Should we buy it or get something else?

Yeah, they sure seem like that. They're not though. All of your modern cars, to include the Prius, have an extremely well designed structure to absorb energy in a crash. My coworker has a Lexus CT200 which is very similar to the Prius and was hit from behind last Friday by an SUV. The other driver was cited and had to be towed from the scene. He drove it home.

 

Get something else almost never worth buying your lease plus you get 0% on a new one


iPhone ?

 

Point / Counterpoint

Why a Jeep?? .

A conventional vehicle like a jeep can give another car a jump start. A hybrid like a Prius can not give another car a jump start.

A 2011 liberty jeep is going to higher passenger-cargo (weight and volume) capacity than a Prius.

A jeep has higher road clearance than a Prius - which is good if the roads surfaces are bad.

A jeep is designed for towing - a prius is not designed for towing.

A 2011 Liberty Jeep is going to depreciate like crazy after the lease is up and will be sold at a higher discount than a Prius. A cheaper car also translates to cheaper comprehensive car insurance because a severe accident payout is less if the Jeep is totaled.

the Jeep's leather interior is going to be more durable than the Prius' interior material.

the Jeep driver's view is slightly higher


Why a Prius???

Trend for gasoline prices from 1964 to 2014 is climb up more than drop down - and the Prius is more fuel efficient than a jeep-suv.

For the first 12 years, a Prius has a higher level of reliability than a Jeep. This translates to more driving and less garage time.

The Prius is a low emission vehicle - its good better for the earth than a jeep or a conventional suv - mile per mile.

A Prius is easy to hypermile - a Jeep is difficult to hypermile

 

I am older that may help not sure


iPhone ?

 

Most people are afraid of the cost of battery replacement. I don't think it's as bad as some people think, if you can have only the bad cells replaced and balanced properly. My bigger fear is losing the electronics, but I think the reliability of Toyota electronics is quite good.

 

I leased a Nissan Frontier double cab truck and wanted to buy it or get rid of it. It was funny when I had it for an oil changed at the dealership the GSM came up and asked if I was willing to at to get out of my lease a year early since they did not have to many trucks in inventory. He said just make your last payment and that's it. That day I had both keys with me and he provided lunch and called a cab at his expense.

 

That Jeep may be cheaper up front but will have higher operating and maintenance costs. The Jeep is going to burn 3x the gas compared to the Prius. The Jeep is going to need more maintenance. I've got 90000 miles on the original brakes and in 4.5 years the only maintenance I've needed are the fluid changes, filter changes and 2 wiper blades. That's 9 oil changes and a tranny drain & fill. What's the Jeep going to need?

Just my opinion--if the roads are too bad for a Prius to handle I don't need to go anywhere. I am way too old for that "I absolutely have to get to work" mentality. What does one see on the side of the roads when the weather's bad? SUVs. SUV drivers tend to believe they aren't subject to the laws of physics like everyone else. When there's no friction it doesn't matter if the car is 1000 pounds or 5000 pounds.

Do you really want to keep a car 15 or 20 years as a daily driver? Things change and things change faster now. The car that is 20 years old now doesn't have: a USB port, Bluetooth, vehicle stability control, antilock brakes, airbags (maybe it has 1), and an OBD port (maybe). Do you really want to drive that every day? Although that car is as great as it was the day it was picked up off a dealer's lot expectations changed and the answer is probably "no".

I've kept Oldsmobiles for 17 years. I have not been able to keep them running that long without dumping craploads of money into them. The last one didn't even last 14 years. I honestly believe the only thing cheaper to operate & maintain than a Prius is an EV.