I'm thinking about getting a Prius

In My Humble Opinion
1

For those who don’t know what this is, you can check it out here: http://www.toyota.com/prius/

It’s the hybrid gas/electric car by Toyota. I’ve been researching it quite extensively though I’m still not sure if it’s what I want.

I’ve made out a list of pros and cons for it.

Con:

Three(+) month waiting list. My old car has been falling apart and I’m not quite sure I want to wait 3 months to move into something new. Also, how exactly will a trade in work when the deal is negotiated NOW but my current car will be worth something different three months from now?

No negotiating. The demand is so high for these things, the MSRP is the MSRP is the MSRP.

The technology itself costs ~$3000 more than a comparable non-hybrid car. This is offset by a few of the pros.

Unknown resale value. Right now, resale is extremely high. Sometimes to the point where an '04 is equal to an '05. But that’s just because supply isn’t meeting demand. Three years from now? It’s a complete unknown.

Headroom issues in the backseat. It’s quite roomy but if you lean your head back you hit the ceiling, which is a bit unexpected.

Rear window visability. It’s both very strangely placed and there’s a bar across the middle of it.
Pros:

Saving the environment one car at a time. Huzzah. I feel all green and fuzzy.

Significant tax deduction.

The gas savings alone should be ~$450 a year. Not to mention, as some people know, I always put off going to the gas station until I’m at about negative 2 gallons, which tends to cause problems. So going to the gas station might be beneficial.

Surprisingly strong acceleration for a car with a moderate amount of HP.

Very tight turning radius.

It’s just cool. Can we really put a $ figure on this one? It’s a computer game and has all these neat buttons and it’s something people will talk about.
I’ve been researching the Boards on the Prius and Sam Stone said this: “There’s nothing wrong with buying a car because it matches your values. No one asks if buying a Mustang instead of a Focus is a smart thing to do financially, because we understand that it’s simply not a financial decision - it’s an aesthetic decision. You buy a Mustang because you want to drive a Mustang. The same should be true for a hybrid. If you’re an environmentalist, or if you like the technology, or even if you just like the cool electronic gauges, that’s a good enough reason to buy a Prius or other hybrid (I’ve heard that driving them can be like playing a video game - the real time displays of battery charge-discharge leads you to play around to try to optimize your driving, and it’s fun).”
It’s a pretty convincing argument.
Are there other cons I’m not thinking of? Anyone know of pros that might help me decide? Or, are there other cars out there that you could recommend? I’m still looking.

2

“I’m thinking about getting a Penis”

:eek:

“I’m thinking about getting a Prius”

:rolleyes: @me.
Sorry. I’m all for a world not dependant on oil.

3

I’m not quite sure if your first suggestion would help me cut emissions.

4

Some people might disagree. One the most dreaded things about buying a car for some is the negotiation process.

In my opinion, I think you should buy one if you really like them and if it will make you happy. If you buy one though make sure you do before the $2,000 tax deduction runs out because it’s only going to $500 next year I believe.

5

If you can wait a year, you might be interested in this.

6

This turned out to be the deal-breaker for me. I was thinking of a hybrid for my new car, but then my old car got broken into to the tune of $2500 (really- they used a blowtorch to break one of the windows). The trade-in value of my old car was about $2000 undamaged, so I decided I was going to get a new one instead of fixing the old one. I didn’t want to drive around for 3-6 months with a broken window, so no hybrid for me.

I ended up getting a non-hybrid Honda Civic, which I like very much.

7

Resale is high right now but when these things start coming out of warranty and word gets around on what it costs to replace the battery bank, prices will be sinking faster than the Italian navy.

8

It will be more like 20 months than 12 before these are available. They don’t even go into production until late 2006.

9

Well, yes and no. I’m sure they’re expensive, but they’re also fully covered under an 8/100,000 warranty. By that time hopefully the price on a replacement will have dropped.

DMark, it’s certainly interesting but the style of the Camry doesn’t really interest me all that much. Also, while I’m hopeful that an increase in production will translate into a decrease in cost, the going rate right now for a Camry starts at 18K. Add in an extra 3K for the hybrid engine and you’re already around what a Prius would cost anyway.

10

It’s not the fact that no aftermarket replacement exists. The battery pack is just a giant bank of NiMH cells and they simply are not cheap in that quantity. Considering how stable prices of batteries have been over the past ten years, it is not reasonable to assume that they will drop significantly in the near term. The Prius has been on the streets for almost five years; it won’t be long until 100,000 mile cars hit the used lots in noticeable numbers.

11

Whereas that is my only problem with the Prius…the style. It just looks like a Honda Civic. And although I have never been in one, they look a little too small for someone like me who is over six feet tall. Other than that, I would love to own a hybrid, and hope there are a lot more models, and at an affordable price, when I go to get my next car! Luckily, because Prius is selling so well, it has finally caught the attention of other car manufacturers, and it is only a matter of time until it is the standard by default.

