I need to get a car. Should I justify a Prius?

Perhaps it would be best if you just stick with your core values and get a small efficient used car. It's easy to get used to driving new cars with the latest features. You can even justify the purchase by focusing on the improved safety of newer vehicles. Good luck with your decision.

 

Hi I am New.

I saw this website in Borders - Wired Magazine

Toyota is the closest dealership to my house.

The car looks nice.

 

It is easy to be frugal to a fault and I am a good example. I have been debt-free (other than mortgages) for over 15 years and had no intention of changing that. I drove my '91 Honda Civic to over 200K and 30-35MPG long past its comfort zone or economic sensibility to save enough to buy the basic Prius outright. I spent $800 in maintenance, tires, and repairs while waiting for my Prius to come in. Work the numbers - if you can put 11K down and finance the rest with no early payoff penalty - and pay it off over the next 6 months for say $200-$400 in interest, I would guess you would be ahead in the long run over a short term used car and get some great credit in the process.

 

I also would have loved a new Prius, but also have not the funds. We bought a 2002 Prius used. It's fully loaded with Nav. We "saved" $10,000. Used Prii are out there, and we are now driving our dream car. I recommend Cars.com for a quick search of places and prices; many dealers are asking crazy prices, but a few are reasonable. We bought ours through a private seller, and even saw someone buy one off eBay (but we'd never buy what we hadn't driven). Please don't write off used Prii--they may be a compromise for you, but they may be a good one.

 

1) Oil/gas prices continue to rise, and this was cause an even bigger rush to hybrids, meaning it may get even harder to get a Prius this summer.

2) Interest rates are going up. If you are going to finance, do it now.

3) We have rising Inflation. This means the cost of goods and services will be going up. This means the cost of the cars, the gas, the parts an labor to fix the cars.

I'd either bite the bullet and get what you want, or buy the cheapest piece of crap you can get and hope it makes it a year while you save up the money. I would only do this if you have some mechanical know how and can fix things yourself. If your constantly paying someone to fix things on a used car, you'll be spending as much as you would have buying a new car.

 

1) Gas will never be under $2.00 a gallon after this year. (I HOPE I am wrong on this one) The fuel vendors WANT us mentally in the $2.00 and up range.

2) At $2.00 a gallon and 20 MPG delta you will save nearly $3600 per 100K miles driven. I plan on 200K+ out of mine, so that's over $7000 dollars right there, not including savings on brakes (less wear), oil (less per oil change), tires (they are smaller and less $$ than most cars) and other maintenance.

Regards,

Larry

 

You really should run a forecast comparing estimated costs of the used car you would buy compared to the new Prius.

Figure things such as:

Vehicle lifetime mileage - purchase mileage
Purchase price
Lifetime gasoline consumption & Price
Lifetime insurance rates
Lifetime maintenance

Many of these items will be estimates at best, but when we make financial decisions we must base our decisions on our best estimates.

Heres my analysis:

Vehicle 1:
Used 2003 Dodge Stratus V6
Cost with tax: $12,960
Used car mileage: 20,000 mi
Expected Life: 160,000 mi

Useful Cost/mile: $0.093/mile
180,000 mile adjusted cost: $16,740

Average mileage: 25 MPG
Lifetime Gas consumption: 7,200 Gal.
Lifetime Average Gas Price: $2.25
Lifetime Gas Cost: $16,200

Lifetime Maintenance Cost: $3,000

Annual Insurance x (10) years: $4,250

Total Lifetime costs: $40,190

Vehicle 2:
New 2005 Toyota Prius
Cost with tax: $25,164
Expected Life: 180,000 mi

Useful Cost/mile: $0.140/mile
180,000 mile adjusted cost: $25,164

Average mileage: 48 MPG
Lifetime Gas consumption: 3,750 Gal.
Lifetime Average Gas Price: $2.25
Lifetime Gas Cost: $8,438

Lifetime Maintenance Cost: $1,500

Annual Insurance x (10) years: $4,250

Total Lifetime costs: $39,352


Based on this model, I will only save $1000 for the next 180,000 miles and 10 years by going with the Prius.

