honda fit vs prius value after 10 years

what fuel price did you assume?

I do think lower mileage favors less expensive answers like the Fit. We have an 08 Fit and love it, but the mileage is not at Prius levels unless you get the MT and hypermile the devil out of it.

 

Hate to bust your bubble but your numbers may be flawed. The future value of an automobile (aka depreciation) depends on a bunch of factors - one of them is trend. If there's a great demand for a model, it will retain its value. So, your numbers presume that demand will not change in the future.

My thoughts are, go with the reliability numbers. That should get you where you want to go.

 

Prius have now been on the road for ~12 years (Japan model came out in 1997 as I recall) and while there have been batteries that have failed they are few and far between. A year or two ago a Toyota spokesperson put the out of warranty battery failure rate for the Prius at ~1:44,000, or about 0.003%. Compare that to the failure rate of other expensive components in "normal" cars, like transmissions, head gaskets etc which are often in the 0.1-1% range from what I have seen. There is at the current time no reason to expect that the Prius battery is likely to fail after any particular amount of time. If it should fail, replacements are currently ~$1800 from the dealer. That price has come down by about 1/2 since the Prius was introduced (not increased). Additionally used batteries from wrecks can be had for about $500, and are not really very hard to swap. The first gen Prius batteries are a little harder to come by since so few (relatively) were made, and are probably more expensive as a result. With over 1,000,000 gen 2 Prius sold, thats not much of a concern for the newer models.

Consumer reports has found the Prius to be one of the most reliable vehicles rated, with one of the lowest costs to own and operate in any class in addition to the highest customer satisfaction rating in any class. Only you can decide if its right for your situation, but there is certainly no reason it shouldn't be on your list.

Rob

 

Even if the story were true, a Prius from the first US year, 2001 MY, still books for ~$7500 PP or $9000 retail. Unlike a 2001 Hyundai, it would probably still be worth putting a few grand into, as with a new battery it should still go for a long time.

Rob

 

First, the Fit is a smaller car, which I would say decreases the value (and the utility over those 10 years as well).

Second, $4/gal seems low. I mean, a political crisis, inflation takes hold, and it could be over $4 two years from now, growing from there.

Third, the Prius gets better mileage because it is more efficient. Efficiency doesn't just mean less gas used, it also means parts that are less stressed and hence more reliable. (And overall less maintenance: brakes, "transmission", engine, etc.)

Fourth, as more and more hybrids and EV's are sold, the price of batteries will probably decrease over time and the capacity increase. You might actually WANT to replace the batteries in 10 years because it's so cheap and has so many advantages.

 

3k difference over 10 yrs is a no-brainer. And of course, you're getting more car with the Prius

Disclaimer: My other car is a Honda

 

Not too wildly optimistic price wise, particularly if you consider slightly used which is pretty much always a good idea if cost is the bottom line. We bought a 2008 package 4 with 11k miles on it for $20k in December, and thats Certified Preowned with the extra warranty. If you care about warranties, CPO can be a great deal particularly with dealers kind of desperate to move used inventories. If you don't care about warranties or depreciation, you could do what we did for our first and buy a salvage rebuild from a reputable dealer. There are several who work exclusively on Prius and have good reputations in the Prius community, we used this one: 04 and newer Prius Parts Cars. They have a blue 2008 with 13k miles for $13k right now.

Beyond that, your numbers don't lie. If you ignore depreciation, and maintenance/repair differences (which should be cheaper on the Prius), the Fit will be a bit cheaper. About $360 a year by your numbers. If you place any non-monetary value on creating less CO2, or consuming less foreign oil, or giving less money to the government or oil companies then the difference may be worth it. Similarly if you value the extra space and features that the Prius (even a base) will provide, then it might be worth it. The maintenance/repair cost difference will erase some or all of the annual cost difference, but an exact number is going to be pretty tough to come up with and would only be based on averages anyway.

Rob

 

The 2009 Honda Fit is the same size car as a 2009 Prius:

---------------- 2009 Prius --- 2009 Fit ---- 2010 Prius
Passenger ------ 96 ------------ 91 ----------- 94
Cargo ----------- 16 ------------ 21 ----------- 22
Total ----------- 112 ----------- 112 --------- 116
(EPA volumes in cubic feet - Fuel Economy)

The Fit has more cargo room and a cargo area that is very flexible. Both Prius have more passenger room and the 2010 Prius has slightly more total room.

 

They are the same volume, not the same size

If you carry rear passengers or have car seats they are not even in the same league from what I have seen. Rear legroom = 33.7in vs. 38.6in. Thats more rear legroom than a Camry! This is one of my favorite things about the Prius design. Part of the reason we sold our impreza wagon was the car seats would barely fit in it with the front seats all the way forward. In the prius, no problem! In fact it has more rear leg room than our Land Rover Discovery did. The Fit has about the same rear legroom as the Impreza.

If you don't have a family, or more than one friend then I guess that wouldn't matter. Fit does have good cargo space, and probably a wider hatch opening. Prius is not far behind and still much better than any similar size sedan in these regards. I can't find a seats down cargo volume for the Prius, but I would guess its similar if not bigger. The Prius rear cargo area is greatly reduced by the roof sloping down compared to the square back of the Fit. In the middle where the Prius is taller it should add a lot of Volume.

Rob

 

The Fit is a sub-compact, while the [2010] Prius is a mid-sized car. The [2010] Prius is 2 inches wider, 16 inches longer, and weighs 700 pounds more, but still gets substantially better mileage. Not worth the upfront money savings to me.

 

My 3 cents:

The car's 'value' aka depreciation is a non-issue if you keep the car 20+ years (like me). I don't think one can reasonably argue that maintanence/repair costs are going to be more in one car than the other. Both are excellent. The hybrid battery is just not that important. The inverter and transaxler are though, so be sure to keep up with fluid changes.

So you are left with upfront costs vs fuel savings for the money calc, and subjective car preference. Personally, I would buy a gently (more) used Prius for whatever amount I was thinking of spending on the Fit. I suspect that a 50 - 75k mile Prius can be bought from a private party for $12 - 15K.

 

Conventional ICE cars are already dinosaurs, so you can't really project them too far into the future when energy prices will probably be much higher. A hybrid is a safer investment for the future--a hedge against $4 gas. You are better off buying a used Prius right now for the same money as a new Fit.

 

50 for Prius depends on your driving profile: trip length, aggressiveness, speed, etc.

Keep it under 42 mph so you can glide, driving some length on most trips, 50 is too low.

Lots of cold start short trips or freeway speeds, and 50 can be too high.

On clunkers, watch the fine print: Post 1984 model year IIRC, Mileage under 18, Driveable, Licensed to the buyer for one year ending on trade date, etc.