#of Years to Break Even w/Cost of Prius

Hey gr8aunt, what is the point the dealer is trying to make ? Don't buy a Prius because its too expensive and doesn't pay back or what ? I don't quite follow what this is about, sorry..

 

a. Other cars don't "pay you back" at all, so this argument is always a bit confounding.

b. If you want to see some real world gas mileage and guesstimate saving for yourself, take a look at

http://www.daronspicher.com/php/prius/priusgasgrid.php
(long daily commute, switched from low-mileage car. Daron includes a gas savings calculation in his chart)

http://www.geocities.com/tonypschaefer/
(click the Prius link on the left to view Priuschat Mod Tony Schaefer's mileage records.)

Hybrid Mileage Database - GreenHybrid
mileage numbers from Prius drivers all over the country.

 

So he was trying to talk you out of one because he had other Toyota stock on the dealer floor, well can't blame the guy for giving it a go...
However, a Prius is so much more than payback and I would advise you to surf the PC pages here for a few days to get a feel of just how great these owners think their car is. Personally, I didn't give a rip about the payback; I had read about it on here, had a test drive and knew I would save money on running costs. I'm an accountant so I could have gone bananas on present values, payback periods and so on, but I didn't. I wanted the car for more than the savings. It makes a green statement for us, something we are keen on anyway; it is high tech compared to other cars and although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the Prius looks cool, despite what others may say.

So yeah, forget the paybacks. You will save running cost money for sure, that's a guarantee. Just get one because you want one, no other reason...

Good luck and hope you become a "newbie" soon !

 

Sounds like the dealer doesn't have any more Prii left on the lot and he wants to put you in something else.

 

Without using a calculator, his chart is already flawed with the identical payback periods for different costing cars. The only reason payback may matter is if you're only concerned with fuel costs. The Prius is in a different class than the economy cars in that list, so why compare it to them?

 

There are definitely more reasons to buy a Prius than just the good gas mileage. yes, they do cost more upfront. Your savings in fuel will vary depending on the car you switched from. I went from a 14 mpg truck and will save about $2000 a year in fuel costs. If you're already driving a Corolla then you won't see as much of a difference. But the other factors.....Prius gets much better emissions than almost any other car (AT-PZEV). That's pretty cool. The more people that buy hybrids, the faster the car manufacturers will realize that this is the way things are going. And....the car is AWESOME. I've had mine 2 months and I still think it's the most amazing thing ever. The technology in this car makes everything else look very dated. That said, if your finances don't allow for a Prius, any of the other cars the dealer listed do very well on mpgs and are good cars.

 

By comparing a Prius with options to base model economy cars means absolutly nothing.

I'd e-mail him back with a cc to the owner of the dealership and sales manager thanking him for the chart and that you intend to plug in the figures for a Fit and Versa also to see what is the best for you.

 

The whole break even concept is pretty much useless in my opinion. Most people do not buy a vehicle based solely on gas cost. Comfort, safety, performance, maintenance, reliability, warranty, passenger/cargo space, dealer service and plenty of other things all factor into a decision. If that wasn't the case, we would all walk.

If a Yaris meets your needs, and satisfies your wants you might be financially better off. If you need the functionality of a 4-5 passenger mid-sized hatch back, the Prius is a pretty good option. Even though there are cheaper cars out there, Consumer Reports recently found the Prius to be the least expensive family car to own over five years.

Its funny how no-one ever wonders what the payback period is for an Escalade, or an M3. The truth is we buy vehicles based on what is important to us. If saving gas is important to you, it just becomes another criteria which you ascribe some value to.

Rob

 

I say that if the only reason you are considering a Prius over other cars is for the minimum cost of ownership, then the dealer is right, you can purchase a tiny base model 2 seater 2 door vehicle with no options and minimal safety features, and you'll need to drive a few hundred thousand miles for the difference in cost of fuel used to match the difference in vehicle purchase price.

On the other hand, if you want a good sized 4 door hatchback that seats 5 with plenty of cargo space, and lots of features (comfort, fun, and safety) that will also reduce your fueling costs, I don't think you can do better than the Prius.

Notice also that the dealer is assuming that you drive 12,000 miles per year (is this true?), and that fuel prices will not exceed $3.80 per gallon for the next 11 years (Do you honestly believe this?). He's also leaving out the difference in maintenance costs for the Prius as compared to those vehicles, as well as the likely trade-in value of each vehicle.

Buy the Prius for $25k and trade it in after 4 years for $18k and you are only out $7k for the use of the vehicle. But the Corolla for $18k and trade it in after 4 years for $11k and you are out the same $7k for the use of the vehicle. At that point, fuel and maintenance make a huge difference in cost of ownership.

 

Tell the salesman you want a Corolla or Matrix with SKS (smart key system). Then after he scratches his head, ask him which package comes with a MFD (multifunction display). Then ask him which package comes with navigation.

