OK I want one.

Welcome, Kuki. You seem to be settling in just fine already. Most of us are convinced the Prius is both more responsible and cheaper to own and operate than most other vehicles (well, not counting bicycles ) Certainly, some of us are a little more elitist than others, but don't let that bother you. Part of being cool, paradoxically, is not caring whether people think you're cool. So, if your friends disagree, you can convince them otherwise, or you can ignore them. That's cool.

 

Hi Kuki, and welcome !

I'm surprised to hear that Prius is not the completely 'in' thing in fashion circles in Los Angeles, CA (of all places!)

My father-in-law is a well known architect. He thought the Prius design fantastic -- and trust me, that is high praise indeed. For myself, I still stare at the car admiring it's shape, two years of ownership later !

But then, I've never found bimbos, boob jobs or mascara attractive. Give me sleek, elegant and smart anyday !

 

Hello there Kuki......
Just in agreement with the others here....you are doing a great job in progressive thinking. I too, went from a gas guzzler to the Prius. I was driving a Jeep Cherokee and avg. something around 19 mpg. I still owed about a years worth of payments and really was confused as to drop the Jeep and get a Prius. As you can tell I chose the Prius. Yes, my month payments increased a little but my gas bills have DROPPED big time. I have had the Prius for about two months and have only had to hit the gas station 4 times now @ ~ $30 a pop. vs the $50+ a pop with the Jeep. With the Jeep I was having to fill up at least once a week. I was only able to get about 300 miles to the tank (17 gal) vs. 500 miles a tank (~10.5 gal.). You can do the math but $120 for the Prius vs. the $400 for the Jeep is a substantial savings in gas in just 2 months.

I do NOT regret making the change at all. The Prius has so much more room for the occupants and myself than the Jeep that I still am in awe about it. The car is great. No complaints at all....and I am pretty critical of any purchase that I make. I might somewhat regret the fact that I may have been able to get rid of monthly payments in a year but that would come with a lot of maintenace costs in upkeeping the Jeep (had ~70,000 miles on it). I am already saving money with Prius and I have a new car to boot. I am sort of an environment "freak" and you can't go wrong with the Prius. All I have to say in addition is, Drop the Dodge and go with the Prius. You will not be disappointed.

Welcome to the Prius Club

 

hiya kuki- welcome!

arm yourself with information. the battery is 3k to replace and there are like 2 failures known in the US, one i've heard was due to a plug in mod and the other was covered by warranty.

and your maintenance is tire rotation and oil change every 5000 miles. not too bad, eh?

i agree, you'd probably save more money buying the prius now and letting go of the guzzler. but definitely hang out here and read up, you'll be one more very well informed potential prius owner.

 

The battery is not a consumable. The WARRANTY on all the electrical bits is 8 years, so the expected life is much longer than that, easily as long as the expected life of the car. Simulated tests show that the battery can manage 150k miles without any change in performance... I'm at work so I don't have time to hunt down the link where I read that, sorry

I've met lots of people who, when I mention that I try to do my bit for the environment, think I'm trying to make out that I'm better than them. Maybe they just feel guilty? Or maybe they like moaning at other people. The main reason I got the car was because it was a bit better on emissions than my old car, much bigger, and a really nice car. I love the technology!

I always try to encourage people to do the right thing, and by owning a Prius I can show them how easy it can be. Many people here haven't heard of the Prius, and no-one really knows anything about it. I tell all my co-workers about it and they all seem intrigued. I think they think it'll be some kind of motorised biscuit-tin...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 19 2006, 12:58 PM) [snapback]288753[/snapback]</div>

OP is from CA. The emission and hybrid components are warrantied for 10 yrs/150,000 miles for states that adopt the CA emission standards.

 

Run don't walk to your Toyota dealer now In May I traded my 2005 4wd Tundra quad cab for a 2006 B.red Prius package 4. I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK. What a fun car I look forward to my 40 mile ride to work now. The savings so far, $3150. tax break, and the gas savings will be over 3 grand this year alone. You won't start saving money until you get the car and if gas goes much higher you will loose more on your trade. Just my thoughts good luck

 

There is a taxi driver up in Vancouver who uses a Prius for his taxi and he has put over 200K miles on various models (2001, 2003, 2004 and now a 2006) with no battery failures or other hybrid-system related failures. His maintenance records for the 2001 and 2004 are available online so you can see just what he had to spend money on (mostly oil changes). Toyota bought back his 2001 model and gave him a 2003 so that they could take it back to Japan to do a tear-down and analysis of the car. They did the same for the 2003, and were supposed to do it again for the 2004. And remember, this car was being used on the order of 22 to 24 hours a day. Much harsher operating conditions than what you and I put our cars through. If that doesn't convince someone of how well built the car is, then nothing will.

 

The picture on the left is of my last main ride. I've been moving heavy metal for decades and don't feel the least image-degradation driving my Prius around the freeways. I actually feel an image boost when the occasional thumbs-up is flashed at me by passersby.

Your head is in the right place. We'll all be happy when you make the move and you'll find infinite help about every aspect of the little jewel on this site.

 

This is sounding serious, Kuki, maybe it's time to discuss a commitment. Being blonde is no excuse. Find out what you could sell your truck for, and how much it would cost for the Prius with the options you want and/or can live with. Then go to your banker and find out what they can do for you. Tell them you want to lower your costs, they'll like that. They're usually flexible with monthly payments and terms, though it will cost you more interest to have a lower monthly payment. Don't be afraid to shop around and play one offer against another. If you keep your nose clean with the car payments, a mortgage will be that much easier and cheaper, especially with a good co-signer.

 

Hi Kuki,

My advice is this: Be sure to think twice about how the car fits into your financial plans, especially if you are considering a house.

Here are some pros and cons I can think of from what I understand of your situation:

Pros - Your auto loan payment will probably be less than a mortgage payment simply due to a lower amount financed, so assuming you make your payment on time every time, this is a great change to (re)build your credit. With this smaller loan amount you might get the banker to be more flexible as the previous poster mentioned, whereas you won't get this with a mortgage. If you realize a couple years down the road that you made a mistake, you should be able to get decent value for the Prius. Prius tax credit if you get a new one before 9/30.

Cons - Having a big car payment is going to reduce the amount of mortgage you qualify for - because they will look at the other payments you have to make each month when figuring out how big of a mortgage payment you can afford. Spending money on the car and/or having a big payment might prevent you from saving up to put at least 20% down on the house (when you have less than 20% equity you generally have higher rates and extra fees like mortgage insurance). Mortgage interest and property taxes are tax deductible whereas auto loan interest is not. If you've got any credit card debt, it is much better financially for you to pay that down and if that's the case I would not recommend taking on additonal debt.

I believe you are already looking at the big picture, and I hope that this post provides you with some specifics from someone who's been where you are thinking of going over the next few years. I hope this was helpful and apologize if any of it came across as a lecture, as I didn't intend that at all. Good luck, welcome to PriusChat, and here's hoping that after carefully considering everything, you decide to get a Prius!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tyrael @ Jul 18 2006, 07:28 AM) [snapback]288066[/snapback]</div>

I see you're getting only 38mpg. I'd bet you can do much better... I go only 7 miles to work and I'm getting 53.5mpg at a tank's end, or 56+ on the few days I can go without air conditioning. My last 30ish miles are 60mpg.

210 is pretty high for that first pip... I typically go to about 140 miles. Today I will hit 500 miles on my tank with 2 pips left .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kuki @ Jul 17 2006, 09:12 PM) [snapback]287868[/snapback]</div>

 

You will be VERY happy with the Prius !...now , if only Al Gore and Barrak Obama would get one...