Prime vs 4 door stripped econo box (How much of a luxury item is a Prime?)

i think the cheapest car these days is 15 or 16k. no car will 'pay for itself', you have to pay.
a slightly used car is always the best value.
at your mileage, a lift back would be a much better option than prime, unless you need hov.
can you take advantage of the $7,000. tax credit?

 

The price of the liftback versus the prime makes the prime a better value almost all the time. The tax credit pretty much fills the gap. Now if you can't use the tax credit then the role is reversed. But for the basic model you are talking about $22k after tax credits between the feds and state. To get a vehicle with even reasonable safety numbers close to a Prius, you are talking a minimum of $18k, so $4k delta. 38k miles a year / 30 MPG versus 50MPG, that comes out to almost 500 gallons of gas a year or $1400 per year in fuel delta. Also consider brake work which will happen every 2 years at that rate on the regular car and maybe once in 5 years for the Prius with regen braking. That adds another $500 to your delta (about $250 per brake setup is a nice price). So in 5 years you would have more than covered the delta between an $18k car and the base Prius Prime. I am only comparing safety set not luxury features in the Prime which will be a much more luxury car inside than the $18k regular car. Lane departure, radar controlled cruise that sort of stuff that you will not find on a basic $12 to $17k vehicle. If these aren't important at all to you, then perhaps going with the beater type is a better deal.

Now the likelihood is that the price of fuel will go up toward $3.50 in your area over the next couple years, so that only quickens the pace of making up that delta. Personally I couldn't see myself buying a little beater with 3 star crash rating and none of the safety features that are now becoming more common. But then I bought the $34k Advanced so who am I fooling.

 

The 2017 Corolla starting at $18K list has the TSS-P features and has been known as a reliable car for 50 years.

 

You, in effect, live in your car. Buy something that's comfortable with a decent sound system and has inexpensive tires, brakes, and windshields.

My typical boiler plate advice for these questions is to buy a 3 year old Corolla (or the like), slap some 90k tires on it and drive it into the ground.

 

The Mirage, Spark, and Versa all start around $12k. Even with the lost cargo space, the Prime can haul more.

 

If you never charge (you will) and if you never drive except to work, you save $1000 a year in gas alone over a Nissan Versa. ($2 gas $2,452 vs $1,424)

 

I calculate about a $600 a year difference in fuel costs between a 40 and 50 mpg car over 38,000 miles a year at $3/gallon.

I don't think it is realistic to presume that a $10-12k model will have the reliability or long life of a Prime, Prius, Fit, Civic or Corolla. So I would buy one of the above cars either new or used. As OP says, the difference in insurance probably overall favors buying used.

 

Exactly my point, you would need an approximately $18k car to get the same safety features, and really not exactly the same but close. You probably don't need but also won't get heated seats and some other nice features.