There are certainly variables too. If I average BETTER than 48 MPG in the Prius, which most people do with my kind or driving, the comparison would be more favorable. If the gas price averages higher than 2.25/gal for the next 180,000 miles, then the comparison would be more favorable as well.
The Maintenance figure could be high or low for either car. My current 97 Dodge Stratus V6 has 144,000 miles on it and it has had less than $1,500 in maintenance costs. The Prius could very well be trouble free after the longer warrenty expires.

Anyway, look at YOUR driving habits and expectations, and make the best decision based on your data. I chose the Prius over the Stratus this time. I'll have to see if my gamble works in the next few years or so.

 

Six month deferment man!

Reason #1:

Toyota gives a SIX MONTH PAYMENT DEFERMENT to recent college grads. I bought mine a week ago and my first payment isn't until September 16!
Gives you some time to save a little more if you're not comfortable with spending such a huge amount of money, as my husband and I felt.

Reason #2:

You can buy a used car which may or may not be reliable. By the time I graduated college (this time last year) my car was getting about 15 mpg. When I finally dumped it last week I was getting about 40 miles per tank because the engine was screwed up. Probably better to get a new one, with great mileage at that.

Reason #3:

At least my biggest personal reason: YOU JUST GRADUATED COLLEGE (well, in your case, you will soon)!!! Buy yourself something nice to reward yourself. Congrats! Show up to work in something nice that makes a real statement about you.

Also, cost of maintenance isn't bad, nor is insurance.

 

I'm going to take another tack on the "YOU JUST GRADUATED COLLEGE" comment. College folk like you (I'm guessing) are used to being extremely frugal, so don't rush yourself into a more expensive lifestyle. I have several friends who"rewarded themselves" with post-college debt because they didn't understand what their true incomes and expenses would be. On the other hand, I bought and drove a used Olds around for four years after I graduated, and spent three of those without car payments. That's the way to increase your savings right there, though I don't suggest you wait as long as me to upgrade. Take a couple post-college months to see what your money situation is *really* like, and make your decision then.

Concentrate on what's important. Nobody cares what the entry level hires are driving. (And if your liberal bastion is anything like my liberal bastion, Prii are common.)

Brad

 

You sound like you've done your homework in regards to the Prius but if you're still not sure at this point it would be my suggestion to go along with what some others have said and go with a less expensive, good gas mileage vehicle. You just got out of college. Save some money and have fun!! The Prius will be there when it's time for your next car.

 

Assuming you really need a car, and transit or a bicycle just won't do, in terms of fuel efficiency, long term repair costs, and environmental costs, can you justify NOT getting a Prius?

 

Sometimes the younger generation makes me proud and hopeful. Save your money. With the current administration's policies, you're going to need it to pay off our growing national debt.

No really, wise move.

 

I only vaguely skimmed this thread, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned. If you do decide to buy a Prius and finance through Toyota, you can also get a $400 rebate from Toyota. You can get details on their website under recent college grad deals or something like that.

 

I note that you state above that you have decided to hold off and get the 2 to 5K "for now" car and wait on a Prius.

However, allow me to throw these thoughts into the mix. Along with the recent college grad deferment, you also will receive the $2000 federal tax credit (which would reduce your taxable income for 2005) assuming that the car (or any hybrid purchased new) was bought before Dec. 31, 2005.

This car does say what you seem to want people to know about who you are. Now, I am the first to say that it is wrong to judge others by what they wear, look like or drive. The sad fact of the matter is that most people at some level still do.

Wouldn't it be better to have people read that you are intelligent, environmentally and socially responsible and cool? I know the cool part may not carry much sway. But I can say from personal experience, I feel better "walking the walk" instead of just "talking the talk".

If you have read other posts from other longer term owner's than I, you will find that these cars seem to, on the whole, require very, very little in terms of maintenance. If you choose to purchase the extended warranty (which you can do at any point during the initial warranty period) you could ensure that should any of the really high dollar parts fail, you would be covered.

With the 3 year/36,000 mile basic bumper to bumper warranty, 8 years (minimum - varies depending on what state you are in) on the emissions parts and 10 years on the battery you are pretty well protected here.

As for the depreciation, these cars at least at this point in time (and I am pretty confident this will remain true for the foreseeable future) seem to hold their value extremely well. How many other cars do you see out there that may have upwards of 70,000 miles on them and still sell for just a couple thousand under their new price.

