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Riding the fence - help me decide

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by mudmanrv, Jan 29, 2012.

  1. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    I'm at a crossroads point... I've been looking at the Vee for a while now.... here's my situation.

    37yrs old .. wife and 3 kids ...(10, 6, and 6months) Currently, I drive a 2000 Chevy Blazer - 4x4 -- which gets 20mpg fairly consistantly. I drive almost 100 miles a day ... as I have a 42 mile commute to work. We replace a vehicle roughly every 5 years. when the wife's is paid off, i get one, when mine is paid off, she gets one...etc. hers is paid off ... MY TURN!! :)

    Ok, with the addition of the baby last fall, we now have completely outgrown our home. 3 bed 1-1/2 bath - old 1930's 1-1/2 story with virtually no closets. the home is cozy and certainly affordable - but the commute isnt. I spend roughly 500/mth in gas just to drive to work.

    We want to move closer to work to get more family time, etc. since i'm gone 12 hours a day on a good day. the wife stays home now, as working for her would equal paying childcare and gas for her car. it's actually cheaper for her to stay home. I'm all for that.

    So if we move - we get a bigger house but really no milage to worry about. if we don't we're cramped and have the drive. I was looking at the regular prius - till the v came out - then i was looking at it. factoring what we were paying on the wife's car - 350/mth and gass for me at 500 ... that's 850/mth... figure a pri v at 500/mth but 250 in gass, that's 750 or a savings of 100/mth.

    however, if we move - the fuel cost would likely wash into house payment for bigger house...

    so do i buy or wait, is the first question. murphy's law states if i buy the car - the house will sell fast (not listed yet) ... if i don't buy car, then house will take a year or better to sell which i could of saved that 100/month the whole time.

    The v is also comparable cargo space wise to the blazer - almost exact numbers. a bit narrower though... 2 kids and a car seat? not sure.

    the mileage is only going to pay for itself as gas keeps rising... (I'm in NE Indiana btw) ... I tow occasionally an atv or pop-up which I can't with the prius but can with the blazer if i keep it vs trade.

    the other issue is budget - being on one income. is that a realistic figure? a used suv (traverse or something) would be at least 18-21k with at least 60k miles, or i can go new for 28-30...?

    i cant decide...want your input
     
  2. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Gas will never be cheep again. House values right now are crazy low. Stay put in the house until the market comes back up a bit. No sense in giving a house away today. I am in your shoes as far as my turn to get a new vehicle. I retired 4+ years ago and now drive 100 miles a day to bring my wife to & from the train station and our son to & from school. I drive a '04 AWD Saturn Vue which gets a lovely 21 mpg. I am done with supporting the crazy foreign countries with my gas money. I am buying a 3rd Gen '12 Prius in May. It's ultimately your call on the purchase. I plan on not having to pay so much to those crooked gas companies starting in May :)

    Mike
     
  3. kennethfuller@juno.com

    [email protected] New Member

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    I now have two Prius's. A 2005 V which I purchased new. 135000 miles, replaced tires three times, wiper blades three or four times and the 12V battery last week. That's it. Most dependable car I've ever owned. Still on original brakes. This car gets 41 - 42 MPH.

    Took possession of the v wagon last week and have been very pleased. Second tank of gas and getting 41 MPH even though it is much larger than my 2005 Prius.

    Recommendation? Get a Prius v wagon. The standard Prius would be too small for your family. But keep in mind you can't tow with the Prius.
     
  4. buckaroo

    buckaroo Junior Member

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    Bought my Prius v Model 5 two mos ago. Traded in a 2003 Pilot that got me 16 mpg. Drove 35 miles/day to work. My Pilot required about 6 fillups/month costing around $60 each. I fill up the Prius about 2.5x/mo at a cost of about $33 each. The money savings in gas goes right into my car payment. Sure I miss not having a note but I like passing gas stations even more. My wife & I have 2 gas sippers (other car is Honda Civic) and we are saving much on gas expenses.

    I would buy now. Wait out the market on your home. Get it ready for sale. Make minor repairs and upgrades. I am in same boat and looking to move. I am slowly making minor changes to my home to get it ready and am hoping to move in no more than two years to a single story. My mortgage is nice and low and we are just paying down bills and making minor fixes and cleaning up.

    Go for it. You should be able to get a low car loan rate right now and get your home ready to sell when market creeps up a little.
     
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  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Can you bring along the kids, car seat and cargo you might need to haul and put them in the v, to see how well they fit? Remember that the rear seats on the v wagon can slide forward and back?

