Have your eye on a gas guzzler? It's a good time to buy

[Chuck]

If the Prius costs $2,673 less a year for gas than the Ram, but costs $10,628 more, it would take four years for the Prius to make up the difference with its gas savings. More, if you drive less than 15,000 miles a year...

Steven Cole Smith - Orlando Sentinel - August 17, 2008

I'm reminded of a strip Dogbert is selling a "discount" lottery ticket, that after the buyer received it, turned out the drawing was yesterday - Ed

Years ago - decades, actually -- I took a course on real estate taught by an agent who had some good advice for selling a house: You need to work up to a price people will pay for your house, rather than work down from what you think it's worth.

That advice, brutal as it may be, applies to a large portion of the auto industry now: Certain segments of the market, notably trucks and SUVs, aren't selling. So dealers and manufacturers keep lowering prices. In a sense, they're starting at the value of the steel and rubber, and working up, rather than starting at the list price and working down.

So here's the question: At what point do gas guzzlers become a good buy?
… [Read More]

[ALS]

I wish they had figured in financing also into the equation. Even at 2.9-3.9% that Prius is going to get much more expensive than a highly discounted Ram with a down payment of say $3,000 on both. If your replacing you vehicle every 5 years that could make a big difference. Also the resale value on Prius's has been inflated recently due to the limited numbers available on the used vehicle market. With the advances in technology over the next few years an older Prius may be viewed no more favorably than a Cobalt or Focus.
I posted before of seeing an Insight on a used car lot by me back late winter 07 beginning 08 for $5,995. Try finding an Insight in good shape for twice that amount today.

[phoebeisis]

This is Edmonds shilling for the car dealers. Still, the Impala could be a good deal.It can get decent or better than decent mpg and is a comfortable car. Now the SUV guzzlers are a much bigger two part gamble.One if gas hits $6-$8, then you made the wrong bet and will pay with $250 fillups. Two, your $30,000 vehicle will be absolutely unsaleable when gas hit $8 gallon. A new big SUV is a bad bet for a middle class family. Now a used SUV- 50,000 miles or so for $11,000 isn't such a bad bet. If it becomes impossible to sell you can just drive the wheels off it(while paying high fuel prices of course).

You had better be affluent if you are planning to by a full sized SUV.
Charlie

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by ALS

I Even at 2.9-3.9% that Prius is going to get much more expensive than a highly discounted Ram with a down payment of say $3,000 on both.

Why make the comparison to the Prius, though? Why not to say the Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit, both of which have MSRPs closer to what that discounted Ram is going for? Then you're paying the same up front, but using maybe 1/3 as much gas.

[Vooch]

shamelessly carrying water for the big 2.5 -


Issue 1:
Let's see - a 4 year old Prius is selling for - guess maybe 75% of MRSP

and a 4 year old FSP ? - 25% ? 20% ?



Issue 2:
Only a fool would bet tens of thousands of dollars that gas prices are going to stay where they are in 4-5 years - Why take the risk that gas might end up at $6 in 2012 ?

[Earthling]

Originally Posted by ALS

With the advances in technology over the next few years an older Prius may be viewed no more favorably than a Cobalt or Focus.

The Prius is obviously looked more favorably upon than a Cobalt or Focus right now. What technology would change that? Any new technology that makes a current Prius look less desirable will certainly not help how a Cobalt of Focus is valued. A Prius will always be better than a Focus for several reasons, with fuel economy the most obvious.

Harry

[sailordave]

Actually, the above story is good news to those people and companies that actually have a valid need for trucks and SUV type vehicles. Perhaps it will bring trucks back to what they were meant to be, a tool for work.

[ALS]

I did say an older Prius. The new Cruz looks like a 45-50 highway mpg vehicle.
Look at what some people on this board are getting with the 08 Focus ?
You think the 2010 isn't going to get 20% better than the 08's with close to $4 gas ?
Prius is a 45 mpg vehicle. I not putting down the Prius I was just making a point.
I just checked Auto Trader in Pittsburgh and there is a 2005 Prius for $14,500 with
70K plus miles. The others 07's and 08's run between $27K and $33K.
So I want to know where your buying a new Prius for $21K-22K?
Based on 2.99 percent financing.
$3,000 down on a $28K Prius gets you a monthly payment of $492
$3,000 down on a $18.5K Corolla gets you a monthly payment of $307
60 months X $185 difference in payments = $11,100

And there are people getting deals on the Corolla's.
No one is dealing on a Prius.

Five years from now we could have $6.00 gas and you can bet that we will have a lot more choices on high mpg vehicles than we have now.

You and I look at a Prius or Honda Hybrid and we look at how much we can exceed the EPA, but 97% of population will be lucky to get the EPA numbers.
There is a big difference between those two numbers.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by ALS

Five years from now we could have $6.00 gas...

Though my guess is that $9 gas in five years is a lot more likely, and it wouldn't surprise me much if it was higher.

[ALS]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Though my guess is that $9 gas in five years is a lot more likely, and it wouldn't surprise me much if it was higher.

Then we will have 15% unemployment.