How Can a Prius Pay for Itself?

You can add savings from not doing brake work and timing belt changes.

Should be no brake work for 200k miles and no timing belt ever. So I'd estimate about savings of 2 timing belt changes ($350 each) and one full brake job ($600) through 200k. I'd say about $1500 easy.

 

LOL nobody said a Prius can pay for itself!

Also, they say that a hybrid car costs a few thousand dollars more than it's non-hybrid equivalent. According to the numbers, the Prius is the only car that ends up costing the same as the non-hybrid, because of the savings in gas (after 5 years or so). So actually most reviewers say the Prius is the best choice

 

No other car pays for itself. Why are we always being asked to justify a Prius?

Actually, I like Tony's answer best. But that's part of why I walk to work and this little Prius stays home.

 

The biggest payoff for me is the time I save by being able to use the HOV lane.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dvdirv @ Jul 13 2006, 12:17 PM) [snapback]285661[/snapback]</div>

Well, my '05 Scion xA got $12,000 for me when I traded it on my '07 HyCam.

And I paid only a little over $13, 000 for the xA new. Of course, I had 10,500 miles on it, or so. And the car was in MINT shape. However, I think with my '05 Prius, when I get to the trade in point (which will be for the Next Gen Prius), I will have close to at least 30,000 miles on it. Still should be in mint shape. I wonder what it will get then?

 

It feels like it's paying for itself. I traded in a 2005 VW Touareg V8 that I loved for the 06 Prius. Car payments are the same, however...

I was paying $80 a week to fill up the Touareg and now I am paying $100 a month (maybe). The monthly savings pays my car payment, I can get home faster (HOV), which means I can work later (make more $), there's the tax credit and I feel great about driving. I think the Prius is paying for itself and more.

 

As an Electrical Engineer (who saw this as an engineering problem) I calculated the savings in total cost of ownership. I forgot the details but basically the saving were-----

Total cost of ownership of a car has about four major contributing parts, in order:
1) purchase price of car (or more correctly, depreation)
2) Cost of fuel
3) insurance
4) maintnaince

I calcuated my saving as

+ $6000/100000K miles in fuel,
+ $1000/100000K miles in oil changes (plus you can do the rest yourself because the filter is easily accessable,
+ $3200 Tax credit
+ $100 Misc discoiunts over lifetime such as AAA membership discount
+~$4000 (estimate in five years) Significantly altered depreciation curve. (it is definatly not 200% Declining Balance with 7 years life like most cars)
[+ $10000 200,000K+ miles funcitonal life - Twice that of a $18K "american car" like a Grand Am with 100000K Mile life]
+ $180 better finance rate (I was offered a .2% better rate, I presume it was classified as a luxury car because it depreciated slower)
+ $1000 No "real" maintnaince for atleast the first 100,000K miles (no break pad changes, etc.)
= Approximatly equievient insurance to all other 4 door four cylinder cars
- $3000 Purchase Premium (highly demanded car premium)

So I estimated my total cost of ownership savings at around $10,000 for five years/75K miles or around $20,000 full life cycle of the car, taking into account its 10-12 year life.

Once you shift the costs of ownership and savings into present worth (from summed annual worths), the number is around $12000 savings for five years ownership, or THE COST OF THE CAR over it life. In reality, however, technology will most like catch up with the prius and the "total cost of car" estimate will never be reached. But the savings over five years is a very real estimate.

 

I bought the car mostly because I knew I would enjoy learning the technology like a new toy, (and I have), needed a new car badly (and good AC), and gas was skyrocketing in price. Since then the calculation is my gas savings cancels the interest on my loan. Even if the car doesn't pay for itself it made good sense for me!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 13 2006, 12:14 PM) [snapback]285709[/snapback]</div>

Well said!



Dose a Porsche pay for itself?
Does a Lexus pay for itself?
Does a VW bug pay for itself?
Does a Hummer pay for itself?
And on and on!

Can you really justify the expense of a luxury car?
Well the only luxury car that you can do that with is a Prius.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 13 2006, 05:19 PM) [snapback]285927[/snapback]</div>

The Prius is a nice car, but it's not a luxury car.
The seats aren't luxury seats, as my bum reminds me on long rides; and it accelerates like the V4 engine that it is.

