Having a hard time justifying 2010 Prius

I sold a perfectly good honda civic to buy a new prius. Part of my reason involved my identity. It's a better representation of who I want to be in this world.

I too have struggled to "justify" my choice. It's about priorities and values. Do what is right for you.

Happy hybrid hunting!

 

Pure economics can never justify the cost of any new car. The immediate depreciation the moment you drive off the lot is too high. You buy a new car rather than used just because you want a new car. You buy a used car if you want the most economical transportation. So that's the first decision: Do you want a new car just because? Make that decision first.

Next is whether to buy a Prius or a different (bigger, or cheaper, or fancier, or sportier, whatever) car.

The Prius is a mid-size family sedan. Not a race car or a car for towing. The Prius is an extremely nice car for its price class, and has a lot of really cool technological innovations. The lack of any conventional transmission means you'll never do a clutch or transmission job. The regenerative braking means you will do brake jobs less often, if at all. The SULEV rating means you will dirty the air far less than another car. The high FE means you will send less money to terrorists (a percentage of every gas dollar goes to al Qaeda by way of the Saudi oil sheiks). In short, if you've already decided that you want a mid-size family car, the Prius is an excellent value for the money. There is cheaper transportation out there, but the same argument can be made for most new cars people buy.

You began by saying you really want a 2010 Prius. Assuming you've actually test-driven one so you know what you're getting, and assuming you can afford it, go for it! If you cannot really afford it, no car is worth going into debt over.

 

My 2000 Honda Civic, with 161,000 miles on it, needed the pipe going to the catalytic converter plus the converter itself. The following year was brakes, new tires, radiator flush, transmission flush, tune up, new timing belt and water pump. I decided I wanted a bigger car, with a good size cargo area that could hide the cargo. I'm a volunteer photographer for several charities, mainly the American Cancer Society out of Cherry Hill, NJ. I usually carry any where from $20,000 to $25,000 worth of camera gear on a photo shoot. I wanted a vehicle that could carry the backup equipment in the cargo area without anyone knowing I was carrying such equipment. Took my two Pelican cases with me so I could judge the size of the cargo area. I had my picks for a Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav 4, Honda CR-V, and the Hyundai Santa Fe. At a friens suggestion I decided to look at a 2010 Prius. I was looking a a 2005 Prius, and realized the two Pelican cases would fit quite nicely in the cargo area without dropping the back seats. Took it out for a spin, surprised at how much room there was for the passengers, and was sold on a 2010 Prius. Didn't bother looking anymore. First time I actually fell in love with a car.

 

The Prius is my only car..... I've been waiting for the 2010's for about 2 years, since I first read that the 2010's would be a redesign and have a significant power boost from the earlier generations. While the car doesn't meet all my needs (I would have liked an AWD vehicle), it does meet most of them. I haven't had any regrets as of yet.

Giving the oil companies less of my hard earned cash was definitely a motivator, and the gas mileage is great.

I feel that I'm supporting a greener technology in our world ...and the world and it's environment certainly need people who care about it and can be supportive.

Since I really needed a replacement/new car, I did look at the Honda CRV's (and they were pretty suited to my needs) and the Cooper MINIS .... but I let my conscience be my guide .... and now I'm a happy owner of a new 2010 Prius. I didn't try justifying my purchase; I just felt it was the best decision for me.

Ask yourself, "Will I regret not getting a 2010 Prius?" If you want it and can afford it, I say go for it. If you feel you made a mistake, you can always sell it and get something else.

Best of Luck!

 

Believe it or not, Prius is more about emotion, political or environmental correctness, and alleged technology improvement than economics.

If you drive 25000 miles a year, how much are you really saving? Let's say gasoline is $3.00/gal and you compare Prius @ 50 mpg vs. another car @ 25 mpg.

Prius : 25000/50 = 500 gallons x $3 = $1500 for cost of fuel
Other : 25000/25 = 1000 gallons x $3 = $3000 for cost of fuel
With all else being equal, you will yield $1500 savings per year.

So, how many other new cars can you buy for $30,000? Just in Toyota along, you have Venza, Highlander, Camry, etc... and all of them can be had with good discounts and lower interest rates.

