Is a Prius worth it?

**corn18** · 10-09-2015, 09:58 AM

Is that a new 2014 Prius for $15,995?

**bjl584** · 10-09-2015, 10:14 AM

It depends how much you drive and where you are driving it at.

Driving it in Urban stop and go traffic with yield a better ROI than taking it on the open road. The more that you can take advantage of the battery and keep the engine from burning gas the better off you are.

Even then it will take many years to break even on it should you have bought a typical 4 cylinder sedan that gets 35 mpg or so.

Also, take into consideration that when the batteries go it will be several thousand dollars to replace them. Figure on getting 10 years or 100,000 miles out of the factory battery packs.

**skives** · 10-09-2015, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by tomhole View Post

Is that a new 2014 Prius for $15,995?

No not new

**phantom** · 10-09-2015, 10:59 AM

If you didn't get a Prius, do you have any idea what you would get instead and how much you would pay for that?

**dawnwes** · 10-09-2015, 11:31 AM

Do you need a new car? What do you drive now? If your car is worth $6,000 at the dealer, how much is the blue book value? Do you owe anything on your current car? Does your current car have a lot of life left in it?

There is simply no way to answer this question for your specific circumstance, without more info.

That said, we have a Toyota Camry Hybrid and love it.

But we needed a new car (donated our 1996 Saturn station wagon for the 2014 Camry Hybrid, so you get the idea.)

Dawn

**greenskeeper** · 10-09-2015, 12:25 PM

Originally posted by skives View Post

I'm looking for a new vehicle and wondering if you guys think a Prius is worth it? A local dealer has a 2014 for $15,995 but I'm thinking maybe I could get it for $10,000 with my trade in.

What are you currently driving? Owe money on it? How many miles?

The best financial decision is to keep your current car if paid for and drive it into the ground.

**snafu** · 10-09-2015, 06:27 PM

What is the current research on replacement batteries? Given the current mileage on the specific car and your average, annual mileage, how long until you would need to replace the battery? Do you keep cars more than 5 yrs?

A later issue will be what is value when you are ready to re-sell!

**FLA** · 10-09-2015, 07:12 PM

I thought a Prius would be a perfect choice for me since I get reimbursed for mileage driving from patient to patient. I kept cars a long time so I anticipated keeping it plenty long enough so I was not upside down on higher cost of car vs money saved on gas. It fit my family. I loved it. In two year, I had a accident and it was totaled. When I got that insurance check, I badly wanted to go Prius again. But I had just had an in your face lesson that no matter how long you think you'll have a car, you never really know. Got a small, inexpensive Accent, paid off within the year. Meets my needs just fine, bare bones, I miss heated seats and the Prius has the perfect two layer trunk thing for a nurse, loved that.

Turns out I made the right choice this time, because two yrs later, I became ill and I have not been allowed to drive in a year. So I'd be incredibly upside down on a Prius since it would not be going anywhere, IDK, maybe that's ok, but I'd be furious that I spent so much money again.

**greenskeeper** · 10-10-2015, 06:38 AM

Originally posted by snafu View Post

What is the current research on replacement batteries? Given the current mileage on the specific car and your average, annual mileage, how long until you would need to replace the battery? Do you keep cars more than 5 yrs?

A later issue will be what is value when you are ready to re-sell!

I've never heard of a battery pack failure with the prius. I'm sure it happens but am confident that it isn't all that often.

**Spiffster** · 10-10-2015, 11:04 AM

Its a Prius though... Way too cookie cutter, and overpriced IMO. You can get a Volt for that much, which I honestly think is a much better car.

I imagine you can get a great deal on a TDI though

**ua_guy** · 10-12-2015, 06:30 AM

Too general of a question IMO.

What are the different book values for the car?

What's your trade worth? What is the dealership offering?

How many miles on the new one, and what's your goal for driving it over the next 5 years or so?

For the same price, what kind of new (or used) car could you enjoy instead?

I'm not personally a big fan of the Prius, but I can understand why people are attracted to them. I think it's fairly reasonable to assume the battery packs will last at least 100k if not more, so I wouldn't get hung up on that.

My quip is that you can get a lot of car for the same amount of money. You need to weigh what the gas mileage savings will amount to and if it's worth the trade off of having a vehicle which might fit your needs better.

**SavingSteve** · 10-12-2015, 06:51 AM

If you do the math and compare the Prius to another lower cost competitor, you may find that it will take a LONG time to come out ahead financially and justify the extra cost.

With the Prius you're essentially paying for 2 engines which seems silly to me.

If cost is not a concern and you want to pay more to help conserve natural resources that's another thing, and it may be worth it to you.

**pflyers85** · 10-12-2015, 08:59 PM

Is there anything wrong with the vehicle you currently own?
Do you put a lot of city miles on your car? How long do you expect to own the car?

Many times people are sucked in by the savings on fuel but if you run the numbers you would have to drive it a lot for a long time to see any real savings. For most people in the new car and newer used car market the biggest savers in terms of cost of vehicle and cost of fuel would be economy vehicles like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, etc. They will all come new well under $20,000 and the miles per gallon is just under the Prius.

**Nika** · 10-28-2015, 04:33 PM

I hope to buy 2020 or later model Prius. (not rich enough for Tesla).

For us it is worth it. Long commutes, not insignificant travel for work reimbursed for mileage (that calculates wear and gas) so this way we may come out ahead.

But to decide if it is "worth" it, you should compare it to your second alternative that you will go for if you don't buy a Prius. You can't compare it to nothing.

It is ok to just want one too. No one ever asks if their Ford truck is worth it. It rarely is, but nobody cares.

Is a Prius worth it?