Supposed "HYBRID PREMIUM"

I hope you are right, but I doubt even Toyota would offer you that particular guarantee

 

I'm sick of hearing from people bashing the Prius for the extra cost. I feel if you can get the tax credit now is the time to buy one. The tax credit pretty much covers the extra cost of the car.

I probably won't even get the tax credit and I'm happy I got my Prius even though yes I did pay more than I would have paid for a Camry. To me all the extra stuff I get in the car is worth it.

It's NOT JUST about the gas. EVERYONE seems to think that the ONLY reason people buy the Prius is for the gas savings. The gas saving to me is JUST a bonus.

I think IF some of these people bought a Prius they would change their minds about it.

Oh well I love my Prius and glad I got one. Nobody is going to make me feel any different about what I did. It was well though out in my mind and that's ALL that matters to ME! (Just gets annoying having to defend the reasons I bought my Prius)

And there's many things that people buy I think are stupid buys. I don't go blow hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy ciggerattes to give myself lung cancer. I don't go waste my money on bungy jumping to possibly risk my life.

I could could tear people up buy going through there stupid spending habits.

If I want to spend my money on a Prius and I have the money to do it then so be it. I don't need nobody telling me what to spend my money on.

I can SEE that they want to inform people on the extra cost of the Prius. I just think they take it way to far. I'm ONTOP of my money and love that I can buy what I want to buy when I want to buy it ! Nobody has control over my money BUT me

I'm just glad that I didn't let the press and peoples opinions stop me from buying a Prius. BEST purchase I have made for multiple reasons. And trust me I don't like to blow money on just anything.

 

Every report I've seen on the subject says the Prius does pay for the extra hybrid cost with the gas savings. Then they just discount it because it might take 3 to 10 years depending on what wrong car they compare it with, saying people don't keep cars that long.

Well if they sell and don't get the premium back something is really wrong because the next owners will save on gas too. As for me I could car less. I had my last car for 17 years. So with the Prius I should be saving every penny of the gas savings for over half the car's life.

Seems like they want the gas economy to be free. Net savings of only a few hundred dollars a year don't seem to count.

 

I see mentioned frequently in these posts about "defending" your Prius purchase. Why do you have to defend your purchase? Who's attacking you out there? I don't have mine yet but should soon so I have no personal expereince yet.

From a pure financial standpoint, there is a premium one pays to BUY a hybrid vehicle. This premium can be offset in lower operating costs and potential higher resale value. Possibly eliminating all of the initial premium. If one qualifies for the tax credit, which I'm afraid a high percantage will not unless AMT is addressed, then I believe the initial premium has also been eliminated. (Note on AMT - I am not a tax guy, but just read that the average Prius owner's income is somewhere around $97K. AMT can come into play well below that.)

I will admit that the tax credit was one of the major drivers for me looking at and considering the Prius. I am not a hot rod driver, but do like to drive and prefer cars that have tight handling characturistics, like BMWs, Volvo, etc. I have acknowledged to myself that I will be sacrificing this in my Prius. But I will be gaining in other key areas, like reliability and fuel savings. And it's a cool car!

I am still working through my purchase decision because of AMT. I will probably not qualify for the tax credit without a fix for 2006. It upsets me that this tax credit is not available for many middle class people who pay most of the taxes. And what about the tax credit for everyone else? If 50% of the first 60,000 Prius' are bought be people with AMT implications, others who would qualify for the credit loose out on half the credit or more. How is this fair??? Anyhow, sorry for venting.

 

Don't let not getting the credit affect you buying the Prius if you really want it. I had told my accountant I wanted to buy one but ONLY if I could get the credit. She gave me the green light and I bought a Prius. Now after I bought it I'm finding she may be wrong and I might not get the credit.

It's all good though. Just glad I got the car before learning I might not get the credit. If I had then I wouldn't have such a cool car in my driveway!

To me personally the extra premium was worth it and I have only had the car for a week now. I already love the car and I know once I get a chance to play with the navigation system I will like it even more.

Tracy

 

the people who say that there is a premium on hybrids are probably right, but there is no premium on the dead end technology of regular automobiles.

 

I'm willing to pay premiums for quality!

 

What are some items that you buy that have no premiums attached to them?

 

Well since I'm a BIG time couponer that would be a mighty long list! I normally know how to pull out the premiums

 

I get a google alert with the search results of "Toyota Prius" in google news sent to me every day. There are new and old articles republished every single day, and I'd say that a large fraction of articles in the press over the last few months focuses on negative aspects of the Prius. I do believe it's responisble of the media to draw us to "unknowns" or not-so-well-knowns, but I'm reading enough general slant to make me very suspicious.

