I bought a plug in. Might not have been worth it...

How much is the HOV sticker worth?


I agree that folks need to evaluate a few criteria when considering the purchase of a vehicle. At home charging, overnight, is assumed for a Plug-In.

I use public charging stations but there are plenty around my town and I pay $4/month for a subscription to use them. I have adjusted a few habits so that I can leave the car charging while I am in business meetings, shopping, exercising, etc ....

 

You wanted the technology package right? Otherwise, you would have gotten the Base model and saved $8k.

How long/far is your commute?

 

Every situation is different, which is why anyone should do research into any car they plan to purchase, EV, PHEV or ICE.
I know of many people that have had no issues with the rebates what so ever. I am sorry you are having difficulty.
And why are you trying to get a charger installed, plug the thing into a normal wall socket. You eliminate a lot of expense, and in your case headache, by just using a standard 110 volt wall outlet.

 

yup, without 110 outlet access i wouldn't recommend PiP to anyone. i've owned for 4000miles and never used a charging station (they're used, far out of my way, cost a lot more than home charging, or can't wait 3 hrs). that's probably why the head of toyota feels BEVs are not practical in the real world. i read a consultant study that said most BEV/PHEV owners share common traits, one of which is owning a home with a covered garage (outlet). dealing with HOAs is always a hassle.

the first hybrid fed tax credit offered years ago came with income brackets which basically disqualified a lot of the early adopters (me included). congress recently fixed it so i don't think the 2500 tax credit (not deduction) will be a problem this time (hopefully).

 

it's definately a personal decision. knowing my commute and charging capabilties was preeminent in my decision making process. however, when i do a lot of hv driving and get 70-80 mpg's, i have no regrets. still, i could not justify the advanced package, another personal decision. maybe you can trade cars with F8L!

 

Hopefully it will grow on you. It grew on me.

At $3.75/gal for 87 octane and 50 mpg's the car has a gasoline cost of less than $0.08/mile. Thats one of the benefits of small battery phev's. Their least efficient operation is already extremely efficient, and they don't require you to spend thousands of dollars in additional infrastructure upgrades, because they don't really effect the usability of your car. You can always make long distance trips at any time, without having to stop for hours in the middle to charge. Plus you still get the benefits of free parking at LAX, free metered parking in santa monica, free chargers in santa monica and beverly hills, carpool access on 405 and busy on-ramps, etc.

 

If you are there before 6p.m. most of the parking lots are free for the first 2 hours. But yes, in the paid parking lots.

 

that was the case before (disallowed for amt i believe), but i believe the fix was to remove that constraint so as to incentivize alternative fuel vehicles as was original intent. lots of articles on google, or better yet consult tax advisor.

 

I pretty much came to the same conclusion as you. Living in CA with our high electricity rates, I'm paying a little under a $1 for a full charge at home which equates to ~$4.50 a gallon of gas. I'm paying more for electricity than gas. Right now, not being able to charge at home saves you money. Include the additional cost of the PiP over the regular Prius and I'm just digging a bigger and bigger whole. The PiP is not worth it financially over a standard Prius. Why did I buy the PiP? HOV access baby. I'm shaving an hour off my commute from 3 hours to 2 hours and change. Worth every penny. I made sure to buy the base model though. I'm sure I'll get some of that premium over a regular Prius back on resale. I still plug in because my electricity is cleaner than gasoline.

I confirmed that there are still funds available in the $1500 CVRP. And I know they exist but I don't know anyone who is gainfully employed full time that do not have at least a $2500 yearly tax burden so that they can qualify for the federal rebate. Only time I paid less in yearly taxes was when I worked at McDonalds part time for minimum wage meaning I wouldn't be able to afford a $30-$40k vehicle anyway.

If you're stuck on finances here. Stop looking into installation of charging points. You're not likely to make your money back. Never is a strong word. Be persistent in getting access to existing outlets. That's how I got work to approve me. I didn't accept a no. I kept trying and finally got my yes. Well, second time I asked, they said yes. Still, if I had "never" in my mind I wouldn't be charging my PiP right now as I type.

You didn't do your research fully and now you have buyer's remorse. It's an expensive lesson to learn. Now you know not to buy on impulse. My research says there wasn't any value in dollars sense for a PiP. It was always in the perks. At least you love the car. I border on hating this ugly duckling, slow-as-molasses, constantly-being-tailgated-even-if-I-am-going-with-the-speed-of-traffic-just-because-it's-a-Prius, rattle box on wheels. But boy am I loving the perks!

 

And I know they exist but I don't know anyone who is gainfully employed full time that do not have at least a $2500 yearly tax burden so that they can qualify for the federal rebate. Only time I paid less in yearly taxes was when I worked at McDonalds part time for minimum wage meaning I wouldn't be able to afford a $30-$40k vehicle anyway.

I'm on SS so no federal or state taxes so no credit for me.

 

i'm paying around a quarter per charge with PGE (E-9A) in the winter (Nov-Apr). you can have PGE run an cost analysis if you tell them you have a PHEV. i agree $1/chg is not cost effective anymore. my commute doesn't require hov lane, but i could see how that perk alone would be big on 101 or 880 (multiply your hourly wage by time saved and factor in stress relieved!)

 

Re: 2500 rebate from the IRS, no complications, just need to make sure you have at least 2500 in tax liability (NOT tax due) to be able to get it.
Anyone making over 30k shouldn't have a problem with that.

 

The problem here is you bought first and asked questions later. I have a PiPA and it's the best car purchase I've ever made!