Should it stay or should it go?

[HIOJim]

Now that my RAQ opened and I have actually ordered my Leaf I'm starting to think about how I'm going to pay for it. :shock:

I'm single and currently driving a paid for, low mileage 2006 Prius. With gas at its current price I could probably get ~10K for it on Craigslist. That would be a nice start to a healthy downpayment since I want to buy and not lease and I would have only 1 vehicle to register, insure and maintain.

But about twice a year I usually go to vacation locations that are outside the Leaf's range. So, the argument could be made that I should keep the Prius for these and other 'long range' events. A counter argument to this of course is that I could rent a car for these occasions, but have you rented a car lately? The process is hardly smooth and easy and week long rentals are not cheap.

I haven't decided what to do yet but I was wondering if anyone else had wrestled with the same dilemma and what solution they wound up choosing. How many of you are going to go 'without a net'?

 

[Jimmydreams]

Check your insurance rates with and without the Prius. Then consider possible maintenance, oil changes, etc. on your Prius. Are there any safety/parking issues with having the second car? Then, consider the cost vs comfort of renting a new, nice car for that occasional trip outside the Leaf's range. Also, what would your Leaf payments be with and without the Prius money as a downpayment? If you buy the Leaf without selling the Prius, is that simply too much money to handle every month?

If you really only exceed the Leaf's range once or twice a year, I'd sell the Prius and rent. But the safety net of having a second car on-hand all the time is nice, too.

Good luck on whatever you decide!

 

[Electric4Me]

Also, instead of renting, do you have friends or family from whom you could occasionally borrow a car? This resource is sometimes overlooked, but so many people have 2 (or 3 or more) cars and the extras mostly sit around. I do this when I have my ICE car down for maintenance issues or just need another car. Of course, it should be returned washed with a full tank of car, and possibly a case of beer in the trunk, or the promise to re-tile their bathroom, or whatever your "currency" is with that person! :lol:

I've had my friend's Ford Expedition for the last 1.5 months with my economical ICE car having engine issues (replacement) and my Leaf being delayed made the 12 mpg unbearable! But the price was right.

 

[smkettner]

Sell the Prius. Let it go. I would finance 100% of the Leaf and bank the money from the Prius. You can pay the larger loan faster but if I borrow I prefer to go big and go long. Finance terms will never be better than on the initial purchase.

 

[Gonewild]

STOP dreaming you can not afford this car. Before you put money on reservation you should have thought it throw.

 

[charlie1300]

Check your insurance rates with and without the Prius. Then consider possible maintenance, oil changes, etc. on your Prius. Are there any safety/parking issues with having the second car? Then, consider the cost vs comfort of renting a new, nice car for that occasional trip outside the Leaf's range. Also, what would your Leaf payments be with and without the Prius money as a downpayment? If you buy the Leaf without selling the Prius, is that simply too much money to handle every month?

If you really only exceed the Leaf's range once or twice a year, I'd sell the Prius and rent. But the safety net of having a second car on-hand all the time is nice, too.

Good luck on whatever you decide!

+1 - You could probably pay for two weeks of a rental car with just the savings on insurance & registration on the Prius. Try bidding for rental cars on Price Line. My wife started this for our fly and drive vacations a few years ago, and she always gets them for $15 -$18/ day. but then you get taxes and airport fees on top of that.

 

[HIOJim]

STOP dreaming you can not afford this car. Before you put money on reservation you should have thought it throw.

But I'm not, I can and I did

The issue here (at least for me) is not the money, it's whether the Leaf is viable for me as my single owned vehicle. I could carry both cars but prefer not as I am not only green but a tad frugal. :lol:

 

[SteveInSeattle]

Enterprise rent a Car seems to have low cost weekend rentals from their in-town locations (not at airport locations). I wouldn't go with 2 cars just for a few vacations.

 

[malloryk]

I say sell the Prius. When you go on road trips, do you go with other people? Just make them drive!

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Enterprise rent a Car seems to have low cost weekend rentals from their in-town locations (not at airport locations). I wouldn't go with 2 cars just for a few vacations.

I'd agree with that advice. I bet the insurance alone on the extra car is more than you'd pay for rentals, particularly if you can get a corporate discount.