If you want to compare other similarly sized cars such as Corolla, Yaris, or Matrix; your intital purchase price may be over $10,000 less with the above 25 mpg or better. With another simple calculation : $10,000 / $1500 = 7 years.

So in effect, you will not recover your investment in a Prius until at least 7 years later at 25000 miles per year! Talk about over priced Yaris' !!!

I think Prius is a great car priced in the high $ teens. When it moved into the $20's, I was amazed at the following. And now its in the high $20's to mid-$30's, I am flabbergasted at why would people buy Prius instead of BMW X3, Mercedes GLK, Audi, and many other well made, safer, and appointed cars.

No wonder Toyota is betting the bank and its future on this marketing phenom called Prius! Great job Toyota!

 

Basically, what I was saying was that people will buy a single car and they will buy it for something that they may utilize 15% (and often times less) of the time, with no regards for the actual, majority usage of the car.

You've got the better solution, you've got your Prius, which is ideal for commuting and a truck/SUV for the times that you NEED a truck/SUV.

 

Hi newbie,

Your analysis reminds me of the old joke:

First prize - a BMW X3
Second prize - a BMW X3 and Mercedes GLK
Third prize - a BMW X3, Mercedes GLK and Audi
​

It turns out Consumer Reports has already done the math:

This was the NHW20 model Prius and the ZVW30 (2010) is considerably improved.

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

I wouldn't call them "well-made" given they're exceedingly unreliable.

 

I competely relate. I wrestled with the need vs. want decision for months.

I traded in a 3-year-old Honda CRV for my Prius, an absolutely stupid move financially. But other than the occasional pang of guilt I feel when I consider others who don't have the luxury of making that choice, I have to say I have no regrets. Driving the Prius just makes me happy, in the same way that foolishly paying $3 a pop for a cup of coffee makes me happy. It's not that I like throwing away money; it's that I'm willing to spend more than what makes sense for certain things. How do you quantify happiness, let alone put a price tag on it?

 

Yep. The doubters can look at these for example:
Just In: 2010 Honda Insight: Consumer Reports Cars Blog
Cheaper Cars May Cost More to Own Than Higher-Priced Alternatives: Consumer Reports http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/
Best & worst cars review, ownership costs
Best new car values: It?s more than dollars and cents: Consumer Reports Cars Blog (where Bob's quote came from)
Per http://www.intellichoice.com/reports/vehicleReport/vehicle_nmb/24577/2009/Toyota/Prius, the 09 Prius was awarded: Best Overall Value of the Year - OVERALL CAR UNDER 24000, Motorist Choice Award Winner for Image Compact Car, Highest Retained Value Winner, Lowest Fuel Costs Winner. Lowest Operating Costs Winner, Lowest Ownership Costs Winner

To quote a rant I always repeat:
Why does it always have to be about "saving money"? What's the premium on a BMW, Mercedes or Audi? What's the "payback" period? How much money does a V8 engine save? How about a sunroof?

These don't save you any money. So, what's wrong w/paying for a feature to recapture otherwise wasted energy that would otherwise become useless heat and brake dust and repurposing it? There have been many documented cases of Priuses being on the original front brake pads after 100K miles w/plenty of life left.

What about not uselessly burning gas while idling and in stop and go traffic? How about buying something to consume less of a non-renewable resource, 60% of which we import, controlled by a cartel, and much of which is from unstable regions and/or people who don't like us much. What's about producing fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases?

 

The Prius is classified as midsize car by the EPA, just like the Camry. The Corolla, Yaris, and Matrix are not. Look them up for yourself at Side-by-Side Comparison.

 

I may have missed a few points or someone already mentioned what I am already going to say (I didnt read all the postings cos its 3AM already)

Anyway, I have a sub-compact (Honda Fit) and it was fine until I start modding it (Turbo, Coilovers, JDM Conversion, Advan Rims with 17" Brake Calipers etc...). Turns out that the car is so heavily mod that its not drivable in the winter (Car too low, becomes a snowplow). At the end, my wife and I got a Nissan Murano as a second car. Not exactly a winter beater car but since we like the outdoors a lot, the Murano can take our snowboard up the slopes or enough torque to get us out of difficult snowy conditions (Vancouver BC have virtually no snow cleanup crew).

