2010 to 2014 Prius, plug in or not

Russel Toyota in Baltimore MD. Yes I liked the people and thought I was treated well. Only suprise, there is a title handling fee for an agency to process the out of state title transfer to Ohio of about $250 that includes the registration and new plates.

 

It's not really practical to do because it's a complex system which requires battery balancing, precise charging, etc..
If you really want longer than the 10-12 mi EV range of the PIP- look into the Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in. It's roughly the same size and price as the PIP but has more than the double the EV battery size and up to 25 mi EV range.

 

Lots of talk about $ here, but I think the environmental benefits are worth mentioning. I bought my PIP for both and the fact that Prius has the concept dialed in. OK, so it's not going to save the planet, but I want to be one of those who contribute to the solution, not the problem (of greenhouse gases). Even if it's not a perfect solution, at least we're trying. It just feels good to drive it and I like things that feel good. Add in the dealer, Fed and State incentives and it's a good deal financially and environmentally.

Personally, if cost wasn't a major issue, I'd wait for the next Gen. Knowing Toyota, the technology will be pretty cool. Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Agreed!
Sometimes I see 3-4 mile long backups on the L.I.E. which is three lanes across and the cars are absolutely standing still only to be followed by a 10 ft creep forward to sit still for another couple of min. I can only imagine the amount of emissions coming out of those thousands of cars that are just idling without moving. I like to think of what it would be like if they were all hybrids that shut down when not moving... and the nice silence it would produce too!


Last week I had to use my old CRV for my work commute as the PIP is getting some body work done- it absolutely drove me nuts when I was idling at traffic signals... so wasteful!

 

There are essentially no environmental benefits of driving a Prius. Any gallons of gas that we do not burn have the effect of holding oil prices lower, which in turn increases consumption. In other words, every gallon of fuel saved will eventually be burned somewhere else. Fossil fuels will continue to be burned until the price rises above alternatives.

So, the financial motive is the most relevant issue to discuss. It most directly affects the life of the person considering the purchase. If the Prius didn't save money, it would be pointless to own.

 

Some likes to downplay it but it is one of the factor for buying a Prius.

PiP is cleaner than a regular Prius, using average grid mix.

 

That's a bit simplistic, as well as nihilist. Just promoting sales of this kind of vehicle, and leading by example, have a positive effect. It certainly isn't a solution, but it at least represents a desire to solve the problem, in a tangible way.

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Funny too that the PiP gives me the perverse desire that fuel prices go up. I cringe whenever I see lower prices than the week before at my local station now. I want to feel justified in buying this car, damn it!

 

I agree with markabele. "IF" you already decided to buy a new car, that is one thing. But if you are looking at your 'cost of driving', especially with under 5,500 miles/year commuting, you cost of gas savings is no where near like our PiP purchase decision. My wife was changing from a 22mpg commute car that she puts 22k miles/year on to the PiP which we estimated at the time of 65mpg. So with Calif. $1500 rebate, Federal $2500 tax credit AND saving $200/ more on gas, we decided to go for it.

You never said your 2010 Gen III's mileage, but from a 'cost to drive' perspective, I'd say that if you are strictly buying a new car for a cost savings, then my opinion is no. Or at least wait two years to see what develops when your 2010 may 'then' be ready to replace (or change to low(er) mileage second car).

Of course if you are Jonesin' to buy a new car and you have the discretionary income to do that, then, make a choice between the Prius3 and Plug-in based on the best price you can get on both.
If they let you always plug in at work for FREE, then your charging costs are basically cut in half. But, as you do not drive enough to have a large gas bill to offset, then that savings is not the major driver in this decision, IMHO.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Davekro - he never said what his "other" non-work driving was like.
My work miles are even less than his but I'm managing to put close to 11,000 EV miles on my PiP in a year...

we can't assess the $ savings without knowing the rest of the puzzle

 

I was just giving the OP more angles to consider for him to compare his only knowing data to.

 

We kept our 2010 Prius IV with solar panel, single stage heated leather seats, etc. which my wife prefers over the 2010 Prius III we sold. I drive a 2012 Prius PIP base, with 2 stage heated seats with lifetime XM/Sirius service. I don't mind driving either car. Neither of us commutes, so if she isn't blocking my 2012, which charges in the garage on the Siemens 220-V charger I got from Home Depot, we'll take her car. If I didn't have a PIP, I would have bought one when NJ and NY were selling them $4k off sticker in March last year. I would consider it again now that the MSRP is dropping $4620 (per Ward's Automotive), but I think I will wait until the fuel cell model is out in 2016. If I can get a BMW i8 EV at a discount, I may jump on that instead, but I'm not holding my breath. We would sell the 2010 for the next new car.

 

If it's purely an economic decision, it probably doesn't make sense to go from the 2010 to the PIP. That said, I did exactly that a couple of months ago. Why? I like consuming less fuel and I wanted the car pool sticker. That combined with the $4K in tax credit/rebate for CA residents put the price of the PIP at $23K (before tax). I paid $21.2K for my 2010 in Jan 2011, and the PIP has more features. I personally value the carpool sticker at about $1K year. Over 5 years, that's $5K. So in effect, I paid about $18K (plus T&L) for the car, not including fuel savings.

In sum, if you can plug in at work for free, and value the car pool sticker (through 1/2019), I'd say go for it. But you better hurry as the car pool stickers will be gone in a few months.

If you only view it as an economic decision, then probably not so much.

 

Even zero percent puts you in the hole. Just saying.

Personally I like to buy for cash. And hold them for a good while.

 

"Even zero percent puts you in the hole. Just saying. Personally I like to buy for cash. And hold them for a good while."


? What hole would that be ?
Even if you just put the $25,000 in a money market you'd end up over $1,000 ahead.
A younger guy who funneled it into their IRA or 401k would be crazy money ahead
Anyone who paid down their 4% mortgage would be well ahead

Paying cash means your cash is doing nothing for 5 yrs.

 

Read the original post of this thread for context to the post you misunderstood, and responded to. Buying a $25,000 car at 0% financing still puts you $25k in the hole compared to keeping an existing car that is paid off.

Trading in a paid off car on a new one that is essentially the same thing is the very definition of a poor financial decision. No credible financial adviser in the world would recommend the new car, but if they did, you could bet they work for the federal gov't.

 

So why don't you keep your old car forever!

 

I probably would have, if it hadn't been rear-ended and totalled!

My previous car was a 1996 Subaru Legacy. It had 240,000 miles on it, so I bought a 2007 Legacy. After a month of driving the new to me car, I decided I liked driving the old Legacy and couldn't justify the expense of the new one. I sold the 2007 for $1k more than I paid for it.

The TSX I replaced it with wasn't the cheapest car I could have purchased, but the 6-speed is hard to beat in the fun-to-drive department.

 

We have a TSX also great car!

 

Enough of great cars (who didn't buy a car they thought wasn't great?) and cost/benefit of financing, new versus used, etc. Everyone thinks their choice is best. LOL. I've sold three Prius that I bought from three different dealers for $2000 or more than I paid for them, not counting the one my wife totaled that I bought back from my insurance company for $700 and sold for $5000, after $2300 of body repair. I financed my PIP, only because Toyota Financial was offering $2K incentive to do so. I paid it off it off in two weeks. I've seen more Teslas in my town than Prius plug-ins. My wife has seen one in the past year, but it had VA tags (must have been visiting).