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Someone stop me from going all-electric

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by lensovet, Apr 27, 2015.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Yea ... trading out a ride for another is strictly a personal choice. NO one has the right/privilege to damn you for that. Only YOU can decide what's right for you. That said, we too, are whoring out to the competition ... by putting a deposit on the Tesla X . . . . so do NOT feel bad. We truly wish Toyota would have chosen to follow up with their gen II RAV 4 but that's just not the case. No one is a bigger Toyota fan than us . . . . but still . . . . if Toyota is NOT going to follow up on their prior greatness - and instead, choose to go down the hydrogen folly .... well, what's a hybrid electric fan follower supposed to do? I feel your pain. I'd say . . . .GO For IT ! ! ! Give it a try. We hoped for a cheep EV from Toyota - but they took another path. Give it a try, and it doesn't work, you can always go back to regular hybrid. But from personal experience, there's nothing cheeper to run than an EV. Just wish it could have been a Toyota. But for now, they've chosen to abort their EV baby before it's really born. Too bad.
    .
     
    #21 hill, Apr 29, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2015
    lensovet likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm tethered closer to priuschat than toyota.:p
     
  3. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    I didn't realize the MB was being discounted that much.
     
  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Why would you pose this question on a forum?
     
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Because it's a "CHAT" forum?
     
    Ashlem, lensovet, Tracksyde and 4 others like this.
  6. cooljw

    cooljw Member

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    Since you're in socal, you may want to consider one of the many sweetheart lease deals on EVs. I went from PIP to RAV4 EV and have loved it, then recently was tempted to lease a Fiat or Spark for the heck of it since it was zero down and less than $100/month for the lease payment! Heck a lot of people did so I'm not sure the deals are that sweet anymore.

    Other benefits of leasing an EV? Protects you from technological EV obsolescence. You also still get the $2500 CVRP rebate!
     
  7. berylrb

    berylrb Member

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    Wait a sec, are you sure about a B-Class for $24K with incentives? I passed through Autobahn in Belmont and they only have one on the lot for $49K mostly stock! What incentives are they giving for $25K??? Mercedes Benz Oakland could only go to $43K, did you find a used one? How many miles?
     
  8. berylrb

    berylrb Member

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    Yah, see my post!
     
  9. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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  10. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    the anti-plugin pr bs pushed out by lexus/toyota sure isn't helping with general plugin and PiP loyalty. Perhaps it's geared towards preventing new plugin buyers from even happening, rather than being concerned with their existing loyal PiP customers. It sure isn't geared towards redirecting plugin loyalty over to pie-in-the-sky hydrogen.
     
    #30 hill, May 3, 2015
    Last edited: May 3, 2015
  11. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    What anti-plug-in PR?
     
  12. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    This

     
  13. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Like the announcement the other day that Toyota is working on the 2nd Gen PiP, expected around 2016

    ;)
     
  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    So I take it that praise is also forbidden ?
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I guess the more you're piling on the miles, albeit not too many between charges, the more an electric vehicle makes sense. And conversely, if you're low mileage, gassing up once a month, it matters less and less.

    We're in the latter camp, literally fuelling up once a month, and that's with the gauge barely below half way. Are monthly expense for gas about $30, at higher Canadian prices.
     
  16. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Yep, the money angle argues against EV. So does the environmental angle:

    Say in CA an EV has half the CO2 footprint of petrol. So over the ~ 10 year life of the car run for 20 miles a day, 36k miles are saved. At Prius level fuel economy that is 720 gallons, equal to about 28,800 kWh.

    PV is good for about 25 years and produces about 1750 kWh per year per installed Kwatt. Over the PV lifetime that is 43,750 kWh. So it takes about 660 watts of installed PV to match the savings of an EV's CO2 savings. That is about $1500 - $2000 of installed PV.

    In terms of environmental ROI, EVs stink compared to PV
     
    #36 SageBrush, May 3, 2015
    Last edited: May 4, 2015
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thats after trading in or selling his pip for 21k.
     
  18. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Still trying to work some deals, will post back later.

    The standard discount (don't look at MSRP) on 2014 models, which are few and far between now, is 10k. With another 10k in government incentives, and 45k MSRP for a decently-equipped model, there's your 25k. I was counting on combining a fleet discount as well, but they wouldn't let me, so I walked off.

    2015 models are currently being discounted 5k without much negotiation. If you can swing your own financing and get a 7k fleet discount, that brings you down to 23k.

    Leases sound very good on paper, however the reality is that the bank is not a charity, the manufacturers need to get these cars sold so they can keep selling gas guzzlers, and there are deals to be made. My income is high enough that I can claim the entire federal rebate myself.

    PiP here is in pretty high demand, I see ads on Craigslist with 60k miles going for 20k for Base models. If DMV doesn't issue more stickers, you can bet your nice person that PiP resale values will skyrocket come July or August.

    I would love to install PV, unfortunately that's hard to do when you rent. My electricity usage is also nonexistent, and if I got an EV 95% of my charging would be for free at work from 100% renewable sources. Granted, my monthly gas usage for the past year has been $66/month, not exactly burning a hole in my pocket, though from the looks of it gas prices are inching back up (saw $3.70 today??).
     
  19. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Just checked again online…the official lease deal from MB is 199/month with 4000 down which includes first month's payment and acquisition fee.

    "Advertised 36 months lease payment based on MSRP of $45,355 less the suggested dealer contribution resulting in a total gross capitalized cost of $37,967. Cash due at signing includes $2,999 capitalized cost reduction, $795 acquisition fee and first month's lease payment of $199. No security deposit required. Total payments equal $10,958. Purchase option at lease end for $20,863."

    So if you do the math, you will see that the lease "costs" you $1500. Your total outlay is $8.5k over 3 years (factoring in the CVRP rebate, which you can still claim). Let's say I get the car for $25k. That means I come out ahead of the lease if I manage to sell it for more than $17.5k. I would certainly hope that I can sell a 3-year-old Mercedes for more than that…
     
  20. roflwaffle

    roflwaffle Member

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    I don't think comparing 10 years of EV to 25 years of PV is realistic. For that matter, EV versus gas for someone who can accommodate the limited range would be about marginal/comparable cost, not total cost.