Overwhelmed by Purchase

Option 2.

in order:
compared to option 4, it is cheaper in monthly payments, AND in gas.
compared to option 1, $5,000 for 20,000 miles is expensive.
compared to option 3, $10,000 or so for 60,000 is a bit expensive.

 

Hello! I wanted to chime in because I've also been looking at how to get into a hybrid of late. I second the above advice - go for the 2008 touring Prius. From all my looking and research, simply put - there aren't any deals on 2011s. Not substantial ones. Plus, as one salesman pointed out to me, you'd be saving at least $1,000 (at least for my situation) by buying used over paying for a new car's taxes. That's big! So Option 3 is out, in my eyes.

For Option 1, like I said, from what I've seen, the "Prius premium" (the cost to get into a prius from another vehicle) remains even higher than the "hybrid premium." So the newer the model year of the prius, the more dealers feel they can charge for them. So Option 1 isn't great.

Option 4, staying with your Element, has pluses and minuses. My former coworker initially bought a Toyota sedan-something. She then traded it in very shortly after purchasing and bought a Honda Civic Hybrid. She lost hundreds at least. Realize the greatest amount of depreciation on your vehicle is currently happening. You could argue to get rid of it as soon as possible to stem that 2-3 year depreciation hit or you may want to stick with it because you've already lost a ton of money. If you trade in your car often, too, realize you'll end up with a prius that is 2 model years behind your Element, thus lowering its ultimate trade-in value.

I *have* noticed with myself though that once that mpg fever is in your blood, you drive around town thinking, "geez, I'm sitting at this stoplight and my engine IS STILL ON. Gotta get a hybrid!"

Other thoughts: an Element is in the SUV-family, right? Is cargo space a concern for you and your wife? Maybe others can chime in on the size comparisons of an Element and a Prius, but I would imagine they're close in size. So when it comes down to it, you'd be paying more $ to (assuming you get the 2008 prius): get better mpg, leather, and navigation. People put different priorities on different things. Me? I bought a loaded Civic EX. The navigation system is fairly dumb and I would have been better served buying a top of the line TomTom or the like. Remember also by buying the used Prius, you are that many miles closer to the end of the original warranty.

I hope my scattered points are helpful. I've had to think about these same variables recently! Feel free to PM with any other questions.

PS - forgot to mention, if you google "hybrid calculator" there are lots of websites that have calculators to show you things like how long it takes to justify the extra cost of a hybrid or how much you'd really be saving in gas. I don't know the numbers you're dealing with, but I'd recommend you go do a couple of those.

 

Right. Depreciation hits are past events, unless you're looking at variable used car prices. What really matters are two things: the net value of changing the vehicle and exposure to increased debt in the short term.

We don't really have enough information from the OP yet.

 

- What is the make-up of the annual mileage? I.e. city/highway, heavy/light traffic, steady flow/start-stop.
- What mileage do you currently get?
- Have you made any attempt to improve the Element mileage?
- Do you drive economically or consciously hypermile?
- If not, would you be willing to adjust your driving technique to improve Element mileage?
- If not, would your wife be willing to adjust her driving technique to improve Element mileage?

 

Buy a 2011 towards the end of the year.

 

sooo true... lol

 

Another way to look at it is how you like to work your personal finances. Long-term: you're paying around $23k for a Prius vs. the $18k you have left on your Element. Long run, you're paying more on your loan (with the chance you'll ultimately be happier with it, though, which you can't predict). Short-term: you'll be paying less a month overall because you'll be saving money on gasoline. In regards to additional short term debt, I'm not terribly informed on the process of swapping cars, but there are probably additional fees and such through the dealer for trading, if penny pinching is an issue.

 

I'd wait six months to a year....as long as it's possible to.

Reasons:
1. You're in a 2010 @ 338 per, so you're probably still upside down on your current ride.
2. You're trying to buy a Prius when they're still priced 10-20 percent above where they aught to be. Last year at this time they almost couldn't give them away.
One year...one tsunami and a gas price spike later.....used G3s with 37,000 miles selling for two thousand more than they were trying to sell new ones for last year!
3. Gas is low now. As long as demand stays low(er) the price will be stable for at least long enough for the 2012's to hit the street, and reduce the price for any left over 2011's.
4. You don't have any stick time in a Prius. Rent one for a weekend before you make an impulse purchase. No......a test drive doesn't count.

I know. Being a one car family sux. Being a broke two car family sux more. Think about it.
Figure out what you can afford in payments and start making those payments into a savings account. Three months...and you have something for a down payment,
Six months.....and you might have a decent down payment.
I'm not trying to be a buzz-kill, and I know it's cool to be green and all like that however (comma!) really.....if you wait just a year you might be able to buy new instead of used, or get used without being upside down in car payments for another 4-5 years.

Good Luck!

 

I think ETC(SS) made some points more eloquently than what I was trying to show. While the 2008 prius is cheaper than the 2010 you're looking at, as I mentioned earlier ALL of the prii have cost premiums hanging over them now. It doesn't make sense to pay more for a product you don't *need* right now when that product will be cheaper in the future. And I think ETC made a great point about saving the money right now! Though I'd disagree about buying another new vehicle in the near future with that money, I agree that being upside down on your car payments isn't where you want to end up.

 

When looking at a Touring model, verify through independent means that it really is a Touring model. Don't trust the dealer's word on this, learn to spot the differences with your own eyes.

From other threads it seems that nearly half the used Prii on the market are Touring models, far in excess of the number shipped from the factories. It seems that many were 'upgraded' to Touring the moment they went on the used car market.

Personally, I would strongly consider your Option 3, and closely watch the 2011 prices as the 2012s approach.

 

Sounds like fair reasoning to me, if the Touring is in good shape.

For the money part though, you have to be sure you are comparing loan schedules for the same duration, or make corrections if they are different.

These days Americans are migrating back to SUVs and the Prius is coming back into reasonable price range. I think the timing for a change is pretty good.

 

Agreed completely. If the car's got 15" wheels (original tire size was 185/65-15), then it's definitely NOT a touring. Tourings came with 195/55-16 and wheels that looked different.

Sorry I haven't read your posts carefully, what's the equipment level on that model Three (formerly known as III)? If it has no package (nav or solar roof), that sounds really high. Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Announces Prices for 2010 Prius / Toyota were Toyota's original prices when the 2010 Prius was introduced. The price has gone up several times since then but the model and package matrix has remained unchanged for 2010-2011 model years.

BTW, who is providing the loan? I know you've mentioned monthly payments, You aren't shopping for cars based on payments, right? I've never done that and recommend that nobody does that. (Heck, I've only gotten a car loan once and it was from a credit union.)

 

One other consideration is you will have free maintenance for two years along with a new 36,000 mile warranty if you buy a new one. ( and new tires, brakes etc) You will also find lower interest rates on the new purchase. It is generally a marginal financial decision when you change cars. If you want a hybrid do it but I would buy a new one.