Is it worth buying a prius when I only drive 25 miles round trip each day?

That short of distance would be perfect for the Prius Plug-in which gets around 12-16 miles on electric only then switches over to gas. Try to find a used one with low mileage to offset the cost of buying new which is a waste IMHO. These vehicles depreciate fast right off the stealership lot. You may be able to find one around $14k or less. Good luck to you! Ok, so let the new vs used flames begin.

Sorry my mistake, I meant to say Plug-in not "C"

 

^ Huh? Are you thinking of a Plug-in Prius?

 

Flame #2: You are confusing the Prius 'c' with some over plug-in car. 16 electric miles is overly optimistic even for a Plug-In Prius.

 

It's beneficial with gas but to make sense you need to be in it for 4-5 years.

 

Man some of you guys drive very short distances.I commute 28.1 miles one way to work five days a week and I'm driving a lease 2014 Prius 3 I got my Prius in March and already have 4,000 miles on it.The miles come on quick before you know it.I 'm not worried about going over the 45,000 mile 3 year limit on my car with them only charging .15 cent for every mile you go over when you return your lease.I havn't made up my mind on if I'm going to buy the car it depends on what the Generation 4 Prius has to offer.

 

Yeah except 13,000 dollars (trade-in loss) will buy a lot of repairs on that Infiniti, so it would be better to keep that money and use it to maintain the older car, until something major happened (like dead engine or transmission). Then move-on to a G5 prius.

 

BMW stands for Break My Wallet

 

my addition:
sell the car before major problem in engine or transmission. when those major brake-down happens, $$$$ is needed to fix engine or transmission. at this time, car has no real value since non drivable.
car has value when is drivable( with some issue or alot issues),
time to sell or trade when seeing: random slippery on transmission during cold start/weather, Engine can not maintain stable RPMs, or unpredictable unshifting transmission.

 

Don't forget about $ 8000 in depreciation in 3-4 years. From a pure financial point. it doesn't make much sense. Better to buy a 2010 used one --- then it may work. I'd sell you my 2010 IV for 16k --- 38k miles and Toyota warranty for 4 more years. That would be a great move but unfortunately, it's not for sale.

 

Sometimes it is just what makes you happy. That is the bottom line.

 

That makes about as much sense as buying an LCD TV for $5000, selling it in a few years as "used" for $2000, and then buying another LCD TV for $5000. All you've done is lose 3 thousand dollars and you haven't made any advancement. (Point: Better to keep your appliance, whether it's a television or a car, until you get the full value of it (until it stops turning on).)

BTW just because a car is drivable doesn't mean it is worth anything. I went to sell my mom's old Plymouth, which only had 30,000 miles on it and ran/looked as good as a brand-new car, but the street value was only $1000. The car was no longer in style. Cars depreciate as fashion changes, so looking at a car as an "investment" is as silly as saying, "I put my money into a TV for an investment."

Another option, the one I exercise, is to just add a Prius to your collection.

 

buy your car wisely when you plan to keep 10-15 years,
Honda and Toyota is a good bet to have good value when selling.

Plymounth? I drove actualy loaner from my friend years back during my study before bought Hyundai Accent. very heavy and classic

try to sell your honda 1995 as an example, it is easy to sell, just throw on craiglist.

Point is "SEll you car before broke down". selling broken car is no value.

if you know, Car as a fashion? not all people agree, some like me, car is just an appliance where going from A to B

I sold my Hyundai Tiburon V6 2003 with 170K miles, some transmission and engine Issue, and ECU issue *stuck turn light*, need major overhaul maintenance, and big dent on driver sidel for $2700 , I was happy. it was negotiated for $3000, but the buyer wanted some $ cut due big dent .
I looked on KBB, my car value was below $2000.
good enough for me, I drove the car for almost 12 years,

 

In my view cars are an appliance, but most people view them as fashion. For example they'd rather drive a sleek-looking modern Civic or Corolla, than the old sedan-shaped version (2004). It's about style for most customers & that affects the resale value (lowers it).

If I bought a Tiburon for $25,000 (taxed) and only got back $2700, I would be disappointed. $25,000/300,000 mile lifespan == 0.083 dollar per mile value. So the car still has $10,000 value left in it (IMHO).

Thought experiment (like Einstein loved to do): Buy a Prius for $23,000 and an Infiniti for $35,000 (approximately). Stick them both in a garage for 10+ years. Now trade them for another car.

They will have only 100-200 miles due to lack of driving, but you still won't get back the original money you spent. According to ebay the going value of 10-year-old Priuses and Infinitis, low miles, is a mere $5000 and $8,000 (again approximately). You would be better-off to keep your pristine P and I cars, rather than trade them in. And that is true with the OP's car too.

 

you are better off with an EV try a leaf
i just leased one 220 a month no money done


iPad ?

 

Why wouldn't you consider a Camry Hybrid? Look at the difference to refill after 500 miles: 2.5 gallons. that Accord conventional sedan will have you pumping 6.6 gal more than prius.

Keep in mind Prius(es) are purpose built cars with no conventional equivalents. They are made for the highest fuel economy and therefore have some compromises in comfort, luxury, power to weight and cabin quietness.

If you want to have one less car, how about a Toyota Avalon Hybrid for commuting and road trips?

 

If you look in the PiP forum, 12-16, allowing for temperature, is optimistic, but not necessarily over-optimistic. My range is currently showing 15.3 after a charge, and is still increasing, particularly as I'm improving the way I brake for regen. Though it's fair to say that for an all-EV drive that might be pushing it.

Key issue is of course whether she can recharge at or near work, because then she should be just right for a PiP, and in the spot where it gets the best power to weight ratio from the batteries.

OP hasn't been in for a few weeks, and other threads show she was looking at buying second hand at around $18k, I'm in the wrong country to know if that is realistic, but I suspect she's already bought, whatever decision she made.

 

Your suggestion for the purchase of a Toyota Avalon Hybrid is a very good suggestion. I had a 2011 Prius Two. That car did what it was supposed to do and a little more. I just decided I wanted a luxury car and I recently bought a new 2014 Toyota Avalon Hybrid XLE Touring. Good choice for me. I really like the car. Prior to the purchase of the Avalon, I rented a new Camry. For me, the choice was very clear, Avalon was the winner for me.

 

Not necessarily.

27 miles of driving around today for me has resulted in an overall average of 94 MPG with just 1 charge.

That certainly is worthwhile for just recharging at home.

 

It depends on what is important to you. The Prius will not compare to the seat comfort and ride of the Avalon and the hit on the gas mileage is not that much, about 10 MPG. It's well worth it to me. Might not be for the next person.