Second thoughts

Scott,

Get the Prius - you'll feel better. I think you Geo has done you well, but it's time to "move on"... welcome to the new millennia.

Just my $.10 worth!

Don

 

Go for the Prius. You'll be more comfortable and have the joy of this wonderful machine for years instead of driving the Geo. The Prius is wonderful, and I hope you see the light and get one soon.

 

Any idea how long you are to wait for the Prius? If it's a few months you may have the decision made for you by that time (the car needs a new transmission, etc.). Decide when you get 'the call' and have driven the car.

 

Scott,
It's a tough call, indeed. I had a Tercel with 260,000 miles on it when I got my Prius. I was getting 38 mpg with the Tercel. Your Prizm is a well-built car, and probably has many reliable miles left.
The advantage to keeping the Prizm: You save money. You are averaging about 16,000 miles/year, so although your savings in gas cost with the Prius would be noticeable, it's not a deal-maker.
The advantage to buying the Prius: Your car would be polluting far less, and your mileage would go up. I have consistently been getting 51 mpg with my Prius. The other advantage is that the Prius is more comfortable, more refined, and quieter than your current car.
I'd say you're in a win-win situation. Whatever your decision, it works. If funds are tight for you, you might want to wait. If not, spoil yourself with a wonderful new car.

 

its simply more luxurious and comfortable

 

Additional thoughts:

1) It might get harder to get one in a few months when the gas price goes up even more.

2) Are you single? I would bet the Prius would be much more advantageous to your social life. If you're married, it doesn't matter what you drive.

3) Part of my reason for buying was to "speak with my wallet" on my thoughts on the future of transportation. This is what will spur change.

4) Do you have to borrow to buy? If so, you could wait till you could pay cash and save the interest cost.

 

I put 185K miles on a '94 Corolla (mechanically the same as your '95 Prizm), and it still ran great, though just a bit hot in summer with the A/C running. The only failures were the plastic radiator top, and the fan switch. That was all!

For pure economy, you should run your Prizm into the ground, which might take another 50K miles. Your insurance will be lower if you have collision.

But for pure fun, reliability, and safety you can't beat the Prius. Your call!

 

There is an additional environmental benefit: selling your used Prizm would almost certainly result in the scrapping of some older and much dirtier car.

 

You're getting very good gas mileage on the Prism, pretty much on the high end of its range, so I would guess your travels are optimal to get the best MPG out of the Prius.

You probably won't get any substantial tradein value out of the prism, so I'd say drop the collision if you still have it, take that money, and what you would pay to finance the Prius, and save for a while so you could pay cash, or put a good down payment. You want to avoid getting into debt cycle as much as possible, especially on a depreiating necessity like a car

But if you are getting tired of the Prism, then get the Prius now.

It become a matter of your balance of economics versus desire.

 

If you're not in a financial crunch, get the Prius. Then, sell or donate your Prism. If you sell the car, you'll cover at least a year's worth of gas from the sale.

One downside of Prius that I see is that the value of the car will significantly decrease in the next 4 years due to advances in technology. Just like fancy digital cameras, I bet newer technology will force Prius's value down every year... probably at a faster rate than "conventional" cars.

 

With 165000 miles that car is not going to last much longer. When it breaks down you will not be able to immediately replace it with a Prius right away because they are still hard to find. Play it safe and order a Prius now.

 

Interesting thoughts on Prius resale value... I would still predict that a Prius, say, four years down the line will hold a greater percentage of its value than the infamous "comprable" car. I see your point, though.

OK, Scott, man, buddy-ole-pal, listen up. I upgraded my '92 Olds Ciera to my Prius, and aside from all the wonderful things (they really are!) done to death in this and other posts, get it for safety. I don't know anything about your Geo, but I'm pretty confident that it doesn't have traction control, side air bags, or ESC. (Hell, my Olds didn't have any air bags or anit-lock brakes.)

How much are you will to risk for something that's financially appealing? If people want to talk insurance, well, here's some good life insurance, of a sort. By saving cash and driving something dangerous, you're tempting the gods of irony. ( ? )

Brad

 

I'm not so sure about the resale question.
1) I think Prius demand is actually going to multiply as the gas prices continues to climb. The increase in supply will still be snatched up. And the waiting lists, which have been getting better, will return and could conceivably last for years (the waiting lists not the wait).
Technology price drops are caused by supply and demand. Once everyone has a dig. camera, VCR, or microwave oven, sales plummet. That is, unless the makers drop prices significantly, rapidly, and add new features. Hybrid technology is nowhere near fulfilling the future demand. It will take more than 4 years for the supply to catch up to demand (as the demand will continue to grow)

2) It's the SUV resale value that will drop off. Who's gonna buy a used Hummer or even an Explorer when gas costs 3-4 bucks a gallon. Detroit, and all car makers (including Toyota) have absolutely saturated the market with gas guzzlers and theire value won't fall, it will evaporate. There will be zero demand for these beasts, as the supply is huge and the demand will be gone.

4) There is a vast difference between the digital camer and a car. Camera's are practically a throw away commodity. People are will ing to shell out a few hundred more to upgrade a camera that is still good. A Prius will still be getting great mileage in even comparison to future hybrids, and that's where the demand will be, the fuel efficiency.

The only way the Prius values go down ala digital camera's, is if the world finds a few hundred billion gallons of oil in Antarctica, or some car maker developes a car comparable to the Prius at half the price. This would cut the value of a Prius in half. I don't see it happening, as they'd just sell it at the same price and pocket the margin due to the high demand.