In some cases people have actually been able to sell their cars for exactly what they paid new despite whatever mileage they have on the car.

I have always, and I do mean ALWAYS believed that it did not make any sense to purchase a vehicle new. I too was taught that you should let someone else take the initial depreciation hit for you and that a car is just a car. I believed all of the above wholeheartedly, that is until I got my Prius.

For the first time in my car driving life (I have owned and driven at least 16 cars in the 17 years that I have been driving - so many that I have actually lost count), I actually love my car.

BTW, in all of the above referenced cars only one expired due to an accident, all the others just went to the big parking lot in the sky because it was truly their time to go.

I look forward to getting to drive my Prius and whether traffic is good or bad I look forward to the trip. If the trip is swift, yipee! If not, I just look at my MPG climbing in the stop and go and sort of Zen out. It sure is nice to arrive somewhere and not be all stressed out.

I always bought the least expensive car that I could get and viewed all of them as disposable. If I sat down and added up what I have spent over the years on the purchase prices, maintenance, lost productivity (missed job opportunities and days at work due to unreliability of the vehicles), countless dollars spent on transfer's of ownership and having to re-register cars because they were mine now, and untold gallons of gas that were wasted due to my driving vehicles that were at best inefficient and at worst down right gas guzzlers, accessories bought for these cars and other sundry expenses which I have forgotten to include. I could have purchased, driven, paid off and enjoyed at least three brand spanking new cars and still had cash to spare.

I would also have added positive points to my credit rating and missed out on being the butt of hundred's of jokes for driving the P.O.S. in the parking lot.

Oh, and I would probably never have experienced the sheer exhilaration (read that abject terror) of having my car just stop on the freeway at Temple and Alverado at 3 AM one week past the L.A. Riots.

Or having to try to flag down help on the transition to the 15 (while dressed in full clown makeup for a job) when the carburetor gave it's all.

Or getting to experience first hand what it is like to be one of the most vilified people in this state because I was driving a car that had bad rings and was laying down a smoke screen so thick you could not see 4 car lengths behind me.

Or standing on the freeway at 7AM as my engine was burning due to some malfunction with the oil pump.

Or gotten the chance to ride a bus carrying the head for my Mazda to exchange and then getting to do the repair outside in the rain.

Or... I could go on, but I think you get the point.

I think that one really important factor here in what you choose to do, really the most important factor is what do you want? You seem to like pretty much everything about the Prius. And your parent's seem to have done a good job instilling in you a understanding of fiscal responsibility. So, I don't think that getting yourself this car will be sending you off the deep end toward debtor's prison

With the amount you would be able to put down (assuming that you choose to leave yourself a safety net and only use say $3,000 of your nest egg) you should be able to get payments that would be very affordable (especially if you get financing through a credit union before you even go shopping).

As a young person starting out in life it is very important to build a smart financial future and one of the most needed things in this day and age is a good credit record. The one thing that an all cash purchases life does not give you is good credit. You have to have it to get it. And one of the best ways to establish your creditworthiness is through the purchase of a vehicle.

I read this post to my hubby and he wants me to add "What is the point of being frugal if you don't use some of what you have saved to buy yourself something that you want and will enjoy. Buying a car new is one of life's little pleasures and they are the reason that we work so hard and save".

If you are still unable to convince yourself that buying this car new is right for you right now, you could definitely find a 2001 - 2004 used either here in private party sales or on ebay. Personally, though I would say that the little bit you may save buying used would be offset by some of the other perks that would only be available via a new car purchase.

Good luck whatever you choose. I am confident that if not now, at some point in the near future you will be a Proud Prius owner.

Take care and congrats on the pending job and graduation.

Tisza

 

<<As for the depreciation, these cars at least at this point in time (and I am pretty confident this will remain true for the foreseeable future) seem to hold their value extremely well.>>

I purchased a (used) 2004 Prius PKG #9 with 12K miles in excellent condition using www.autotraders.com for $20,500 last month plus Doc fees, tax & tags. The original owner paid over $30K and I know the dealer had to make a profit on me as well. The original owner lost over $10K in depreciation. Keep in mind that many Prius are coming off leases and a greater abundance of new Prius are planned to hit our shores. For now Prius prices are falling till the supply in used and new run out.