I sell Toyotas. I bought a Prime.

It really isn't much of a guideline. Here's the info from my manual.



As you can see, it doesn't define "low level" or "long period of time." But I have read somewhere that it's recommended to leave it long term with the EV range at 0.

 

I believe the engine will run periodically (every 3 months?) even if not technically needed.

 

You could try selling a RAV4 Hybrid or a Highlander Hybrid, though. They are technically trucks.

Toyota US sells Hybrids& EVs like they are some sort of beast that is neither car nor truck. They give them their own category.

Most people come to a dealer to buy a car or truck, not a hybrid!

 

Because Toyota sells the Prius as neither car nor truck.

How is the Camry a car but the Camry Hybrid not a car? Most people do not come shopping for hybrids! If you qualify that way, you will sell almost no hybrids.

 

I don't know... the last time a car salesman suggested a car to me, I thought he was being pushy. And that wasn't the guy who got the eventual sale. There's a delicate dance.

I probably wouldn't feel that way if the suggestion were for a hybridized version of the car I was already asking about- maybe packaged in the context of "Hey, if the only problem is MPG/cost of operation, maybe consider.." But I don't know how often that comes up.

In my own recent experience, it took two trips to a dealer just to get a test drive- mind you this is our c, not even a plug-in car. On the first visit, they simply didn't have any. The salesman said he would call me in a few weeks when the next batch arrived. I really didn't have any problem with doing the test by appointment. If only it had worked out that way... but that's another story.

 

why would a car or any sales person not take the easiest most profitable route? that is human nature.

it is up to the dealership to incentivize sales people.

it is up to toyota to incentivize dealerships.

it is up to us to incentivize toyota.

there are not enough of 'us'.

 

At some point even Prius drivers were not Prius drivers.

 

but they likely went in looking for a prius in most cases.

 

I think there's a lot to be said for the stealth hybrid.

We wanted a good small car. Emphasis on small. We couldn't find a better small car than the prius c. We particularly like the fact that it didn't have a giant touchscreen, didn't have a smart key and didn't have a monostable gear shifter. We decided to gamble on saving enough fuel cost to offset the higher purchase price vs. a gas car.

Hybrid economy performance without the extra dunk in the tech feature tank or associated pricetag- it was a winning combo for us.

 

I think it's hard to sell a hybrid, even harder for SUVS. When they ask how long will it will take to pay for the hybrid and you tell them 6-10 years, they're going to pass.

 

agreed- we won't recapture all of our extra outlay in the 8 years we plan to own ours, assuming constant fuel prices. (We will come close.) But I didn't mind assigning some of that cost to the smoother transmission. It's a lot more enjoyable than the 4-speed offered in competing compact cars.

Perhaps it will work out in a future car or SUV where the benefits can be captured in less time.

 

Another good sales point, you'll save one car payment each year. That means out-of-pocket, 11 months of car payment each year. This is after taxes money so the true savings is car payment + 29% tax rate. The gas savings continues AFTER the car is payed off.

Sorry I can't post a simpler version but feel free to pencil out the savings using current gas prices and car payments. For example:

• $457/mo ~= $30,000 @3.1% 72 months
• $1,289 ~= 15,000 mi @32 MPG $2.75/gal (Corolla)
• $750 ~= 15,000 mi @55 MPG $2.75/gal (Prime on gas)
• $539 annual savings vs $457/mo payment

Bob Wilson

 

I know all of those words but I've read it 3x and can't make heads nor tails of it.

 

• "Gas savings will make one car payment per year for as long as you own it."

IMHO, a good salesman should be able to show:

1. Down payment should equal 15-25% depreciation for first year - this means collision insurance will replace the Blue Book value of car. You walk away from an accident with no more car payments losing only the deductible.
2. Fuel savings per year versus car payment.
3. For a plug-in, fuel savings per year charging at home for 90% of miles versus car payment.

If I were doing it, I'd make a spreadsheet with graphs for each. Then let the buyer enter the values and see the graphs change. Once happy, print the page showing all the work.

Bob Wilson

 

When I went to a local dealer to test drive the Prius. I was able to look & sit but not drive due to the stop sale order at that time. He tries pushing be to a used Camry Hybrid he had on the lot.

I drove 150 miles to another dealer and saved thousands off the Prius, buying from a Gen 1 Prius owner.

 

OK, that was a lot easier to unpack.

Statements like that give me fits. We will own the car at least 2x as many years as we will make payments on it. Also there's no part of the fuel purchase transaction that actually pays our auto loan lender anything, so the whole thing comes off very clunky. I do get what you're trying to say, but distilling the facts into that one line just doesn't save me any time or illustrate any benefit vs. simply telling me that the car won't need as much gas as the last car and putting numbers to it. Also, the overall statement may not remain true given enough fuel price fluctuation.

And give up that sweet, sweet profit on GAP insurance?

This is the meat and potatoes, as far as I'm concerned. The salesman I worked with for ours didn't go anywhere near that.

Wouldn't that expose the dealer to some kind of liability if the numbers didn't bear out? Even in a situation where the customer didn't understand the spreadsheet and put in the wrong numbers, it's going to create noise and hassles until the judge throws it out.

Something close to it that might work- apparently there's a feature in our car where we can tell it the average MPG of our old car, and it will compute differential savings for the eco scorecard. I haven't had a chance to configure it yet, but if you do it that way it's not paperwork from the dealer. It would have been nice if the salesman had pre-set that for us, or even just called attention to it.