An observation on Prius drivers...

[Budmantom]

frugal isn't cool, it's a necessity for most

The Prius is a statement car unfortunately most of the time the statement isn't that the person is good with money.

 

[disappoint]

I always notice two types of Prius drivers:

-those who hog the left lane going 20 under and refuse to move over.

-those who have a chip on their shoulder about buying a slower car than everyone else and needing to jack rabbit start and jockey for position with every car next to them so as to "punish" them for not being as "green" as they are.

This exactly.

 

[disappoint]

I don't see many people driving them here, but used car lots are full of them. Makes me think that either everyone is leasing them, or there's a lot of people that bought them and realized it was a mistake.

The Prius is the ultimate white bread car. It's what bland suburbanites buy when they're too smug to buy a Caravan with the stick figure family on the back, which all their bland white bread neighbours drive. Every time I see one, it always makes me want to buy something really obnoxious.

Sounds racist to me.

 

[Doppel]

I don't see many people driving them here, but used car lots are full of them. Makes me think that either everyone is leasing them, or there's a lot of people that bought them and realized it was a mistake.

Do you realize that this summer it was possible to sell a used 2010 Prius with 20k for more than it cost a year earlier? Yeah, that's a car that people don't want.

Finally Toyota appears to be ramping production up again and they are available new (they more or less weren't throughout the summer, not without paying a huge premium, which also exploded used prices on these and caused an obvious glut in supply).

The reason these lease at low rates is because the residual on Priuses is very high. Residual is used car value. Toyota knows that the market considers these cars very much in demand used.

Don't take my word for it: http://www.kbb.com/toyota/prius/2011-toyota-prius-expert_car_reviews/ "The Prius has historically retained an above-average resale value regardless of fluctuating gas prices"

It's what bland suburbanites buy when they're too smug to buy a Caravan with the stick figure family on the back, which all their bland white bread neighbours drive. Every time I see one, it always makes me want to buy something really obnoxious.

And they're smug? Ironic. :biggrin:

 

[hanoverphist]

honestly, ive thought about owning one myself. Just go have one BUT i want to be able to lower the car and put 17-18's on it at the least. TINT out the windows as well. But with the wheels i might not be able to get 50+ MPG.

has anyone seen a modded up prius? Not a hellaflush but a clean FUNCTIONAL prius, most seem to be hypermilers.

theres one here in the east valley that is on 17s with tinted out windows. custom paint, but no graphics. it looks decent, and i wish it had a sub just to make me giggle. it might, but i havent heard anything from it the few times ive seen it. if i see it again, ill try to snap a pic of it.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I don't see many people driving them here, but used car lots are full of them. Makes me think that either everyone is leasing them, or there's a lot of people that bought them and realized it was a mistake.

The Prius is the ultimate white bread car. It's what bland suburbanites buy when they're too smug to buy a Caravan with the stick figure family on the back, which all their bland white bread neighbours drive. Every time I see one, it always makes me want to buy something really obnoxious.

Crap, I better tell the 24 year old Indian girl I know they she needs to be white to own one!

 

[vi edit]

The Prius is a statement car unfortunately most of the time the statement isn't that the person is good with money.

That used to be the case, but not so much any more. The Prius has gotten larger, and it's price tag has gotten smaller. It's right around 22k for a base model now, not that far out of line with similar midsize cars. Technically it's a bit smaller than a true midsize, but it's hatch offers a utility that others don't.

When compared to a 4 cylinder Camry or Altima it's not that bad of a deal at all for the econonmy it returns. Also factor in resale value and it's a very minimal risk. The only "bad with math" part of it is buying a new car which tens of millions millions of people are "bad" at every year.

If you are buying new anyway, and want something larger than a compact/subcompact it's not as overpriced as it used to be.

And when you look at the sub $200 a month lease deals many people can almost come out with it being close to free over what they were previously paying in gas a month.

Maybe you are bad at generalizations.

 

[Budmantom]

That used to be the case, but not so much any more. The Prius has gotten larger, and it's price tag has gotten smaller. It's right around 22k for a base model now, not that far out of line with similar midsize cars. Technically it's a bit smaller than a true midsize, but it's hatch offers a utility that others don't.

When compared to a 4 cylinder Camry or Altima it's not that bad of a deal at all for the econonmy it returns. Also factor in resale value and it's a very minimal risk. The only "bad with math" part of it is buying a new car which tens of millions millions of people are "bad" at every year.

