boscogns_brother
New member
I'll definitely put that on the Prius once I get it. Thanks for the suggestion.
6
My brother is getting a prius. Need help!
- Thread starter Boscogn
- Start date
I'll definitely put that on the Prius once I get it. Thanks for the suggestion.
boscogns_brother
New member
That's the idea. I don't give a shit about my carbon footprint. I care about MPG and overall cost to own.
1ashchuckton
Autocross Champion
If you care about your brother just say no to a used second gen MINI. They really are fun cars until it comes time to pay for all the repairs it will need.
boscogns_brother
New member
I commute 13k miles a year. 3/5 days a week I have to drive my daughter to daycare in a child seat, so I need plenty of space in the rear seat. The Honda Fit, which was our old car, was too small to fit me 6'3" + rear facing child seat.
Boscogn
Go Kart Champion
Haha this thread is pure gold. I do truly hate prius drivers every clog on the freeway or city street you can bet 90% of the time it's a prius driver either going the same speed as the slow lane or trying to parallel park. Also the untold joke here is that my brothers car was hit by a prius driver which has thusly prompted him to ditch that car and buy a commuter.
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Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
Funny to say that: I was on the fence of leasing a 500e right before I got my current GTI, but one of the major drawbacks was the fact that there was no way to put a rear-facing child seat - with the kid strapped in it...
With current gas prices, a new Prius will be hard pressed to break even its higher acquisition cost over a similarly speced Corolla. Even worse for the Volt, although Chevy does have a few very aggressive leasing offers that probably cover your 13K/yr commute pattern. Similarly with the 500e - but kids don't really fit in the back of it before front facing seats come into play.
The straight gas commuters that are Prius sized, e.g. a Corolla, Civic etc, are usually cheaper and already do ~40 MPG.
The Prius will get you what? ~50 when new? Lets say 50 MPG.
For 13,000 miles / year that is: 13,000 M / 50 MPG = 260 gallons of fuel.
With the straight IC 40MPG car would be : 13,000 M / 40 MPG = 325 gallons of fuel = 65 gallons more per year which @ $3/gal = $195 extra fuel running costs / year. A 35MPG car would cost you ~$335/year more, a 30MPG ~$520
If you were to buy a used 40MPG IC car @ $2,000 less than a used Prius with same miles, you will need more than 10 years at current fuel prices to break even based on fuel running costs. A 35MPG car ~ 6yr to break even...you get the picture: pre-paying $2,000 or so to save fuel in the long run, is just not a sufficient excuse before your start opting for really inefficient cars, which none of the comparable to a Prius IC 4dr passenger cars built over the last 10yr is.
Now, there can be a wild-card at play in your case: e.g. you might need a HOV/Car Pool lane sticker that you get with a specific Prius and most Volt models, at least in States like CA. Many ppl that can afford much more expensive cars actually opt for "sticker" cars and weigh those 45-1hr saved in commute time a day as much as gold. Others opt to pay more than they hoped for to get in a Tesla to get access to that sticker.
Insurance might also be more expensive on the hybrid, based on the higher original cost / higher replacement cost, although insurance models might place a Civic in a "more prone to be involved in accidents" class than a Prius or Volt which might turn the tables on you...an online quote (or two, or three) will answer that.
Maintenance on a hybrid might also be more complicated, but this is highly situational and anecdotal: you might get a golden hybrid with zero issues vs. a lemon IC car that will punish you.
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boscogns_brother
New member
Funny to say that: I was on the fence of leasing a 500e right before I got my current GTI, but one of the major drawbacks was the fact that there was no way to put a rear-facing child seat - with the kid strapped in it...
With current gas prices, a new Prius will be hard pressed to break even its higher acquisition cost over a similarly speced Corolla. Even worse for the Volt, although Chevy does have a few very aggressive leasing offers that probably cover your 13K/yr commute pattern. Similarly with the 500e - but kids don't really fit in the back of it before front facing seats come into play.
