Check My Math Please

I think that raises an interesting point. We're not at $10.00 a gallon yet--not even close--thank goodness, but anyone thinking about buying a car based on the cost of gas should factor in how high prices are likely to go and how quickly. That would affect the math. It would be speculative, of course, but so is estimating what kind of gas mileage you will get based on your driving patterns, how much you will spend on repairs (you could end up with a lemon, afterall), what might happen to your car to lower/destroy trade-in/re-sell value, etc.

 

Researcher:

Your numbers are pretty close to accurate, the payback is pure dollars between the two carrs chosen is considerable. (getting less so as gas goes up!)

I have on 05 prius with 137,000 miles on it and have saved $2600 over a Civic (32 estmited mpg) and $6000 pver my first choice Acura TL (estimted 25 mpg). THis is pure fuel only dollars and does not consider purchase or trade in dollars. I am assuming both the Honda and Toyota will have high trade in values. (actually I assumed that the Prius at 9 of 10 years would have a really low trade in due to peoples worries about the technology, or it may be the opposite if the technology keeps holding up as well as it is.)

IMHO the Fit and Prius are NOPT comparable cars. The Prius should be compared to the 4 cylinder Accord or Camry as far as size goes.

If pure dollars are a concern I recommend, in this orderm people look at base model for the civic, corrolla, focus, mazda3, fit, versa

 

Re: Apples to Apples

Consumer Reports places it in the category of small cars, not family cars. Of course a family could fit, but with less room for legs, derrieres, and cargo than a larger sedan. A family might also fit in a VW Beetle, but that's beside the point.

The point is that if you're trying to compare cars of similar size and features, the Fit is not the car to compare the Prius with, IMHO. Just wanted to make sure you had a handle on the differences between the two cars. That may not matter to you, and if so, I respect that.

FWIW, I now have the April CR in hand (I didn't earlier). It estimates the Prius' 5-year total ownership cost to be $27,5000. The Fit's is $25,250, third best among small cars behind the manual transmission versions of the Yaris and Aveo. Estimates are based, among other things, on a 5-year ownership period, 12,000 miles a year, and gas @ $3/gallon. YMMV.

 

Hi Researcher,

Boy this is a long thread already! But I did not see any mention of the maintenance benefits you left out.

Hybrids tend to not use up brakes fast, and the Prius is the best in this regard. Its has a battery that is 1/2 the voltage of the motor, so the motor can regenerate to a lower speed. In fact, in normal driving, the Prius friction brakes do not actuate til 7 mph. Its common for flatlander Prius drivers to go 125 K miles plus on the original brakes.

The Prius transmission is multifunctional. It does the functions of the starter and alternator in a regular car, but with components sized for drive-train duty. So, they do not go bad the life of the car. So, no starter an alternator repairs either.

And the Prius transmission itself has no bands or clutches. The engine, motors and wheels are linked by an all metal path all the time. Its the applications of magnetic fields on otherwise rotary non-contact devices that causes the torque to be steered to the wheels. So, the transmissions have very good durability thanks to this this mechanical simplicity.

This is why the Prius has high resale value, in a nutshell, but its also why the Prius can be cheaper to operate than a Fit class vehicle over the life of the car.

With regards to the EPA mileage, my last car, a Saturn SL2, never lived up to the then EPA ratings, but probably would have been close to the present rating method. The Prius on the other hand in metro area mixed driving has been very close to the 55 mpg old EPA mixed rating, and well above the new rating method. When I did my spreadsheet, I figured the car would be well below the EPA rating in my commuting service, as the SL2 was, and use 45 mpg as the estimate. But I am getting well above that, except during the 2 or 3 weeks its below 5 degrees F here (well the SL2 only got 20 mpg then, rather than 28).

 

I been thinking about replacing my (insert car name here) with a (cheap and nasty econobox) or a (BMW M3). The cheap and nasty gets (insert good milage here) and the (BMW M3) uses about (lets say 50% more) fuel.
I worked it out I will never pay off the extra $15,000 I will have to pay for the (BMW M3) with the fuel savings, should I buy the (BMW M3) or the (cheap and nasty econobox) Please help.

Well derr.

 

I see one thing NOT listed in your spreadsheet. The green effect. The Prius is a very responsible car with the environment.

And if you are a republican like me and give a dern about green the gas savings and cool factor will certainly help.

I now have two Prii in my home. My wife just bought one last night. She went from a car that was at 15 mpg (2005 Jeep Liberty) and I was in a Ford Expedition (maybe 16 hwy-city? yuk!). We will see over 500 dollars easy per month in gas *not* bought at the present rate. Our car payments are about the same and the term is now 3 years longer than it would have been. But we would have traded anyway as gas and maintenance was eating us up!

Oh, and chic's did the car! eace:

 

Go to edmunds.com to find out what others in your area area paying. If you don't like the idea of salesmen having your email address set up a hotmail or g mail account just for this then after your purchase shut it down. I got better prices that way than even the "Costco" price.

I was able to purchase my Prius last August for less than what edmunds said "others were paying" because I said to my salesman "You wouldn't expect me to pay what others are paying, would you?"

Also, try different zip codes to compare your area to others. Also, the right salesman will sell you a car in a different town but arrange for delivery in your town.

BTW, I love my Prius mostly for the quiet ride even with the factory tires etc. Package 3 with Bluetooth is the minimum if you use a cell phone. I commute 24 to 150 miles and on the long drive I've noticed a remarkable difference in my stress level versus my Aveo or my wife's Tahoe.

It is more than price. Three years ago I bought an Aveo and got a consistent 28 city 32 hiway. I paid 7500 for the Aveo. Last summer Chevy wanted 11000 for the same car and wouldn't deal. Now they are advertising for 7500 again. I gave the old Aveo to my daughter and bought my Prius.

I have an Excel spreadsheet that I keep track of my gas on and I compare each tank to what the Aveo at 30 would have cost. As the price rises so does the savings per tank. In 8 months I have saved about $600 over the Aveo.

Another consideration is length of normal drive. The shorter the distance the less advantage to the Prius. Cold starts use fuel and drop your mileage.

Good luck on your decision.