If you are buying new anyway, and want something larger than a compact/subcompact it's not as overpriced as it used to be.

And when you look at the sub $200 a month lease deals many people can almost come out with it being close to free over what they were previously paying in gas a month.

Maybe you are bad at generalizations.

I thought that the Prius was built on the Corolla platform, if that's the case they are priced about $7k apart, it would take a long time to recoup your "investment".

I agree about buying new but it's hard to justify financially especially calling it frugal.

I can't speak to the lease but if you could get it for $200 and you could take advantage of utilizing the HOV lane etc it could make sense but most buy it for the green factor not the frugal factor.

 

[vi edit]

I thought that the Prius was built on the Corolla platform, if that's the case they are priced about $7k apart, it would take a long time to recoup your "investment".

Prius is on it's own platform I think. It's a "tweener" model that's bigger than a Corolla but smaller than a Camry. Interior volume wise it's actually bigger than a camry, but some measurements it comes up short. The wheelbase is several inches longer than a Corolla and it's cargo volume is much larger due to the hatch. Utility wise the Matrix is a better comparison but the economy on the Prius is much better and it's still probably still bigger in most passenger spaces.

And I don't agree with the "green" factor. Not any more. It really is becoming a much more reasonable choice given it's dropping price and growing dimensions while still increasing it's overall economy. It's becoming a much more viable alternative price & size wise to a midsize. If you in the market for a new midsize car, it's definitely an economic choice for that category.

 

[thepd7]

You're getting three groups that buy them:
1. People that want to make a statement about being green
2. People that are bad at math (payback is terrible compared to normal small cars)
3. Old people, they'll buy anything that's made by Toyota

The only person that I've met that had a really good reason for buying one was a coworker that got his just to get the license plate that let him drive in the carpool lane without anyone else in the car. It saves him 45 minutes of commute time a day.

#3 made me lol

 

[Doppel]

. It really is becoming a much more reasonable choice given it's dropping price and growing dimensions while still increasing it's overall economy.

As I've been saying, too. The arguments against it are ones I made a decade ago when they made more sense. These days the Prius is able to stand on its own merits without requiring a person to first purchase Obama 2008 and "Gas to me is like a fine wine, I sip it". I made that last one up, but I like it.

Toyota sees a huge market for the entire Prius line and that's why they're opening it up to four variants in the next year.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

frugal isn't cool, it's a necessity for most

See category 2 in the post above you.

 

[Imp]

I love the piece of shit. Driven the 06 and 07 models. Despite having no power, a cheap interior, no power, top heavy, no steering feedback, I LOVED it. Not kidding.

My top choice for a car if I bother to get one. Next would be a Mini. Did I mention that I like small cars?

 

[punjabiplaya]

See category 2 in the post above you.

I didn't say Prius buyers were intelligently buying it because they have to be frugal (fixed income, etc...) or that it makes sense financially, just that times are tough.

 

[Ovven]

Prius might get decent mileage, but it's a no-go for someone like me who's a bit taller than the average. I'm almost hitting the ceiling with my head, and visibility is pretty bad.

 

[BUTCH1]

Prius is on it's own platform I think. It's a "tweener" model that's bigger than a Corolla but smaller than a Camry. Interior volume wise it's actually bigger than a camry, but some measurements it comes up short. The wheelbase is several inches longer than a Corolla and it's cargo volume is much larger due to the hatch. Utility wise the Matrix is a better comparison but the economy on the Prius is much better and it's still probably still bigger in most passenger spaces.

And I don't agree with the "green" factor. Not any more. It really is becoming a much more reasonable choice given it's dropping price and growing dimensions while still increasing it's overall economy. It's becoming a much more viable alternative price & size wise to a midsize. If you in the market for a new midsize car, it's definitely an economic choice for that category.

Key to the choice is how fast your going to re-coup, if your DD is a 100 miler this car can make sense quickly, I've never driven one so I cannot comment on it's performance/comfort although I've owned a hatch and it with the rear deck removed I used to carry a LOT of different stuff..

 

[SandEagle]

dp..ffff

 

[SandEagle]

every time i pull up to a Prius driver with my SUV, i rev the engine hard and peel off. feelsgoodman


i admit though, the 2012's look nice.

 

[vi edit]

Key to the choice is how fast your going to re-coup, if your DD is a 100 miler this car can make sense quickly, I've never driven one so I cannot comment on it's performance/comfort although I've owned a hatch and it with the rear deck removed I used to carry a LOT of different stuff..

