Would I really do that much better in a Prius?

[cfg83]

stevey_frac -

Originally Posted by stevey_frac

I drive about 60k a year. Right now i'm running around $3000 / year in gas alone.

I'm honestly not worried about the controller. That solid state stuff will last longer then the engine/body will. Battery pack on the other hand is a known wear item.

60K?!?!?! Arghhhhhh, that's a hard job. I'm thinking lots of highway miles. Wouldn't an "ICE dominant" Honda Hybrid be better for your needs?

CarloSW2

[stevey_frac]

Originally Posted by cfg83

stevey_frac -



60K?!?!?! Arghhhhhh, that's a hard job. I'm thinking lots of highway miles. Wouldn't an "ICE dominant" Honda Hybrid be better for your needs?

CarloSW2

Perhaps, but the old insights are harder on battery packs, and they have problems and tend to be very expensive to repair. Not enough were sold to develop after market OEM parts. They have problems with evaporator solenoids and the like. Not as trouble free as a prius. Plus a prius has 4 seats.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by guudasitgets

I think I'll just keep the "Assfire" (I just call it the sh!tbox). Up to now I have $1000 in it and just about everything is replaced with new. And now with everything running right I always get low 40's MPG. I just went into both Toyota and Kia's website and got the prices, I don't care about the room but if the Pirus is bigger thats fine, I always drive my car alone and if there is any baggage it's one suitcase, both cars fit that as does the threadstarters Cobalt.

In that case, just grab one of those small 75mpg MCs, or basjoos your assfire, or better yet basjoos a small cheap diesel and run it on WVO.

Originally Posted by guudasitgets

If we took the threadstarters Cobalt, you would have to drive it 25.95 years to make up the cost of the car.

Well, the OP mentioned they drive 60k miles/year, so for them it's more like 6 years, which is pretty good IMO considered the Prius is a larger car than the Cobalt.

[guudasitgets]

If your driving 60k a year why are you even bothering with a used car? ( i'm working on kilometers here) ok if your driving that much which is 37,282 miles per year the time it would take to wash out the extra cost of the Prius is 4.09 years against a Cobalt.

[stevey_frac]

Originally Posted by guudasitgets

If your driving 60k a year why are you even bothering with a used car? ( i'm working on kilometers here) ok if your driving that much which is 37,282 miles per year the time it would take to wash out the extra cost of the Prius is 4.09 years against a Cobalt.

I ask you this. Why would i bother with a new car? I buy a new car, and in a year, it has only 30% of it's original value. I could have bought an 04 prius for the same price as my 07 cobalt. After just 2 years, they would have had the same mileage. I'm very easy on cars. And i maintain them lovingly. I can keep something running for a long time. I fully expect i can get my Cobalt to hit 500k. I'd be able to do something similar with the prius.

[roflwaffle]

Totally forgot, what kind of conditions are you looking at stevey? If you do mostly highway, go for a used gen 2 Prius and don't worry about the battery. If it can last ~200-300k miles in a taxi, which presumably sees a lot of stop and go, it'll probably last a long time in a car that doesn't stop much. Heck, IIRC, you can still drive the car w/ the battery gone, although mileage drops a bit.

[stevey_frac]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

Totally forgot, what kind of conditions are you looking at stevey? If you do mostly highway, go for a used gen 2 Prius and don't worry about the battery. If it can last ~200-300k miles in a taxi, which presumably sees a lot of stop and go, it'll probably last a long time in a car that doesn't stop much. Heck, IIRC, you can still drive the car w/ the battery gone, although mileage drops a bit.

80% hwy. And most of my city would be fairly open too. I don't think i'd be stressing the battery much.

[roflwaffle]

In that case I'd recommend going w/ a Prius. The battery pack would probably last to ~400-500k miles easy during 20% light city/80% highway. My friend has one and we see 45mpg@70mph w/ four people no problem.

[Matt Herring]

Stevey...

I've had my Prius for a little over 3 months now and I can only tell you what I know and have learned...

1. If you are buying a Prius to "save money" there are alot of other options out there that will do a better job in this regard (if you are comparing fuel savings and loan costs vs. your Cobalt and/or other cars). Do I save money on fuel with my Prius...you bet...I was driving a 4runner prior to getting it and I've tripled my mpg with the new buggy (20 mpg to 60 mpg). For me, this means saving around $1500-1750 a year in gas. My current Prius loan is close to my former 4runner loan so the switch made sense for me. My gas savings in my Prius are "pure profit" compared to driving my 4runner.

2. If you anticipate over 80% of your driving to be on the highway I would not recommend a Prius. While you will get great mpg's in the Prius on the highway...as much as 55-58 mpg...you are not going to save that much vs. your Cobalt or another similar mpg vehicle over the life of a loan (5-6 years). You look like you already did the math on what mpg you get and what you would get in the Prius so it seems the "savings" would not be that much to justify getting one. Would it be fun to get 50, 55 or 60 mpg in the Prius...yes, it's a blast...but a $5-8k loan is also more appealing than a $12-15k loan over 5-6 years.

3. If you are considering a used vehicle I would recommend something that gets "good" mpg's but doesn't set your loan amount too high. Basically, you are sacrificing a little mpg to save alot on a loan...over time you end up saving more money on the loan that you would on gas in the Prius (taking into account what mpg you are already getting in your Cobalt).

Just my 2 cents...but I would look at a mid-priced vehicle that you can mod to get around what you're getting in your Cobalt. If you're saving $200-250 a month on the loan but only giving up $100-150 a month on gas you win.

[stevey_frac]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

Stevey...

I've had my Prius for a little over 3 months now and I can only tell you what I know and have learned...

1. If you are buying a Prius to "save money" there are alot of other options out there that will do a better job in this regard (if you are comparing fuel savings and loan costs vs. your Cobalt and/or other cars). Do I save money on fuel with my Prius...you bet...I was driving a 4runner prior to getting it and I've tripled my mpg with the new buggy (20 mpg to 60 mpg). For me, this means saving around $1500-1750 a year in gas. My current Prius loan is close to my former 4runner loan so the switch made sense for me. My gas savings in my Prius are "pure profit" compared to driving my 4runner.

2. If you anticipate over 80% of your driving to be on the highway I would not recommend a Prius. While you will get great mpg's in the Prius on the highway...as much as 55-58 mpg...you are not going to save that much vs. your Cobalt or another similar mpg vehicle over the life of a loan (5-6 years). You look like you already did the math on what mpg you get and what you would get in the Prius so it seems the "savings" would not be that much to justify getting one. Would it be fun to get 50, 55 or 60 mpg in the Prius...yes, it's a blast...but a $5-8k loan is also more appealing than a $12-15k loan over 5-6 years.

3. If you are considering a used vehicle I would recommend something that gets "good" mpg's but doesn't set your loan amount too high. Basically, you are sacrificing a little mpg to save alot on a loan...over time you end up saving more money on the loan that you would on gas in the Prius (taking into account what mpg you are already getting in your Cobalt).

Just my 2 cents...but I would look at a mid-priced vehicle that you can mod to get around what you're getting in your Cobalt. If you're saving $200-250 a month on the loan but only giving up $100-150 a month on gas you win.

The prius is less of a economical decision, and more of an ecomodical decision. The savings vs my cobalt would be minimal i think. But i'd be able to throw down some amazing numbers. Keep in mind this is hypothetical, as i fully intend to keep my cobalt for another 400k kms.

I've also been looking into the 1st gen insight as well. And also the Civic hybrid. They both do just as well on the highway, and offer improvements in the city. There are also a lot more civic hybrids around i think.