Thinking about a Prius

well, those Prius car payments will buy A BUNCH of gas for the Corolla.

Plus, the Corolla should run forever. A friend of mine has a 95 with around 250K-300K miles on it, and frankly it looks new.

None. Toyota went to GREAT lengths to make sure that the Prius acts and drives just like a car.

You won't notice the difference. No, it's not more complicated at all. The dash may be different, but that doesn't mean it's worse or more complicated.

Don't ignore the used market, Ebay can give you an idea of the options:

1) less than 3/36000 - these Prius will have some of the initial milage on them and will be fairly current. Buying from a deal is a good idea. 2) more than 3/36000 - often there is a price break here. However, you need to avoid the first model years, 2004 and 2001. A lot of early defects were corrected the following years. 3) 2001-03 vs 2004-current - if you can budget in a 2005 or later model, you'll be very happy. However, I've got a 2003 bought two years ago and I'm getting 52.6 MPG after 50,000 miles.

If you are risk adverse, there are extended warranties around but I'm a 'do it yourself' owner so they've never appealed to me.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

Prior to buying my 2004 Prius in September, 2004, I was driving a 1995 Geo Prizm, which is a rebranded Corolla. At the time I traded it in, the Prizm had about 210K miles on it and was getting about 25MPG overall. I could have kept it longer, but I wanted a larger car.

The 82K miles I've driven on the Prius would have cost me nearly $3700 more for gas on the Prizm.

I NBUSC, I was in your position until last Thursday when I finally bought my Prius! Like you, I was waiting until my old car was old enough and I had more of a down payment.

To answer your question, driving a Prius is no different in most respects from driving any other car. You get in, start the car, and go. Same old same old. There are some subtle differences in using my Prius. For example, when I was given the keys to mine for the first time by the dealer and I tried to start it, the car was so quiet, I didn't realize it was running so I went back in the dealership to ask for help. I am also getting used to the idea of not having to grab the keys out of my pocket each time I walk up to my Prius because it has the smart key system, so no key is required.

Other than that, its the same as any other car.

Guess I'm just getting tired of the Corolla, I've had it over 9 years & it's got about 95,000 miles on it. Nothing really wrong with it (knock wood) except that I've had to replace the fan blower motor 3 times. I like the thought of a hatchback, years ago I had a Corolla FX which was a hatchback & it really came in handy. Girl at work bought a new car over the weekend so that makes me want one even more. I'll just try to save as much as possible towards a down payment & hope a deal comes along.

OK, I'm sure somebody has already done the math. What would the difference between buying a 2008 Corolla with, let's say, 30 mpg for $14,000 or a Prius that gets, let's say, 45 mpg but costs $24,000? Would it ever be more cost effective to buy the Prius? Please tell me yes and in a short time because I really like the Prius. Rosscoe

It isn't that easy as the Prius comes with:

- automatic transmission

- cruise control

- temperature controlled heater/AC

- alloy wheels

- functional spoiler

- air-dams and wheel air blocks

- 6 disk CD player

- electric doors

- smart key system

- interior space (hotel Prius)

- in some areas: free parking, HOV lane access, state tax benefits

- plug-in optional (3d party)

Bob Wilson

If you're looking at the $14K Corolla, then don't look at the $24K Prius. Look at the $21K base model, just like the Corolla is base.

Apples to apples.

Yes, and then one also has to factor in how much the car will be driven. The more miles driven annually, the more sense the Prius makes.

Seriously, if the only reason you want to buy a Prius is to save money, don't get one. If my math is correct, you would have to drive 50,000 miles at $3.00 a gallon to break even.

However, if you want to conserve fuel and reduce pollution, then buy the Prius.

A used Prius ofters a lot of life with a significant reduction in purchase price. In 2005, I bought a 2003 with 49k miles for $17.3 when new Prius were still having a $4k 'dealer profit' added to the purchase price.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

It depends a lot on the price of gas and how much you drive, as well as your driving habits (highway, urban, or combination). In my area, gas costs around $3/gallon now. I bought my 2008 Prius less than a week ago. I am going on the assumption that the price of gas will steadily increase over the life of my Prius. Gas now is around 60 cents more per gallon than it was a year ago. One year ago, gas was also around 60 cents more per gallon than it was the previous year. I am no expert, but it seems to me that the price of gas is going up roughly sixty cents a year, so in two years from now, gas will be well over $4.00 on average in the USA.

Consumer Reports answered your question last year (I think). CR said the cut off point is around $4.50/gallon for when the Prius becomes cost effective. Also, having just shopped the Prius, I can tell you that you can get one for less than $24,000. The car I am driving has package #2 and it cost me $22,000 although the taxes and tags brought it up to $24,170. If you buy a base Pruis, its still as economical as the other Prius models and you can save at least $2,000, which is certainly still more than a Corolla.

I figure that my Prius will last me at least ten years, but probably longer. Out of that ten years, at least seven of those years will be during a period where the price of gas exceeds that $4.50/gallon cut off point. The future price of gas is a big reason why I bought my Prius; however, the main reason was that its environmentally friendly. Regardless of the gas price and cost-effectiveness, the Prius (and other hybrids) spew less pollution than regular fueled vehicles, which is important to me, and should be to anyone else who has grown addicted to breathing.

So? Do you think people don't drive 50,000 miles?

AFTER the 50,000 miles, the savings start (and that's at current gas prices, right?) Are you thinking that people don't keep cars more than

36,000 miles? That's ridiculous.

If you want to minimize the total cost of ownership then buying any new car is not the thing to do. The most economical thing is to buy a used recent Civic, Corolla, or Kia. And if at all possible save up the whole price of the car instead of borrowing.

Nota Bene: Michelle Steiner knows a lot more about cars and microeconomics than do the great majority of posters. She was merely providing one datum for comparison.

I know that, but she said flat out "don't get one". The justification was that the breakeven point was 50,000 miles. That just seems ridiculous. That means that for the 200,000 miles AFTER 50,000 miles, you save big money.

Oh, I know that people drive that much. I do. But my math was way off; the break even point is 300,000 miles at $3.00 a gallon.

Excellent points made by all. Of course now my big problem is selling my truck for as much as possible so that I can parlay as much as possible towards the down payment. I've also been juggling my options of a new '08 or a used one with as low of miles as possible. The price difference isn't all that different between the used '06 and new '08. Even the '05's I've seen tend to be around $19K. I know that Toyota covers the batteries, etc. for 100K miles. Is there much experience for mileages of even double that amount? I'm completely sold on the Prius for all of the obvious reasons plus I just like it! Thanks to all and wish me luck on selling my truck. It will be nice to go from 14.5 mpg to 45+ mpg. ;-)

GOOD LUCK!

You're in for a treat.

Bob Wilson