I'm going to buy a 2017 Prius, but I need help deciding whether I should go with the Prime or not. Tax credits: I've already had >$5K withheld from paychecks this year, but having been working very minimally so far (will finish the year having earned ~$34K) and will be starting grad school this Fall, I'm not entirely sure how the Tax Credit works. Will I get that money back from the taxes I already paid? Or do I need to calculate the total amount of taxes I will owe for the year, then determine whether the amount is +/- $4500? Charging: I will be renting a room in a house during my studies, so being able to charge at home isn't a guarantee going forward. Assuming worst-case scenario (not being able to charge very often for the next 2-2.5 years), would you still go for a Prime? Keep in mind I plan on keeping the car for at least the next 10 years. kWh cost: I'm in the SF Bay Area, and after browsing around here, it doesn't seem that home charging comes out very cheap, especially without solar panels. As I stated above, may not be able to charge very frequently at home anyways, so may not be a huge factor. Just one more negative I suppose. EDIT: To add, I do like the cargo specs of the Prius > Prime ... anyone discussion of that would be welcomed as well. My main goal is to have a dependable vehicle for the next 2-3 years during school, which is why I'm going to buy new. After that, money won't really be a major concern anymore. Thanks!
Does the grad school have any charging stations on campus? The college I went to has 4 Charge Point charging stations and it is free to charge your car
seems to be pretty well stuck at 15 for the time being. currently, i'm at 1550 ev miles and 150 hv miles on this tank. i have to do another 330 hv miles before my 6 months fuel target runs out 10/25. if i had any more ev miles, it could be problematic.
It's Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA. I'll be there a ton for the next 4-5 months, but after that, have clinical rotations at different hospitals all over Northern California. I can see free charging spots at the Alta Bates Medical Center parking garage right next to my campus, but I'm not sure yet if that garage is open for us to use or not.
Maybe get a 2016 4th gen used Prius? You will save some money vs. the 2017 brand new Prime and since you won't be charging that much, won't make that much difference to your fuel costs. The money you save up front will make up for any potential EV savings anyway... The 4th gen Prius is almost identical technology wise and look wise vs the Prime...
Going to go out on a limb here and say that the Prime looks quite a bit better IMO than the 2016 Prius. The extra 4 inches of the Prime and the slightly elongated hood give it a "sleeker" look. Combined with the headlight cluster of the Prime plus the redesign of the rear end (no "zig zag" brake lights) you end up with a much improved exterior. TBH - one of the reasons I took so long to get a Prius was I just had a problem with how it looked. The Prime's "look" is a step beyond the usual ho hum Toyota designs and a good improvement over the previous Prius designs. Throw in insane 100+ MPG with 550+ mile range and it's pretty much a no brainer. Saw one of the first 2018 Camry's at the dealer by the way. The exterior redesign is very nice indeed. Our next car will most likely be a Camry hybrid (to replace our 99 V6 Camry)
I know this is prob a dumb question, but here goes ... when it says "estimated fee", I assume that doesn't factor in the hourly rate of the parking garage, only the fee to use the charging station, yeah?
correct, There's a Charge Point in Mt Clemons Michigan which is free, but there are parking meters on the Charge Point parking spot, luckily there's an app that allows you to pay with a credit card for the hourly parking spot. I pay for two hours (because that's the maximum time needed to charge the Prime) It cost me $1.35 for two hours.
The Prime is slightly better in normal gas mileage than a normal Prius, so if the costs of the car are close, i'd go with the Prime, even if you can't ever charge. But if you can, the Prime *really* shines. I have a daily commute of 70 something miles and am averaging in the mid to upper 80's gas mileage, and the Prime is even better with less of a commute. My old Gen 3 Prius only averaged about 47MPG over the same commute and similar driving styles. I like the idea of buying a slightly used Prius 2015 or 16 too if you can get a good buy on one though, you might just get a bargain...