12

I’d like to point out that at 450 saved/yr in gas it’ll take 6.6667 years to repay the 3000 dollar premium.

-2000 tax deduction and it’s still 2.222 years.

Other Hybrids

Accord hybrid 30-32k 29C/37H MPG faster then a regular accord v6
Civic Hybrid 20k 46C/51H MPG(Manual tranny)

and uh, theres the insight. But I think that car is fugly.

Personally? for the money i’d get a mazda 3.

13

Tsk, why can’t the US just start liking diesel cars.

The MPG on the hybrids seems marginally better than ordinary petrol engined cars depending on where you drive. I suppose if its mostly city driving it might make a difference, but otherwise?

14

Cars (of any sort) as a more or less environmental purchase is laughable. Buy what you like, because you like it. If only for the following:

  1. 100% electric cars only MOVE the pollution from the tail pipe to the plant the produces electricity, which as of this moment is most likely coal, oil, hydroelectric (ever seen the environmental impact statement on a dam?), wind (chopped up protected birds?), or nuclear (IMHO the best option, but suffers from NIMBY syndrome)

  2. Gas/hybrid, Fuel Cell, etc. - Any clue how much energy/water/petroleum it takes to MAKE ANY CAR? The incremental costs of building a Big car over an economy car reaily doesn’t amount to much…Industrial Manufacture is NOT Ecologically Nice.

So, if it’s gonna happen, and you need a vehicle, and you’re okay with the perception the car generates, buy what ya like.

(Oh, and buying a happy hippy (vanagon, old beetle, etc.) car can harm the enivoronment every bit as bad with aging pollution controls.

Cars are Bad, umkay? That’s why I Lovem. (I’ve got a SUV, two vettes, a PT Cruiser, and spend most of my road miles each year sitting on a Bus.)

15

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/16/Autos/prius_computer/index.htm?cnn=yes
…

      • I don’t really know how big this problem is, I just saw this story a while back. Supposedly a lot of formerly-high-quality-rated cars are having LOTS of trouble relating to the software of their engine/car control computers these days.
        ~
16

My next car will probably be a hybrid and I am strongly leaning towards the prius. That is probably two years away though. I have a 97 Accord and I expect it to last at least 10 years and depending on how it is running, will likely keep it even longer.

17

Dis anybody else read the Thread Tiles as " I’m thinking about getting a Priapus?

You’re thinking about getting a Roman Fertility/Good Luck Idol?

For those curious, do a Not-Safe-At-Work Google for priapus.

18

Well, there might be other cons, but I testdrove one and loved it, and the few people I spoke with who own one love it too. I personally am definitely someone who would be trying to get as good a mileage as possible, but when I testdrove it and didn’t try, this big car still performed very, very well.

There’s an 8 year warranty on the battery I believe, and so when the battery needs to be replaced in about 10 years, there’s no telling whether that will be expensive or not - but if the fuel prices continue to go like this, the Prius has a significant lead over the competition, since the first ones were sold in Japan in 1997. And Toyota is well known and praised for its reliability, quality and durability.

Whether it’s the best long-term decision, I don’t know. It all depends on how the competition develops and the prices of fuel go up.

19

Here’s something interesting I just found out. In addition to the $2,000 tax deductions, many states will offer tax credits as well. In Kansas, for instance, there’s (up to) a $2,500 tax credit.
The tax deduction translates to ~$600 and adding that to the credit could mean a savings come next April 15 equal to the cost of the hybrid technology.

20

I’m as hippy-dippy as the next person, but aside from the cool/conscience factor (which absolutely may be reason enough to get one), I don’t think the price premium for hybrids at the moment generally justifies their moderate gas savings by any stretch of economics.

Quick back-of-the-envelope calcs show that gas costs for a Prius (avg 55mpg; 12,000 mi/yr; $2.25/gal gas) are around $500 a year. Then take, say, a Toyota Corolla sedan or Honda Civic sedan, which is basically the same class of car as the Prius/Civic Hybrid, and your costs (avg. 34mpg; 12,000 mi/yr; $2.25/gal gas) are around $800 a year. Save $300 with the hybrids.

But base price of Prius/Civic Hybrid is $5,000 more than their lesser cousins. That would take you 16-odd years to make back the investment.
Of course, many of those numbers could change–maybe you’re a salesperson who averages 100 miles of city driving every day. Maybe you live in the country and only drive highway miles. Maybe you tend to drive 30,000 miles each year. Maybe gas in your area only costs $2/gal–or it costs $3/gal. Or maybe gas prices are going to shoot above $5/gal in the next year and a half.

YMMV. (Literally.)