    Maybe also consider the '12 Camry Hybrid? It gets incredible mileage considering it's 200 hp and fairly fast. But, there's WAY less cargo flexibility than the regular Prius and Prius v.
     
  6. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    If money is driving this decision you left out some critical facts: what can you *realistically* get for your house, and what would a better one cost?

    In any case, save up the cost of the next car before you buy it. Borrowing money to buy a new car is a Christmas gift to the lender.
     
  7. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    But he was buying GM vehicles so he had to replace them every 5 years or they might leave him walking :eek:

    Now that he is going to buy a Prius; well he can drive that for at least 10 years ;)

    Mike :tea:
     
  8. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    He's already keeping cars for 10 years. But they have two cars, so they replace one every 5 years and have one car payment.
     
  9. J5A

    J5A Active Member

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    If you want both, I recommend buying a house before buying a car.
    This is why: If you have a car loan on one income (especially one for over $20k) when you go to purchase a mortgage, your mortgage rate is likely to be higher, thus you pay more interest (we call it vapor) on your home.
    Also, if the market is low, it means low on both ends, so the house you buy will be lower priced, too. If you wait, you may get slightly more for your house, but your purchase price will be higher, resulting in even MORE vapor out the window.
     
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  10. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    It depends on the interest rate on the loan and whether you can make more effective use of the money by deferring the payment.
     
  11. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Ah missed that :confused:

    Mike :bolt:
     
  12. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    Thanks for the replies so far. For the guy who made the GM comment... I laughed. My dad was a GM mechanic for 40 years, so I had free labor and access to any special tools required. with that said though, I've only ever had to do regular maintenance. The blazer - for the record currently has 193k miles and still going...
    and yes, we do keep each of our vehicles 10 years, only having one payment we replace one of them every 5.

    On the house - ours was 79k and last appraised at 73k, we took a bit of a hit - but the thought there is, we should be able to buy 'more' house now and recover it in equity when/if the market upswings. a new house - with sq ft. we're looking for will be 100-130k maybe less if we can find a repo or vacant property. that will likely double my payment from 400-800 but the mileage difference would wash that in cost. no fuel money - as that would go into house payment and be a wash.

    one of my local credit unions - has a new car rate of 2.49% for 60mths right now ...
    I might be able to get better but that's the lowest i've seen for a while. it goes to 3.99 for 6 years ... which i dont want to do - but buying new - i'm really looking at the v5 with tech pkg. i could do without teck pkg, but this would also be first "new" car I've ever bought. I;ve always bought 'off-lease' vehicles with under 30k miles at half sticker price for new. looking at suv's like the traverse or tahoe - used with 60k miles they are going for 26k, i can get a new off the delivery truck prius for 28-30. it just makes more sense.

    the trick is cart before the house - or house before the car
     
  13. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Since this would be your first new vehicle, spoil yourself. Once you get that larger house payment, you might not be able to get the new vehicle :(

    Buy the car and live in a campground :thumb:

    Mike :madgrin:
     
  14. Cactus Hybrid

    Cactus Hybrid Member

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    I would buy the v and keep the house like most here said.

    I have two kids in car seats and I can get an adult in the middle with no issues. The v is wider than our 2007 Prius that I replaced. Another plus is the big rear doors that open to allow easy access in and out of the seats. The cargo space is a MUCH better than our 2007. Plenty of space for strollers and stuff....

    Go for it!
     
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  15. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    Only problem we have - is the baby's crib in our bedroom. As we have a 3 bed 1.5 bath - one room is used as an office (it's on main floor) the other 2 are up with a landing that serves as a bedroom as well. 3 kids - us, and 3 closets in the whole house. (1930's) ...
    Yeah - not sure my wife would agree with you on that one... lol. we'll have to see this spring when we try to list the house.

    I still want the car now though - but as others have mentioned - having that plus the house payment could be an issue or at least a financing issue. have to get word from a couple banks yet. our credit is really good and i only owe on my house right now... but we are also only one income for a while - with 3 kids 10 and under.... and child care is expensive.
     
  16. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    A car is a *lot* more expensive than fuel cost/mile. A Prius is about 20 cents/mile, most cars are 25-30 cents/mile, and SUVs are 30-40 cents/mile. This all assumes the car is kept for its reliable lifetime.

    OP's major transgression in frugalism is not buying a reliable car and keeping it for much longer than 5 years. If he stays put, buys a 'v' and keeps it for 15 years while assuming $5k in repairs, he will know the lowest cost stay put alternative. I am not saying he should stay put, but rather that his stay put scenario is flawed.

