Who Says Cars Aren't an Investment?

In article >, Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses are selling
> for as much or more than new ones. One apparently sold for $31,000.
> Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction them off on eBay
> for a quick profit...

This really is proof that math education in the USA is rather poor.

"Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message
...
> The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses are selling
> for as much or more than new ones. One apparently sold for $31,000.
> Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction them off on eBay
> for a quick profit...
>

You can't buy a Prius for MSRP, though. Well, odds are a worse than a
snowball's chance in hell.
The graft of the dealership is anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 over MSRP.
Prius has a demand and buzz that's even bigger than the PT Cruiser and the
VW Beetle, relative to the supply.

In article >, Magnulus wrote:

> The graft of the dealership is anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 over MSRP.
> Prius has a demand and buzz that's even bigger than the PT Cruiser and the
> VW Beetle, relative to the supply.

The joys of a perception based society.....

Magnulus wrote:
>
> "Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message
> ...
> > The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses are selling
> > for as much or more than new ones. One apparently sold for $31,000.
> > Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction them off on eBay
> > for a quick profit...
> >
>
> You can't buy a Prius for MSRP, though. Well, odds are a worse than a
> snowball's chance in hell.
> The graft of the dealership is anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 over MSRP.
> Prius has a demand and buzz that's even bigger than the PT Cruiser and the
> VW Beetle, relative to the supply.

Really? A local dealer has run an add with a price below
MSRP. I think dealers plant stories like this to con the
weak willed.

Ed

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:39:31 -0400, Magnulus wrote:

>
> "Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message
> ...
>> The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses are selling
>> for as much or more than new ones. One apparently sold for $31,000.
>> Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction them off on eBay
>> for a quick profit...
>>
>
> You can't buy a Prius for MSRP, though. Well, odds are a worse than a
> snowball's chance in hell.

That's because people are stupid. Even at $5/gallon a Prius' total cost of
ownership is much higher as the one of any comparable small economy car -
and that's not counting costly repairs to the battery, which has a limited
lifespan.

> The graft of the dealership is anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 over MSRP.
> Prius has a demand and buzz that's even bigger than the PT Cruiser and the
> VW Beetle, relative to the supply.

It's a fad. The people, who drive Priusses do so, because they want to
look intellectual, not because they care for the environment. It's the
Volvo of the new decade.

Chris

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 11:36:17 -0500, Brent P , said the following in=20
rec.autos.driving...=20

> In article >,=20
> Scott en Aztl=E1n wrote:
> > The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses
> > are selling for as much or more than new ones. One=20
> > apparently sold for $31,000.
> > Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction
> > them off on eBay for a quick profit...
>=20
> This really is proof that math education in the=20
> USA is rather poor.=20

That and the "must have it now," entitlement to the utmost in convienence=
=20
that people are accustomed to these days that they are willing to pay=20
thousands over MSRP for a used car rather than wait a couple of months=20
for delivery of new one...

In article et>, Paul wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 11:36:17 -0500, Brent P , said the following in
> rec.autos.driving...
>
>> In article >,
>> Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>> > The KTLA Morning News reports that *used* Toyota Priuses
>> > are selling for as much or more than new ones. One
>> > apparently sold for $31,000.
>> > Maybe I'll buy a Prius or two for MSRP and auction
>> > them off on eBay for a quick profit...
>>
>> This really is proof that math education in the
>> USA is rather poor.
>
> That and the "must have it now," entitlement to the utmost in convienence
> that people are accustomed to these days that they are willing to pay
> thousands over MSRP for a used car rather than wait a couple of months
> for delivery of new one...

The thing is, besides the look-at-me-i'm-driving-a-hyrbid factor, I was
refering to the cost analysis. They think they'll make it back on fuel
savings, but unless gasoline hits $4-5 a gallon they would have been
better off with a conventional gasoline powered car of similiar size with
the best available fuel economy.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:35:22 -0700, "C.H." >
wrote:

>It's a fad. The people, who drive Priusses do so, because they want to
>look intellectual, not because they care for the environment. It's the
>Volvo of the new decade.


Really?

And you know this how?

When I considered a hybrid, it certainly wasn't because I wanted to
look "intellectual". Believe it or not, some people actually give a
**** about the environment.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:20:26 -0700, N E One wrote:

> On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:35:22 -0700, "C.H." >
> wrote:
>
>>It's a fad. The people, who drive Priusses do so, because they want to
>>look intellectual, not because they care for the environment. It's the
>>Volvo of the new decade.
>
>
> Really?

Yes, really.

> And you know this how?

I see the same idiots that usually are driving very old Volvos strutting
towards their new Priusses, maneuvering them ineptly out of their parking
and driving off.

> When I considered a hybrid, it certainly wasn't because I wanted to
> look "intellectual". Believe it or not, some people actually give a
> **** about the environment.

So do I, which is why I don't junk my non-hybrid car and buy a hybrid
vehicle that takes a lot of energy to produce and uses a lot of poisonous
chemicals in its batteries, which have only a very limited lifespan, but
rather accept a lower mileage.

Even if my car was old, junking a perfectly good driver to replace it by a
questionable hybrid is not an economic or environmental decision but a fad
for misguided and uninformed people.

Chris

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:20:30 -0700, "C.H." >
wrote:

>On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:20:26 -0700, N E One wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:35:22 -0700, "C.H." >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>It's a fad. The people, who drive Priusses do so, because they want to
>>>look intellectual, not because they care for the environment. It's the
>>>Volvo of the new decade.
>>
>>
>> Really?
>
>Yes, really.
>
>> And you know this how?
>
>I see the same idiots that usually are driving very old Volvos strutting
>towards their new Priusses, maneuvering them ineptly out of their parking
>and driving off.

And this includes every driver of every Prius or other hybrid you've
ever seen?

>
>> When I considered a hybrid, it certainly wasn't because I wanted to
>> look "intellectual". Believe it or not, some people actually give a
>> **** about the environment.
>
>So do I, which is why I don't junk my non-hybrid car and buy a hybrid
>vehicle that takes a lot of energy to produce and uses a lot of poisonous
>chemicals in its batteries, which have only a very limited lifespan, but
>rather accept a lower mileage.

Forget your red herring about replacing a perfectly good car, since
it's not safe to assume that people wouldn't be replacing their old
POS as I was when I considered one.

Quantify the environmental costs of producing these batteries vs.
those of burning a whole lot more fossil fuels.

Is it really more costly?

No fair assuming the batteries will be disposed of improperly - assume
they are disposed of properly.

>
>Even if my car was old, junking a perfectly good driver to replace it by a
>questionable hybrid is not an economic or environmental decision but a fad
>for misguided and uninformed people.
>

Prove it then. Show us that producing the battery for 1 hybrid car
is going to be worse for the environment than all the extra fuel you
would burn in a regular old gasoline engine.

I'll be very surprised if you can.

>Chris