Thinking of buying a Prius

[tundraboy27909]

Here is an interesting article on hybrid vehicles. http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4022630
It talks about the gas mileage the hybrids are supposed to get and how much they actually get.
It also says that someone would have to drive about 15,000 miles a year for 16 years in order to save enough money on gas to recoup the extra money that they initially paid for the hybrid vehicle.

[imjin]

Of course, you could always drop a few grand into some extra batteries and try to bump your mileage up into the hundreds.

Hacking the Prius

[dorkman]

Originally Posted by impulsives

Not alot of difference in mileage between the Hummer(12MPG) and any full size pickup, including the Tundra. Hell, my 2005 4x4 Tacoma only averages about 17-18 MPG and almost all of my mileage is highway(19,000). I don't know why everyone always brings up the Hummer. How about the current Land Cruiser? My friend averages around 14-15 MPG and has to use 93 Octane!

I agree, the H2 is not a evil SUV that everyone makes it out to be, it just looks cool and makes everyone jealous. If I had an extra 20K I would be driving one.

[khouse]

You probably mean 2000 over sticker! I have heard in some of the bigger cities they or getting well over MSRP. I guess I was lucky because I know the sales manager at our dealeship, I got 2000 under sticker but didn't get much on our trade in.

[vincent]

Please get more details of your friend's Prius battery replacement. Not a common ailment at 60,000 miles. Lot's of reports have the Prius main battery functioning perfectly at 200,000+ miles. Are you sure it wasn't the 12 volt battery that died; 60,000 sounds right for the small battery.

Thanks,

[uniquebobc]

I, too, am thinking about buying a Prius--probably a new one with at least side-curtain airbags.

I will keep it until it falls completely apart. That way I may realize a return on it.

Has anyone out there analyzed the life-cycle costs and embodied energy of the Prius in comparison to a high-mileage compact car?

Also, has there been any looking forward to what becomes of the lithium hydride batteries when they all begin to fail and have to be replaced in 8 to 20 years?

1988 Toyota PU w/22R engine--runs like a top!
1993 Geo Metro 45-50 mpg--falling apart

[@v@lonm@n]

Go with it! Its a great ride.

[powerdude]

Originally Posted by tundraboy27909

Here is an interesting article on hybrid vehicles. http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4022630
It talks about the gas mileage the hybrids are supposed to get and how much they actually get.
It also says that someone would have to drive about 15,000 miles a year for 16 years in order to save enough money on gas to recoup the extra money that they initially paid for the hybrid vehicle.

According to my calculations, at gas being $3.00 a gallon, it would pay off in about 7 years, because of the tax credit. That's assuming 15k miles a year.

If you drive 25,000 miles a year (which is what I drive), you will reach the breakeven point in about 4.5 years.

But, considering Lehman Sachs is predicting oil to go to $105 per barrel in about 3 years, gas prices will hit $4.00 a gallon long before the 7 years or 4.5 years.

I look at the Prius as an insurance policy. Gas prices this summer (2006) are expected to be 25 cents more than last summer, due to refineries changing over to ethanol additive instead of MTBE, and also because there is still damage left over from last year's hurricanes.

Note that the extra 25 cents DOES NOT take into consideration any potentially damaging hurricanes of the 2006 season.

No more 80 dollar fillups for me for a while.

[TMCHAN]

Originally Posted by Void

Thinking of buying a Prius as a daily driver now that the price of gas is through the roof. Couple of questions for owners:

1. Is their a waiting list?

2. What did you pay? MSRP or more/less?

Thanks in advance.
Dave.

Dave,

It has a long waiting list. I put $500 deposit last June. I just picked up my 06 Prius light green fully loaded one. I paid $30,499 MSRP. They didn't give me anything off MSRP. I traded in my old 02 Prius (fully loaded) and they only gave me $12,800. By the way, I have to change my original color oprtion from Blue to light green. They said that they don't me too many blue with nav.


Ron.

[currybob]

Dave

I paid $500 below MSRP and live in central Alabama. I have a white 06 with Pkg 8. Like mentioned earlier I don't feel the hybrid is costing me anything or at least not much with the better than $3k tax credit. That means I paid $27k for this car. The price is in line with other cars similarly sized and equipped. I also expect better than average trade in value on the vehicle when I trade again. I do well to keep a vehicle 2-3 years.

We love the car and would do it all over again. It has operated flawlessly and we got ours in Jan 07. I average 51 mpgs and my wife is now at 48 mpgs. I had to show her a few driving tips to help her get the best economy with her having a lead foot.