 

[JasonT]

Also, instead of renting, do you have friends or family from whom you could occasionally borrow a car? This resource is sometimes overlooked, but so many people have 2 (or 3 or more) cars and the extras mostly sit around. I do this when I have my ICE car down for maintenance issues or just need another car. Of course, it should be returned washed with a full tank of car, and possibly a case of beer in the trunk, or the promise to re-tile their bathroom, or whatever your "currency" is with that person! :lol:

I'm all for this one. If it was just me (instead of a family of 3) I would have sold my car when getting the Leaf. I don't go far often and if I did my plan was to do a car swap. I have a number of friends who would love to drive the Leaf for a week so a car trade would work out for both sides. Of course, some additional return 'currency' might be needed but I doubt it would take a re-tile :-D

 

[johnr]

STOP dreaming you can not afford this car. Before you put money on reservation you should have thought it throw.

That was rather harsh, don't you think? You don't know TIOJim, how can you say what he can afford? Besides, if he could afford a new Prius then a new Leaf is likely within his price range - especially after selling the Prius. Remember, after incentives the Leaf costs about $20k to $25k - similar to the cost of a new Prius, but all electric. In my case, it's about $17k. Anybody who can afford a new car (or a used SUV or pickup) can afford a Leaf, assuming it can meet their needs.

 

[Train]

The only reason to consider this is maybe you really want a Leaf, otherwise it makes little financial sense. You have a perfectly good car that's paid off. To spend $35K on a depreciating asset when you have a car that's paid off...wow.

$35,000 buys a lot of gas and oil changes.

The car you already have will go short and long distances. Without renting, without paying a monthly payment any more.

Even if you sell the Prius, you still have to pay another $25,000 plus interest, unless you pay cash. Even if you qualify for the maximum of rebates and tax credits, you are paying quite a bit of money for something which you already have, a car.

 

[HIOJim]

The only reason to consider this is maybe you really want a Leaf, otherwise it makes little financial sense. You have a perfectly good car that's paid off. To spend $35K on a depreciating asset when you have a car that's paid off...wow.

I hear what you're saying and have certainly considered that argument.

Having said that, if money was our only concern, we would all be driving used Kia's. I suspect that most of us are not. And the reason for this is as varied as the number of members on this forum.

The attraction of the Leaf for me is that it is the first freeway capably, mass produced BEV...... ever! I have been waiting for it for over 30 years. This is the future or auto transportation, assuming it has one. The incentives from Federal and State governments are finite and perhaps will not be repeated again. The eTec program is surely a one-off experiment that will not be duplicated in the near future and perhaps never. The time is now.

The argument could be made that buying an electric car is a futile, symbolic gesture. Well, perhaps it is. But I feel compelled to make it and perhaps help to mold a brighter future.

 

[Train]

Indeed, buying a car can be an emotional decision. The love of cars is well documented. They sold 70,000 or so Camaros this year and I'm willing to bet because the buyers thought the car was bitchin'! Not because they needed it.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[AndyH]

Now that my RAQ opened and I have actually ordered my Leaf I'm starting to think about how I'm going to pay for it. :shock:

I'm single and currently driving a paid for, low mileage 2006 Prius. With gas at its current price I could probably get ~10K for it on Craigslist. That would be a nice start to a healthy downpayment since I want to buy and not lease and I would have only 1 vehicle to register, insure and maintain.

But about twice a year I usually go to vacation locations that are outside the Leaf's range. So, the argument could be made that I should keep the Prius for these and other 'long range' events. A counter argument to this of course is that I could rent a car for these occasions, but have you rented a car lately? The process is hardly smooth and easy and week long rentals are not cheap.

I haven't decided what to do yet but I was wondering if anyone else had wrestled with the same dilemma and what solution they wound up choosing. How many of you are going to go 'without a net'?

Jim, We're in similar positions, though I can't sell my old VW diesel for nearly what you can get for your Prius. :lol:

According to my records, I drove my VW 3800 miles last year and my electric motorcycle 1000. The majority of the car miles were either inclement weather or carrying items larger than I can get on the bike. Only four of my trips in 2010 were longer than 100 miles 1-way and any old rental car would have made the single 1400 mile round trip I took last summer. The Leaf will take care of 99% of my driving and transport needs.

