What state do you live in? In Oregon there is also a $1500 credit. Colorado is very generous with a credit of $3,285. Other places allow use of HOV lanes. There are other benefits out there.

You maintenance with a Prius will be much lower. Probably in excess of $3000 in savings over the life of the vehicle, if not more. Brake shoes don't wear out. The engine is never stressed, lots of reasons.

The Prius is very relaxing to drive and quiet. The continuous variable transmission is sweet. What is quality of life worth?

In comparing vehicles for MPG, I just use the differential between the EPA numbers. Why? Because if you can nurse great milage out of a Corolla, you will do the same with a Prius. Although some people actually improve with the Prius due to the instant feedback from the trip monitor that shows what the current MPG is on a running basis.

Should you ever need to sell, the resale value of the Prius will be clearly better than the Corolla, especially 5 years from now when hybrids with 50+ milage will hopefully be the norm.

> What state do you live in? In Oregon there
> is also a $1500 credit. Colorado is very generous
> with a credit of $3,285.

For worse or for better, I live in Maryland. I don't think the state does me any favors (they don't even pay for Driver's Ed in the public schools).

> You maintenance with a Prius will be much lower. Probably in excess
> of $3000 in savings over the life of the vehicle, if not more. Brake
> shoes don't wear out. The engine is never stressed, lots of reasons.

Yes, but what about the batteries? That's an unknown at this point, isn't it? Even if there are some high mileage Priuses out there, couldn't the batteries wear out with time? I'm not trying to be disagreeable, I'm just trying to be realistic before I plunk down twenty plus grand.

I'm also wondering what improvements in this relatively new technology will happen in the next few years. In 1984, I bought a PC for over $2000. Last year, I bought a PC that was what--several hundred times faster? with nearly 100 times as much RAM memory and 100,000 times as much disk space, for about 20% of the cost. To be sure, I've done a lot of things with that PC and with all the PCs I've owned since, so I don't regret the purchase (much). But if cars were to improve that quickly (they won't, so this is a hypothetical), then maybe I should hang on to my Apple I, err, ancient Corolla for a few more years until the Prius II, or some other new and improved hybrid comes out. Not forever, obviously, I don't think I can get another 100k miles out of my Corolla, but long enough for s.t. even better and/ or cheaper than today's Prius to come out.

> In comparing vehicles for MPG, I just use the differential between
> the EPA numbers. Why? Because if you can nurse great milage out of
> a Corolla, you will do the same with a Prius.

That was my original question: can I really do better than the average Prius mileage? Or are all you guys getting 48 mpg out of your Priuses the same kind of driver I am, so you'd be nursing 38 mpg out of a Corolla stick shift too?

Again, I thank you for taking the time to reply!

The battery concern is not really warranted. The Prius batteries have done quite well and there have been many 200,000+ milage Prius with no battery problems. Even so, I have heard that individual cells of the battery could be replaced rather than the whole battery.

The cost and technology structure of computers will never be the same with cars. Too many fixed asset issues that are unique to cars. The computers on board the Prius are somewhat like the computer industry in that improvements can be made to the car past production by fixes in the software. In addition, repairs to the computer hardware can be quite cheaply made compared to fixes to the standard car infrustructure.

I have seen lots of people who do better than average with the Prius.

Move quick and get the tax credit. With that the economics of the Prius is a no brainer.

George

McSwell,a skinflint like you will get 55 mpg with the Prius.In summertime-AC blasting all the time-we get 45+ mpg with the Prius with absolutely no special effort(my wife and son drive it).They get 22-23mpg with an auto trans 2001 Corolla.You will beat your Corolla mpg by 15-20 mpg- no question.
A tightwad like you will quickly learn to get it into EV mode(roughly up to 38 miles per hour on flat roads,no headwind) and keep it there.It takes about 2 miles of running in hot weather(about 3 miles in 50 degree weather) to get it to EV(all electric-ice off).
On trips over 5 miles you can easily get 55 mpg averages if you work the EV.Heck, it is easy enough to get 50 mpg at 65 miles per hour on the hy with the ICE motor.
Luck,Charlie
PS -Skinflint is a compliment in this contex.

If an automatic Corolla sedan suits your needs, I'd say get that. While the gas mileage might be less, I've seen new, stripped Corolla CE automatics with cruise control advertised locally for $14.5k. A manual would be even less and get better gas mileage (provided you can find one).

Compared to a $23.5k Prius (even with the $3150 federal tax credit), you may not see the $5500 difference for many years to come (if ever). And even though the Corolla CE might be the 'strippo' version, it's still a very nice, reliable car (with good gas mileage) for the money.

If, however, you need a bit more space, the Toyota Matrix (or its twin, the Pontiac Vibe, both of which are essentially Corolla station wagons) is a more valid comparison, and the price of one of those (even a comparable stripped version) is up to several thousand more than a Corolla sedan.

Using the more equivalent Matrix (or Vibe) in a comparison with a Prius, the price difference isn't quite as dramatic, and the Prius might be the better buy in that instance (if you're still eligible for the tax credit when you buy it).

Hi,

I just bought 2006 Prius last week. I am very interested in knowing what tax situation are your refering to? Can you please shed some light on that?

Thanks!

Check out this information:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&sh...dpost&p=257227

Your salesman/dealership didn't tell you about the $3150 federal tax credit? As a major selling point, that's unusual.

No, actually he did. But he said that he could not determine the number of hybrid vehicles sold by Toyota. I was wondering whether I could get that info from this forum. I wonder whether I made it for the tax credit or not!

Why do you say that?

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