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Prius Prime Math

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by slowmachine, Jan 18, 2023.

  1. slowmachine

    slowmachine Member

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    I am no longer a Prius Prime owner.

    Apr 2021 Purchase Price $30,516
    - Rebate $5,000
    - Tax Credit $4,200

    Jan 2023 Sold back to dealer $27,500 with ~18,900 miles on the odometer.

    Thanks to the Toyota rebate and the federal tax credit, that's a $6,184 gross profit over 22 months of use. That far exceeds my best-guess cost of insurance, maintenance, fuel, and electric charging.

    I have a list of the 53 cars that I've owned since my first purchase in 1980. I've broken even before (Chevy Vega) but never made an actual profit on a car until now. We live in strange times.
     
    #1 slowmachine, Jan 18, 2023
    Northerner, Isaac Zachary and bisco like this.
  2. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Good info and congrats.

    If you read past the the headline, this recent study puts the PP on the top of the list of used cars with the biggest price increases from Dec 21 to Dec 22 - over 22%.

    Tesla Leads The Charge as Used Car Prices Finally Begin to Tumble - iSeeCars.com
     
    #2 Marine Ray, Jan 18, 2023
  3. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Southern MN
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    II
    On another thread we were discussing that many savvy Prime owners in hindsight got a "too good to be true" deal back then. So good for you! And yeah...we are not going to see $5000 rebates again anytime soon. Tax credits are gone as well.

    With that said, I have been monitoring the used market for quite some time and Prime prices *are* starting to come down ( cars.com has a historical price chart of each vehicle ). However, they have a long way to go...as @Marine Ray points out.
     
    #3 farmecologist, Jan 18, 2023
    Marine Ray likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Congratulations!

    what are you driving?
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 18, 2023
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Yep, PP was for sure the most economical (or profitable?) cars I have owned too.

    But Wow! 53 cars in 43 years. That's a lot. A lot more than I have owned in the same span. But I did not break even on my Vega which was my very first car.
     
    #5 Salamander_King, Jan 18, 2023
  6. slowmachine

    slowmachine Member

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    At the moment, we have a 2012 Honda CR-V and a 2015 Jeep Wrangler. I made this move to facilitate providing inexpensive cars for two daughters in college at the same time. One will get the CR-V, and we’re on the lookout for something similar for the other. At the moment 13-15 RAV4 looks pretty good. Wife is fishing for a larger SUV, maybe a Highlander, once they are gone. That should be September 2024.
     
    #6 slowmachine, Jan 18, 2023
    bisco likes this.
  7. slowmachine

    slowmachine Member

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    Both of my wives thought it was a lot too. Ten of them were Volkswagen vans, a 20-year obsession that brought me great joy and a bunch of good friends. At one time, around 2014, there were eight of them parked in my driveway. Great memories, but I didn't shed a tear the day that my wife and I disassembled my rollaway tool chest and moved it from the garage to the basement.
     
    #7 slowmachine, Jan 19, 2023
    Salamander_King likes this.
  8. Northerner

    Northerner Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2020
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    Location:
    Midwest
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I am still a Prime owner but keep getting unsolicited offers for my 2020 Limited. I’m amazed you got your Prime so cheap. Last offer for my Limited was from CarFax for $27600 which must be getting close to break-even for me - but I forgot what we paid. The dealer also sent a email saying he wants to make me an offer. Yes, strange world.
     
    #8 Northerner, Feb 26, 2023
  9. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Sparks, NV
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Pre Summer 2021 was a time when most folks were able to get their Prius Primes for $10-12K off MSRP (Fed tax credit, dealer off MSRP, Toyota Cash back, any state/local/city rebates)
     
    #9 Marine Ray, Feb 27, 2023
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