Were the tax breaks a decisive factor?

I pretty sure I was headed that way, although it's a lot easier to justify the cost when it's "free."

 

I was intrigued by the hybrid concept and energy conservation, but the tax incentive pushed me to buy sooner. My present car is ten years old with 121,000 miles and I had intended to drive it till its last breath.


zsr29

 

Subject Line = Were the tax breaks a decisive factor? NO

Poll question = Would you have bought a hybrid without it? YES

:lol:

 

well, we did decide to wait and buy one new instead of trying to get a good price on a used one. not that THAT was likely either, most dealers were selling used for more than new.

heh, not that it matters since we STILL will be paying in this year. stupid payroll department never got my w4 right and that just screwed us over. :angry:

 

The biggest factor (by far) for me were the HOV stickers. If not for them I'd still be running my wife's Acura into the ground.

 

The tax credit certainly influenced our timing on the purchase. We've been looking for a couple of years, but made the leap because of the tax credit. Theortically our Prius will arrive at the dealer around Christmas and be ready for us to take delivery on January 2.

 

I want a Prius, but, it is hard to justify spending that much money when my 12 yr old Tercel is still in reasonably good condition and only has 70K miles on it. ( I am spending about $2.50 per month to put a quart of oil in the Tercel vs $26K to buy a new car.)

The 2006 tax credit is what is causing me to buy in the next 6 months instead of waiting til the Tercel dies ( 10 yrs from now?) I still can't see trading in my Tercel when trade in value is only about $1500. I decided to give the Tercel to my brother - he can use a good second car and he is able to maintain it if it needs repairs.

I did not want to end up with the Tercel needing extensive repairs down the road and having to settle for replacing it in a hurry with whatever car was available at the time.

If I were to consider buying any other car such as the Toyota Corola, the Tercel would have to be run into the ground before I would spend the money on a new car.

Springtime

 

The tax deduction made absoluetly no difference to me whatsoever. Of course, I was happy to have a $1,500 deduction (January of '04) but that did not figure into my decision.

Very soon after I read the first reviews of the '04, late in '03, I took a test drive, then they let me take the car for a full day (a Sunday, when the dealership was closed) and I was sold on it.

I bought my Prius for what the car is and what it does and I'd have paid considerably more had I had to.

 

Well, we were buying a hybrid regardless of any 'tax breaks', so in that sense, no, it was not a decisive factor. However, the timing of WHEN we buy is a direct result of the tax breaks and IS a decisive factor. We are specifically waiting until 1/1/06 (or as soon afterwards as possible) to take possession of an '06 Prius in order to get the 2006 tax CREDIT versus the 2005 tax deduction. We don't really think of it as reducing the cost of the car so much as helping out our current tax situation...

 

Well, I found that poll confusing.

I read the Topic "Were the tax breaks a decisive factor?" which I assume is the question.

Open it up and hit "No" only to find that I would not have bough the car without the breaks.

I suspect I may not be the only one.

 

no need to rush rush rush. It's not the first 60,000. It would seem the tax breaks go for the entire rest of the quarter after the 60k mark has been achieved, then it starts to gradually dissapate over the next few quarters. Basically, unless toyota does all 60,000 in the first 3 months (hybrids only), I imagine even 4th quarter buyers will be in on this.

 

Happened to me too.

 

That's right except the dropoff is not so gradual.
If 60k hybrid vehicles are sold by a manufacturer sometime in the first quarter of 2006, the tax credit will follow the following schedule:
(2006Q1) - 100%
(2006Q2) - 100%
(2006Q3) - 50%
(2006Q4) - 50%
(2007Q1) - 25%
(2007Q2) - 25%

 

Well, living in The Netherlands it sure does, because all cars get big tax on them and with the Prius BE (Business Edition it's called here, so probally with everything on it) that normally would be around 8000 euro (probally around 9500 USD), but buying the Prius you don't have to pay the big tax add-on, so in The Netherlands it's sure about the tax.
So now I am getting a car that normally would cost around 36000 euro for only 28000. So I drive a nice car for less money.
And yes you probally still think, wow that's a lot of money, but we still have to deal with the 19% VAT as well.

 

The tax break was a factor but not a decisive one for me.

It helped with the cost justification vs. keeping my 17mpg, 140k miles, 1997 Pathfinder SUV that needed brakes, shocks/struts, timing belt (yeah... never did that at 60k... too many prior bad experiences), new tires, body work and more. It was paid for though.

If it were a decisive one, I'd have waited until 1/1. As it was, I just couldn't wait to get mine