Having a hard time justifying 2010 Prius

The rest of them see it as an overpriced Toyota.

 

I guess I fit the "rest" category. The Prius is not a cheap car. I can't really speak for the value of model V with ATP-NAV or IV with solar-NAV, but as far as my model III without NAV, there are several cheaper alternatives in the market that have similar or better features. Of course, the vast majority of those alternatives are non-hybrids, so the higher price of the Prius can be somewhat justifiable by the HSD technology. We don't actually pay for the cost of the HSD components plus labor to set it up; we are actually paying for the years of research and money spent to develop the technology. With time, once that development cost is returned to the company, the technology becomes cheaper.

 

i dont think the Prius is cheap either but at the same time, it has not affected my purchasing decisions. in many cases you get what you pay for. the thread on the 2010 Pri that was t-boned at 50+ mph (Pri was going that fast, other car's driver had a simple failure to read AND comprehend those 4 letters words like STOP so was probably moving much slower, but...)

but the tech features ALONE are worth the price. add to that the gas mileage which currently is worth a few thousand over the long haul, but was worth several thousand if you said in Summer 2008. (i am in the belief those "good old days" are not gone for good)

ok, so now with tech features the car goes from "over-priced" to "expensive"

add in the savings in gas and the "halo" affect (increases feelings of self worth which in turn reduces stress) and now it goes from "expensive" to "high end"

so now, we have the unquantified cost....
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...544-prius-2010-in-collision-2.html#post980564

toss in the much higher likelihood you and your family will walk away from a serious accident...

now the Prius is quite simply "The Best Car, dollar for dollar, money can buy"

 

Just for the record, my colleague at work just got a BMW 328 convertible instead of a Lexus (she was shopping for a luxury convertible), because the airbags in her previous Toyota Solara convertible (3 years old) did not deploy in her recent accident. She broke 10 ribs… She said she will never trust Toyota-Lexus again. I just hope this was a rare event.

 

do you think that the base Civic is comparable to the top trim package of the Accord?

your friend obviously was a victim of bad luck and most likely a very rare event. but thousands of people every day die on the highways. that does not affect my decisions when i jump in my car to go somewhere and i hope it does not affect anyone's decision to buy a car.

there is no perfect product so we can only collect data from as many users as we can and determine based on that feedback if the product is "likely" to be acceptable.

rare is the car, at any price, that keeps company with the Prius in long term owner satisfaction surveys

P.S. i also know someone who had a Solara... their experience was not a good one. here in rainy WA, she had issues with leakage, less than durable controls, interior coverings, etc.

 

I agree with you, however:

She always wanted a Lexus, but because of the accident she thinks Toyota-Lexus has questionable safety quality. Is her decision reasonable? Probably not, but with 10 broken ribs plus the trauma, I don't blame her...

 

I'm looking at my window sicker It says Retail price=22,000 + 775 for delivery Thats 22,750 I know i didn't add tax in. On my purchase agrement total price paid Including everything was $24,123

 

How did the airbag not opening resulted in her broke ribs?

I would think the seat belt and the force of the impact broke her ribs. Air bag would protect the head.

 

i dont blame her for being hesitant. i would be too and since the Pri does not come topless, i cannot fault her decision. she paid more but she also gets more.

but like i said, the Pri is not "overpriced" but is expensive, but i still consider the best value because it offers a lot. my sister works for Ford and i could have gotten an obscene discount thru her. (she buys it. i pay for it) but like i said... money aint everything

well, that and the fact that the Fusion hybrid is temporarily unavailable for employee purchase at least thru end of the year. although i was not seriously considering it anyway

but i could have gotten a gas focus for REAL cheap.

 

My comments about Toyota being "over" priced come from a long line of Toyota vehicles owned. I had a FX45 before I started down the hybrid path. My first was a loaded TCH at about $30K. Since it was my "first" I had doubts and when I looked at what could be obtained for $30K it did make me wonder about the sanity of my choice. The TCH was a reliable car with great FE, but it was a "cheap" car (plastics, etc). Had it not been for the redesign exterior I would have never considered one, but I actually like the looks.

I immediately was attracted to the 2010 Prius when I saw the pictures. I debated about the models and then came to the conclusion that for me to actually enjoy owning one, that I would have to have the V (the handling of the TCH was my major complaint). Now that I'm sold on the hybrids (I also have a Highlander Hybrid), I don't doubt my choices. I love them. However when I have a relapse and start thinking about "other" cars, I see a G8 GT, Camaro SS, Mustang GT, Acura, and many other interesting cars in that $30K price range. I have to remind myself why I did this. Going from a $50K car to the Prius wasn't really that hard. I had a purpose. But now that I've been in the $30K range for a couple of years I see what other manufacturers are doing in this price range and I have to remind myself that the money GM and Ford spends on horsepower and the money VW / Audi / BMW spends on interiors is an alternative to the money Toyota spends on the hybrid system.

