Having a hard time justifying 2010 Prius

you have to be crazy ,read some test.I have drove prius gen2 for 5 years and no other car is close.Now I have gen 3 and it is even better.
Tihis is my 5 post and now I can link:rockon:

 

If the decision is purely economic, that argument makes perfect sense

Civics should definitely be on the list of any buyer making a decision based on economic grounds.
Whether it is less car than the Prius is debate for another thread.

 

I would have to say this is an emotional response, whatever gives you happiness surely is worth paying extra for. But this thread is about the economics of owning a Prius, based on the OP's post.

 

The Yaris is a subcompact with less features so its not really comparable.

The Corolla is sorta comparable, but the price gap isn't $10k. I did extensive car shopping/research before buying the Prius and the price gap between the Corolla and Prius II was more like $6-7k. Also, you've got to figure in residual value. Lets say the Corolla ($17k) and Prius ($23k) both have 40% residual values after 5 years - that means the Corolla is worth $6800 and the Prius is worth $9200. That's $2400 and effectively reduces the price gap to under $5k.

Long story short...the Prius and Corolla have about the same cost-of-ownership. Given this, I'd much rather have the Prius. Of course many people don't want/can't afford to pay the extra $6-7k up front so they go for the Corolla.

 

When Consumer Reports compared the cost of ownership of a Prius vs. a Corolla back in October 08 (Affordable hybrids, hybrid owner costs, you'll need a subscription to see it), they said there would the Prius would have a $2000 cost savings after 5 years compared to the Corolla. That was when the tax credit already became $0.

 

The 5 year cost of ownership is relevant mostly to those who plan to keep the car for around 5 years.

 

Your logic makes sense as long as you plan on selling it after 5 yrs and getting yet another car.

It's the same economic trade off people make between buying a low end model vs fully loaded model, for basically the same car, how much more will one pay for the extra's ?

 

It seems feasible, but I'd like to see their numbers. My estimate was something like this...

Corolla = ~$17,200
Prius II = $22,500 (what I paid)
Difference = $5300

5 yr residual at 40%
Corolla = $6880
Prius = $9000
Difference = $2120

$3 gas (probably a low estimate) at 15k miles/yr
Corolla (29mpg) = $1552 x 5 = $7760
Prius (50mpg) = $900 x 5 = $4500
Difference = $3260

$5300 - $2120 - $3260 = -$80.

So this makes the Prius $80 cheaper, but of course the initial $5300 saved by buying the Corolla could be invested. At say 3% that would be about $850 which would make the Corolla $800 cheaper to own over 5 years. I guess the money saved on gas could also draw interest, but I'm not sure how to calculate that. Anyway....$800/5 years = $160/yr....not enough to worry about.

 

Yes yes yes, IF keeping either car for 5 years is your intention.
For someone making an economical decision, that would not be wise.

 

But even over a longer period, the cost-of-ownership between the two cars will still be about the same. The Corolla is well known for having one of the lowest ownership cost - if the Prius can come close to matching it, I'm happy.

If gas averages $3.50 over the next 10 years, the Prius will save around $7500 over a Corolla. That's more than enough to make up for the difference in purchase price.

 

Congrats. And happy birthday! You'll have to post pictures when you get it.

 

From Consumer Reports, April 2009, pp. 19:

• $360 / yr - Corolla
• $325 / yr. - Prius

Bob Wilson

 

i was in pretty much the same boat. a 2nd car is simply only convenient really. with the Zenn, it would be a 3rd car. but i got it any way. now case in point, i am one week short of 5 months of ownership and only have 4700 miles on it so far despite driving it to work the past 4 weeks to track changes in mileage as the weather and gas formulas change when i would have normally driven the Zenn.

but then again, any new car is not going to be cheap. sure i might save 10,000 by getting a compact economy car but i would have been very unhappy driving it. also, i either plan to keep the 2010 a very long time or trade one of the Pri's in for a highway capable EV. either way, i feel my luck on the wishy washy trade in market is better with the Pri than any other car. low mileage will obviously help with that as well.

 

:deadhorse:

congrats... buying a Prius at the current price points are more emotional than economics. And its important for a buyer to be aware of the reasons why they are buying.

As I stated before, economics is akin to statistic graphs, you can frame it to say different things. Just listen to your daily news and all the differing opinions about how well our economy is doing.

Prius has such a huge following that financial comparisons are typically biased. For $30k, there are many viable choices in either new or used car markets, but a Prius seems to be the overwhelming choice for many.

I am not a Prius basher, just another one of those shopping and comparing all the alternatives. Right before Gen3's release, I was able to negotiate a Gen2 Touring with Nav and sport pkg at $23800+fees, but did not commit.

Don't get me wrong, Gen 3 is a good car, but is it worth $30k+fees? I know I will buy one when its around $29k out the door with all the gadgets. At the moment, its around $4k over priced. I would of bought the HS if it did not look like a Corolla! The CRZ is pretty good looking tho...

Just in case there are those that thinks I am a sour grape, I have p-cars, M-cars, and others. I travel on average 20k plus miles and thankful that my company is willing to pick up the tab if I do buy.
Just my .02 :deadhorse:

 

Do you ever wonder why they are considered the same size? Many of us do and my some what old fashioned butt-o-gauge definitely confirmed that they are not the same class.

 

When there seems to be more BMW 3 series sold than an Accord, its kind of hard to say they are exceedingly unreliable.

 

Does an opinion have less value if one is selective in speaking? Its in the quality not quantity.

By the way, I really paid Uncle Sam some guzzler tax with the M Beast and p-cars. Sorry if I am not your traditional green tree hugger type.

 

I don't really see how. Sure you can add options to make a Prius expensive, but you can also run a Civic EX up to $25k if you want features such as nav and leather.

 

With Gen 3's doing so well, you can get Insight EX w/nav and Civic ybrid w/nav at a pretty good discount. I don't have either by the way.

Personally, I am interested in Pkg 4 or 5 w/nav. If I am able to get 10% off on a V w/ Nav then that's reasonable. But a III w/nav at $30k is just a bit too high when there are other car choices.

In essence, I don't mind spending $30k on a Prius, but these Gen3 prices are almost the same as when Gen2's first came out with those outrageous mark-ups! And I will never forget the line that one of those fantastic stealership sales response when I asked what do I get for the "$5000 above MSRP?" and he said "you get the opportunity to buy this car!" :hurt: