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Vigo
Vigo PowerDork
11/25/15 6:58 p.m.

If they sold the Prius V with the 3rd row it gets elsewhere it'd quickly move up my minivan ranking charts. Yes, i maintain a mental minivan ranking chart.

Wall-e
Wall-e GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/25/15 7:18 p.m.

Good luck with the Prius. Sometimes you have to know when to move on.

ssswitch
ssswitch HalfDork
11/25/15 7:35 p.m.

It's crazy how much interior room a Prius has. Every time I take a taxi somewhere I spend half the drive looking around the cabin in surprise at how much loot I could cram in the back.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce PowerDork
11/25/15 8:35 p.m.
Vigo wrote: If they sold the Prius V with the 3rd row it gets elsewhere it'd quickly move up my minivan ranking charts. Yes, i maintain a mental minivan ranking chart.

If they did, I'd buy one. My kids are small, they'd fit.

dj06482
dj06482 GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/25/15 9:55 p.m.

I'm also interested in the first reasonably priced, hybrid/electric minivan. The vast majority of our trips are under 15 miles.

Mr_Clutch42
Mr_Clutch42 SuperDork
11/26/15 9:50 a.m.

I'm also interested in making an electric car, but the Volt is a good candidate for a DD for me.

Petrolburner
Petrolburner HalfDork
11/26/15 10:18 a.m.
Javelin wrote: Wow, that escalated quickly... SWMBO basically only drives in town. The GP gets 18MPG in the real world, the Prius will probably get 48. Also, she wants a mid-sized hatch, so it's pretty much the Prius or... Besides the fact that I will never own a GM again, the Volt is out due to the stupid 2+2 seating. It's not nearly as versatile inside, especially with small kids. Our big choice is Certified Pre-Owned (there's a 12 with 33K miles for 17K or a 14 with 9K miles for $20K, both loaded up), or a new one that's just been deeeeeeply discounted (like $4K+ off invoice) for $21K, but it's a package 2, which basically has nothing.

Loaded with options and a few miles sounds way better than new and bare bones.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/26/15 10:33 a.m.

honestly, I keep looking at the 1st gen insight.. I only ever drive me to work with an occasional "can I get a ride home"

I figured out that with it's MPGs, size tank, and the length of my commute.. I would have to fill it up once a month

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
11/26/15 5:27 p.m.

I think it's a good idea and it makes perfect sense to me. You gotta know when to pull the plug on a car and a Prius makes a lot of sense as a transport appliance.

Although like mad_machine I occasionally eye the 1st gen Insight, too. Hard to find with less than a 100k on it, though.

OTOH you can get almost the same mileage out of a new Miata, but I guess only if you compare highway mpg.

Vigo
Vigo PowerDork
11/26/15 6:35 p.m.

The lowest i ever averaged with my 1st gen Insights was 38-39 which was one long stretch of all hard-driving stop-and-go, and the other was a long stretch at 95 mph. As much as i love and appreciate the fact that several quite good sports cars like FRSBRZ and ND can get great highway mpg, they're still nowhere close to a 1g Insight that usually will average over 50. But then again, neither is the 1g Insight a quite good sports car, or any kind of sports car at all. I did find them to be better overall than the CRX HF i simultaneously had at one point (and it only averaged 43).

penultimeta
penultimeta Reader
11/26/15 7:15 p.m.
WildScotsRacing wrote: In reply to pointofdeparture: I know several folks who picked them up used strictly for the fuel savings, and they're not the ones I have an issue with. But it's the condescending enviro crowd that trips my trigger. They see my lowered car with fat tires and rumbly exhaust and just "know" that I must be an unfeeling polluter, and if they truly had their way, anything short of what they perceive to be "responsible transportaion" would outlawed and punishable with prison. Multiple times I have had electric and hybrid drivers (ironically complete with that "COEXIST" bumper sticker) cut me off with hand gestures, entirely unprovoked by me. What they don't have a clue about is that with my engine build and careful dyno tuning, that car not only makes way more power than stock, it gets better gas milage and burns cleaner doing it. So, no I'm not making fun of the car choice at all, but I do jerk their colective chain occasionally for a harmless chuckle. At least I don't drive rudely and cut them off.

Umm, what makes you think that auto enthusiasm and environmental concern are mutually exclusive? My suspicion here is that you have some kind of preconceived notion about who drives hybrids and, thus, have found every excuse to read into their actions. I consider myself and environmentalist and do my best to reduce the wear and tear I put on this planet, but also love cars. Please be aware of why you're perceiving the things that you are. I've met just as many self righteous Camry owner as I have Prius owners as I have STI owners. Some people are just dicks who happen to drive a certain type of car.

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 SuperDork
11/27/15 7:56 a.m.

