Beware Buyers

I know for a fact that dealers make most of their money from services, not from selling cars. They'd rather sell you a car that require a lot of services. They couldn't care less about being green. This is why they don't like selling electric cars which require very little maintenance.

Many Prius owners bragged about their high mileage cars, getting 200k and 300k before trading it in. The dealers don't like hearing those claims.

 

Generalizations like that are not constructive.

Not everyone has the same driving pattern.

 

I don't get why having a garage is necessary. I have one, but I have never parked my car inside of it. My charging station at home is mounted outside my house. I look at the EV portion of the PIP as being for your daily driving, errands, etc. If I'm away from home, I'm not going to look for a charging station in the car. If I had a BEV, then absolutely the charging becomes a necessity. However, that's why I bought the PIP - so it didn't have to. If I'm at a friends house, family, etc, I'll borrow their standard outlet to plug in the car, if I need to.

I got mine for a smudge over what MSRP was on a Prius 3 w/ Navi. And I get heated seats to boot! To me, the PHEV's have a much larger market than people realize, as long as they stop trying to think of it as an EV. You still drive the PIP just like a regular car, but when the circumstances allow you maximize your EV usage. You run EV whenever you can, and then enjoy the highest MPG vehicle there is when you're not.

I'm at 215 MPG right now on this tank of petrol over the past 7 weeks, with 1300ish miles on it.

 

Toyota and their dealers are here to make money. They are not here to make you and few other PPI owners happy. The number speaks for itself, PPI isn't selling like hotcakes but the standard Prius is doing fine. I would like to be green but I'm not going to waste my valuable time to look for a charging station so I could have my 12 miles in EV. Besides, we all are going to die from environmental disaster anyway no matter how green we get. At the rate humans are having babies, we are going to have 14 billion people on this planet in another 30 or 40 years. China and India are producing more and more babies and pollution at a rate unimaginable. By us (Prius owners) going green, we are just delaying the inevitable. Humans will destroy themselves, it's just a matter of time. The only way to go green is by humans stop having so many babies. I don't see that will happen anytime soon.

 

Plugin Prius makes sense for me. It allows me to use electricity for about half of my miles. I have also cut down CO2 emission and use half the gasoline (per mile) than I used to. It has also changed my driving habit as there is no short trip engine warmup penalty. I now choose to do more things locally, which cuts down on the miles I drive.

It is not for everyone for sure. If it doesn't make sense for you, you don't have to be upset and voice against it -- just move on.

 

Whoa whoa there... hold your horses. You wanna tell Erin Brockovich or Mulan that one person can't make a difference? Is the PiP another EV1? I don't have solar panels on my roof. Just because it's not cost effective for me or even the general public, should we just lay down our arms and surrender?

Blanket statements. I'm not accusing you of not being green. It's the blanket statements that "in general" it doesn't work then it is worthless to everyone statements.

The Prius was a niche product when it first came out too with gas at $1.50 a gallon. Was that 1st gen worthless?

 

Since when do you have to plug on anywhere except at home?

Geez! With your attitude, why should we waste any of our valuable time pointing out differences you continue to dismiss?

Plugging in when you get home in the evening delivers a substantial MPG boost. There's no need to plug in during the day. I get around 80 MPG on my 34 mile commute when I do that.

 

If you include the cost of electricity, you're not getting 80 mpg. If you go on a long trip without access to charging stations, your mpg will go down more. Like I said, the sales man made the PPI looked really good until I saw the price premium and how small the EV range is. After subtracting the cost of electricity, my savings per year is less than $300.

You're right. I don't have to plug in anywhere except at home. But if I didn't, I couldn't recoup my cost fast enough. I haven't came across anyone that could get free electricity at work. Maybe that's why I haven't seen any PPI around during my travel.

 

Actually, you probably havent seen any because the PiP is not sold in PA directly.

 

But they are sold in nearby states like MD and NJ so depending on where in PA one lives, it's not that far out of the way to get one. I picked up mine in MD. I have seen a few out in the wild in PA.