People in Europe are paying about $8 per gallon and the US is quickly headed there.

I had an 03 Tundra and now have an 06 Corolla S and love the car. I average 36 mpg on that one. I had to look how much I really use a truck and found out not very often. I said I would buy and old truck if I needed to but have not had to do so and I got my Corolla last Oct.

My 2 pennies

Bob

[Buzzard]

Take a look at the YARIS---Buzz

[UCK40]

Originally Posted by bob259

Toyota and Honda both do not list that price in their parts departments. Nor will they give it on request. It's a 100,000 mile guarantee on the battery for both manufactures. For us, can't speak for others, we'll swap it for something new far before that point in time.

04-06 PRIUS MAIN BATTERY msrp $3238.86.
Way less than an engine rebuild in a Corolla let alone a Tundra.

[Buzzard]

The YARIS gets 37/44 with NO battery to worry about replacing and sells for about 12-14K--If I were in the market for a gas saver this would be the first on I would look into----Buzz

[jamesjr4750]

Dont gas savings go right out of equation, when you are spending 3,200 on replacing a frickin battery. But oh we are doing the ozone a favor, Which I'm in favor of but come on this Prius is defeating the purpose of saving the posted 100's of millions of gallons of fuel but at a price of our pocket book still! That is if the way I see it of having the battery go out before the warranty is up and getting a early freebie.


And we are still using Fossil Fuels, What about Hydrogen?

Read some of this. Some people are getting smart and don't want to pay the oil companies anymore!! And every ______ related to it.
Here's using your noggin

http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html

Lots of information, some you may not agree with but none the less this is how all things start. In someones mind, an idea starts, just as it did in Henry Fords' adaptation of building cars, and using the what they beleived the available source, GAS.
There have been many pioneers throughout history, many getting pushed aside all in part of economics and power. Its been since I can remember reading all throughout history the elite push their own ideas (this being gas) leaving others knowledge and ideas to die with them or to get lost among the majority (such as the diamond in the rough)

I'm greatly appreciated to those that "dig" for something else other than oil and power. Cause I believe the working man is getting tired of it.

[Swanny1172]

Now, I am not some kind of eco-weenie that is trying to save the planet. I am just a guy with a wife and two kids who is trying to keep a little more coin out of my gas tank in my pocket each month. If it keeps some CO2 out of the atmosphere and reduces our dependence on foreign oil at the same time, then great. But, my altruism ends with my wallet in this case.

So, I decided to take a look at our cash flow each month. One huge expense for us is gasoline. My wife is a lobbyist and her job requires her to travel between Cleveland and Columbus regularly, so in the course of a given year, it is not uncommon for her to rack up about 15,000 business travel miles per year. On top of that, she is commuting roughly 80 miles round trip from Wadsworth to Cleveland three to four days per week. So, in the average year, she is putting about 30,000 miles on her car.

Now, the car that she was driving was a 2001 Mercedes ML 320 SUV which averages about 15 MPG. To add to the already poor fuel economy, the ML 320 only runs on premium gas which adds about $0.20 to the price of each gallon of gas she purchases. Based on the current price of premium gas ($3.29/gal) and some rough estimates, I figured that we are spending about $5,500 per year on gas for her car. Of course, gas prices are only going to go higher, which means the situation gets even worse.
So, in looking at this problem, I came up with three possible solutions:

1. Drive less — not really a viable alternative because she is a lobbyist and has to spend time in Cleveland and Columbus. However, she is able to work from home a couple days a week, so she can cut some mileage out here.
2. Buy cheaper gas — also not really a viable alternative because the car we own is designed to run on premium. Dropping to a lower grade can have some dire consequences for the drive train resulting in costly repairs. Also, because gas is a commodity, there is not a big deviation in price from retailer to retailer, so there is no real way to shop for the best deal.
3. Get a car that gets better MPG — this is the only real solution to our problem, hence the purchase of the Prius.

Based on a very conservative estimate of 48 MPG for the Prius, I am figuring that we will save approximately $300 per month in gasoline (~$3,600/year). Now, part of the savings is also realized through the $0.20/gallon price differential between regular and premium gasoline. Regardless, it is a savings just the same.

Now, having a wife that drives 30,000 miles per year made the Prius's fuel economy value proposition much stronger for us. What we ended up doing was trading my 2001 Audi A4 in on the Prius. She drives the Prius and I drive the ML 320. Like I said, this made sense for us, but YMMV.