Consumer Reports article (as reported by Today Show): Prius "least expensive family car" to own

One major factor was left out of this discussion. The extra purchase price of the Prius must be paid for somehow. You will either make car payments at some interest rate, or you will pay cash. In either case you are spending money that could otherwise be invested and earning money. If you make car payments you are also spending money on the interest.

In my case...
We purchased a Prius because we liked it. However we knew the total cost of ownership was much higher than our alternative which was a Civic (non hybrid) at $5K less. The difference was not in operating costs but rather in the loss of stock market gain on that extra $5K.

I will retire this year and must have money to live on for the next 30 years. When I pulled that extra $5K out of my investments to buy the Prius I gave up long term compounding gains on that $5K. That amounts to something like $40K over 30 years. It doesn't matter if you are close to retirement or not. Putting your money in the car instead of the market is a factor.

We purchased the Prius because we liked the car, not for its mileage or cost of ownership. We like the ride, the novelty, the features, and the gas mileage is a bonus.

 

True.

Of course if you are going to count the lost potential appreciation of funds used to purchase the car, then to be fair you probably also need to count the gained potential appreciation of funds saved on the purchase of gasoline.

Every dollar saved on gasoline could go right back into an equivalent investment and the compounded interest on all those contributions should be considered in your calculations.

The same consideration should be given to any estimated resale value you used for the car. When you eventually sell or replace the car, any increase in resale value as compared to any other car being considered is money that either can be placed back into investment, or is a reduction in money that would have needed to be drawn out of investment for the next purchase.

 

it is hard for many to believe the hit a normal car takes while doing short driving trips around town. my SO has a 5 speed Corolla. most of the driving is around town, occasional rural trip to parents about 20 miles on roads at 50 mph... mix is 80% city.

she was averaging 25-28 mpg...significantly below the EPA overall average of 33 (older car). she is now the primary driver of the Pri and without changing driving habits, routes, mix, etc... she is averaging 42 to 51 mpg... now that is comparing a car that should be getting great mileage... but her one way commute to work is 5.2 miles... at 35 mph, its ideal for the Pri... a bit short, but still long enough to recover from the warmup period. add to that near daily runs to lunch, with one destination less than a half mile away. none more than a few miles away.

despite all that, she is doing well in the Pri. in her corolla, she would be paying an extra $100 a month for gas... i guess all in all, the reason i love the Pri is because $75 a month for gas is acceptable

 

Hi Jdona...,

Well, is the Market doing so good this year ?

I did a spread sheet on my cash purchase, but I had the $3150 tax credit as well. I included lost interest (5% then, can't get that at the bank now). The result was like a 5 year break even at $3.00 gas, and 45 mpg in comparison to my previous cars new purchase cost (a Saturn SL2). Gas has been more like $3.20 average since I bought the Prius, and the mileage in excess of 50 (58 min may through novermber) mpg. So my real break even is more like 3 years. 3 years of $5K interest at my bank this year is more like $600, maybe less in the years to come. 36K miles (3 years for me) driving the Prius now, saves about $2070 in gas alone.

Remember to incude the cost of maintenance, I did. The Prius has no brake maintenance over 125K miles in flat terrain, and traffic. I did the maintenance costs on a per mile basis, not at the time of maintaining. As reduced service life of maintenance items reduces vehicle value.

 

I for one am not upset at their article, it is the comparison of the Prius to a car in a smaller class as others have already mentioned. I don't really car what the exterior dimensions but when the official designations are compact (Cobalt) and midsize (Prius) why compare the two for a cost comparison? Yea, sure , it's great that the Prius is still cheaper than a compact car (as I said in my OP). But if people are looking at a midsize car, then they aren't looking at Cobalts. If CR was going to call the Prius the cheapest family car, then compare it to family cars, not to a compact car. It is just frustrating that CR continues to do these mind-scratching comparisons.

 

well...lets face it... the article reports on the obvious. no need to really add to it.

also, despite the glaring errors they have made in the past, i still regard Consumers Report as THE best and most unbiased source for rating consumer goods.

but, realistically saying, what other choices do we have? very few go through the rigorous testing CR does. and yes granted, every item tested, there will be disagreements on how its tested and the result reported, but as i said, i still believe CR is the best...

now in light of knowledge that all their testing is not done in house (lets face it, that is the main reason for their fall from "super-grace"...i now use their results along with results from other sources (ones i frankly dont trust as much... but now i feel a greater need for validation)

now, after all that explanation... the real reason, i looked at this thread is that after the Prius fiasco... i let my subscription lapse... so now i cant see the articles...in hindsight, probably not the best decision i have ever made. so that is why I am here...

 

Yes, but where would that $5k be in today's market? YIKES!

 

About $4.5k.

 

We have a big car show going on here this weekend. You know, the kind where you can get in all the new cars, turn the knobs, push the buttons, open the hoods, etc. Anyway, when I sat down in a Cobalt my very first impression was "this thing is tiny". It may be longer, but they sure didn't make good use of the available volume.

I had a good time lurking around the Toyota exhibit and talking to people about all the good features of the Prius. It's no secret that we know a lot more about our cars than the pretty girls that they send to tend the exhibit.