Plug-In Supply Taking on the PiP

Seriously, people who make blankment statements about "how to spend wisely", are generally projecting their own financial model/situation.

Its not really a matter if you buy a new/used car, but how well you do your analysis of costs vs your income (including how long you keep it, your maintenance/fuel costs, your time, your enjoyment). I totally agree that anyone spending 1/2 of the income on a car is not spending wisely, but that is true wether it is a new car or not. If you buy a 3 year old car and have problems, then its not a great deal. Or if you buy a used car but flip it after a few years it may also be a loss. ( My personal model has been to buy and hold. When its my car from the begining I know its been well taken care of and will last me 10-15 years. )

But the real point about spending wisely is knowing what you can really afford and sticking to that.I'm not in the mill/year club but I can afford just about anything I "want" (I also have modest tastes), and in the past 20 years have only bought things for which I can pay cash. (Including my house/condo). Once you can afford it, its about what you want to do with your money. You don't have to make a million to be able to truly afford a new car...

I seriously considered a Prius + Plug-in but decided the hassles/risks were to high. Loving my volt. Net cost to me was 30K (after tax credits), and the TCO is lower than any car I analyzed (including used cars). People might want to check out this spreadsheet A free calculator for Economy, Hybrid and Electric Cars and do their own analysis.. (It depends on your usage pattern and years of ownership but its not hard to adapt the sheet)

 

and a lot of space to give up, i think. i am curious as to how big it is and where it goes. i hope when toy comes out with longer range, it is designed beneath the car somehow. if i want a car with more range and less interior, i can get a volt now.

 

I did buy my PiP this week, my net cost is very close to or less than Volt,
30.5k+3k(Tax+DMV) - 4kRebate = 29.5k(Out of the Door Price),

 

Good point... Or rather, it takes many sheep to feed a family of wolves...

 

congrats! you're going to love it, all the best!

 

Ouch! Serves me right for wanting to be on the bleeding edge and getting it early. Mine was 32.7k+3.3k-4kRebate = 32k total. Oh well - I guess I better enjoy it.

 

What state? How come so cheap

LT26i ? 2

 

probably any state that doesn't give hov stickers and state rebates. probably the only thing driving demand right now.

 

I paid 36k - 4k rebate = 32k out the door.

How can ppl pay 2.5k less arrr

LT26i ? 2

 

I am not sure how long I will keep this car, and it will depend on the rate of change in the technology. Green cars are beginning to show up in more fleets, and as they do, there'll be more choices. To say I'd keep this kind of car for 10 years is somewhat like wishing my original Apple Macintosh would run today's apps. At the time, it was incredibly expensive - like the Pip. But it did things no other computer could do at that time. Yes, it still boots up and provides moments of fun and lots of great memories, but it's not today's technology by any stretch of the imagination.

I can only imagine what a hybrid or electric vehicle might be capable of doing in ten years. I don't really want to be driving the original Prius PHEV - even if it's become retro-cool by then.

 

I paid $35,999 - $2500 tax credit = $33,499 for my Advanced PIP. Im pretty confident that I have the cheapest advanced sold in the US.

 

Ya that's what I paid for my base with taxes and extended warrantee

 

Well, Ithaca NY is like out in the boonies compare to Los Angeles. There's no way to get that kind of deal in an extremely large city where the Prius is in high demand.

I keep my for vehicles for a long time. After buying 2 used Toyota trucks, which is suppose to be one of the most reliable and tough trucks out there and have both with engine problems after less than 70k miles, I decided to buy my 97 Tacoma new, only because I could afford it at the time. My Tacoma is still running fine today after 215K of neglect. When I say neglect, I mean the last time I changed oil is when I bought my Prius in summer of 2010. I did full maintenance on the Tacoma up til about 130K. After that, I just change oil once a year regardless of annual mileage. With used car, you just don't know how the previous owner treats the car.
Pooka made a good point, if no one bought new, how are you suppose to buy used?

Extending the PiP range sounds like an excellent idea but the system that makes it happen is not 100% reliable like the car itself. Service after the sale is very important too.
I met Rob for the first time last year at Green Drive Expo in SF. He' s pretty smooth when it comes to charming potential customers. So is Jack at Enginer. You'll have to play the waiting game with both companies. Also keep in mind, there's no easy refunds when it comes to both companies.
The difference is Jack actually tries to help you out once you bought the kit from him. From design prospective, Enginer kit has higher failure rate. From past experience with Jack, he replaces failed parts but takes a few weeks. Sometimes 2-3 months. When one part fails, the kit is useless. You can leave it in the car and drag the dead weight or remove it. But, once the part comes in, you'll have to reinstall the kit again which is a PITA.
I've read horror stories about Rob's after the sale care or the don't care. His DIY kits are shipped part by part a few weeks at a time. You don't get one large shipment that includes everything. He'll send you a control board 2-4 weeks later, batteries 2-4 weeks later, charger 2-4 weeks later. By the time you get half of your parts, your giddy school feelings of 30 mile range has gone and you're just worry about if you ever gonna get all of your parts or just scrap it as a bad investment. Contacting him is a nightmare. You can contact him but doesn't mean he'll respond.

 

maybe he got the base?

 

I may be foolish, but I enjoy my spanking new pip tremendous. Isn't that life grand? Being sheep ain't bad, they don't know how hungry feel, there is plenty of grass for them. Wolves do, they don't eat grass.

 

Yes you do. I paid $37000 - credit = $34000 for my Advanced. Congrats!

 

Part of the reason is you are buying the full PHEV conversion kit that would go into a non-pip. The battery itself is only about $1600-2000 from PIS's DIY parts price list. The kit works with the pip, but has not been specifically developed to take advantage of the fact that the pip is already a plugin. Same goes for the Enginer in pip. It will be interesting to see what happens when people start hacking on the pip to see if there are better ways to do this that take advantage of the existing controller and charger hardware.

Rob