I never actually made a post about this. But near the end of March I bought my first new car. I ended up with a prius prime LE. I figured I'd get it in the same color as my first prius (1G3 metallic gray) since that car taught me so much and made me absolutely adore the prius series of cars. I absolutely love this thing. I get about 32 to 35 miles on all electric and my highest avg has been in the high 60s on hybrid. I live in a really hilly area so to get that avg around town is really hard for me. Any tricks to getting the most out of it? I've basically been using the way I drove my old prius but any tips would be awesome! I have a few questions though. I was unaware that these cars apparently have a break in period and well... didn't do that. Should I be concerned? Also I plan to have this paid off in around a year. Do these have good trade in value? I'd really like to get the next generation of its due out with in the next few years. Also are there any worthwhile mods I can do? I'd really like to make the interior lights LED They are really dim as is the one in the hatch area. Anyways here are some pics. Thanks for all the help with everything I've ever posted on this website. You guys really helped me a lot with my last one and I'd have been really boned of this community wasn't so helpful and informative.
Congrats. Some Tire Shine would do wonders and it’s cheap enough. Don’t apply it while on that driveway though unless you want shinny spots. J
Congrats!!!! I replaced the interior lights to LED. Recommend the trim remover: XBRN 5Pcs Trim Removal Tool -Trim Removal Tool Set,Car Pry Tool Kit, Car Panel Door Audio Trim Tool Kit for Vehicle Dash Radio Audio Installer- Red Led: SIRIUSLED N3 DE3175 31MM 194 168... For trade in value, It hold the value well, especially we get almost $10k incentives/tax credits from the list price. I also removed the wheel cover and plasti dip the rim & logo. IMO Prime is a great car for the price.
Since we were having a discussion about what a new Prius Prime costs on another thread - could you share some financials and where you purchased it with us?
Geesh! I was really trying hard not to buy any more tools - but these are too useful looking to pass up!
For trade in value, be careful about any mods you do. Most people want a "stock" car, especially if it's still fairly young. Switching the interior lights is probably fine as new lights are not crazy bright.
You will at least break even, or can make a few $k when when you sell it in a year or 2 with less than 20K miles, due to the fact that you got the toyota rebates, dealer discounts and fed / local tax credit. I've recently sold my 2020 XLE with less than 2k miles (ya, due to covid, was stuck home most of the time) to Carvana for $500 more than my original OTD price, surprise! You will never know. Not sure if that's due to the national chip shortage.
My spidey sense tells me there is something broken, when you can buy a car, drive it a year or two, and sell it for more. The automotive world doesn’t normally work that way. Incentives gone nuts?
What is broken is the supply chain. Chip shortage -> fewer new cars -> fewer used cars -> same or higher used car demand -> higher used car prices. Same or higher used car demand because some new car buyers are looking to used because there are fewer new. Also, used are the new "entry level" - not many $20k new cars. I sold my 2020 Chevy Sonic with ~6k miles to Carmax for $400 more than my OTD price. The price went up $1000 over the 2 months I was considering the sale. Used car prices are crazy high right now, but once the chips start flowing, they will probably come down some. As for the Prime incentives, it's either a major FU by Toyota or an artifact of fleet mpg rules. Maybe the regional Toyota groups on the east and west coasts messed up and ordered too many cars. Assumed x% growth over last year, and didn't anticipate the stronger BEV competition so they overshot. The "cool kids" are no longer driving Priuses, and hybrids / electric no longer have to look weird . There's even a YouTube video about "the rise and fall of Prius". Then again, it might have to do with "fleet mpg" rules, and Toyota is "giving away" Primes so they can sell more expensive, thirstier vehicles (e.g. Tacomas, 4 runners and sequoias). Either way, I feel like I "won" this round against "big auto", and how often does that happen? This obviously is not sustainable.
I may sell my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Limited....which I rarely drive. The quote from Carvana went up 2.5K from last year. I figure if I'm going to do it, now would be the time.
In my area, Carmax offered more than Carvana. Doesn't hurt to check. I've sold 2 cars to them this spring and both times they gave me their on-line quote.
Agreed Shop around though Be bullish Used cars are going for a serious premium I originally just wanted a gen 4 prius and then realized for me it just made sense to buy new with a deal like that Good luck
Ignore the manual's advice to use EV for city and HV for highway. It's a gross over generalization. If your drive is going to be farther than you can travel on EV, reserve EV for downhill and level cruising. Use HV for uphill climbs and hard acceleration. It's a bit of an art as how much HV to use vs. EV depends on the total drive distance and your EV mi/kWh. For example, if you're making a 30-mile drive and can only get 25 EV miles, you probably only need to use HV for a couple of hills or starts from a dead stop. The goal is to end the trip with no EV range left, but having used HV for the most strenuous acceleration situations. For regular routes it take a little trial and error to nail it down, but it's worth it. I was able to run 30,000 miles in my 2018 with a 8.4 mi/KWh average for EV mode and 135+ overall MPG (about 52 MPG in HV mode, but not bad for uphill and acceleration). This was mostly all miles on a regular commute of 82 miles round-trip with no charging.
