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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Toyota Prius Prices Paid and Buying Experience
1691 messages, Last post on Aug 16, 2008 at 11:53 PM
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Replying to: bob104 (Nov 30, 2007 5:21 pm) This is actually a really tough question in my opinion. I live in mid OR and in all honesty, gas is at the $3.00 mark. Shen we were in CA a few weeks back, it was $3.30 and about $3.50 up in Tahoe. With the economy not doing so well, it being the end of the year, car lots in the area overflowing with excess stock (cars), dealerships needing to hit end of month/year quotas, this is definitely a prime time to buy. I looked very closely at the hybrid Civic and Prius (both '08 models). The '08 Civic hybrid still has the full federal tax break for about 3 more weeks, then they begin to phase it out progressively. Right now, it's about $2,400, assuming you're not hit with AMT and qualify for the full refund. Additionally, Oregon offers a state tax break of about $1500 for either the Civic or Prius, so, you're talking about an almost $4k tax break if purchased soon. In all honesty, I was very close to buying the civic, did the research, etc. It's basically like buying a fully loaded LX, but, instead, for the same price you get the hybrid engine/system. If it comes down to simply an economic decision, I'm not sure how you would beat the Civic at this point with the tax rebates in OR and full federal. CNN also just printed a nice article detailing it's analysis of how the hybrids stack up. Note, that the write up didn't take into account potential state tax credits. This article also does its best to compare apples to apples. It's probably not fair to compare the Prius to anything other than a non-hybrid that is about the same size/class. CNN suggests this equivalent would be the non-hybrid Camry for the Prius because it is bigger than the hybrid Civic or something like a Ford Focus. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0711/gallery.hybrids_that_pay/index.ht- - ml I was getting dealer quotes for the hybrid civic (without nav) for high 21s. Assuming I would get the nearly 4k in write offs, that's about 17k for a very nice hybrid w/outstanding manufacturer reputation. Having said all that, I still went with the Prius. With package #2, you can find them in the low to mid 22k range out here and I still receive a $1,500 rebate from my state. So, why a Prius? First of all, I do more in-city driving, so, this specific type of driving evidently favors the Prius as it runs more often on battery up to about 30mph and gets nearly 10mph better gas mileage than the Civic in comparable contexts. #2, I just couldn't get over the back seats of the Civic not folding down. I guess the batteries are placed in such a way that they simply don't allow you to do this. Ouch! Having several more cubic feet of space in the back seat area AND in the hatchback (yes, it's a hatchback, not a trunk) was huge for us. We currently have a Jeep with a V8 and run about 14mph to the gallon. When I ran the numbers, I actually chose the Prius simply for economic reasons and found the carbon emission benefit an added plus. The CNN article I mentioned suggests it would take about 4.2 years or so to pay for the premium placed on the hybrid cost. However, that does NOT take into account state tax rebates, assumes the driver puts 15k on his/her car (the average is probably higher for most of us on the west coast) and that the price of gas stays in a certain range, so, it might likely be more in the 2-3 year range for us to hit the magic equivalency "requirement". Since this is a Toyota, we honestly assume we'll have this car for 10-15 years. With that in mind, it's hard for me to imagine why everyone doesn't own a Prius as their main in-city/commuter car. In all honesty, I'm not surprised it's the car of choice in the Bay Area and in our area of OR; it makes financial and environmental sense for most, especially if the price of gas does move back up near $4.00 a gallon and stays there for awhile. When that happens again, you better hope you have your name on a waiting list 
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Replying to: nw_priusguy (Dec 06, 2007 10:25 pm) At $7/gallon that's $700/year or a 9 year payback. I would choose a Prius over a Civic hybrid for sure if I were a predominant city driver. Moreover, the Prius is the premiere car and will lord it over Civic when it comes to resale. Why buy a hybrid over Fit or Yaris? It's a good question. I did it partly as insurance against high gasoline prices and partly as a matter of eco-chic. A far better solution, at least for hwy driving is a Prius WITHOUT hybrid, just a 70hp motor. I called Honda and begged them to sell the Fit as a 1.0, 1.2 or 1.3 liter model but they told me the smallest engine the American market would tolerate is their 1.5liter, 109hp. A conventional Fit with a 1.0liter engine would cost at least $6,000 less than Prius and would get better mileage on the hwy. And it's a far better car in terms of ride and handling. Bob
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Replying to: bob104 (Dec 06, 2007 11:11 pm) The Fit does look like a really neat car for commuting. I don't think it makes a lot of sense though trying to compare cars that vary as much as say the Fit and the Prius. The Fit seems to fall into the "mini" category, while the Prius is more in the mid-size sedan (smaller end of that spectrum); case in point, the CNN article found the closest non-hybrid to be the Camry. I think a better example to make this point is to simply compare the Honda Civic Hybrid to its LX counterpart, add tax rebates to hybrid (at least for awhile), compare prices. Of course, when the tax rebate goes away, will be harder to make this comparison. There isn't a non-hybrid Prius though, hence, the Camry fills in as the equivalent. Your points make a lof sense in terms of pure economics, but, again, we really value the larger interior space that you find in the Prius versus a Fit or biycle Take care.
