Trying Not to Lust After the Prime

the only thing holding me back is the smaller hatch. i don't really need 25 miles of ev, but you're right, it is cool to drive without the engine.
i do covet the heat pump though!

how many miles on yours now?

 

In the warmer months I get about 63 mpg. 53 in the winter. I too sort of wished I had waited for the prime until I started my outside projects. I don't have a truck. I thought I needed one. But I managed to haul lumber, conduit, sprinkler pipe, and yards of bagged soil products to do some significant projects around the house this past year. I'm really glad I have the extra space in the back.

 

i wonder if you could make up the loss by buying in the northeast.

 

road trip! or you could ship it. idk how many 17's are left.

 

you'd have to look at the pricing thread sticky. many ny/nj/ri dealers listed there, with advice on how to buy out of state. it's a long one though!

 

i just pulled up watertown (ma) toyota, but they only have advanced and plus in 2017 w/$4,500. off. and the 2018's only get $500.

 

wellesley toyota has 1 2017 premium at $5,750. off, rebate and discount.

 

No it's real money, Toyota factory incentive coming right off the purchase price. $4500 incentive some regions $5000 others. And dealers are taking additional discounts off of that, this is what this Bisco was referring to with $5750. Then next year when you file your taxes for this year assuming you have $4,500 tax liability then you get a $4502 credit. Suggest you go directly to dealer websites, start with Toyota website, enter a New York or New Jersey etc zip code it will list dealers in or near that zip code in order of distance, with a link to the dealers websites. The dealers websites show what cars they have in stock and in most cases the price including Toyota discount and their discount. Then you shoot an email to one or more that you're interested in asking for their best price which in many cases will be lower than what is listed on the website.

If you decide to purchase from an East Coast dealer you can either fly one way and get yourself to the dealer somehow, some will pick you up if they are near the airport, then drive it back. Or you can have it shipped which people have done, probably less than $2,000 for your location, you can price that pretty easily by going to shipping company websites that will give you an estimate.

 

It sounds like you have a car that works well for you. With the Prime it sounds like you would lose a little in terms of a bit less cargo space and the middle seat. But you might gain some features that you would like, and you may enjoy driving the Prime more.

The Prime might save you a little money in fuel, although that depends on gas prices and electricity rates both of which can change, but either way I don't see the Prime saving you a whole bundle of money but that's something that you can easily calculate for your estimated driving. I suspect you'll find that it's not an overwhelming cost savings per year. So it would all be about if you would like driving the Prime more than your current car. With the east coast incentives and the tax credit it may not cost you a whole lot to switch. Definitely worth running all the numbers so that you can make an informed decision.

 

Putting my Management hat on (which I don't so much now I'm retired), I'd start with one of these:


A Pro/Con list.
To do it properly, you'll have to do a projection on co$T$ of PRIUS and co$T$ of PRIME, including

• fuel use over x years;
• electricity costs over x years;
• insurance costs over x years;
• service costs (if they're different) over x years;
• expected value after x years; and
• any $$$$ savings - ie cheaper parking, tolls.
• etc

Then when you finish all that - use this tried and proven management tool:

 

About the 11" screen: I don't know if you are susceptible to seeing flicker (some people are, others are not), but the 11" screen in my Prime flickers (likely due to PWM) in a way that's super annoying since it's in my peripheral vision (where I'm most likely to notice flickering).

The quad LED headlights are suuuuper nice though. I'm also very partial to the shape of the rear hatch and window since it reminds me of the McLaren P1.

 

Here is a kicker. I purchased my Prime Premium last year with $3125 incentive, and with $4500 tax credit, the final price was $19980. Now the incentive is $4500 in NE, and $5000 in NY/NJ, I have seen even better deal than this.