no hybrid for me

I dont know about a BMW.. but my 08 Prius DOES pay by itself AND the gas that i use for work. I drive more than a 1200 miles per month, and i get paid per mile i drive. I am a systems admin and my work requires me to travel from site to site...

Last month i drove

1695 miles
spent in gas about $110 bucks, maybe abit less
got paid $813 bucks for the miles i traveled.

And my car's payment is $590 monthly... so....


payment $ spent . $left after Car . OMG
for miles on gas . Gas . Payment .PROFIT

813 minus 110 equals 703 minus 590 equals 114


So yeah...dont think you can do this with any other car that is not a prius... I wouldnt trade my awsome car for any other in zeh world.

 

Thank you for sharing the particulars of your situation. I think there are some drivers out there with less expensive cars who may also net some savings by having received money for the miles they've driven.

It is a great thing, but it still doesn't mean your car is paying for itself. Perhaps it will, over time, but not if you are reimbursed for 1200 miles per month. You need to account not only for your gas costs and your monthly car payment, but also for insurance, maintenance, fees, and repairs. With a Prius, you have all things going for you here. According to cars.com, the total 5-year cost of those four items would be $7,282 + $2,302 + $447 + $718 = $10,749 (see link, I did not include taxes, as I figured those were part of your amortized purchase price). I also haven't included the cost of your trade-in -- after all you've parted with that value to get your Prius. If it was $0, then there is no change to this calculation.

These additional costs amount to $179.15 per month. At 1,200 miles per month, your gasoline costs will be approximately $96 (assuming $4/gal gas and 50MPG). Your car payment remains at $590/mo. Your reimbursement (all miles being reimbursed to you at a rate of $.585/mi) would be $702.

So: Your costs: ~ $865
Your reimb: ~ $702
Your net: ~ ($163)

The AMAZING thing about this is that you are spending only about $8/day for work transportation. I'd really like to see someone better that cost AND have something else at the end of the day. After all, in five years you will own the car free and clear, so you can drop the $590/mo from the calculation. You'll still have two years left under the warranty and plenty of opportunity to pocket some change!

You could get yourself to a zero net if you drove above 1,500 miles per month (all reimburseable), but you would be taking away another year's life out of the car.

Yes, it would cost you less to ride your bike or walk, but then you wouldn't be able to do your job, would you? Overall, I think you have a pretty good thing going. Congrats!

 

Wow, driving 75MPH to base MPG comparisons on.

Isn't that speed illegal in all of NA?

I'd say that at those speeds, the Honda Civic Hybrid, or just the Honda Accord, would be a better choice for high speeds and decent MPG.

For high MPG with diesel along with high MPH ... I don't know enough to pass judgment on which car fits that bill.

I'd rather ask why the original poster *hates* the Prius - reasons other than the Prius was built for fuel efficiency and low pollution - NOT for raw power and speed.

 

I believe that what some posters are pointing out that when comments are made like "it's pay's for itself" or "I saved 10%" without mentioning, "in comparasion to what", the comment can be ambiguous or meaningless to the reader. It pays for itself over what it was costing me to drive my non-hybrid SUV is informative. Remember that while the Prius will probably save your money on gas mileage it is not necessarily the most overall economical decision in many cases. At least not in the short run in today's market. Not trying to be a troll, just trying to clarify and digest the plethora of information here on PC.

 

My car doesnt pay for itself, but at 340 miles a week, i'd much rather spend the $28 than the stupidly high amount it would've cost me in my 18mpg highway truck. The fact that a good deal of my commute takes place in downtown SD only helps the fact that my truck got 14 in the city vs. the Prius' 48

 

I get an easy 50 mpg at 99% freeway speeds 90 miles a day over a couple of moderate mountain passes. I'm usually in the 75-80 mph range except when I get slowed by normal cars, like bimmers. Seriously, my Impreza gets 25 on the same trip, prius gets 50. I'll take that anyday. I never saw any bimmer get 40 mpgs, or any hybrid get less than 40, except maybe the SUV hybrids. Were you driving an Esclate hybrid, or a Tahoe?

