jnu76
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Post by jnu76 on Apr 18, 2022 15:08:35 GMT -6
I’m considering buying a new car. I’d like to get a hybrid, and I’m leaning toward a Prius. I’ve only ever driven a car until it dies and then had to get whatever was used and available in my price range, so having time and flexibility is new for me. I’ve also never been able to buy a car that I was excited about before, just the least worst option on the lot, so I don’t really know how this works. My current car has some life still in it, but if I wait a year or two I’ll be back in the emergency situation and will be stuck with most likely not a hybrid for the next 7-10 years.
If you buy a new car, are you limited to what they have on the lot, or can you order something specific if you have time to wait? Is buying a brand new car a stupid waste of money in comparison to buying something used? Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Apr 18, 2022 15:24:14 GMT -6
For a hybrid I’d buy new. Batteries need to be replaced and that is not cheap.
If you have time, you can order what you want and they will let you know timing. Depending on the dealer they may not even have anything on the lot. It’s crazy here.
And used cars are not cheap now. My neighbor said he could sell his used Mercedes for what he paid for it 5+ years ago.
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tj
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Post by tj on Apr 18, 2022 15:35:16 GMT -6
Definitely shop around. Inventory is super duper low right now. And prices are sky high. My car was at the dealer for 14k OVER STICKER PRICE due to “pandemic” but really due to price gouging.
If you can order a car from the factory, you will pay msrp so you would be better off doing that than trying to haggle with a dealership. And if you can afford to sell your car on your own rather than using it as a trade in, that might get you more money too since lots of people are frustrated with dealerships right now and also just can’t find inventory.
On the other hand, I also got 8k more for my trade in than I was offered pre-pandemic so once we haggled them down 5k and got a few perks, we figured it was good enough.
Take your time and look look look.
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jnu76
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Post by jnu76 on Apr 18, 2022 15:53:35 GMT -6
This is really helpful. I just looked up my trade in value on Kelly Blue Book and was shocked at how high it was. Since I’ve only bought cars when my mechanic calls and suggests that I have it towed to the dealership, I’m used to being offered 20 bucks and a six pack and thinking that’s more than fair.
I have time to wait a few (or more) months if I order one. Do I do that at the dealership or through the Toyota website? The website looks like it sends the info to the dealership and they’ll contact me about trade in.
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Apr 18, 2022 18:08:34 GMT -6
Can I pitch you on a full electric instead of a hybrid? I have a Chevy Bolt and it's an absolutely wonderful car. Hybrids feel kind of like the worst of both worlds. I get 250ish miles on a full charge. Maintenance costs are super low with electric cars (with a hybrid you have to maintain both a battery and an internal combustion engine). I charge my car in my garage, which means I never stop at gas stations. There are lots of high speed charging stations around if I ever need one (I never have). My bookkeeper got a Bolt after I talked about how much I love mine and she can't charge at home (parks on the street), so she charges at the Harley dealership across the street from us whenever she's at work.
It's doesn't apply to the Bolt, but a lot of electric cars qualify for an $8000 federal rebate. And there might be additional state rebates in your state (I got $2500 and a free charger in VT).
Some people get range anxiety at the idea of a full electric, but every electric car owner I know (including myself) says that you get over that and it's really NBD. I don't like choosing my car based on a 1% of the time that I go on long trips. In that case I either plan where I can charge and eat/stretch at the same time or I rent/borrow a gas car.
Oh and fuel is cheeeep. A full charge costs me $8.40 and gets me over 200 miles. I love it.
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DGM
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Post by DGM on Apr 18, 2022 18:30:47 GMT -6
FWIW my brother has bought a Camry and RAV from the Toyota website in the last 5 years. He said it's been super easy, and he literally only had to go in to pick up the keys. I'm assuming they had test driven at some point but never thought to ask because my kids would distract me.
Edit: I was just about to add about a rebate for electric cars but see Maple covered it! MH has a Chevy Bolt but his rebates were state based, not federal. ETA #2: Our local Harley dealership has the super charge station too LOL.
