After driving an hour and a half to a dealer in NJ after confirming twice they had a 2013 I was interested in only to have them tell me it was sold, I decided to ask them to run numbers on a new Prius because I wanted to waste their time like they wasted mine. Yeah, I was angry. So I thought about it and I wanted to look at new ones at a local dealership. They have a gray Prius Two that I thought was fantastic, and I also tried out a Prime. Very happy with who I was working with and filled out a credit app. Right now I'm waiting on them to call me back about approval. Hopefully it works out. I think for my current situation the best option is to lease. I don't like leases, but my plan is to lease for the low payments now, take advantage of the service offers, and finance my buyout. Seems basically the same as straight up finance anyway. The reason why I opted for the Prius over the Prime is because I love the gray color and our house doesn't have a garage or an outlet outside, so I can see charging to be an issue. Ironically I work at a Chevy dealership and I can't see management taking too kindly if I ask to charge my new Toyota, so that's probably out too. I felt the Prime wasn't worth it for my particular case. I'm reconsidering, part of me likes to futureproof stuff, but on the other hand like I said I have no real way to charge an electric car right now, who knows if we get a bigger house in a few years though. I also can foresee the two seats in the back thing being a problem some point down the line. The Prime does have some nice tax incentives, though. Plus I love that gray color. I think they had a black Prime but it was a top of the line trim. So basically I'm torn between the Prius Two and the Prime while I wait for my (hopeful) approval.
Check with your State on Plug-in rebates, the Prime might be less to purchase. May be a moot point on leasing.
Yeah the incentives are definitely nice, that's why it's still on the table in my mind, like I said I don't know how I'll be able to charge it though besides the public chargers, and losing the seat in the back kind of stinks. I like everything else about it, though.
You're probably going to take a bath if you go for a lease and then buy out the residual. If you're certain you want to own it after 3 years, and you can afford the payments, then go straight to financing. I did a 2-yr lease on a 2014 waiting for the 2016 to come out. I returned it a month early with waaay fewer miles than allowed (~18k out of 24) and when I returned it the residual was several thousand more than it was worth. Add non-zero financing on top and it makes even less financial sense.
The only reason I've opted for lease is because the payments are lower, maybe pay up some more after I get my raise which is due in about two and a half months, and I kind of want to leave the door ajar for an upgrade down the line. These cars can last for a long time, but maybe by then I'll possibly be looking at a Prius with an electric option. Just because I can't accommodate one now doesn't mean I can't later. That's really it though, lower payments and leaving the door open for future upgrades. By the way I called to check on any updates and I guess the deal they're working out is specifically for the Two, so I guess the original topic is slightly moot.
Absolutely DO NOT concur on (f)leasing.....and if you work for a dealership then you should already know all of the reasons why. Since you DO work for a dealership then we will just leave it at that. Chevy makes PHEVS, and so there should be no problem with them allowing you to charge your car at work. Ask them. You might be surprised. Edit: we just posted at the same time, so I guess charging at work is out. too bad. Best of luck with the Prius...
Since you have not purchased, get the owners manual about customization. Specifying what you want pre-sales is free, once you own it, service may attempt to charge you. 2017 Prius https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47B54U/pdf/OM47B54U.pdf 2017 Prime https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47B04U/pdf/OM47B04U.pdf
The Prime is not an EV. If it is not plugged in it is just a Prius with a bigger battery. If a car's configuration doesn't meet your expectations then there's no point buying it.
One difference with PRIME is 4 seats vs 5. If you can get power to charge (and at a good price), it will be cheaper to run a PRIME. Sadly, they don't sell them here. Gen 4 is a far superior car to the 2013 you intended to test-drive.