Anyway, back to topic... I think when you decide on a second car, you need to decide what the car is for. Ask yourself what you are going to do with this second car and why is your first car not sufficient. I know cars are cheap now with all the 0% financing, but unless you reallly need a second car, don't be an impulsive shopper.

If you simply want a Hybrid just because of the Go Green Hype (No offence to anyone here), you shouldn't buy a second car at all. Save the money, spend it on energy saving bulbs, make sure you switch off the lights before you leave your house... or improve your home's energy efficiency. Its easier and its FREE. Also learn to take the public transit =P

I kind of regret having a car now since i just moved to a new condo and its only a 3 min walk to the closest metro station - which can take me anywhere in Vancouver.

 

Prius bashers love to make an economic comparison of cost of fuel + purchase price of the Prius vs some other, less-expensive car. To make the point, consider the obviously absurd argument that you should not buy a Lexus because a Ford Focus costs less.

The Prius is an excellent value for the features you get. Now, personally, I would not get the built-in NAV, because I'd rather put a Garmin Nuvi on the dashboard. But take a step down from the most expensive options package and consider what you get, in both features and build quality, and the price is right for what you get.

As Bwilson4web quotes from Consumer Reports above, the Prius is an excellent value, not because you save $1,500 per year on gas, but because the total cost of ownership is an excellent value for the quality and features of the car.

I'm always amused when a person with 2 or 3 total posts comes on here to claim that you should not buy a Prius because the savings on gas won't pay for the difference between a Prius and an econobox. Well, using that logic, nobody should ever buy any car other than a ten-year-old Yugo.

You cannot go wrong with a Civic. It's one of the best cars on the market for its price. Less car than the Prius, for less money.

If paying for a Prius would be a stretch for you, then you are right to buy a Civic instead. Nobody should ever go into debt to buy a car.

 

Justifying a purchase.
I can justify anything I want to buy, car, TV, electronics etc.
If I am honest with myself, the keyword is WANT, If I can afford it and want it, I buy it. Not always the right decision, but we have no car payments, small mortgage and no kids to be put through school. I know this isn't everyones position but if I had to justify all my purchases I would have nothing.
If you can afford it, want it, buy it. The key word here is AFFORD, DON'T OVEREXTEND YOURSELF JUST TO HAVE A NEW CAR.

 

I was thinking that's what you might have meant. Only problem with that logic is do you really want to give up that 15% of your life? Most don't want their car to limnit thier lifestyle so if they can only afford one car it has to meet all their needs. Thus we have so many SUV's in this country.

I'm fortunate I have three vehicles right now. I kept the Expedition, but bought a highlander hybrid for the majority of my SUV work. The Prius is the daily driver. I just have to decide now if I want to keep the Expedition as a low milage tow and haul vehicle. If I could fit all the family in the HH the Expedition would be gone.

Fortunate too is I loan the Expedition to the kids and others when they need a big vehicle, that way they don't have to own one.

 

I had three BMW's and an Audi TT. They are extremly well made vehicles. I miss the quality of workmanship. However they are not reliable. Two different things altogether.

80's Jag was an exceptionally nice vehicle, but I wouldn't have wanted one unless I lived beside the dealership.

 

And the older you get and the closer to retirement you'll start thinking do I really need this? I used to trade often (still do compared to most) but realized I wanted to retire some day. Wasting money is so easy to do. With the savings over the last couple of years (after trading the Infiniti FX for the TCH) I've started saving and had money to buy things I never thought about before (like a share in a house in the Keys with my brother-in-law)

I'm starting to get to where I'd like to need something before I get it. Never tried that before.

 

All good responses..I too made a decision to shed the 2007 Honda Civic for the Prius...And I don't regret that at all...Sure it was not the smartest from a Cost perspective but the trade out of the Honda was basically a wash and starting anew...But I "ENJOY" getting into the car every day and driving it. It's not all about the $$, since we spend a lot of time in our cars today, you have to be Happy I believe in them. If you hate or despise your car each time you get into them...what for???
The Technology, the Efficiency all are above the competition!