Torn between new Prius, Highlander or nothing

No one can tell you whay you should do as only you know your personal and economic situation.

That being said, I can tell you what I did and probably will do. I am the type that will drive a car until it either is no longer drivable or requires major repairs that make it uneconomical to continue driving. My 08 Prius replaced my mid-life crisis '92 Miata after over 15 years and 198K miles (still miss that car) that finally bit the dust. We also have a '94 Camry with 138K miles that still runs like a top but only gets 24 to 26 mpg. The earth would probably thank me if I replaced it with another Prius now but due to my economic situation I probably won't until I have to and who knows what new cars will be available at that time.

 

the highlander is an excellent suv. my parents rx400h has the same power train. with my fathers aggressive driving style, we average around 22mpg. i can average 35, non aggressive, and 26 aggressive

the prius is a lot cheaper than the highlander and yields better gas mileage. with my current tires (on my signature) i average between 35 and 40mpg. I'm an aggressive driver. with the stock rims and comforthread tires, i yielded 44mpg to 55mpg. 40 if I'm hauling lumber and concrete... or other working materials.

My way of looking at is was this: with the prius i get safety and reliability.. along with "saving our world"... and my wallet.

first i wanted a car that has very distinct lights (brake light separate, yellow turn signal, HID headlights headlights).. that was the first step for my safety list. second was the dynamics of the car (airbags, traction control, vehicle skid control ) third was luxuries (auto climate control, navigation, voice command, steering wheel controls, keyless entry with keyless start)

no other car company could offer me a car for less than 35k dollars... plus.. that was bmw and merc... i'll never use half of what that car is built for.. i chose to abuse the weaker prius instead... i hate the solid rear end.. but.. it works..

 

There is some truth to the saying that the cheapest car you can buy is the one you already own. The saying only looks at one aspect of car ownership, but it is hard to refute if you don't have a lot of maintenance or insurance costs. Rising gas prices might change some opinions.

 

Buy new and help the economy!

I have the RX400h and Prius and love them both. Prius definately gets the better gas mileage though!

 

nfschlaack,

Jiipa is right, we cannot make your decision since only you walk in your shoes. What I did however is get rid of a Lincoln Navigator that had costly maintenance and horrid mpg; I replaced it with a Prius when I went to look for a truck. Sitting in the Prius for a "spur of the moment, just for fun" test drive of the new-fangled hybrid was my mistake. When you realize that the Prius can act like a station wagon too and that you save enough in gasoline to rent a truck when needed, I think you may well go the two Prius route. I, for one, will never go back to big vehicles. Big is not the future.

 

If you don't *need* the Dakota, sell it now before its value goes straight into the toilet. When gas is $4/gal you'll get sick looking at the thing.

Spiders are fun :_> Unless it's falling apart it would be less expensive to fix that than to buy a Prius, especially if you'd borrow money to buy it.

 

One more piece of advice that has worked very well. Make yourself wait 30 days -- if you think about the pros and cons and still want it then you will probably want it 3, 6, and 9 months from now. If you talk yourself out of it after that long then you don't really need it. I find that the desire for the things I really want/need grows over the waiting period.

 

well, if you want to *justify* a new car purchase... you're never going to be able to do it from a financial perspective. from an "i want" perspective, you can easily talk yourself into it

personally, i see a lot of value in not having a car payment. but depending on the cost of operation, having a car payment might outweigh the cost of keeping an older, larger vehicle on the road.

get nitty gritty with the cost aspect and write out what each will cost you to run another 25k miles. that will help you decide what's cheapest anyway. you still have to make the call whether that's what you want. that's how we decided what route to go with DH's commute.

 

In our case, we had turned into empty nesters, and we were anticipating trips to see the kids, grandkids, granddogs, etc. A change in driving requirements is a good way to rationalize a new car purchase. It doesn't make it cheaper than driving your old beater, but you feel better about the decision.

Tom

 

If you need to tow, a 2 Prius family wont work all that well.

 

I'm hopefully buying a used Prius today, my first... I don't think we'll ever be a 2 prius family though, we love our fifth wheel trailer too much. The prius will at least get used for our backpacking trips, and all of my commuting (80+mi/day).

I can't imagine buying one of those silverado hybrids either... My 2007 dodge diesel gets pretty close to their MPG and can probably tow 3x as much. On a good day we can get 14MPG while towing 8000lbs behind us-of course the wind can ruin that. The emissions system on the new cummins diesel has also drastically cleaned them up. I'm glad they've finally taken more sulfur out of the diesel fuel so they can make the big trucks clean up.

Next step... Need to make it illegal to use your huge diesel truck for AC or heat except in emergency situations. 600 billion gallons of diesel per year or something like that used by truckers idling while they sleep?! I believe it was a rough estimate in the new york times. There are aux window heater/coolers sold at truck stops to make it easy to not need to do this.

 

Welcome. I used to live in St George, Mesquite NV, and Park City. Went to the U

I agree big rig idling is a shameful waste, not to mention all that idle time is bad for the motor too. In cold climates, the new HD motors with DPF can actually start spewing raw diesel fuel out the exhaust if there is extensive idle time

There are gadgets designed to minimise or eliminate idle time. Some will work with the CUmmins in your Dodge truck. One is a diesel powered coolant heater, handy to have if you're parked nowhere near a plug in

Technology - Coolant Heater

Teleflex Power Systems - Idle Reduction & Power Management Solutions

Perhaps the ultimate solution - though pricey it claims to pay for itself in under 2 years - is a truck mounted APU. A little 1 or 2 cylinder diesel motor runs to heat/cool the cab, keep the big motor warm (Very important for cold starting, long life, and emissions), and charge the batteries

North America Truck, Trailer, and Rail

There is a lot we can do to minimise fuel consumption and emissions, without "giving up" things like some folks whine about

 

Two. We had three, but they gave one away.

Tom

 

My own take on it was that the HH is wikkid expensive, and not
all that space-efficient inside. It might have a small advantage
for taller items, but the prius is no slouch.
.
_H*

 

Awwwwwww .....