Newbie looking to buy first new car

Welcome, Michael!

You have come to the right place, and there are other threads offering insight into the economic comparison between a Prius and a Civic/Corolla. Of course, you will spend less on the latter, but it really depends on how long you plan on driving/keeping the car and how you drive it (high mileage commute. vs. short trips). The Prius is optimal for longer commutes (I drive 90 miles round trip) and we tend to drive our cars 10+ years, so it was an easy decision for me.

You have stumbled on a wonderful site; but naturally, we are all (or at least mostly) going to favor the Prius in comparison. Enjoy looking around the site, and use the search function to learn more!

 

Regarding the battery (most naysayers love to rant on this), keep in mind that the warranty on the battery is 125,000 miles, so any problems with it before then are covered. Yes, the batteries can be expensive (although much less if you find a salvaged battery), but compare that with the price of all the things you traditionally have to replace in a non-hybrid car by 125,000 miles (transmission, etc) and the prices are comparable and most times the Prius actually comes out ahead.

Priuses have been around since 97 and many G1s are still on the road (I have 2 friends with a first generation that are still going strong). I have no doubt this car will last the 10+ years I am expecting it to; and it is a Toyota, who may have a negative reputation based on its dealers (many threads on the woes of actually trying to buy the car, unfortunately), but their cars have a reputation of quality and longevity. If you are in Corona, I would suggest looking up Dianne Whitmire, who is a dealer very active on this site as she seems to be very successful and knowledgeable of Priuses and does not try to take you to the bank.

Check this thread to get her information.

I love driving this car (I actually look forward to my commute!), and I now spend a 1/3 what I used to on gas (and I was coming from a Honda Accord, so not a terrible mileage car).

Good luck with your search/shopping and when the time comes, let us know what you decide. In the end, it matters most what feels comfortable to you!

 

I don't think anyone has thrown out the "official" smily, so:

:welcome:

It's interesting that many taxi services nation-wide are going to the Prius. Taxi services go on one thing only: total life cycle cost. The lower fuel cost is a factor, but if the Prius was expensive to maintain with high mileage it would quickly overcome any advantage in fuel cost. But it isn't - many taxi fleets are seeing 300K+ from their Prius with normal maintenance. Things like brake pads seem to last forever (100K) and the traction batteries, in fleet service seem to be outlasting the chassis.

the small 12V battery may not last as long as a conventional car battery, but that's a minimal expense relatively speaking, and using a premium replacement like Optima will go a long way toward curing the small size and short life of the stock one.

Recently I saw a low mileage transmission on eBay for under $500 (and remember, that includes the electric motors which are inside) so even that item, which has failed on a very few cars, is relatively reasonable from a salvage. And, since they have sold a million of them, and since insurance companies often salvage them with light damage (some insurance companies seem to be afraid to have them worked on) there is a decent salvage market to choose from (again, not because they are junked due to wearing out, but only because they are pleantiful and, odds being odds, some perecntage get lost over time).

Good luck in your car shopping!