the closest dealership to my house.

The car looks nice.

[rocketwidget]

Ok, thanks guys. I appreciate your input. I think I still need to think about it. Luckily, I have 3+ months to decide! (Although there is that waiting period if I chose to get one....oh well)

[louwala]

It is easy to be frugal to a fault and I am a good example. I have been debt-free (other than mortgages) for over 15 years and had no intention of changing that. I drove my '91 Honda Civic to over 200K and 30-35MPG long past its comfort zone or economic sensibility to save enough to buy the basic Prius outright. I spent $800 in maintenance, tires, and repairs while waiting for my Prius to come in. Work the numbers - if you can put 11K down and finance the rest with no early payoff penalty - and pay it off over the next 6 months for say $200-$400 in interest, I would guess you would be ahead in the long run over a short term used car and get some great credit in the process.

[jimrebekah]

I also would have loved a new Prius, but also have not the funds. We bought a 2002 Prius used. It's fully loaded with Nav. We "saved" $10,000. Used Prii are out there, and we are now driving our dream car. I recommend Cars.com for a quick search of places and prices; many dealers are asking crazy prices, but a few are reasonable. We bought ours through a private seller, and even saw someone buy one off eBay (but we'd never buy what we hadn't driven). Please don't write off used Prii--they may be a compromise for you, but they may be a good one.

[Darwood]

1) Oil/gas prices continue to rise, and this was cause an even bigger rush to hybrids, meaning it may get even harder to get a Prius this summer.

2) Interest rates are going up. If you are going to finance, do it now.

3) We have rising Inflation. This means the cost of goods and services will be going up. This means the cost of the cars, the gas, the parts an labor to fix the cars.

I'd either bite the bullet and get what you want, or buy the cheapest piece of crap you can get and hope it makes it a year while you save up the money. I would only do this if you have some mechanical know how and can fix things yourself. If your constantly paying someone to fix things on a used car, you'll be spending as much as you would have buying a new car.

[Bigsk8r]

1) Gas will never be under $2.00 a gallon after this year. (I HOPE I am wrong on this one) The fuel vendors WANT us mentally in the $2.00 and up range.

2) At $2.00 a gallon and 20 MPG delta you will save nearly $3600 per 100K miles driven. I plan on 200K+ out of mine, so that's over $7000 dollars right there, not including savings on brakes (less wear), oil (less per oil change), tires (they are smaller and less $$ than most cars) and other maintenance.

Regards,

Larry

[Torf]

You really should run a forecast comparing estimated costs of the used car you would buy compared to the new Prius.

Figure things such as:

Vehicle lifetime mileage - purchase mileage
Purchase price
Lifetime gasoline consumption & Price
Lifetime insurance rates
Lifetime maintenance

Many of these items will be estimates at best, but when we make financial decisions we must base our decisions on our best estimates.

Heres my analysis:

Vehicle 1:
Used 2003 Dodge Stratus V6
Cost with tax: $12,960
Used car mileage: 20,000 mi
Expected Life: 160,000 mi

Useful Cost/mile: $0.093/mile
180,000 mile adjusted cost: $16,740

Average mileage: 25 MPG
Lifetime Gas consumption: 7,200 Gal.
Lifetime Average Gas Price: $2.25
Lifetime Gas Cost: $16,200

Lifetime Maintenance Cost: $3,000

Annual Insurance x (10) years: $4,250

Total Lifetime costs: $40,190

Vehicle 2:
New 2005 Toyota Prius
Cost with tax: $25,164
Expected Life: 180,000 mi

Useful Cost/mile: $0.140/mile
180,000 mile adjusted cost: $25,164

Average mileage: 48 MPG
Lifetime Gas consumption: 3,750 Gal.
Lifetime Average Gas Price: $2.25
Lifetime Gas Cost: $8,438

Lifetime Maintenance Cost: $1,500

Annual Insurance x (10) years: $4,250

Total Lifetime costs: $39,352


Based on this model, I will only save $1000 for the next 180,000 miles and 10 years by going with the Prius.

There are certainly variables too. If I average BETTER than 48 MPG in the Prius, which most people do with my kind or driving, the comparison would be more favorable. If the gas price averages higher than 2.25/gal for the next 180,000 miles, then the comparison would be more favorable as well.
The Maintenance figure could be high or low for either car. My current 97 Dodge Stratus V6 has 144,000 miles on it and it has had less than $1,500 in maintenance costs. The Prius could very well be trouble free after the longer warrenty expires.

Anyway, look at YOUR driving habits and expectations, and make the best decision based on your data. I chose the Prius over the Stratus this time. I'll have to see if my gamble works in the next few years or so.