What Happens If Not Plugged In?

I agree that as long as the incentives exist (and we have no idea how long they will), there will be a window where someone who could buy new might consider that over a used model. This will clearly reduce the demand for the relatively close to new primes and decrease the resale value. But when you drop into the next price/age bracket and deal with buyers who are not considering a new prime (even if the rebates are still in effect) and are now shopping for whatever car is in their price category. the rebates are not a factor to them. I believe a 4 year old prime will compete quite nicely with a four year old regular Prius. We can revisit this in 2020 when the first Primes hit four years old.

 

Think about it like this: Let's say that the industry is all in with providing more charging stations over the following 5 years, and with very reasonable rates that compete with petrol. After 5 years, plug-ins become more popular, such that the balance shifts further from ordinary hybrid to plug-in hybrid. Which would a dealership be able to sell more easily: an ordinary used hybrid at $12,000, or a plug-in hybrid at $12,000? Seems to me that the dealership will sell plug-ins more easily, and as such, I think that one who does a trade-in will get more money for the plug-in than the ordinary hybrid, because the dealer can sell the plug-in more quickly than the regular hybrid.

 

Several questions arise for me from reading this thread.
1. The Prius (non Prime) actually had a 58 mpg rating and the Prime has a 54 mpg, from what I have read.
2. I am not aware of any tax credit for purchasing a Prime. I got one on my first 2002 Prius, but not since. The dealer did not know of a tax credit, either.
3. In Texas, the Prime certainly is NOT cheaper than a regular Prius. Cost a bit more, in fact.

 

The Prius Two Eco is the only model that gets 58 MPG. The other models are rated at 54 MPG. The MSRP on a Two Eco is $25,165.

A Prius Prime Plus has an MSRP of $27,100 and is way more loaded than the Two Eco. The Prius Prime Premium has an MSRP of $28,800 and the Advanced has an MSRP of $33,100. All Primes are rated at 55/53/54. The other regular Prius models are rated at 54/50/52 which is lower than the Prime...barely.

There is a $4,500 Federal Tax rebate available on the Prime. And for #3 there are $3,500 rebates that are offered in certain regions of the country. So without any negotiation with the dealer, the Plus, Premium and Advanced are $19,100, $20,800 and $25,100 each. In summary, all 3 Primes would be lesser priced than the Two Eco. Also in my opinion there's more room for negotiation from the MSRP from the dealer on the Primes as compared to the Two Eco.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I certainly hope you are correct about the tax credit. My Prime I have ordered was about $35,000 including TTL. I ordered the top of the line with window tint, carpet and the illuminated door entry as my only dealer added options.
My 2016 Prius is getting from 54 to 62 mpg. Previous Prius models all got about 42 mpg.

 

One of many many sources of info on the tax credit for the Prime:
Toyota's Prius Prime plug-in hybrid starts at $27,100
Of course, you have to have paid or owe at least that much tax to get the full credit.