 

I just accidentally stepped into this thread and got TROLL all over the bottom of my shoe. Don't let this TROLL get you riled folks. He probably has Prius envy.

 

I think from some of his posts, that he is just unhappy with the fact that his GF is the practical type and thinks a Prius makes sense.

 

maybe the GF should find someone more practical to share her intellectual decisions with.

 

Did you ever tell us in this thread what make and model of hybrid you rented? Believe me, the more you learn about the Prius , the more you will appreciate what an engineering marvel it is. It is a start on the road to an all-electric vehicle. The BMW is no slouch in the engineering arena (my son drives one), but it is still relying on a 100 year old suck-squeeze-bang-blow idea burning depleting fossil fuels.

Never lose sight of the fact that in most cars 97% of the gas you burn is to move the bucket of bolts you're sitting in; the remaining 3% is actually moving your nice person!

 

LOL. I think that idea is older than 100 years. :glare:

The last time I calculated, in a normal car, 1.5% of the energy in gas is actually used to move the driver.... 3% in Prius.

 

Don't you think we'd need to take into account the size of the posterior in question?

 

NovaBimmer, many of us have own BMW's and other cars. We know how each car
differs, but you're missing the how point of a Prius. But everyone has their own tastes and values, so I can't argue with you--- just know that things will change for the better.

 

Excellent. You should really check us out! My wife commutes in an Electric vehicle. 40 miles per day. We pay nothing for the fuel since our solar system is paid for, and there are no maintenance costs. No oil, no plugs, no tuneups. We pay insurance and had to put new tires on after 60,000 miles. The car today is worth $30,000 more than we paid for it new 5.5 years ago. Tell me how that one pencils out and get back to me.

Now we get into my territory. I rarely drive. I ride a bicyle for my primary transportation. Why wouldn't I be able to work after riding? I do it every day. (you've got me confused on this one!)Then I even ride home and work some more. Though my commute varies, it is regularly 23 miles each way, and I spend less time on my commute than many who live just ten miles from work and have to drive a car across San Francisco during commute times. This one won't pencil out as nicely as the EV since the bike has lost value over the years, but probably still a bit better than driving any other car.

If it is only about the money, this stuff gets a bit silly, doesn't it?

 

You caught me! I was stuck in the standard paradigm of petroleum-driven machines! Still, you'd have to be using the EV on business so that you would have some sort of revenue to charge against the expense of the vehicle (however small it may be!). I really hadn't considered any work vehicle to be a value-added asset!

No doubt you could (can!) work after your ride. What I was looking at here is someone on a sales route that changes on a regular basis. His 1,200 miles (average) would be like you doing another leg every day (60 miles each day). This is not impossible, buy if you have to take samples with you or take a client out to lunch, you may not be prepared to do it all on a bike!

I suppose it was silly way before that point. But, then, I've always been a bit partial to silly things!

 

The same reason why I got my Prius. I still have my old 95 SHO and I try to drive the car once a week or once every 2 weeks. If it wasn't for my daughter who will be turning 16 years in 2 months, I probably got rid of my old car long time ago.

Owning a hybrid for me is cloud 9...

 

do you go to the track often? I also do some racing.. i have an M Coupe. Was my daily driver, but replaced it with the Prius. The bMW is my weekend car. my race car is a Honda S2000. The Prius is by far the best Hybrid on the Market. The NAV alone makes it worth it.. My BMW NAV is Lame..

 

It may be worth noting that no US BMW 3 series made in the last 10 years is rated at over 29 mpg highway even with a stick. If the OP is getting 40mpg he must be quite the hyper-miler.
Model 1 Vehicle Characteristics

Rob

 

Love your posts man... keep posting!

 

NovaBimmer, as a Prius owner I run into many people like you, who try to put down the Prius. I don't mind because everyone has different needs and goals. In your case the Prius does not meet your needs, but for us Prius owners we are very happy. The Prius gets one of the highest owner satisfaction ratings. That's not to knock the BMW's, but to say you should try the BMW forum. You would enjoy and have more things in common.