Except for the smartkey, now THAT's luxury. I want one for my house.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmann @ Jul 13 2006, 06:05 PM) [snapback]285873[/snapback]</div>

And.... If you just pop on over to CNN, you'll probably start to rachet up this number a bit... When gas does get to $8/gallon, this $6000 will be much higher.

 

Initially, I was also caught up in trying to economically justify my '06 Prius purchase. Then I realized, as I'm sure most of you have, that reducing our dependence on foreign oil was more than just a noble goal. This should also be coupled with the fact that some portion of our cost of oil goes to fund terrorist activity around the world. So on the one hand we are fighting the war on terror but on the other hand we are funding a portion of it. It seems to me that this alone justifies the purchase of any technology which gives us gas milage in the high 40's.

 

Mine pays for itself when compared to what I was driving.

I think even the critics would have to declare the car to pay for itself when compared to what the average american drives...

But, they don't... The answer is alwasys based on comparing the Prius to the next most fuel efficient piece of crap stripped down honda civic or corolla. Maybe if you put the mfd in the corolla, I could handle it.. maybe not.. but the thought of spending 20 hours a week in a vanilla civic or corolla would make me a disgruntled commuter.

I look at the prius saving me based on what I was driving. If I hadn't given up my last rig, it would have been costing me.....

Here is my savings for driving my prius since 2/15/06 (17300 miles, 3 oil changes done at home).

Fuel dollars (F250 $2795.19) (Prius $907.29) Savings = $1887.90
Oil changes (F250 $60 for 3 filters) (Prius $10.80 for 3) Savings = $49.20
Oil changes (F250 45 quarts for 3 changes) (Prius 10.5 quarts) Savings 34.5 quarts About $60?

For the war on terror, I've used 34.5 quarts less oil (engine oil), and 636.97 fewer gallons of fuel. Said another way, if I was driving the F250 still, I would have bought 968.20 gallons of diesel rather than 331.227 gallons of gas for the prius.

I've paid out additionally, about $110 in delivery fees. I would have picked that stuff up in the pickup and probably spent about $30 or $40 in fuel to do it.

Tomorrow is my 5 month mark... 17,300 miles, about $2000 in hard cash savings so far. I probably would have had $1500 of that if I were driving a corolla... I would really hate a corolla (civic, focus, metro, etc..)

 

Cost Savings??
I see it this way
Any Hybrid is 30% efficient than its competitor. Consider a realistic 48 MPG on Prius and 32 Mpg on a similar car ( i Know corollas and Civics give around 35-36 MPG but i consider Prius somewhere between corolla and camry). Considering a 10 gallon tank ....we save 3 gallons of gas eery time we fill up. Just calculate the amount of gas you saved in an year ...in 5 years in 10 years........And as we all know gas wont last for ever .........Am i thinking right??
Plus there are savings on emission side ....we just increase the life of earth by 30%........
And per the cost thats $4000 premium (my assumption) over a similar car costing $17000 is 23% ......
So there is 7% overall savings in all respects in addition to the $ savings you all mentioned...

Imagine the savings you would make if everyone drives hybrid??

Just my thought....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmann @ Jul 13 2006, 07:05 PM) [snapback]285873[/snapback]</div>

Ditto

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jul 14 2006, 10:52 AM) [snapback]286199[/snapback]</div>

The Prius is the cheapest car to own. This includes depreciation maintenance etc...

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/pricing....Prius&trimid=-1

The average midsize car costs $37,833 to own, while the Prius is at $19,897 for a 5 year period.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Punkinann @ Jul 14 2006, 02:41 AM) [snapback]286137[/snapback]</div>

Actually, it is an in-line 4.

B)

 

I used my Prius as a getaway car in a bank heist yesterday and made off with about 50 large. It sure paid for itself there! (And I loved its smooth acceleration as I peeled away, shouting "Go Home" into my Nav system and still getting 48.6 mpg as I out-foxed the guys chasing me.)

Hold on, there's somebody banging on my front door..........