Prospective PriusC Owner :D

Well, your income level answers most of your questions... If you can afford a new car and law school without going into debt than go for it.

But if you're gonna do all this on credit and think it's just gonna get paid back once you're a lawyer that's really a dangerous path to take. There's over a trillion dollars of student loan debt these days because people are finding a much different job market than the ones their parents grew up in.

If debt is a concern just spend $10-$15k on the best used Prius you can buy. A used Prius is a very reliable choice and most credit unions will finance a late model used car under specific terms to protect their investment in you.

Then once you're a lawyer getting fat paychecks you'll be able to pay off that car loan in full and get a brand new Prius, which is going to be well worth the wait.

 

We live in such different worlds that I couldn't comment on the financial questions but I'll comment on these two.

We (in these forums) haven't become aware of any really highly significant differences in the 2013 models. The level Four trim appears to get a Softex-covered steering wheel over its 2012 counterpart and other than that all 2013 versions seem to have been given jump start terminals under the hood so you don't have to get at the 12V battery directly (which is under the rear seat on the passenger side) as is necessary on the 2012 models should you find yourself with a flat 12V battery.

A 45 mile commute is easily long enough for the c to be able to show its true mileage colours, but note if this commute involves a large amount of high speed freeway driving, mileage will suffer.

 

The C would be a great commuter. But for mileage sakes, it doesn't like short drives and it hates hills. If you are in a flat are, you will easily do 60 mpg.

The best time to buy a Prius is ASAP. I regret not buying it sooner. I could have saved a ton of gas money.

Where do you live?

 

Welcome to the forum! With regard to tax credits for going green, it's the state (WV) that offered that for me. As far as I can tell, there aren't any federal tax credits at this time. If CA offers the tax credit, find out the details before you buy. In WV the credit is based off the purchase price minus the trade in and any credit not used in the first tax year can be carried over to subsequent years - kind of a sweet deal. Anyway, knowing the stipulations before you purchase may change how/when you make it.

As far as gas mileage goes, I have driven in mountains, flatlands, high altitude, low altitude, highway and city, and average mpg has been 50 during warm weather. The only thing that killed it was winter and the freezing temps that come with it......but still getting 40 mpg even now in Feb.

Let us know which little beauty you buy. Good luck!

 

Forget buying for now and live with what you have.Get into Law school,finish,pass the Bar,get that 100K job,and buy your first Carrera 4.

 

I enjoy my Prius v, before that I enjoyed my Gen 2 Prius. However, a Prius is not for everyone. Here is a post I made trying to outline some issues the Gen 2 (and all Prius, including the c) have that you should consider before purchase. (if you are keeping the Jeep, some are lessened)

considering a Prius | PriusChat

 

$20000~$25000 loan for auto along with compounding student loan is not a great idea.
get a used prius, don't put yourself in a tight budget.
'stretch' / 'tight' budget = i would stay away from.

if you can afford it via new full time job, then go for it.

 

I have a slightly different take, although in principle, I agree with other posters about being fiscally responsible.

My gas costs were similar to yours (SJ/Bay Area, $275- 325 /mo., gas prices edging up to $5/gal!), and I have a large hill and freeways to contend within a 60 mi/daily roundtrip.

I had a 2000 RAV 4 (paid for, but beginning to cost more in terms of maintenance). I calculated my likely savings if I could get 50 mpg, versus the 25 I was getting and then calculated the size of the down-payment I needed to bring the monthly car payment + insurance cost down to no more than $100 more than I was already paying for gas/insurance/repairs.

The math worked out (with a sizeable down payment) so that my gas and maintenance reduction subsidized the monthly auto payment beautifully. I figured I could absorb an additional $100 in my budget, but due to a lucky combination of age, gender, safety equipment and a clean driving record, my insurance rates did NOT increase, and have declined enough so I have a zero net effect on my budget. I now spend between $80-125/mo on gas!

Plus, its a safe-feeling car, I love the additional features that I never had as driver of an old car (keyless remote, hill assist, more airbags, automatic gadgets and doo-hickeys, a moonroof, usb thingys, built-in navigation and hands-free calling that actually works beautifully!) And, this was my first new car ever, and I am really happy in the escape pod, where I do have to spend 2 1/2-3+ hours in a 5 day per week commute!

In SoCal, given the routes you likely have to use, I believe that your speeds would probably be in the 35-55 mph range most of the time (if you are lucky), and the temperatures most of the year would be good enough that your mileage might well exceed 50mpg (maybe you could reliably reach 60mpg if you applied yourself to learning maximization techniques and using a little grill blocking in the winter).

I was not able to claim the Federal green credit, based on what Turbo-Tax tells me, and I got a wheelskins cover for the steering wheel (the texture was awful), so I would go for the 2012 if you can get a good price. I did "splurge" on the C4, because I really hate cloth seats for the long term, and I plan to keep this car for a very long time, but it was completely worth it!

If you can come up with a good down-payment, you might find that the savings in gas and maintenance mean you will not pay as much as you might think every month, you will have a buffer against the unexpected high bills for repairs that tend to come with older cars, and you might be more comfortable. Quality of life and reliable transport do count as significant intangible bonuses while you are trying to climb the ladder...although my father has no fiscal responsibility for me at all at this point, he was so pleased that I chose such a safe reliabe car (Dads always worry about daughters it seems, no matter how capable and independent...)

I know this is long, but I feel very strongly about the choice of car a Californian needs to make. Hope this helps!

 

The smartest friends I know did great in undergrad with scholarships and no debt... But those same brilliant minds in law school were surrounded by equivalent brilliant minds and scholarships when you're around people that smart are very hard to come by. Saving up for law school, even if you don't think you have to, is more important than taking on the debt of a brand new Prius... Buy a used Prius at half the price instead.

 

Hey buddy I live in Moreno Valley and drive to Lake Forest every day (50 miles one way) I make about 55-60 mpg on the way their and 50 on the way back. Its well worth the money with the amount of gas you'll save.

 

This is more financial advice than anything but it's a better idea to get a cheaper used car, that still gets 30+ mpg and is reliable than taking out a good size loan on a depreciating asset that will "burden" you.

Suck it in for a few years and by the time you are out of law school making real money, you won't even remember the days you were stretching your financials to buy a prius c.

Or just enjoy life for what it is and do it now.

 

Hmm. Some reasonable economic opinions making a lot of sense. There are a lot of well maintained Gen II Prius hatchbacks for sale out there that if gently driven will push 50 MPG at less than half the price of a new c. Save plenty of gas and lot of money while you finish your education. Win win.

Then get a job with a good law firm and go buy a one of those very cool Tesla S electrics!

Good luck and concentrate on getting through law school at the top of your class.

 

Anybody who makes less than a million dollars a year is foolish to buy a new car... Sure it's fun to pretend to be wealthy and buy stuff on credit that's going to right away lose half it's value but its irresponsible for your own bank account and irresponsible to society in general. Realize that this same type of irresponsibility is what made 1/3 of the world's money vanish in a matter of weeks in 2007. It led to massive layoffs and homeowners and car owners far more upside down / underwater than they ever thought possible. Debt is death... Don't buy into it... It can destroy you even if for a while it makes you think it's a dream come true!