    He should also realize that moving is expensive. Figure 10% the value of his home, then on an ongoing basis whatever his increased mortgage and property taxes will be monthly.

    Three kids in their home does not sound cramped to me. By the time the young ones start clamoring for a room of their own the oldest should be out of the house.
     
  17. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    I reallize a car is more than just fuel costs. I had quoted insurance a while back and it was within $60 of what I pay now. With it being newer, having more air bags, traction, etc... vs. my 4wd with only 2 airbags and anti-lock brakes. insurance was for all purposes a wash. Everyone says how well toyota's reliability is, and my father being a mechanic - helps to sway repair costs - as I only really need to pay for parts (after warranty period) unless it's something mission critical. minor repairs i can handle or good ol' dad, until we get into the hybrid components. electronics are like a light bulb though - they either work, or they don't -- on. or off.

    we only have about a 1200sq ft house with no storage space. our upstairs is about 4ft of wall, then the sloping roofline - as it's a half-story.

    Where I made my comparison is this:
    previous car payment $350 & fuel at 500/mth (when it was 4 and over per gallon) that's 850 per month. not including oil changes, etc. (I would have that with either vehicle) all things being equal.
    new car would be say 500/mth - but only 250 for fuel - as it gets 40mpg vs my current 20mpg. that equals out to 750 or a 100 savings. per month.

    I still have maintenance with both vehicles, i still have insurance - which quoted was virtually the same. plates here in indiana - would be way more expensive the first couple years at least... we're not on a flat rate registration like some states.

    so - with the exception of plates - all things being equal except for mpg - the math says new car saves money.

    with house- yes, you have inspections, closing costs, etc., realtor fees, moving truck rental - appliances if needed, etc. I get that. I didn't factor that - as with having equity built up we hope to pull from that minus down payment money to cover. plus, I can use our box delivery truck here at work for moving. (small perk)

    the decision weghing - is - do i car now, knowing if i do murphy's law will come around and the house will sell instantly... then i have two payments, no milage savings, etc. or do i wait - get the house first and see what money is left in the budget for a car later... ?

    when i can save money now - it kind of bugs me that i'm not doing it. but trying to see the bigger picture - it also makes sense to wait - which presents the decision dilemma.

    I appreciate all the feedback - really do. keep it coming.
    oh, and if it helps - i'll disclose a little of the financials. current home 400/mth we pay 450. all expenses including cell phones and sat tv only cost about 1600-1800/month. i gross a base salary of 48k which nets me about 3k per month take home. the above expenses doesn't factor groceries or eating out - only house, utilities, etc.
     
  18. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Don't those fence splinters hurt?
    Prius seats do not have splinters, good reason to buy one ASAP! :D
     
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  19. mmcdonal

    mmcdonal Active Member

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    If it were me, I would get both now. The v is less than a comparably equipped regular Prius by a few thousand dollars. You will get more and better and safer technology, not to mention the better mileage. Not to slam GM's in particular, but those old models are really tippy. The v is a rock solid ride, with plenty of cool toys. The cargo space is awesome.

    As to the house, get the new one now, as you said, the cost of moving to another house is usually a wash on the differential, unless the markets are really far apart, but the bonus comes in leveraging the equity. If you sell on a depressed market, you buy on a depressed market, too.

    Good luck, and post pics of the new ride!
     
  20. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I misunderstood your car replacement schedule too. Ten years for a reliable car is still premature flipping -- I suspect. It certainly is for my locale, but maybe IN is that much harder on cars. Thankfully we make do with red dirt rather than salting the roads in the winter. I dump a car when it becomes too expensive to keep repaired, not at a specified age. This seems to work out to 15 - 25 years car life expectancy. Our current age leader is a 1996 Subaru Outback. It still drives like a champ, albeit with creaking sounds and the paint looks pretty bad.

    In your shoes I would be asking very different questions:

    Where is the best locale to raise kids ? Where are the best schools ?
    How secure is my job ?
    How likely is my income to rise over the next 10 years ?

    A $400 house payment is quite a boon; I would think three times over before giving it up. This is the great thing about soliciting advice on the internet: somebody is going to propose what you want to do. So I'll throw out the opposite of mmcdonal's advice:

    Stay put if your neighborhood and schools are decent.
    Keep you car(s) until they actually wear out
    Replace *your* car when the time comes with a used, reliable, 40+ MPG highway car.
    Dump the sat TV and cell phone subscriptions.
    Save money, and have options in the future.