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Replying to: nw_priusguy (Dec 06, 2007 11:44 pm) see below for excellent comparisons of best fuel-efficiency: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/buyingleasing/most-fuelefficient-cars-20- 6/index.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=1&searchTerm=most%20fuel%20efficient%2- 0cars As to bikes, you are definitely on to something!! . . . I own an electric bike (properly, a power-assisted bike) and I toss it in the trunk of my Civic in the morning--well, it hangs out of the trunk. After I drop the kids at school I ride it home. In the afternoon I ride back, toss it in the car, pickup the kids and drive home. I substitute 3000 miles of car driving a year with e-bike riding. 2000 mpg-equivalent (1gallon petroleum yields 37kWh). Less road needed. Saves time/money I'd spend in the gym. Glorious. Consider a similar technique: Ride to the urban edge, hope on your bike or e-bike with a BOB trailer or good racks and baskets or pannier to do your errands/appts. Return to car. Drive home. Unfortunately, the Prius doesnt' allow me to carry the kids and an e-bike except using a clumsy roof or rear rack that doesn't have enough security or convenience in my case. Sorry, got a bit far afield here. Do consider a Yaris or Fit instead of Prius if you do mostly hwy driving and want to save a bundle. |
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Replying to: nw_priusguy (Dec 06, 2007 11:44 pm) BTW the Premium on the Prius would be getting it fully loaded, that would take a while to pay off, but a base like I have, or a package 2, would quickly pay off compared to most other family sedans, especially Domestic ones. If getting a Highlander hybrid, now there you have a good argument on premium! The lowest I have seen them for is $42,000+, compared to a non hybrid of about $32,000. That is a huge premium that would take a very long time to pay off. I have to admit, I was skeptical on how the Prius would handle snow and I am quite impressed. Yesterday I got the crown vic stuck in the drive, today my moms Grand Marquis got stuck in the drive, but the prius only got stuck because the snow was too deep. Shoveled out some snow from the front and off it went, today, it pulled right through without a hitch, the Vic is still stuck. |
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Replying to: bob104 (Dec 07, 2007 8:18 am) |
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Comparisons? We have other forums for that...
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I agreed to purchase a 2008 w/Option 6 for $26150 + TTL out the door. When I asked for a breakdown showing the TTL, the dealer added a $95 Service fee. (over and above the OTD quote) I think that was bit underhanded. Is it just me? What are your thoughts?
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Replying to: chrisprius (Dec 07, 2007 7:14 pm) It takes some work to determine if you got a good offer. It would be better if everyone also posted the dollars over invoice. That way it would be a lot easier to scan to see what range the current going prices are running. So, for your #6, Edmunds lists: MSRP: $27,535 (includes $660 delivery) Invoice: $25,313 (") Your offer: $26,150 + $95 + TTL = $26,245 + TTL Offer minus invoice: $932 over invoice + TTL It sure would make things simpler if people posted the "offer - invoice" ($932) figure. You didn't mention a trade-in. That often can distort the listed offer because everyone thinks their car is worth more than the wholesale value. But back to your question. Seems like there are better prices in California. For the rest of the country, it seems like a decent deal. Most dealers in my area have 1 or 2 or none, so I assume they are probably getting close to, or over, list MSRP for the this popular model.
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Replying to: bob104 (Dec 07, 2007 8:18 am) When comparing the Fit and Yaris to the Prius you seem to be using 2007 EPA figures. Using the more realistic 2008 figures (and an average of 55% city, 45% highway, 15,000 miles per year, and regular gas  $3.10 per gallon) Honda Fit (automatic) - 27 C / 34 H = 30.1mpg $1545 annually Honda Fit Sport (auto) - 27 C / 33 H=29.7 mpg $1566 annually Toyota Yaris (auto.) - 29 C / 35 H = 31.7 mpg $1467 annually BTW: The manual transmission models are only 1 mpg better on the highway and same in the city. Toyota Prius - 48 city / 45 highway = 46.7 mpg $996 annually This is 21 city / 11 highway better than the Fit and 19 city / 10 highway better than the Yaris and an average gas savings of $510 a year. These numbers are from http://www.fueleconomy.gov. Now, if gas goes to $4 a gallon, and you drive 18,000 miles per year, you're saving $790 a year comparing to those already gas efficient models. If you go here you'll see that a fairly loaded Yaris is, on a feature for feature value vs. the Prius is only $4000 cheaper than a Prius Standard with Package 3. And a base Fit is also around $4000 cheaper than a Prius on a feature for feature comparison. At $4 a gallon and 18,000 miles per year, you'll recoup your investment in five years. After that, you'll be driving a MUCH nicer vehicle than a Yaris that will also have a higher resale value.
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