Especially when I noticed that this article doesn't get near as much circulation: http://cdn.consumerreports.org/static/0404sat0.html whenever the "premium" cost of a hybrid shows up.

Dave

 

i dont see a problem with paying a premium price for a superior product

 

The premium you are paying is your time to sit down and look to see what's on sale and clip and sort and carry them to the store and take the time to make sure the clerk scanned them, etc. Or to send in for the rebate. Plus those coupons are usually for name brand items which come with a large premium to begin with.

 

BUT I'm super organized so it I can do any tasks very quickly now and be ready to rock and roll. If the cashier misses a coupon I have them take care of it. Yes name brands sell for a premium BUT with super duper couponing skills I can knock that right off plus more to get it for pennies. The BIGGEST challenge is having the right connections to get what you can do the most damage with. I have those connections! For refunds I keep great records and have gotten all I sent in for. And heck I can clip coupons will sitting around watching tv. Or bribe my daughter into cutting them.

Hey different things for different folks. I just know it works for me! And I love that most people think it's to bothersome. If to many people did it then I wouldn't get the kind of deals I get. I'm robbing the stores "legally" and having a BLAST!!

 

Personally, I cannot care less if people feel that I pay a premium for a Prius. It doesn't affect my decisions at all. I am delighted with my two Prii overall.

I do disagree with the majority here that the Prius will have a higher resale value. I personally think that the resale value of hybrids in general will be lower than traditional vehicles... because of the liability of expensive repairs. I think the people who buy a 100K mile car will not be open to potential of more expensive repairs of having two powerplants... gas and eclectic. I think that the reliability of a CVT is unknown... but is a potential benefit of the hybrid. On the other hand... you have all of the expense of a gas engine... with extra complications like the variable ignition system. You also have an expensive electric motor/generator... and batteries.

If the resale of the vehicle does better than I am planning.... then I will be happy. However, I am not counting on it. I do understand that they have an incredible resale value now... but that is only because of the very large imbalance of supply/demand. In a few years, I suspect that will be fixed.

With a traditional vehicle... it is probably most cost effective to buy one that is a couple of years old with low mileage... and then drive it for a few hundred thousand miles until it just becomes uneconomical to keep in repair. I am not sure this will be the case with a hybrid. I will plan to drive it for about 90K miles... and then sell it with 10K remaining on the hybrid and extended warranty. Personally, I prefer driving cars with "lower mileage". By 100K miles... I am ready for new cars anyway.

I also spit my driving across two cars... for different reasons... thus it will take quite a few years before I hit 90K miles The Prius is my daily car now, but I like having an SUV for excursions into the mountains.

/Jim (writing this from a mountain retreat in the WA Cascades right now)

 

I agree with everything Jim said and feel the same way about what he said.

BUT I'm not sitting in a mountain retreat in WA Cascades right now

 

Regardless, the press is very much using the "premium" language in a highly negative way. As if the extra components that are added shouldn't be there, and are a price embarrassment.

I simply don't understand the difference between a bigger engine versus a smaller engine with a more advanced hybrid powertrain.

For example, the Camry soon come in 3 flavors. Conventional 4 cyl, 4 cyl with hybrid, and V6. I would expect the hybrid to price around where the high end V6 versions will, yet the hybrid will get a bad rap for having a "premium" over the 4 cylinder while the V6 will not.

Nevermind that the hybrid version will give you more bang for the buck, giving you almost as much performance as a lot of V6s out there... the press will make comparisons only on the basis of 4cyl versus hybrid.

 

Like I said before, even the Camry to Camry Hybrid comparison will be flawed because the Hybrid version gives you more power (V6 like power), more amenities that aren't available on the 4 cylinder like SKS.

You have to factor out those amenities, and also the extra performance (how much are those extra 40 or so horses worth to you?) before it's a "fair" comparison of one car to another.

 

I definitely notice that negative slant. It's almost as if there is a stealth campaign out there by the media set out to deflate the balloon of hybrid technology in general. Hybrid technology is more and more becoming mainstream, (Camry Hybrid is a great sign of that) but the media would rather marginalize the technology. Instead of giving the impression that it's growing and becoming more accepted by the public, they want it to remain niche.

this is why word of mouth is so important, and why it's so important for people like us to correct this misinformation.

 

Well I can say for sure ANYONE thinking about buying a Prius should definatly get the SKS. It's worth the extra $175 for SURE!