I guess that is partly why I was excited when I first heard of the 250H, I'm willing to pay for a better interior and more comfort, even willing to give up some FE to do that, but I was disappointed that it did not have the 4cy setup like the Prius.

I don't complain (much) because I consider my Prius an economy car (ignoring the $30K price), but it has squeeks, rattles and noises from the interior that I would prefer not to have. If this was a $20K I would expect that. It's not though. So I have to remind myself that it's expensive because of the hybrid system and it truly is built as an upscale economy car, not a luxury economy car.

 

Given the horror stories of $450 headlights on the Prius like the thread below, how can it still be considered an economy car ?
Does anyone know how much battery replacement costs ?


http://priuschat.com/forums/toyota-prius-service-bulletins-tsbs/42999-headlight-replacement-10.html

 

The car had side airbags and it was a side collision against a post, right at her. If the side airbags deployed, the broken ribs could be avoided.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about. I do like and enjoy my Prius but I have second thoughs like you sometimes.

 

HID's are expensive no matter what car they are in. I don't think most Prius Gen II's don't have them. I doubt that many (relative to the number of Prius sold) have failed, regardless of the number of complaint on PC, which represent a small % of owners.

And no, probably no one here knows how much a replacement battery costs because it just doesn't happen often. (humor)

I'm not real sure what part replacement really has to do with an economy car rating. Replacing the bumper cover on a Prius is probably the same as one on Yugo. Replacement costs are hig regardless of the class of car, a lot of that cost being labor.

Still, to me, the base Prius being less than $24K would put that in the economy class IMHO. The fact that I add on a few goodies does not change its class.

 

Just a few months before I decided on the Prius I was looking at the CTS. There was an awesome deal if you had a lease vehicle (which I did). However I missed the "window" by two months. By the time I was eligible, GM was in a mess and when I went to look at the best deal they had with $7K discount on a lease, their interest rate on the lease was 24% (not a typo). I gave up and really, the Prius has more room in it than the CTS, especially in the back. I would have bought a G8GT if it was available in AWD. Chevy should have adopted that one as an Impala and dropped their junk.

I'm still thinking what I might want instead of the Expedition since it would be a low milage / low use 3rd vehicle (Camaro SS, Raptor, Vette.. I don't really know). There are a lot of nice and interesting cars out there.


I just know that my main vehicle will get good FE from now on. When I look at cars and they don't average in the high 20's (which few really do) I lose interest in them.


There is something addictive about the Prius experience and it's hard to put it into words. Just like the article on the PC home page about the doctor that gave up his $80K BMW for a Prius. Most people probably think he's nuts but I totaly understand.

 

Heheh...I grok what you mean. We were shopping for a (used!) 2007/2008 LS 460 when we went to California and accidentally got a G2 Prius rental. The next week or so was quite fun, with us constantly monitoring our mileage and marveling at the gadgets. When we returned the rental, there was a couple there who had been waiting several hours just so they could rent the car! Once we got home, my wife said we should look into the Prius as well, and the rest is history. And hey, saving money is ALWAYS a good thing

 

Total cost of ownership is relevant to smart and savvy buyers in the economy class.

 

There were relatively few Gen 2's that had the HIDs. But due to the comments from the owners herein and elsewhere Toyota reacted and did away with them. I have them in my 2005 and I love them.

Battery replacement? Have you been asleep for this entire decade? It's highly unlikely that any given driver will ever have to replace the battery in any Toyota hybrid. The life expectancy is something north of 250,000 miles, it could be 450,000 mile or more.

However if an HV battery did crap out in the 190,000 mile range the replacement cost would range somewhere from $500 to $3000 depending on how smart the owner is. It is very much dependent on brains and awareness.

I'm in the el-cheapo classification where I can't see spending more than $25000 for any vehicle. My next one will probably be a used Gen 3 with 40-50,000 miles on the clock at a price of $20000 or less depending on the equipment.

 

For someone most interested in the lowest cost of ownership the best value is a 3-4 y.o. basic Corolla or Yaris or Echo. However a 2003 or 2004 Prius with normal mileage is an even better choice.

No new vehicle should even be discussed if cost of ownership is critical.

 

Totally agree, but not everyone who wants a car that gets good FE is concerned with what the car costs or even the total cost of ownership. All I'm saying is that a II is a great economy car, but a V is nothing more than a II with some options. Down deep this is an economy car regardless of the model number. Just sometimes it's not an inexpensive economy car.