I'll sell the bike and VW and merge those profits with the $625 a year insurance/registration/fuel savings and redirect them toward the Leaf.

Fuel prices are rising - this is getting to be a great time to sell an efficient car! Get plenty of pictures and put it on Craigslist, but build an ebay auction as well - high-dollar is fine as your primary mission for the auction is national exposure/marketing.

Enjoy your Leaf!
Andy

 

[perpetualstudent]

I would say rent. Stay away from airport locations and you will pay half. It also helps if you join one of the frequent user clubs. I am currently renting month to month, because we are a single car family and I decided to wait for the leaf rather than buy a car that we desperately need.

 

[csriram45]

I would not worry about the long road trips. Rental cars are always cheap and even if you have to rent for a week. I have always found great deals on rental car local or airport...

my main concern would be if the Leaf was your only car and lets say its give an average of 70 miles on 100% charge taking into factor various things.. will you be able to do everything you do with your Prius. Will there be times when u have to drive for > 70 miles on a frequent basis. If the answer is Yes then Leaf is not for you...

I think most of the people who are buying the Leaf, it will be their 2nd or 3rd car and not the primary car. With the current range limitation it is somthing that every single car owner needs to think well...

I have 2 cars currently and my first car has lots of miles. Even with 1 ICE car, I am still thinking if I should sell my 1st car (worth only about $3k). On one side I have to consider the insurance costs to continue to own the 1st car and other factors while on the other hand it gives me the freedom to take it on days when I might have to go >70 miles.

Like others said though, I should take into consideration friends and family and might be a good idea to swap the cars on such days...

I would either keep the prius or the Leaf.. keeping both for few rare occasion is just waste of money and cars do depreciate fast...

 

[Devin]

I'm in a similar situation, but with an 07 Prius. The only difference is we have two cars currently but one is already somewhat range-limited (the Civic GX). We had originally been considering selling the Civic and then the Prius would be my girlfriend's primary car and our road trip car - but the Prius is worth quite a bit more and since the Civic will take us anywhere we want to go within California we figured it would be smarter to sell the Prius and put that money towards the LEAF. The savings from not having the Prius would more than pay for a rental car (even with the age surcharge) or train tickets or whathaveyou for trips. Furthermore, my parents have 3 cars locally and 1 in Vancouver, not including their Volt which is being manufactured right now. Additionally, I don't really want to have to deal with the maintenance of another ICE car, the lack of which is a big advantage to a purely electric car (and disadvantage to an E-REV like the Volt).

Aside from all those points, what it came down to for me was: how often do I really need to drive beyond the limitations of the LEAF's range? Per year and with some planning the answer to that question could be counted on one hand. It seemed silly to me to keep a depreciating asset around only to need it's functionality so seldom, so that's why I'm planning on selling the Prius. I would probably reach the same conclusion even if I did not have access to a second car or those of my parents and only had rental car firms at my disposal.

 

[LakeLeaf]

but have you rented a car lately? The process is hardly smooth and easy and week long rentals are not cheap.

Yes, I rent a car almost every week. It's just about the simplest thing to do related to travel. Sign up for a frequent renter program (Avis, Hertz, National, Enterprise). I don't think any of the rental companies require a minimum number of rentals in order to enroll. Once enrolled, just go to the company website and reserve the car.

When you get to the rental location - especially if it's an airport - you just walk to the preferred renter area - look at the board and find your name and see what spot your car is in - go get the car and drive away, only having to stop at the exit to show your driver's license. Even at a non-airport location, it's pretty painless. Show the driver's license and they bring you the car. You've already accepted/declined insurance coverage in your online profile, so it's a pretty fast transaction.

I can be out of an airport in a rental car faster then if I parked my own car in the garage.

And weekly rates can be down right silly cheap - it all depends on where your rental location is. I was in Alabama a few weeks ago (yeah, I know you're all sorry to hear that) and a full size car was $23/day, compact car was $17.50 - both from Avis. I think if I had stayed a whole week they would have paid me.