I recently did the same thing except I traded my RX8 that needed some work for a 2016 Toyota Tacoma access cab. Now no more excuses not to get yard/house stuff.

Apexcarver
Apexcarver PowerDork
11/27/15 8:02 a.m.

Might be looking to do similar but with the wife's 2.5rs Impreza... Possibly weak headgasket, trans problems, and some rust rearing its head...

My mom bought it new, but sometimes its just time to reduce the headaches so you can focus your wrench time on things that are more fun to you.

Vigo
Vigo PowerDork
11/27/15 1:25 p.m.

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/27/15 2:39 p.m.

Halp!

A new 2015 Prius Package 2 (which has everything SWMBO wants) is $25,035. The dealership where my very good buddy works has them at $1,940 off, plus there's a $2,500 Toyota cash rebate, plus a $500 Black Friday rebate, PLUS a $500 "Friends and Family", so I'd be at $19,595 (plus tax tag title).

Should I???

pointofdeparture
pointofdeparture GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/27/15 2:44 p.m.

In reply to Javelin:

That is a heck of a deal. Before you said that '14s with 9k miles were selling for that same price? I would do it.

06HHR
06HHR HalfDork
11/27/15 7:55 p.m.
Javelin wrote: Halp! A new 2015 Prius Package 2 (which has everything SWMBO wants) is $25,035. The dealership where my very good buddy works has them at $1,940 off, plus there's a $2,500 Toyota cash rebate, plus a $500 Black Friday rebate, PLUS a $500 "Friends and Family", so I'd be at $19,595 (plus tax tag title). Should I???

You haven't brung that home yet? What you waiting for, an invitation?

Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
11/27/15 8:13 p.m.

I do this all the time. I think it is very GRM. Value of car compared to what I owe + cost of repair. If the percentage is too high, it's gone.

Easy peasy

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/27/15 11:16 p.m.
06HHR wrote:
Javelin wrote: Halp! A new 2015 Prius Package 2 (which has everything SWMBO wants) is $25,035. The dealership where my very good buddy works has them at $1,940 off, plus there's a $2,500 Toyota cash rebate, plus a $500 Black Friday rebate, PLUS a $500 "Friends and Family", so I'd be at $19,595 (plus tax tag title). Should I???
You haven't brung that home yet? What you waiting for, an invitation?

Turns out you can't add the F&F to this deal, and the $2500 includes $500 Black Friday, so it's only $20,595 plus TT&T. Still though, a mighty sweet deal. Going to propose it to SWMBO tomorrow.

accordionfolder
accordionfolder HalfDork
11/28/15 12:20 a.m.

Prius are nice!

Slightly off topic, but 100k on a 1g insight is nothing, the only thing that I've ever heard going south is 2nd gear.

92dxman
92dxman Dork
11/28/15 1:30 p.m.

That's a pretty good deal. It would buy a lot of piece of mind w/ SWMBO.

Vigo
Vigo PowerDork
11/29/15 1:26 a.m.

Buy the Prius and 246k later it will still have original everything. Except the serpentine belt because yours won't have one.

Slightly off topic, but 100k on a 1g insight is nothing, the only thing that I've ever heard going south is 2nd gear.

And, you know, the high voltage battery pack. But yeah, the 1 and 2 synchros on 5spd Insights tend to get trashed because the car will NOT accelerate at low speeds without downshifting to 1st or 2nd and most manual drivers barely know how to drive manual in the first place and use their synchros up like they're going out of style (which they are....). If you don't know how to double clutch and rev match a downshift you WILL eventually kill an Insight's synchros because you'll be using them a lot.

wbjones
wbjones MegaDork
11/29/15 10:17 a.m.

I really don't understand that … most folk that don't know how to drive a manual usually don't buy a manual …

I've been driving since 1965 (mostly manual) and I've never had to replace a clutch OR a transmission or synchros … the only time I've ever double clutched was when I had cars without synchros … on the track I do heelandtoe but that's rev matching … sorta the same thing, but not quite …

oh … buy the new one … a bit more $$, but it's new, has a warranty, has all the bells and whistles that your wife wants … win win win

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/29/15 11:18 a.m.

SWMBO wants nothing to do with anything over 15K out the door and thinks I'm an shiny happy person for even mentioning it. I want to say ef it, I'm done, but the GP carries my children every day and the thought of them being stranded on the side of the road when the motor lets go literally keeps me up at night.

szeis4cookie
szeis4cookie HalfDork
11/29/15 12:22 p.m.

You can get a 2013 Ford C-Max done for under 15k OTD, I just bought one well under that. I've even seen some still under warranty at that price out here on the East Coast. Even the base model has Bluetooth and heated seats if you find one with the winter package. It's no sports car, but I think it drives better than the Prius. Gives up a couple of MPGs (2.5 tanks so far, 38mpg-ish each tank), but the difference in buy-in buys a ton of gas.

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