End of EV Tax Credits coming?

The (likely) imminent end to the tax credits is what prompted me to buy my Prime last Friday. I was fortunate to find a dealer with one on the lot; if I had to order, it wouldn't have arrived be year-end.

 

did you get one in texas?

 

Yes...in Conroe.

 

excellent. i did not know they were being carried by texas dealers.

 

I saw a red Prime on I-35 between Waco and Dallas two weeks ago. It was exiting at a rest stop and I wasn't close enough to see rhe license plate or possible dealer logos so can't say for sure that it was purchased in Texas. Of course Texas license plates wouldn't be absolute proof either.

 

No dealer carries any on their lot. This one was available because the person who ordered it backed out of the deal, so it was blind luck on my part. The dealer said there are none available in the 5 state area (which I assume means Texas, and the 4 states that border it).

 

ah, too bad. glad you snagged one!

 

That's how my wife snagged her Prime. We were talking to the right people at exactly the right time. (I was on the phone with my salesperson giving her an update about our recent long-distance, high-speed trip in my Prime.) It almost got snatched up too. Someone else called about it, but we had already raced out to the dealer with a deposit check.

 

At first people were mentioning that the tax cut would immediately get rid of the tax credits, including for people who already bought the car, but the news reports I've seen such as here: Electric vehicle tax credit gets spiked in the House tax bill - Nov. 3, 2017
indicate that the tax credits would only be good until the end of the year, but at least would be in effect for people who bought the car this year.
This is a terrible bill, and I wish to see it defeated, but I would go nuclear if they went back on their word and didn't at least honor the tax credits for those people who bought their cars this current year, and made their decision being told that the credits would be in effect.
(Nice "poplulist" agenda, huh?, with every single nonpartisan analysis of the bill showing that the middle class will pay more and the rich will pay less).
But anyway, if you haven't bought your Prime yet, you might want to buy it by the end of the year...

 

You and me both. The tax credit, the $3250 rebate, and the willingness of the dealer to honor the TrueCar price made it a no brainer. The hard part was finding one in the Plus trim. I noticed that one showed up on my local dealer's website last Friday, so I left work, picked up my wife, and went straight there. The car had a "SOLD" tag laying in a seat, but the salesperson said it wasn't really sold. After a test drive and some haggling over our trade-in value, we had it.

 

The plus model is not popular in this forum. Curious what compelled you to choose it over premium? (I also have the plus)

 

Actually, I have the Plus model as well -- and opted for it on purpose (originally I intended to buy the Premium, but very specifically and happily changed my mind). Why? (1) I actually prefer the cloth seats to the leatherette (I'm used to cloth seats, and on hot days the leatherette seats can get really hot, the cloth never does). (2) I vastly prefer the smaller 7" built-in screen to the giant A4-size screen that sticks in your face on the upper two models. I know a lot of people like the larger screen, but I really like the smaller built-in one -- and the more I drive with the car, the happier I am with the smaller built-in 7" screen. I'd rather have as little distraction in my face as possible, and for me personally, the 7" screen is subdued, built-in, has all the info I need it in a nice, subdued fashion, and isn't glaring at me. Also, when one drives with the sun behind you, reflection on these screens becomes a big problem (I made a small black-cloth flip-over for my 7" screen if needed, but regardless, I certainly don't want the reflection off the big screen). Those were the two main factors. There were other minor ones (on the Plus you get a CD player, it's removed on the Premium and Advanced to make way for that giant screen) but those were the main two reasons. And though it actually wasn't a major factor, the lower price on the Plus certainly was welcomed as well -- a nice plus when getting the Plus! Yes, I know you give up one or two small features (like the auto headlights) but the Plus was by far the better fit for me. To each his/her own obviously, but I'm 100% happy that I bought the Plus.

 

Leather-like seats are a no-go for my wife. Plus, we're cheap. I could barely justify the expense as it was, considering our trade-in was only four years old and almost paid off.

 

Those are the exact reasons why the Plus is the only one that I would consider. It also lacks power seats but that has never been a big deal for me anyway, and also standard seats give you some additional storage room under the front seats, in my current Prius that's where I keep a small umbrella and the sunshade. And with the lack of storage in the Prime I would probably need to utilize that space for some other things as well.

However probably for me the big minus is driver door only SKS. I'm a bit spoiled now with three-door SKS.

 

That's the main drawback for us as well. The cable lock and wireless charging would've been nice, too. I like the smaller screen as well, especially having the climate controls separate.

 

The three door sks is annoying but I made it slightly better by changing the remote to unlock on one click and driver side door unlocks all too.

 

For me, I don't like leather/leather-like seats, that's the primary reason. I test drove a Premium, and while the screen is impressive at first, it was also overwhelming, but that might not be the case if one drives it on a daily basis, over time.

 

Iv always found it amazing how our Govt. can come up with a good idea and then shortly after reverse the whole thing. What they should do is to reincentivise more with clean air vehicles. A sensible goal should be 50% Clean air vehicles.

 

Mr. Joachimz, the large screen and all the technology in the car was/is overwhelming. I remember my first impression with the saleslady; there's way too much going on here. The key is to avoid/ignore most of it, and just deal with aspects that are useful to you AT THE TIME. The cool thing is that unlike many of my previous cars, it won't get boring for years; there's always something new to discover, as Priuscatprimeguy showed me with the Engine Monitor Screen, for example.
BTW, I posted somewhere else in this forum about my Prime being in direct sunlight for about 7 hours, with 107° Fahrenheit temperature, and I had no problem sitting (with shorts) on the faux leather; it's wonderful stuff and I truly am surprised at how butt friendly it is where I live near the river Styx!!

.

 

good for you ... I've owned several Lexus/BMW w/real leather ... the only way i would ever go leather again would be if they are climate/AC controlled ... key is, you're happy with what you've got, i'm happy with what i got ...
going to Monterey tomorrow to see our daughter for Thanksgiving, looking forward to another Grapevine 400 mile trip in the Prime