My wife had a Corolla when I met her. it only had 60,000 miles and was falling apart. I quickly got her in a Loaded AWD Fusion SEL. That was a great car. She only got rid of it because she wanted to sit higher. Traded for an Escape Titanium.
Anyone, who pays $5000 over MSRP for a Toyota gets wacked over the head double whammy time. Toyota's are already more pricey to start with, compared to Hyundai's for example, and do not come with a 10 year warranty on the drive train. The extra $5K over MSRP buys a hella lot of gas. In addition, in case you think the extra $10K for a hybrid Toyota, over a regular gas model, is worth it, keep in mind that you'll never make up the extra cost in future gas savings. Makes no financial sense! However, "if" you can score a Maverick Hybrid at MSRP, that would be the best economical new car you can buy.
I bought my first Toyota Highlander hybrid in 2006 off the boat. I wanted a Lexus but the hype on them was too much. Had to get on a waiting list for a Lexus. Did you figure in the tax rebate in 2006 for hybrids. I sold my last Highlander Hybrid this month for a VW ID4. Wear and tear is considerably less than strictly gas. Regenerative braking saves an enormous amount on brakes. Trade or outright sale was great. All that aside many people used to tell me a hybrid would never pay for itself. 17 years of Toyota Hybrid driving saved me money. My least considered reason for buying a car is wether on not it will pay for itself. I don't think the extra (and it wasn't $10,000) was worth it, I know it was.......and I never had a car that paid for itself.
I bought a 2006 Highlander Hybrid AWD Limited w/3rd row, in 2005 for 37,890, with a tax rebate of $3400, a gas only Hybrid AWD Limited w/3rd row was 31,860 for a total difference of $2630 and drove it until regretfully i treaded it on a new 4 Runner in 2013. I had about 110,000 miles on it. The 4 Runner was not what we wanted and went back to Hybrids in less than a year. Hybrid got 33/28 mpg. Regular gas Highlander AWD got 18/24. I can't find a $10,000 premium anywhere. Tax rebates went down as certain numbers of cars were sold. I actually only kept the first one for 8 years so my friends wouldn't judge by my "outdated" car.
I bought it at 2006 prices, not todays prices. Your logic escapes me. if you want want to inflate only the premium to todays prices then do it to all the figures, not just the premium. Should i get to inflate the tax credit only in todays prices? My $2630 dollars in 2006 is worth $3945 inflated dollars today, not $10,000. I'm happy with what i did and secure and confident in my figures.