Right now my round trip for work is about 30 miles.

30 x 5 = 150 a week
600 miles a month.

If a $21,000 Camry gets 30MPG average for that trip it'll use 20 gallons a month, just for driving to work. At $3.65 a gallon that's $73 a month.

A $22,000 Prius that gets 45MPG for that average distance will use 13.3 gallons. That's $48 in gas. A savings of $25 a month, $300 a year. It'll pay for itself in about 3.3 years. And that's at 600 miles a month of driving and only $3.65 per gallon.

Move that up to 1200 miles a month and the same price and you half that time. Bump up the gas to $4.00 a gallon and it's 1/3.

It's going to pay for itself for many people if you are shopping in the midside range. Where it doesn't make sense is if you take a beating on a trade in or trade in a paid off car and to buy one to save on gas. But that would apply to any new car you buy.

 

[Monster_Munch]

Many taxi drivers here use a Prius. UK fuel is something like $7-$8 per gallon at the moment so more mpg is more profit for them. If you spend all day driving around in a city you probably can't find much better than a Prius.

 

[sdifox]

Right now my round trip for work is about 30 miles.

30 x 5 = 150 a week
600 miles a month.

If a $21,000 Camry gets 30MPG average for that trip it'll use 20 gallons a month, just for driving to work. At $3.65 a gallon that's $73 a month.

A $22,000 Prius that gets 45MPG for that average distance will use 13.3 gallons. That's $48 in gas. A savings of $25 a month, $300 a year. It'll pay for itself in about 3.3 years. And that's at 600 miles a month of driving and only $3.65 per gallon.

Move that up to 1200 miles a month and the same price and you half that time. Bump up the gas to $4.00 a gallon and it's 1/3.

It's going to pay for itself for many people if you are shopping in the midside range. Where it doesn't make sense is if you take a beating on a trade in or trade in a paid off car and to buy one to save on gas. But that would apply to any new car you buy.

wait what? how do you go from 300 dollar savings of gas per year to pay for itself in 3.3 years?

 

[Uhtrinity]

wait what? how do you go from 300 dollar savings of gas per year to pay for itself in 3.3 years?

Looks like he meant the price difference from a Camry to a Prius.


About a month ago I drove my moms 2008 Prius from SE Idaho to SLC and back to pick up a 200 lb hybrid battery from a junk yard. First off the Prius was large enough so the battery fit in the back and even though we were on the highway traveling at 65 - 75 mph the car still netted 56 mpg round trip over ~300 miles. My parents on the other hand typically average 50mpg.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

wait what? how do you go from 300 dollar savings of gas per year to pay for itself in 3.3 years?

I think he means it pays for the difference in cost between a Camry and a Prius
22,000 vs 21,000.
Shit. I think I'd pay $1000 to drive a camry instead of a Prius for three years.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Right now my round trip for work is about 30 miles.

30 x 5 = 150 a week
600 miles a month.

If a $21,000 Camry gets 30MPG average for that trip it'll use 20 gallons a month, just for driving to work. At $3.65 a gallon that's $73 a month.

A $22,000 Prius that gets 45MPG for that average distance will use 13.3 gallons. That's $48 in gas. A savings of $25 a month, $300 a year. It'll pay for itself in about 3.3 years. And that's at 600 miles a month of driving and only $3.65 per gallon.

Move that up to 1200 miles a month and the same price and you half that time. Bump up the gas to $4.00 a gallon and it's 1/3.

It's going to pay for itself for many people if you are shopping in the midside range. Where it doesn't make sense is if you take a beating on a trade in or trade in a paid off car and to buy one to save on gas. But that would apply to any new car you buy.

I figure a Prius would save me about $200 a month in gas.

 

[PricklyPete]

As I've been saying, too. The arguments against it are ones I made a decade ago when they made more sense. These days the Prius is able to stand on its own merits without requiring a person to first purchase Obama 2008 and "Gas to me is like a fine wine, I sip it". I made that last one up, but I like it.

Toyota sees a huge market for the entire Prius line and that's why they're opening it up to four variants in the next year.

Haha...that made me laugh.

I see no issue with people buying Prius's. I like to drive, so I would be unhappy with it, but I can appreciate the technology and the gas mileage. Not everyone wants the cheapest car. We buy what we want, and some of us may be will to spend extra on cars that we feel are pushing the tech envelope or use significantly less gas.