How many assault rifles can you fit in a Prius C?

Now we are full circle, you start by arguing that no one saves money driving a Prius, we must be 'Greens', now you are arguing we only bought it to save money driving it.

2010 Prius School Project! | PriusChat

I did not primarily buy a Prius to save money or to be Green. (Saving money is touched on in 2, 5, and 9, but was never a explicit goal; being Green is in 4, 5, and to some degree 6 explicitly) I primarily bought a Hybrid to make my wife happy, and she is. (She drives the anti-Prius, a Chevy Tahoe that gets 17 MPG, but her employer chooses her vehicle, pays for it, and pays all maintenance, and all gas. Unlike my Prius she can tow 2 1/2 tons of trailer, not that she ever has)

 

No. I'm pointing how silly the "save money gas group" is in that they switched to they bought their Prius for the freight hauling capability which totally contradicts their "save money on gas" argument which in turn gets shot down by every non-biased financial analysis.

We break even, at best, on fuel on our Prius. What we do FER SHURE is:

1. Use less gas for no oil trade deficit, no oil wars.
2. Less pollution extracting oil, using oil.

The arguments that I've got guns and I'm a "fiscal conservative" and I'm no greenie are hilariously transparent covers for being green saving on oil use and pollution, the leading green Bill of Rights.

 

I hope you do not mind if I keep investing my 'breakevens', that I delusionally consider profits. Just as I hope you do not mind if I compare my Prius costs to a vehicle that could do the task I use a Prius for, not some vehicle that is incapible of doing what I need. Picking a sedan to compare gas mileage to makes no sense if I cannot use a sedan in my job.

I get annoyed with the argument 'You won't pay it off in a reasonable time, because we assume you only drive the national average' when I drive my Prius twice that much and before that I drove a Subaru Forester that same distance each year. (I had tried a 22 foot ladder in the Subaru, but it would not fit behid the front seat, 17 foot did. Once I got the Gen 2 Prius, it is obvious a 22 foot would not fit there either)

Amazon.com: Werner MT-17 300-Pound Duty Rating Telescoping Multi-Ladder, 17-Foot: Home Improvement

 

The reason for using the Camry Hybrid/Camry Std price differential is that it provides a direct cost differential between hybrid and non-hybrid since there isn't a non-hybrid Prius to use. One could deduct the cost of the hybrid system from a Prius and use that comparison but that is hard to do. So using the Camry cost differential of a hybrid/non-hybrid is a accurate cost estimate of $4,000 hybrid premium.

Well...as soon as you find someone who makes that argument you give them a piece of your mind. 5-7 years is certainly a reasonable time but that is to break even point for the average driver and that does not count interest paid on the $4,000, earnings lost on the $4,000 or financial security of having the $4,000 in the bank in case of emergency.

 

The Toyota Matrix matches the Prius cargo capacity closely, sadly my head does not fit through the doors, so it was not a 'real' choice for me.

You keep quoting those people. You say "CR and WSJ say..." but they assume I drive less than half of what I do. I made back the Prius tax in 3.3 years, I had planned on 5.5 years (including the interest) based on $2.50 gas. Real life did not provide $2.50 gas.


If I were to find myself needing a new vehicle today, I would be looking at a Prius v. I would compare it to other vehicles with similar cargo space. (I hope to make it until there is a Prius v PHV)

 

The Consumer Reports pages to which I linked very clearly include a line item for financing interest cost. And another for depreciation.

CU's financial comparison uses higher trim levels, not the base models. While the base models differ in MSRP by $5155, the Prius selected for this comparison has an MSRP $7480 higher than the selected Matrix. Even with the Prius producing a significantly higher finance interest cost, it still costs a typical driver $750 less to own and operate than does the Matrix at the end of Year 1. This savings expands to $2250 by the end of Year 3, $3500 at Year 5, and $4750 at Year 8.

Does CU no longer qualify as one of your approved 'non-biased financial analysis'?

 

Depreciation has to do with car value not the $4K saved by not buying a hybrid. The $4K could expect to APPRECIATE if saved and not spent on the hybrid system.

Best for figuring out cost premium of hybrid is when offered in the same vehicle. For Toyota, that comes to about $4K for a hybrid vs. non-hybrid.

 

Thanks for noting that CU's 'hybrid premium' of $7480 is an overstatement. Slashing it to just $4000 makes the Prius' lower TCO even more compelling.

 

Nothing makes the Prius (or any hybrid's) Total Cost of Ownership compelling, it will remain a substantial premium over non-hybrid and, for that reason, not a purchase the average car owner would make to save money on gas.

Saving on gas use and polluting less are the reasons for buying a hybrid.

 

You keep repeating that, but it is not true for me. (and so I suspect it is not true for many)

30000 miles a year * 3.3 years /46 MPG * $3.50 vs 30000*3.3 / 24 MPG * $3.50 = $7000 No matter how you 'spin' the cost of buying a Prius, I 'paid' for mine in 40 months. Since then, profit for the next 17 years. (I had a 1989 Toyota Corolla All-trac wagon until 2009, a 20 year life is doable)

 

My Prius replaced a hatchback that I'd driven 235,000 miles. (Freight-incapable sedans were banished from this household in 1984.)

For the same distance, at today's local average fuel price and EPA fuel economy, a Prius will burn $18,900 in fuel. The nearest equivalent hatchback, a Matrix, will burn $33,800 in fuel -- much more than the original purchase price of either car, a 'fuel premium' of $14,900 over the Prius. Even counting the time value of money, the $4000 up front 'hybrid premium' is easily lower cost than the $14,900 non-hybrid 'fuel premium'.

Even going with a Corolla sedan, the fuel bill would still be $32,600, a non-hybrid 'fuel premium' of $13,700. This leaves nothing left over to rent something bigger for the many trips where I need the extra freight capacity of a hatchback or wagon.

You continue to project either 'average' or your own situation onto everybody else, with no allowance for variance and diversity.