Prius-owning conservative
So the time came for me to buy a car for my commute to class and to help family and friends with chores.
I decided to go with… a 2004 Toyota Prius.
Why? Well, Toronto traffic is dreadful, and gas prices would kill me. And it was reasonably priced (under $8k before taxes, which was my self-imposed limit). And I want to do mini-road-trips when the feeling strikes me, and the limiting factor on those trips would be, well, gasoline prices.
The image of Prius owners gives people like me hives. But you know what? I’m a cheapskate.
Buying a new hybrid is silly — you pay more than you save on gasoline. Buying a used hybrid (less than 1/3 of original price) that still has many years and kilometres of use left to it? That makes lots of sense.
And the car is rather striking.
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But it does have an image problem.
So what do I need to do? Well, first I’m going to order a “Harper Leadership” bumper sticker.
Then, I’m going to have to find the funniest American conservative/Republican bumper sticker available on my next trip Stateside.
Finally, I may have to get an OFAH license plate. (They did good work on the gun registry.)
At that point, I will have decontaminated the Prius brand.
And what the heck, the car’s already scratched up, so a keying or two won’t matter.
I’d say that buying any new car is silly – the depreciation in the first year alone is terrible!
I’ve had a 2007 VW Rabbit for a little over a year. It’s a great car. I think I’ve spent about $25 on maintenance, and have another year left of warranty.
Buying a new car makes no sense unless you have to do it for professional reasons — i.e., you have an image to keep up that is worth more to you, in dollar terms, than the premium you are paying.
I meant to get a moderately used Elantra or Focus, but they were a bit more than I wanted to pay. Was willing to go up to $10k. Probably should have looked to rental companies for their used cars.
But I’m actually really happy with this purchase. (Provided it doesn’t become a lemon!) Have been browsing Prius-owner internet fora, and it looks like it’s got a sub-culture not unlike the various cell-phone and tablet PC sub-cultures. Lots of knowledge, modification possibilities, etc., etc.
It’ll get me around the city, and hopefully often on battery.