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jnu76
Gold
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Post by jnu76 on Apr 18, 2022 20:20:05 GMT -6
Can I pitch you on a full electric instead of a hybrid? I have a Chevy Bolt and it's an absolutely wonderful car. Hybrids feel kind of like the worst of both worlds. I get 250ish miles on a full charge. Maintenance costs are super low with electric cars (with a hybrid you have to maintain both a battery and an internal combustion engine). I charge my car in my garage, which means I never stop at gas stations. There are lots of high speed charging stations around if I ever need one (I never have). My bookkeeper got a Bolt after I talked about how much I love mine and she can't charge at home (parks on the street), so she charges at the Harley dealership across the street from us whenever she's at work. It's doesn't apply to the Bolt, but a lot of electric cars qualify for an $8000 federal rebate. And there might be additional state rebates in your state (I got $2500 and a free charger in VT). Some people get range anxiety at the idea of a full electric, but every electric car owner I know (including myself) says that you get over that and it's really NBD. I don't like choosing my car based on a 1% of the time that I go on long trips. In that case I either plan where I can charge and eat/stretch at the same time or I rent/borrow a gas car. Oh and fuel is cheeeep. A full charge costs me $8.40 and gets me over 200 miles. I love it. That’s an interesting idea. We don’t have many charging stations in my area (I only know of one in an inconvenient location in the town where I work and don’t have any near my house) and we don’t have a garage, so I don’t know how charging would work for me. I had been thinking that if I get a hybrid with good mileage now, the infrastructure might be more in place when I eventually replace it so I could go electric then. I usually drive cars for 7-10 years. It definitely gives me something to think about. |
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mapleme
Amethyst
Posts: 6,065 Likes: 16,081
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Post by mapleme on Apr 18, 2022 21:09:20 GMT -6
Can I pitch you on a full electric instead of a hybrid? I have a Chevy Bolt and it's an absolutely wonderful car. Hybrids feel kind of like the worst of both worlds. I get 250ish miles on a full charge. Maintenance costs are super low with electric cars (with a hybrid you have to maintain both a battery and an internal combustion engine). I charge my car in my garage, which means I never stop at gas stations. There are lots of high speed charging stations around if I ever need one (I never have). My bookkeeper got a Bolt after I talked about how much I love mine and she can't charge at home (parks on the street), so she charges at the Harley dealership across the street from us whenever she's at work. It's doesn't apply to the Bolt, but a lot of electric cars qualify for an $8000 federal rebate. And there might be additional state rebates in your state (I got $2500 and a free charger in VT). Some people get range anxiety at the idea of a full electric, but every electric car owner I know (including myself) says that you get over that and it's really NBD. I don't like choosing my car based on a 1% of the time that I go on long trips. In that case I either plan where I can charge and eat/stretch at the same time or I rent/borrow a gas car. Oh and fuel is cheeeep. A full charge costs me $8.40 and gets me over 200 miles. I love it. That’s an interesting idea. We don’t have many charging stations in my area (I only know of one in an inconvenient location in the town where I work and don’t have any near my house) and we don’t have a garage, so I don’t know how charging would work for me. I had been thinking that if I get a hybrid with good mileage now, the infrastructure might be more in place when I eventually replace it so I could go electric then. I usually drive cars for 7-10 years. It definitely gives me something to think about. Have you looked at charging maps? I was going to share the screenshot of mine, but I can’t figure out to have it not show precisely where I live. But my town of 8000 has 20+ public chargers (plus more that I know of that aren’t listed). Pretty much every parking garage has a section of them here. Your home charger doesn’t have to be indoors, but it doesn’t work if you have to park on the street. I’m often surprised by the areas that don’t have lots of chargers. When I visit my family there are almost none in Berkeley, which blows my mind. And maybe no fast chargers at all (I have a fast charger within 2 blocks of both my home and work). And I understand how that influences your vehicle choice. |
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jnu76
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Post by jnu76 on Apr 19, 2022 4:41:26 GMT -6
That’s an interesting idea. We don’t have many charging stations in my area (I only know of one in an inconvenient location in the town where I work and don’t have any near my house) and we don’t have a garage, so I don’t know how charging would work for me. I had been thinking that if I get a hybrid with good mileage now, the infrastructure might be more in place when I eventually replace it so I could go electric then. I usually drive cars for 7-10 years. It definitely gives me something to think about. Have you looked at charging maps? I was going to share the screenshot of mine, but I can’t figure out to have it not show precisely where I live. But my town of 8000 has 20+ public chargers (plus more that I know of that aren’t listed). Pretty much every parking garage has a section of them here. Your home charger doesn’t have to be indoors, but it doesn’t work if you have to park on the street. I’m often surprised by the areas that don’t have lots of chargers. When I visit my family there are almost none in Berkeley, which blows my mind. And maybe no fast chargers at all (I have a fast charger within 2 blocks of both my home and work). And I understand how that influences your vehicle choice. Woah. I just looked at a charging map, and there are hardly any in my area. 2 in my small city, 1 in the town where I teach (but not close enough to use while I’m at work.) I think I have to keep an electric on my Someday list and hope that the infrastructure catches up. |
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 19, 2022 8:46:39 GMT -6
My ILs have been looking into buying a Rav4 electric hybrid and they said they have to wait 6 months to get it.
My experience with ordering rather than buying what was available on the lot in the past (during normal times, 5 years ago) is that the cars on the lot had a lot of extra features that I didn't need so mine ended up costing much less. I did have to pay for the shipping cost (I think it was like $800).
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