I also think that a reason people think they're less common is that it's not that easy to distinguish between the plug and non-plug versions unless you're really paying attention to the details. And if you're doing that, you're probably not watching where you are driving as much as you should be.

 

The Prius Plug-in should have an outlet cover on the right side of the car, that is what I look for whenever I see a Prius. The standard Prius wouldn't have that.

The sales man told me that PPI would be available in PA starting 2013. Oh well...

 

I am aware of the differences, having one myself. But when I am out on the road I am busy watching the road and not looking for that little detail. So I'm sure I've seen a lot of them and just haven't noticed. Shrug.

I would have liked to have seen Toyota give us more PIP-only colors like the blue I have to distinguish them from the no-plug Prius. And because I like unique colors.

 

Some dealers in PA have PiP's available. I got one in NJ because they had the crazy good Toyota Incentives.

 

Well, online you have - me. At least, I get it included in the car park charge I would pay anyway, for an extra £10 annual fee. Admittedly you have to move to London to take advantage of it, and it's probably going to change next year when the Mayor sells the network, but for the time being I get my work electricity for almost free. As we've said before, just because your experience was different, or you haven't come across something, it doesn't make it a general rule.

 

I know this is not a board to talking about driving skills or habits. But I would like to respond to your comment. A good driver will not only keep an eye on the road, he/she should be aware of the surrounding. I keep my eyes on all four directions especially when I'm on the freeways. You never know if some drunk driver going to hit you with his car from the sides or from the back. With enough practice, you will start noticing things without staring at it.

I know everyone's situation is different. I was speaking in general terms when I was pointing out all the negative aspects that PPI has. Of course, there will always be people who love the PPI. But the sales number is telling me that those people are in a minority group. I travel often to talk to people that live in different places. Generally speaking, whether someone would buy a PPI or not will depend on price and convenience. Overall, the infrastructure is not there for electric cars or plug in. As I point out, if there were charging stations available, they are usually taken up by squatters. I've seen one company in my area that installed charging stations but they are usually taken up by their company cars, not meant for the employees.

My negative postings weren't meant to offend PPI owners. They are posted for people who are thinking of buying an PPI and let them know that PPI isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. At least it isn't at this point in time.

 

Who said it was? And since when are generalizations like that constructive?

We know you were misled by a salesperson. We know driving circumstances vary dramatically. We know that estimates of efficiency are crude and more often than not way off. So please stick to real-world data instead. After all, the technology of motors & batteries will continue to improve anyway.

The point is, don't make decisions for others. Present information instead.

Toyota saves color for future models, as part of the mid-cycle refresh. Toyota also likes the stealth approach, being subtle about upgrades. Both have proven effect approaches. It catches the competition & media off guard and thrills those who enjoy the hunt.

After all, a purpose of Prius is to be a ubiquitous vehicle. Sticking out is counter-productive. The desire is for it to be a common sight, to be accepted by the masses from being so practical, affordable, and reliable.

 

It has been almost 12 months since I got my Prius. I agree that the information I got is out of date now. But the basic principle is the same. PPI isn't worth it unless you could get it in a good price and it seems like so far, Toyota has problem selling PPI unless rebates and incentives are involved.

PS: Pointing out the negatives isn't "making decision" for others. Likewise, you have the right to point out the positives. I have the rights to point out the negatives. Of course, we wouldn't be having this debate if PPI was cheap to buy.

 

You can state your opinion but make sure you include it is for your specific situation. It would be better if you provide information of your commute, driving and charging pattern. All those variables can swing very widely for PiP.

It would be a silly point if you say PiP isn't for everyone because it doesn't work for me.

 

"It would be a silly point if you say PiP isn't for everyone because it doesn't work for me."
Which is exactly what he has been saying since his first post in this thread, regardless of how many of his "facts" have been proved wrong.

 

The sales number speak for itself. PPI isn't selling like hotcakes. It isn't only about me, I spoke to many people who said the same thing. PPI does have a market but limited.