 

Is this the argument that buying a more fuel-efficient new car will never make sense because you won't save enough money compared with keeping your old gas-hog?

That argument makes no sense. You could compare buying a new fuel-efficient vehicle with a new gas hog, or compare buying a used fuel-efficient vehicle versus a used gas-hog.

People buy vehicles primarily for transportation, not to save gas. But if a new car makes sense, then there's little or no justification for buying one that is fuel-inefficient. That's just bad economics.

I agree with the objection to payback periods for hybrids. Why is there no payback period for a Cadillac Escalade? And since the Escalade costs more than twice as much as a Prius what would the Prius be paying back compared to the Escalade?

By the way, I swung by a Toyota dealer today, to pick up a couple of oil filters, and to show someone a Prius. There were none on the lot.

Harry

 

ROTFL!!!

Man! Well, like someone else said you can't blame the salesperson for trying. I'd bet that they're not having alot of luck selling their other cars and everyone wants the one that they don't have any of....

However, that doesn't mean that you have to fall for it.

The argument of "it'll take x years to spend the same money as the purchase price of a Prius" is flawed on so many different levels it's hard to know where to start.

This is just a sales gimmick to make the merchandise that the salesperson has seem more attractive to a customer who has asked for something very specific. However, it seems a little short sighted in that it fails to acknowledge that so many people who bought Prius' in the past bought them for more reasons than just the gas savings.

Maybe they're making the assumption that with the price of gas the only reason someone would be interested in a Prius today is the FE thing.

Yes, the fantastic FE is certainly part of it, likely for everyone here, but it's not all of it; not by a long shot.

Forget the sales hype and just think about what you need and want, and then choose based on getting the most you can within the bounds of your financial position. Unless you've got to have a "new" car right now, you might want to consider ordering a car (either 2008 or 2009.) If you need a car right now, or have other pressing needs you might have to go to some lengths to find a car you can purchase immediately. I'm sure that there are some out there, but you'll have to hunt for them and you're going to pay a premium when you find them.

 

Yeah, it's a variant I think....

Sorta goes with the one someone tried on me that goes "You know, on the freeway it doesn't get any better mileage than any other car with a four cylinder engine..."

Fortunately, I already knew better when I heard that one for the first time, but man do I wish it was true; if it were, there'd be a whole pile of cars out there with four cylinder engines that got great gas mileage!!!

But alas, it's as flawed in it's own way as the whole break even thing.....

 

none, I started saving from day 1. If you want to compare cars look to cars in the same midsize category, (Accord, Malibu, Fusion, Camry, Altima, to name a few with similar option packages)
mine is a Prius package 2 (all the safety and options excluding the bluetooth, leather, and navigation) costs approx $22K Now start comparing
most people average 48 MPG in the prius (if you are an economy consious driver you can easy tag 53 MPG most times)

 

It's true, dollar for dollar most people won't see an advantage with buying a Prius. I have driven over 143,000 miles in three years and have saved over $2,750.23 over a Honda Civic calculated at 32mpg for the Civic.

However a Prius should be compared, I believe, to a comparably equipped Camry.
(All from Toyota's website comparison)
$21,760.00 - Prius
46 combined MPG

$24,690.00 - Camry
25 combined MPG

The Prius has nearly the same cargo and interior volume as the Camry and is several thousand LESS! So there is no payback period needed.

But if pure dollars were the only consideration, my money would be on the Yaris. Its kinda a cool jeelybean shaped thingy.

 

I agree with what's been said so far. Really it boils down to: which car do you want, and can you reasonably afford it? If you want the Prius and it's within your budget, place an order for one. If you think one of the other cars would make you happy, go for it.

 

Danny is on to something your dealer's chart has left off: Depreciation.

Ask which car holds its value longer.
Ask which car costs less to maintain.
Ask which car has lower insurance costs.

Next: Go to what Prius Driver and others have said. Try to get some apples-to-apples comparisons going on. A Corolla is not the car to choose for comparison's sake. Try the Camry. In fact, try the Camry Hybrid. That car is great - it has some great features I wish my Prius had, but you have to pay a lot more for it. See what the dealer thinks about that "hybrid premium."

You can't blame the guy for trying to sell you a car on his lot. I new what I wanted in a Prius, and if a salesperson wanted to talk me out of it, then I just left. There are many, many Toyota dealerships. Don't waste time with one that doesn't want to listen to you.

I'd rather you found a salesperson who listened to you, showed you the Prius and then asked you if you really wanted to spend that much or really wanted those features.

Think about this: Why was the Prius on the chart a Prius with options? Why not go for the base model if you are all about dollar savings? You are not all about that if you are looking to buy a new car anyway. If you want to win on economics, then go look at the used cars. Let someone else take the depreciation hit for you.