2009 Prius Base - $19k

[Matt Herring]

In a dilemma and figured I'd bounce it off you guys here to either talk me into it or talk me out of it...

Over the past two months I've been tinkering with the idea to trade my 2005 4runner in for a Prius. Obviously, comparing the cars MPG and environmental impact it's a no-brainer but I really want to wait for the 2010 PHEV. And, because I'm at about even with my payments over the last 2 years and what's still owed on my 4runner I've essentially been leasing the car for $400 a month (since what I've paid and what the value of the car is at is about the same right now). If I wait for another year or so for the PHEV my car (barring major accidents) should be worth more than what is left to pay on my loan.

Well, I decided to drop into my local Toyota dealer today and came across a 2009 Prius (base model) for 22,900. After talking with the sales guy for awhile he quoted me $19,900 for the car and he would give me $12000 for my trade (what is still owed on my 4runner that I bought from the same dealership about 2 years ago).

I only drive about 12-15k miles a year so the fuel savings between a 4runner and Prius are not going to be that much over the course of a year (even if gas is at $4 a gallon). We're talking $1000-1800 saved in fuel over a year (although that does equal 3 or 4 car payments).

So do I go for the good price on the Prius (or maybe the price will go down further when the next gen comes out in a couple months)? Or, wait for the PHEV (and it's higher price tag)? Is it possible to upgrade the 2009 base prius to a PHEV and what is the cost if possible?

Let me know what you think...thanks!

[trikkonceptz]

With the current market conditions its almost better to negociate the interest rate rather than the price of the car.

Problem is you will likely be right back where you started from payment wise, which if thats the case I would take the Prius over the 4-runner anyday. That is unless you need the utility of the 4-runner.

What sucks is that we as consumers are still being punished with high interest rates, otherwise if the rates were below 5% it would definately be a no brainer.

Good luck.

[Matt Herring]

The deal I talked about today was 0% interest on an '09 Prius...that was after I negotiated the $19,900 on the price. Think I posted $19,000 in my initial post but the offer was $19,900 with 0% interest. It works out to about $330 a month (I'm paying $395 now on my 4runner). That was with paying $0 down (paying all tax/title fees up front so my payment is around $330 without anything down).

I got the feeling they wanted the cars off the lot before the Gen 3's came out. They had 10 on the lot today.

When I bought my 4runner from them a couple years ago I negotiated 3.9%. I have really good credit and they checked it today before offering me the 0% on the new Prius (which they are offering as an internet deal anyway on the Prius).

[trikkonceptz]

Well @ 0% thats a great deal .... the 2008 Prius has a black book value of 18600, which means with any money down you will walk away with equity in the new car which is rare.


I say take it, you'll be in a good equity position with it if later on down the line you want to trade up into something else.

[trikkonceptz]

By the way, I learned today that Scion will be carrying the IQ in the US within a year.

[cfg83]

Matt -

What a quandary! A Gen-2 Prius for ~$8,000. I just quoted a base Yaris for $13K at the Toyota web site. But the spectre of the Gen-3 Prius haunts your "what could have been" lamentations.

I had a $7K used car loan at 60 months for around $150 a month. That way I had a super-low payment in case things went bad for me economically. Instead of waiting 60 months, I just paid off the car early and saved some interest.

CarloSW2

[Matt Herring]

cfg,

I'm haunted by the "what could have been" not so much with the Gen 3 but with the release of the PHEV. From a financial view I know the PHEV is going to be much pricier than what I'm looking at now but I don't think it will be as painful to take if I get a great price on the Prius I looked at today. I was looking at 2011 to get the PHEV anyway so having this Prius for a couple years will give me some time to save some money for that.

I always go with the 60 month loan so I have flexibility (and time) to pay off as much principle as possible with extra payments in case something does go bad financially for me (and it keeps the payments lower each month).

Do you know if the Gen 2 Prius can be upgraded to PHEV when/if I get to that point? Or is it just the Gen 3?

[Matt Herring]

Looks like the PHEV kits currently available are for 2004-09 Prius models so conversion is possible on a Gen 2 or older.

Really having a hard time with this one as I'm not completely ready to ditch my 4runner yet (despite the obvious MPG gains with the Prius). Going to take another trip to the dealer this weekend to see if I can squeeze anything more out of him (was hard enough to leave the lot today but thankfully I was in a hurry and had to get to work...impulse buy denied)!

[MetroMPG]

DIY kits are also available. It is possible to do a lead-acid PHEV Prius "beer budget" conversion.

[Matt Herring]

So...

I took the deal on the 2009 Prius Gen-2 base...will be getting it next Tuesday. Decided I no longer needed the size of the 4runner and the benefits of the Prius far outweigh that of the 4runner. With the Prius, I should be getting close to 3x better mpg and also get a 10% discount on my insurance too (for hybrid vehicles)!

I really had trouble coming to a decision on this one because I love my 4runner but I took the plunge. The girlfriend is not a happy camper at all because of the size of the car (compared to the 4runner) but she drives her own vehicle (Jeep Cherokee) and only rides in mine. Maybe she'll appreciate the extra cash in my pocket after a few months.

Quick analysis of the Prius vs. 4runner:

15,000 miles a year at $2 a gallon
4runner (20 mpg) = $1500
Prius (50 mpg) = $600
$900 savings

15,000 miles a year at $3 a gallon
4runner (20 mpg) = $2250
Prius (50 mpg) = $900
$1350 savings

15,000 miles a year at $4 a gallon
4runner (20 mpg) = $3000
Prius (50 mpg) = $1200
$1800 savings

Not counting the couple hundred bucks saved on insurance and the good deal I got...I had to do it...with or without the girlfriend on board!