We did it !!!! .....ordered a Toyota 2020 Prius Prime XLE

GKL · Jun 9, 2020

davidlhyde63366 said:
Will she let your detecting gear in it.

Hey, she already had us but a heavy duty tarp to go in the hatchback part (the back seats fold down) of course she likes the tarp for putting groceries from shopping on so the carpet is protected if anything leaks.

(so if I happen to use it to go detecting it's prepared :lol:

)

…...of course as far as detecting I'd probably take the Kia more because my wife might want the Prime available for days when she needs to do some running. That's fine with me because I usually stay in the local area to go detecting so I wouldn't be in the car that long anyhow.

chipset · Jun 10, 2020

MuddyMo said:
I don't need their calculator. I had business where I drove 60-80k a year so I had to "do the numbers- fuel, deprecation, tires, oil changes, interest or lost return on investment $ etc. My brothers bought hybrids for great mpg but only drives 5-10k a year. They're hybrids get 50 mpg compared to my 32 so figuring 10k miles/yr with fuel at say $2.29/g they only save maybe around $250/yr. Your situation may be different but they won't make up the difference in purchase cost.

Welllll, buying a plug-in hybrid right now may be a bit different because the difference in purchase cost may not actually exist.

I also have a Prius Prime that I bought right around the same time as GKL. Here in New England, Toyota was offering $3000 customer cash. There is still a $4500 federal tax credit that can be claimed, plus the discount that you negotiate from the dealer. The total purchase cost can end up being the same as a non-hybrid compact or mid-size car. That's what sealed the deal for me. I am getting the fuel economy and reduced maintenance of a hybrid for the cost of a conventional gasoline vehicle.

GKL · Jun 10, 2020

chipset said:
Welllll, buying a plug-in hybrid right now may be a bit different because the difference in purchase cost may not actually exist.

I also have a Prius Prime that I bought right around the same time as GKL. Here in New England, Toyota was offering $3000 customer cash. There is still a $4500 federal tax credit that can be claimed, plus the discount that you negotiate from the dealer. The total purchase cost can end up being the same as a non-hybrid compact or mid-size car. That's what sealed the deal for me. I am getting the fuel economy and reduced maintenance of a hybrid for the cost of a conventional gasoline vehicle.

Good points chipset !!!!

What's helping us is that we put about a little over half down so we only had to finance a little less than half, and the finance manager had a coupon that effectively brought our interest rate to zero ! Since we make more than the minimum payments we will pay it off faster like we did our Kia.

I'll talk more about our Prime later, still learning more of the neat features !

MuddyMo · Jun 11, 2020

chipset said:
Welllll, buying a plug-in hybrid right now may be a bit different because the difference in purchase cost may not actually exist.

Congrats on your prius's. I hear they're great cars.
My post was about my brothers and their purchase's. We all have V8 4WDs and I've been running what I call a go-cart vehicle for years to save $. They decided to do the same but chose hybrids. They thought by getting vehicles with 50 mpg compared to mine getting 32mpg was a good idea but they didn't do the numbers. THEY will never recoup the difference in THEIR purchase price vs mine buying a used 4cyl vehicle because THEY only drive 5-10k miles a year. One brother bought an older Prius for $2k more than mine, a 4 year break even point and if he needs a new battery that's another $4k. The other bought a hybrid and paid $15k more than me. His personal property taxes, higher insurance cost and depreciation will more than eat up his fuel savings. THEY I repeat THEY will never save any money by buying their hybrids as compared to my gas burner. Again congrat on your new cars. I'm not a "car guy", to me they're just a tool to get the job done.

GKL · Jun 11, 2020

I got Amazon Alexa working in the Prime and it is really neat !

We can do pretty much most of the same things as we do with Alexa in our home, even turn things in the house on and off from the car.

I can ask where are the closest..... (Walmarts, Burger Kings, ect) and Alexa will show a list on the 11.6 inch display screen, when I pick one it will show where it is on a map and even give you voice directions.

You can ask Alexa the weather, news, time, play music, pretty much whatever you would ask it in your house.

…..as neat as all the tech stuff is in the Prime, the best thing is being able to plug it into a regular outlet at home to recharge it and being able to drive it in EV (electric-only) mode !

GKL · Jun 11, 2020

I'm getting more educated as I can, the Toyota web site is a big help.

From their FAQ page on the Prime:

https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/faq/

"What is MPGe?

This helps compare the mileage of driving in EV Mode 72 to the commonly used mpg figure for gas vehicles. So by driving Prius Prime in EV Mode, it receives an EPA-estimated 133 MPGe. 9 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the mpg equivalent (MPGe) figure to convert the measurement of power used by plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and others not powered by liquid fuels into something that resembles the more familiar mpg rating.

Here's a link to some of the pics they have:

https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/photo-gallery/interior

It includes:

Exterior (14)
Interior (11)
360 Views

GKL · Jun 14, 2020

I really like being able to plug our car into a regular 120 volt outlet and recharge it like I am recharging my smartphone, I guess it's our smartcar :lol:

GKL · Jun 22, 2020

Got a canopy put up to keep it out of the hot sun !

Here it is at night with the solar string lights
(car is easy to see in person, but phone camera mostly just shows the lights)
(the solar lights are from Amazon: Toodour Solar String Lights, 72ft 200 LED 8 Modes Outdoor String Lights)

Donut · Jun 23, 2020

No thanks , not here in Michigan.