The straight gas commuters that are Prius sized, e.g. a Corolla, Civic etc, are usually cheaper and already do ~40 MPG.
The Prius will get you what? ~50 when new? Lets say 50 MPG.
For 13,000 miles / year that is: 13,000 M / 50 MPG = 260 gallons of fuel.
With the straight IC 40MPG car would be : 13,000 M / 40 MPG = 325 gallons of fuel = 65 gallons more per year which @ $3/gal = $195 extra fuel running costs / year. A 35MPG car would cost you ~$335/year more, a 30MPG ~$520
If you were to buy a used 40MPG IC car @ $2,000 less than a used Prius with same miles, you will need more than 10 years at current fuel prices to break even based on fuel running costs. A 35MPG car ~ 6yr to break even...you get the picture: pre-paying $2,000 or so to save fuel in the long run, is just not a sufficient excuse before your start opting for really inefficient cars, which none of the comparable to a Prius IC 4dr passenger cars built over the last 10yr is.
Now, there can be a wild-card at play in your case: e.g. you might need a HOV/Car Pool lane sticker that you get with a specific Prius and most Volt models, at least in States like CA. Many ppl that can afford much more expensive cars actually opt for "sticker" cars and weigh those 45-1hr saved in commute time a day as much as gold. Others opt to pay more than they hoped for to get in a Tesla to get access to that sticker.
Insurance might also be more expensive on the hybrid, based on the higher original cost / higher replacement cost, although insurance models might place a Civic in a "more prone to be involved in accidents" class than a Prius or Volt which might turn the tables on you...an online quote (or two, or three) will answer that.
Maintenance on a hybrid might also be more complicated, but this is highly situational and anecdotal: you might get a golden hybrid with zero issues vs. a lemon IC car that will punish you.
Good info. There are no HOV lanes on my commute.
I think any car I consider would have to be at 40mpg or better. And my budget is 7000, not 10k. Also, I found a steal of a deal on a used 05 prius with only 67k miles for $6500. If that deal doesn't work out, then i'll be looking at other options. Reliability and cost of maintenance is huge for me too.
red_stapler
Ready to race!
Consider a Camry Hybrid instead of the Prius if you think you'll need more space. Plus your brother won't lose his shit.
You should spend more time in a Prius forum then, trying to find honest members that share their reliability issues an not just stroking their confirmation bias, instead of a Golf biased forum.
Let your brother do his thing, you look after what YOU want to do =)
Boscogn
Go Kart Champion
I found the prius forum.
https://www.facebook.com/LeftLanePrius/
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uglybastard
Autocross Champion
See the previously mentioned TDI commerical.
sterkrazzy
Autocross Champion
How long do those batterys last before they shit out on you?
I drove a Prius back in late 2010 and while it wasn't a terrible car, the only thing that really made it worthwhile was the fact that gas was $4 plus for 87 octane at the time in my area.
The car did break down on me with a power inverter issue, then later another issue involving one of the electric motors. Each required it to be at the dealer for a week plus for repairs. Out of warranty, one of the visits would have been over $3.5k worth in repairs. It was nothing me or my regular mechanic could service.
Is he trying to hook up with a tree hugger chick?
EDIT: My wife chimed in as I was writing this. She HATES Prius' and she said that we wouldn't be married right now if I had the car when I met her. I actually traded it in two weeks before I asked her out. :lol:
The car did break down on me with a power inverter issue, then later another issue involving one of the electric motors. Each required it to be at the dealer for a week plus for repairs. Out of warranty, one of the visits would have been over $3.5k worth in repairs. It was nothing me or my regular mechanic could service.
Is he trying to hook up with a tree hugger chick?
EDIT: My wife chimed in as I was writing this. She HATES Prius' and she said that we wouldn't be married right now if I had the car when I met her. I actually traded it in two weeks before I asked her out. :lol:
dubbinit2
Drag Racing Champion
yeah awesome...laughs nervously whilst backing out the room slowly..