Poll on if we spent wisely on our PIP

If I were lucky enough to work 2 miles from home, I'd buy a bike.

 

That's a nice occasional alternative, but certainly not realistic with the extremes of summer & winter.

You still have to drive to other places anyway.

For me, my work is far and everything else close. And it's asking a lot to carry my computer & equipment to & from work plus a change of clothes while biking.

 

Of course not. But I'd buy it again.

 

Just on dollars and cents, no. I bought it because I wanted it, and I enjoy having it. Same as my last, very different car.

 

Also a little cool in January!

 

I voted yes. My PiP is the first Prius I have owned. I am really enjoying it.

Q: If I was going to buy a Prius anyway, was it worth spending extra to get the Plug-in?
A: Absolutely! I am averaging 70 MPG, I enjoy driving the car and I get a log of satisfaction from pluging it into my solar powered home. I am not looking for an ROI or "savings" here. I just want to use less gass and more electric and drive a car with cool gadgets and helps me keep score.

Q:Is it everything I thought it would be?
A: Not quite. I expect I a little more EV range and didn't relize that living at the top of a hill would have such a big impact.

Q: Would I have been better off buying something else?
A: Maybe. I was so focused on getting a Toyota that I didn't really explore other options as much as a should have. A Volt may have been a better choice to get even more EV range and still have the infinite range of a hybrid. Or I could have waited for the next better thing to come along. Ford has some interesting things they are working on and I can't wait to see what Toyota does next.

 

The mistake I made was not considering leasing. I was able to pay cash and don't like borrowing. But I should have looked at a lease as buying a put, an option to give the car back to the dealer in three years.

I keep cars for a long time - 15 years, the last one - but I expect that as the technology and market develop, the PiP will lose value faster than the average vehicle, and there will be better choices in two or three years.

I know someone who leases with no prepayment penalty and then pays off the lease to save interest costs (which at the moment are negligible anyway).

I did test drive a Volt. I like the PiP better.

 

I’d give a pretty emphatic “yes”, and I am not a car person*
The PiP is driven by my wife, and replaces a 12 year old Subaru Outback (which was a fine car, very durable, relatively inexpensive to own—but I did pay $21K, put $15K of gas in it, and it’s now worth maybe $5K). We needed 5 seats, are getting ~100mpg (was closer to 120, but summertime driving is decreasing the average), got some good tax breaks, and get our (cheap) electricity from hydro. For the first time in a long while I am excited about the possibilities vis a vis cars. That alone is worth quite a pile of dough to me, honestly.

<digression>*I ride a bike, year round, no matter the weather, and love it. I haul moderately insane stuff home with it. I have bikes that are decades old, cost me a few hundred dollars, and have tens of thousands of miles on them. Unfortunately, driving a car will not make me wealthier, thinner, stronger, or help my asthma. And my own form of hybrid (a bike and an old roadster--which is approximately 1000X more fun to drive than a Prius) gets me about 250 mpg. </digression>

 

I thought trees were already solar powered.

 

Here is my story, I have a project under construction about 200 miles from my house which I have to go once per week for the next 6 months.

I have a Porsche cayenne which I dont want to put too many miles, and I figured if I get a PIP I would be able to earn $1k per month gas reimbursement.

So, I got the PIP for that reason, drove my porsche to the job site this week and found out there is a 5 mile unpaved dirt road. Due to some political reason, my company cannot pave the road. Stupid government.

Here is the damage to my porsche. Now, I hesitate to take my brand new PIP for my business trip.

LT26i ? 2

 

i think i would rent a clunker one day a week.

 

we all spent wisely, half of us just don't know it.