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would it be worth buying a prius within the a year or 2

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 18, 2008.

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  1. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    I bought a fj cruiser 7 months ago i love it but gas is getting a little out of hand, Im not going to trade it in untill gas goes up to 5.50 a gallon but at this rate that looks like it will happen within a year or 2. So my fj is lifted with big tires and im getting 17 mpg average costs 65 to fill because i put 93 in it at 3.99 a gallon.

    Can someone do some math for me. On how much ill be saving, also any help or comments would be great, on youre personal experiences, problems complaints etc...
     
    #1 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 18, 2008
  2. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    i also drive 22-25k 20k at the lowest what can i say i love to drive.
     
    #2 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 18, 2008
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    don't think it's that hard. Just use $5/gal. Assume 46mpg (or whatever the EPA average is for the US) and then calculate! (Also note that insurance will be cheaper cause it's a car not an SUV as well as maintenance is less because it's 2WD, not 4WD and the brake pads last longer)
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, May 18, 2008
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Assuming that you would still drive as much, a Prius would save you about 800 gallons per year. You would need to stay mostly under 65 MPH or so. Fuel economy in any car including a Prius falls off pretty fast at higher speeds.
     
    #4 richard schumacher, May 19, 2008
  5. Kpod

    Kpod New Member

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    Here is a fuel calculator that might help.

    You can compare to mileage and costs of two cars side-by-side.

    You can use hwy and city mileage, or combined mileage.

    Good luck!!:)
     
    #5 Kpod, May 19, 2008
  6. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    i dont see the link for the caculator but if i were going to save 800 gallons even at 4.00 a gallon thats 3300 bucks which the prius would be paid off in roughly 8 years just on gas savings.
     
    #6 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 19, 2008
  7. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    could a rottwieler fit in the back seat? Really only concern considering i need to be considerate to my dog too.
     
    #7 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 19, 2008
  8. rfruth

    rfruth Member

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    I knew a guy that hauled his golden retriever around in a Mazda miata - does your FJ have one of those laundry basket things on the roof (just curious) is that in liew of a roof rack ?
     
    #8 rfruth, May 19, 2008
  9. pewd

    pewd Clarinet Dude

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    rent one for a few days ; let your dog check out the cargo area for you ;)
    i can fit 4 teenagers, plus me, plus our musical instruments all in my prius. a tad crowded, but still, it has an amazing cargo capacity for such a small car.

    25000 miles per year at 17mpg is 1470.6 gallons per year
    25000 miles per year at 48 mpg is 520.8 gallons per year
    a savings of 949.8 gallons per year

    at 46 mpg for a prius, the savings is 927 gallons

    at 20,000 miles per year, and using 46 mpg for the prius the savings is 742 gallons

    so you're looking at saving anywhere from 740 to 950 gallons per year.
    at $3.70 per gallon thats somewhere between $2740 and $3500 per year.
    more if fuel prices keep going up.

    run those numbers in a spread sheet and you'll see why its getting very hard to buy a prius now - they're flying off of the dealer's lots as soon as they come in. if you use the 25000 miles per year number and figure $4.00 gas, you're looking at $3800 per year, or $19000 over 5 years. impressive numbers. although its late and my math might be all hosed up this time of night - run the numbers yourself, its not that hard.

    i traded a 15 mpg jeep for a prius 16 months ago. i have averaged 48 mpg over 23000 miles. i've thus saved 1054 gallons so far. at an average of about $2.75 over that time, thats $2900 more in my pocket, about $2200 per year. thats a lot of beer and pizza money. keep the car 10 years, free car. less time as the prices keep going up.

    yup, i'm ignoring maintenance, taxes, and insurance costs. but still, thats 1054 more gallons of gas in the planet's reserve than would have been there had i not bought a prius. given the state of the environment, global warming, finite oil supplies, etc. how could i have been so stupid as to have waited this many years to get a fuel efficient car.... i hope mother nature forgives me ...
     
    #9 pewd, May 20, 2008
  10. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    good points, i know i cant find one on the lots to even look at but my friend just bought one and he said that he will let me drive it for a couple of hours so that should be a good clue as to weather or not the car will be a good fit for me and my dog. 5.50 is the price i have to see at the pumps to trade my fj in.
     
    #10 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 20, 2008
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    good luck with the test drive of your friend's car. Let us know what you think.
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, May 20, 2008
  12. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    yes i will let you know i guess im ahead of the game because most dealers dont have them so u have to basically just order it before you know what youre getting.
     
    #12 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 20, 2008
  13. Dawveed

    Dawveed New Member

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    As I saw the title of the post "would it be worth buying a prius within the a year or 2", I thought, "It is absolutely worth buying one right now". Let some of the bumper sticker suggestions on another post to help persuade you: "How's that gas mileage working out for you?" and "If mine sips; yours must _ _ _ _".

    After reading the first message, I am not sure if it would be good to trade so soon. Give it a couple years with gas prices like this, and we will all be driving a hybrid of some sort. Have a good day!
     
    #13 Dawveed, May 21, 2008
  14. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    ya i love the fj great rig no problems and its my wheeling rig which is my hobby so i think ill be mad at myself if i trade. But my plan is waiting till prices of gas go up a bit sounds dumb but cant talk myself into trading my baby in so soon. The gas price limits for me is going to be 5.50 a gallon. Then its getting traded for something that gets over 30 mpg.
     
    #14 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 23, 2008
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    If you keep it much longer you're probably stuck with it until it falls apart. Nobody is going to buy a used FJ when gas is $5.50 per gallon.
     
    #15 richard schumacher, May 23, 2008
  16. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    well im going to trade it in. And probably lose all my equity that i built in it considering im going to get hosed on the trade. I believe any car that you trade in if it gets below 25mpg youre going to lose a ton of money on.
     
    #16 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 23, 2008
  17. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    For future reference: there is no equity in a car. A car is not an investment, it's an expense.
     
    #17 richard schumacher, May 24, 2008
  18. nissanaltimacrazyhorse

    nissanaltimacrazyhorse New Member

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    when i said equity i ment the money that was the balance of what i owe to how much its worth. But on another note i drove my friends prius today for about 100 miles and it was wierd but it was nice not hearing the engine didnt realize how much i was missing you can hear everything especially if you have a rattle or something wrong. After 100 miles or so i had to give it back really enjoyed seeing 52 mpg on the screen considering i just filled up my fj for 70 bucks and caculated i only got 16.3 mpg.:(:(:(
     
    #18 nissanaltimacrazyhorse, May 25, 2008
  19. GatorJZ

    GatorJZ Member

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    According to Esurance, a Prius will cost me an additional $130/year to insure over my 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid 4X4. (Middle aged driver, zero claims, zero tickets, zero accidents.) I was a bit surprised by that, especially since my FEH cost considerably more.
     
    #19 GatorJZ, May 30, 2008
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Interesting! but note that your FEH is 2-3 years old now. How much does it cost to insure a new 2008 FEH 4x4?

    What's interesting is that my smart costs less to insure than my 3-4 year old Prius lol.
     
    #20 Tideland Prius, May 30, 2008
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