Anyone find it hard to buy the Prius?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wishes @ Jul 14 2006, 10:42 AM) [snapback]286278[/snapback]</div>

Before I came into a bit of money cost was always a deciding factor in everything I bought. Quality and personal priorities were the others. I drove a Honda Civic because of Honda quality and that being the car I could afford. I think I paid $11,000 in 1988 for the '89 model year.

I think it was Mr. Macgruder (I bet I'm spelling that wrong) from Great Expectations (but I could be wrong there too) who said that the recipe for happiness was to spend one pound less than your income (he was British) and the recipe for misery was to spend one pound more than your income.

I didn't think twice about buying the Prius because by that time I could afford it. I could have bought a Lexus, but I prefered to buy the better car (the Prius) even though it was cheaper. But if I had not had the money I would not have bought the Prius. It's the coolest car in the universe, but it's still just a car. And no material possession can make up for the misery of being in debt and a slave to the bank.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Jul 14 2006, 01:11 PM) [snapback]286368[/snapback]</div>

You found me out! Almost....68 and counting. That was the going price for a movie in Syracuse, NY at the local Avon Theater in 1948 when I was ten. (They were even showing "talkies!")

I have to admit that at the big theaters downtown, the movies cost 50 cents for kids but my parents never sprung for that.

You ever seen anybody this old still driving? It even amazes me!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ Jul 14 2006, 04:38 PM) [snapback]286468[/snapback]</div>

I didn't think this post was about getting the cheapest car possible. One, for example, with a "crappy Honda exhaust manifold" and other parts that self destruct. Buying a Prius isn't foremost about economy. It's also about getting with the 21st century and trying to do things a little more right than we did in the past. The basic premise around here is, I think, that the world would be much better with green cars. My "satisfaction level" isn't centered on the Prius gadgets, though I love them. It's knowing that in my small way I am making the world a tiny bit better and that my educated children will see this as an example and follow it.

Education isn't about lifting one to a new standard of living. (At least that is what I tell the students I teach in my college classes.) It is more important that education raises one's moral, ethical and cultural level than increases the paycheck. The people out there doing the most damage to this world are typically very well paid, but morally bankrupt. Getting a Prius, I would argue, shows a higher level of education than Ken Lay and all his millions.

My boss is a UCLA Ph.D. in physics, pretty well educated, and still has his original Prius. I can afford a lot more expensive car than what I just bought, but he taught me well and I'd feel like a jerk if I bought anything else than our favorite car. It's not that more expensive than a new "cheap" car. Go for it and feel good about it.

 

I thought about going the Scion route - but the Prius won because of the hatchback and the features. Thought I would never buy a new car again - been buying used luxury cars 5-10 years old. For me, it's the green aspect of it and likely vehicle high resale value in the coming years.

 

Prius is in a class by itself. There really is nothing like it.
You could spend less, but you don't get the same things.

If you go for some other high mileage cars, you take a bit hit when they need to be serviced.....

You could spend more, ditto. A guy at work asked me "wasn't it a lot more money?" I just had to point to his
Acura and say... "What about yours?"
My friend who has only bought 3 new cars in his life (in his 70's)- 2 saturns and a camry for his wife, was very impressed when he rode in my Prius.

 

I find it hard.

I don't have the car yet, so I still have the money.

I like looking at my money on my savings account statement; just wish I could roll around in it.

It is likely I will cry a small tear after the Prius is here.

BUT I'LL FINALLY HAVE A FREAKIN' PRIUS!!! YEAH!

 

My first car perhaps cost one million dollars: if instead I had bought Microsoft stock and kept repairing the ancient Pinto... but hey, I *deserved* a new car. Yeah right.

Point is, don't borrow money to buy a new car, not even a Prius. Any new car is a luxury. You will be far happier ten years hence if you regularly buy shares in a Vanguard stock index fund instead of paying off a car loan.

 

I saved up for my car.Paid cash for it with $6000 trade in,but the package 7 sure did a job on my bank account.Was it worth it??? Yes it was i really love this car.

 

not at all. I paid cash msrp for mine.

 

I agree with those who say "Don't live in debt," except for education and home mortgage debt. That said, I took out a 5.34% auto loan for the Prius.

At $25,000, the Prius is a huge purchase, especially compared to $14,000 for a new Corolla or less for a used car. Instead of thinking about difference in total cost, I suggest thinking of it in terms of annual cost, as you might think of rent or mortgage payments.

Here's a simple algorithm:
Multiply your monthly auto loan payments for a Prius x 12. Adjust for the difference in car insurance and the difference in gas/maintenance costs per year. Subtract 50% of tax credit (because you have to keep the car for 2 years for the tax credit).

Is the difference in cost for each of the first 2 years worth it? If yes, go ahead. If no, wait till you can afford it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wishes @ Jul 14 2006, 03:55 PM) [snapback]286361[/snapback]</div>

Here are some options: 1) Write a home equity ck. to get the car free & clear. 2) Wait until the right credit card special with a low FIXED rate gets sent to you. Jump on the credit card deal and DUMP the high variable rate home equity loan. If you get tapped out sell the car-(you have the title).

That worked out good for me. And I've done things that way on the last 5 or 6 new cars I've bought. AND, BTW, I pd. $21,800 for my '06 Prius. What's all this talk about it being expensive? I consider a $250,000 Italian hot rod expensive. Do you really think $30,000 is a lot for any NICE new car today? Remember the rule of thumb-you usually get what you pay for most of the time. I see it as you need a reliable daily driver that won't eat you out of house & home. Plus, it has high resale value coupled with the Toyota reliability reputation. I've owned several Civics. They're nice, but you won't get 54 MPG with a Civic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SaintStephen @ Jul 14 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]286334[/snapback]</div>

but isn't the Prius a 5-door hatchback sedan? ^_^

 

I agree that you should not live outside your means (if you have to finance a car for more than 5 years you're looking at too expensive a car) but all this stuff about "any new car is a luxury" and "only pay cash", come on. What good is working for a living if you can't enjoy what you earn? You can work like a dog and amass all this wealth and do what with it? Die the day before you retire? You have to live NOW, every day can't be for tomorrow. We're not talking about going out and buying a plasma TV on a 19% credit card here. We're talking about a 6% car loan that will help establish credit and BE GOOD for her overall profile. Do it.

We went out to Ruth's Chris for dinner tonigh, could we have eaten at Arby's? Sure. Will I be a pauper in 2012 because of it? No.

Now, thats not to say you shouldn't invest and be smart with your money, thats extremely important, but that can't be the end all of your life.

And yes, my paid for Lexus is nice, but I sure am enjoying the $26,000 I could have paid cash for the Prius earning me 15% rate of return instead of depreciating in my driveway. I happily write that $420 check to Toyota every month while I watch my money grow...

I'll lease the next Lexus, I could have made that $40,000 work for me too.