Isn't it a no-brainer to buy a Prius Plug-in?

kenji, what up???

 

Not exactly. If you don't plug it in you are hauling around a heavier battery needlessly. I would only get a plug in if I had a place to plug in.

 

I dont' think the weight of the battery matters. According to Toyota, even if you don't charge, you're still getting the same mileage on the plug in as you would on a regular prius. And why is it so hard to charge anyway? You can plug it into any outlet in your home or even apartment.

 

Even without charging, you can regen more juice into bigger battery (faster and more energy).

You can even "save up" EV miles (with regen trick) to avoid short trip penalties. You also get to feel 38 kW (50hp) in EV mode, not possible in a regular Prius.

There are more things you can do.

 

Guess it depends on your pricing structure. Toyota UK have chosen to price the PIP £12,000/$20,000 MORE than the base Prius. With a 15 mile maximum range and even with our $8 a gallon petrol, it's going to take a LONG time to reap any benefit. A base Nissan Leaf costs less than a base Prius (normal Prius! not the PIP). You'd need your head looking at to buy a PIP over here

Shame, but I won't ever be buying one at this price.

 

I think the person who said "at the same price" has his information wrong.

And apartment dwellers can't just run an extension cord out the window and across the grass and sidewalk.
That would be a security AND a liability problem.

IF you can not charge a PIP and have no reasonable expectation of ever being able to very often, then it makes no sense at all to pay the higher price and to haul around that extra weight. It might not make much difference but it does some.

 

My information is correct. Not sure where you live but here in California if you put the tax incentives into account, the price for a regular prius vs a plug in is about the same. Actually if you get the prius 3 or 4 or above with options, the price is even more expensive than a plug in.

 

Where I live we can't even GET a PiP at any price.
Unless maybe we want to drive to Virginia or Cal. to pick it up that is.

So you are saying that it is OK to waste "public" money to buy something that you will never fully utilize ??
I don't agree with that at all.

 

You don't get the California tax credit unless you register and live there.

 

Yes I know that.
All the more reason that it might NOT be a "no brainer" for people in the other 49 states.

 

Comon up here to Virginia, Easy Rider, we'd luv to sell you a PiP...although it's probably cheaper on MD side of I495 beltway....see the DC Cherry Blossoms.

Plug-in sales probably highest in states with big incentives. 44% in CA alone in 2013.

 

Make sure you do your research about the tax credits to make sure you'll actually get anything from them. The way I understand it is it pretty much cancels out taxes that you owe, so if you owe $10k, you only pay $2500 with the $7500 federal tax credit. But if you owe $5k, it'll cover that but you don't get the extra $2500 that's left over. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

If buying a new car, any Prius would be a pretty good buy. However, used cars are still king. With what I paid for my Prius, I can buy enough gas to go at least 150k miles before matching just the purchase price of a PIP. But to each his own, some people like the other aspects of a new car.

 

I think you are confusing total tax liability with tax owed.

This is where some people get confused. It has to do with the total amount of taxes needed to be paid based on your situation. So let's say based on my income I have to pay $5000 in taxes over the course of the entire year (not just on tax day), and for some reason no taxes at all are withdrawn from my income. Then I could only use part of the $7500 tax credit (for bigger batteries), up to $5000. On the other, let's say my income is higher and I have to pay $15000 over the course of the year. Per paycheck a portion of my salary is taken away to pay taxes, and that portion equates to $10000 over the course of the year. On tax day, I still owe $5000. The tax credit goes against the total of $15000 that I need to pay in taxes, not the $5000 that I owe come around tax day, so I'd actually get the full $7500 applied (and receive a rebate of $2500).

Not sure if I explained it super well, but that was one thing that had me confused from reading forums before buying my car.

 

i think that covers it. and skid's point is valid as well, if your tax liability for the whole year is only $5,000., that's all you get. you can't carry the balance over to the next year.

 

It would be great if they sold them where I live.

 

Just make it simple. If you have to pay any tax back at the end of the year let's say $5000 and the tax credit is $2500, that means you only have to pay back to IRS $2500. However if you don't owe any money at the end of the year, you lose that $2500 tax credit, they don't carry over to next year. So you need to play around with your exempts to make it so you do owe some tax at the end of the year so that the credit pays for it...makes sense?

 

^^^it only matters if there is at least $2500 Tax due. If you over-paid taxes, via payroll deduction, that is no problem. You would just get a $2500 refund.

 

It is curious that this simple concept is so hard to explain simply.

Maybe using the term "total tax liability" would work better.

What you owe at the end of the year is confusing because if it was withheld during the year you might not "owe" anything.

If your TOTAL TAX LIABILITY for the year is greater than zero, then the credit will reduce your total liability by some amount, up to the maximum amount of the credit.

When and how you pay that total liability really has no bearing on the subject. It effects which way the money goes at filing time but that's all.

 

Spot on. This is what I'm not sure if everyone is clear about.

 

I'm new to the forums and planning to get plugin by end of this week. Thanks for the explanations on $2,500 tax rebate. One question - does anyone know if the tax rebate gets phased out depending on income? In other words, does total income affect the rebate in any way?