Ok I have ONE more issue

For your specific narrow situation (cold climate, very, VERY short trips, not buying the cool tech, unable to do mods like EV, no cash on hand), the $13,000 car definitely fits you the best.

I've been monopolizing this thread too much, so I'll let others give their opinions from here!

 

Perhaps a "regular" civic or a corrolla? The benefits of the Prius will be minimized in your scenario. The EV switch may or may not help because you're going to have to run the engine more to recharge the battery and that will reduce your gas mileage. If you could plug in the car you'd do a lot better. But, sadly, you can't so there you are. If cost isn't a huge issue and you think that perhaps your driving may increase in the future then perhaps it's worth it. Of course, you'll pay more to insure it. In WI you guys don't have an ownership tax added to your vehicle registration do you? You just pay a flat fee regardless of the value of the car right? If that's changed then there's that extra cost too. Based on the nature of your driving habit though, I kinda agree with jwe8f. May not be the best car for you.

 

Hi Tracy. Good luck on making up your mind and buying a new car. You've had luck with Fords, and I've never owned one, but you might want to check out what Consumer Reports has to say about reliability and resale value. Toyota and Honda are very high in resale value (that is, they hold their value from new better) and also higher in reliability (which accounts in part for the higher resale value). Repairs and maintenance go into the total price of a car from the time you buy it to the time you sell it. The Prius has both an excellent repair record and very low maintenance costs.

With the amount of driving you'll do in your new car, and having haulers for backup, just about any car would work for you, within how much you want to spend. Sure, on short trips a Prius won't give you fantastic milage or ultra-low emissions, but over the life of the car it will be better than any other car on the road.

Good luck. You know that here on PriusChat you're talking to a biased crowd. In your current situation, do you even need a new car at all? Get a Prius if you want one and can afford it.

 

tbats the point I wanted to make.... "no Car" is good on mpg on short trips.
But the prius is even better because it has the heated reservoir to quickly heat up faster than other cars plus it gets better gas mileage to boot.

Since this is common to all cars.... its really simply silly to imply the prius has problems that the other doesn't have, when in fact they all have it, but the prius recovers faster than the others.

 

sorry gotta oppose most here... i dont care how much you drive the car... going for a cheap unreliable vehicle is unwise even if the vehicle is free.

whether you drive 75,000 miles in 5 years or 15 what does it matter?? the Prius will still use less resources, polute less, cost less to maintain, and so far has proven to be one of the cheapest to maintain after purchase.

look at total cost of ownership over the vehicle you are buying...there is reason why the car is cheap. hey you never know. you might get a ford that will go 200,000 miles with out a bit of problem... but the odds are stacked pretty heavily against that happening

what can i say? i stand by what i said. people telling you not to buy a Prius are only looking the the dollars and cents. there is a much bigger picture here and the dollars and cents may not be all so different after 5 years of ownership.

 

WTG GIRL!! im proud of you... i didnt see this post before i wrote the one just after yours... i'm glad you are looking beyond the dollars and cents. there are so many different reasons to buy a Prius... and i think you will not be sorry you did

 

It really depends. You can get an excellent car for a bit less than the Prius. Now if you're looking to bet a package #1 then with the tax credit you're really in good shape with the Prius vis a vis other cars that are roughly comparable.

The honda civic and the corrolla are solid cars. I never suggested buying a cheap POS! God, that's the last thing you want!

You'll pay more for the prius up front. Other the long haul the operating costs of the vehicle will help be nice. Since gas prices are very likely to increase over the long haul you'll be better off there too.

It really depends on what's a reasonable cost to you, nevermind what we say. Since you're asking I just think that you should see both sides of the coin. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

 

Looks like you guys posted 8 minutes apart... you were probrably double posting!

 

Yes, but not me, you can check my post history. You said yourself you were open to hearing both sides of this.

I am not a Prius cheerleader "at all costs". You are an especially critical buyer, in the worst of situations, and all I can see from your purchase is a series of "down with the Prius" posts later when it doesn't meet your unreasonable expectations. Sorry.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with jwe8f and tripp. Based upon reading tracysbeans' 80 some posts from the last four days, she is not going to be happy with a Prius. She should go ahead and get a Ford focus for $13,000 OTD.

 

tracybeans, I'm 50% with jwe8f and tripp, and 50% with Dave, Bill and others.

You work hard. Daughter's grown, you're past 40. You'd kinda like to reward yourself and be able to say you drive the most advanced wheels in the world. Nothing wrong with that. And, with the credit, you can do it for just over $20K plus tax (pkg 2 or 3).

If you were 27 and daughter 2, and you're struggling to get established, what you NEED (with what we know of your driving) is a spiffy new Corolla or Civic, which will give you mostly 30-40 MPG and be reliable. You can do that for $14-15K plus tax So we're talking $5-6K difference AND intangibles.

I see the '06 as a glorious, one-time bargain. IF you didn't like it as much as you thought/hoped, even after a year and, say, 10K mi, you could easily sell it for near what you paid (after you've gotten your credit). You'll have satisfied your curiosity and still be in almost the same relative position you're in now (plus tax :lol: ) I know you said you'd probably keep it along time, but I'm countering with, "even if you didn't, little/no harm done".

Would you pay $24-25K (plus tax) if there were no credit? I couldn't; it would be just "over the line". But I'm in "rewarding yourself" mode, too.

Maybe it comes down to other factors we know nothing about, e.g., where else might you put "feel-good" money if not a Prius (and not counting paying down your business overhead)? A cruise, or travel to Europe? Home remodeling? Several "medium"-priced things in combination (vacation, plasma TV, first-class concert tickets in Milwaukee)? I'm sure you've considered everything.

Whatever you do, I hope you can do it without looking back.