GKL · Jun 23, 2020

Donut said:
No thanks , not here in Michigan.

I understand, I've heard about that lake-effect snow during the winter up that way !
:lotsasnow:

GKL · Jun 27, 2020

Well, got a 2nd canopy up next to the first one, actually looks better to me than just having one, and it really looks neat at night with the solar powered string lights !

davidlhyde63366 · Jun 28, 2020

Should cut down on the sun and rain beating down on your cars. Your new car ports could double for a big outdoor party with those lights.

amc rulz · Jun 28, 2020

Donut said:
No thanks , not here in Michigan.

I’m six miles out from a city of 30k, I have to park my ‘13 Fusion in the winter as it’s useless :lol:

...We got’s to have a 4x4 ‘round here because of snow. I have to pull my wife’s Equinox out of the ditch or driveway (300’ drive) a few times each winter. Still I’d never trade winter for the heat of the south.

KingTotsalot · Jun 28, 2020

amc rulz said:
I’m six miles out from a city of 30k, I have to park my ‘13 Fusion in the winter as it’s useless ...We got’s to have a 4x4 ‘round here because of snow. I have to pull my wife’s Equinox out of the ditch or driveway (300’ drive) a few times each winter. Still I’d never trade winter for the heat of the south.

Oh, amc rulz! KT would never trade the cold of the north for the heat of the south! :shock:

!!

Where KT lives, His Majesty can ride His Royal Steed 10 months a year, pays no tax, license fees, no insurance, and gets over 90 mpg, fill up is a gallon, and can find a parking spot no matter how crowded the lot is! Sure He cannot ride faster than 37 mph, but in town the speed limit is 35! And one other thing, riding the Royal Scooter is the original form of social distancing!! :lol:

GKL · Jun 28, 2020

davidlhyde63366 said:
Should cut down on the sun and rain beating down on your cars. Your new car ports could double for a big outdoor party with those lights.

Especially the sun, it's amazing what a difference in temperature inside the car it makes from having it shaded instead of sitting in the hot sun, not to mention the damage the UV rays can do to the paint over time.

We have a separate canopy in another part of the yard we had for years to use as a place to relax outside in the shade and have used for an occasional rare outdoor picnic, my wife is not keen on eating outside and battling the bugs, so she prefers indoor picnics :lol:

I'll relax there with our dog when taking a break from yard work, my wife will relax from yard work there too times when she is able to help with yard work.

(It's been about 3 years since we replaced the top cover on that canopy so it is about due for a replacement cover by the end of the year if not sooner)

Here is pics of that one in the daytime and at night:

amc rulz said:
I’m six miles out from a city of 30k, I have to park my ‘13 Fusion in the winter as it’s useless ...We got’s to have a 4x4 ‘round here because of snow. I have to pull my wife’s Equinox out of the ditch or driveway (300’ drive) a few times each winter. Still I’d never trade winter for the heat of the south.

We grew up in Baltimore Maryland before moving to South Carolina about 15-16 years ago, that's not as far north as you are, but we had our share of snowy winters, some where I spent about 3 hours digging our car out of a parking spot, the thing is in Baltimore we still had some pretty hot and humid summers, so moving south did not change the summers too much, but now at least winter snow is extremely rare :lol:

GKL · Jul 9, 2020

The Prius Prime has a display that includes a continuously updated combined average MPG (MPGe) (combines average of both electric driving and hybrid driving).

The average has continued to go up the more we drive the car, I read that even over the first year it can keep going up till it gets closer to the max possible average of 133 MPGe. (depending upon your driving habits and how much you need to occasionally use the hybrid mode in addition to the electric only mode)

As of right now it has gotten up to an average MPGe of 84.9 :shock:

......not bad at all, compare that to the best MPG you might get with a regular gasoline-only car !

davidlhyde63366 · Jul 9, 2020

Your patio cover doesn't look to be in that bad a shape could you treat it with a new coat of water proofing instead of replacing it?

GKL · Jul 9, 2020

davidlhyde63366 said:
Your patio cover doesn't look to be in that bad a shape could you treat it with a new coat of water proofing instead of replacing it?

Thanks for the idea, but the UV deteriorates the material to where eventually it just needs to be replaced, I can likely hold off till Spring to replace it, should be close to 4 years by then, that is actually pretty good for tarp material in the harsh southern sun.

shellhouse · Jul 11, 2020

Sweet ride. 303 Marine Aerospace Protectant Ultimate UV Protection could help on the new canopy. I use it on tires, hot tub cover, and stuff like that which have sun exposure

GKL · Jul 11, 2020

shellhouse said:
Sweet ride. 303 Marine Aerospace Protectant Ultimate UV Protection could help on the new canopy. I use it on tires, hot tub cover, and stuff like that which have sun exposure

Thanks, and I appreciate the tip also !

I'm not sure if it would be needed on the new canopy though because it is already supposed to be very highly protected against UV, but I'll keep your tip in mind for other possible uses.

Here is a link to what we bought and below the link is a quote from that page:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G7Q1WC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00

"50+ UPF SUN PROTECTION: Cover is made from polyethylene and treated to block 98% of harmful UV rays"
(end of quote)

We did it !!!! .....ordered a Toyota 2020 Prius Prime XLE

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