I have decided to trade in my 05 RL after only 10 months (had a TL for 5 months prior to that) for a 2006 Toyota Prius. I attribute this up or down grade (however you look at it) to the fact that I accepted a new position at a new company where I will be needing every ounce of savings.

Being that the RL is truly a tech's dream car, the Prius is just that. There are so many new things in this car that the RL did lack (primarily the dialpad feature in the on-screen display) but the experience has been just a lot of fun. I do feel stupid at times or "green" or just plain ridiculous that I can't cruise down anymore with some ridicule but hey, its my car and I should learn to be proud of it.

www.priuschat.com seems to be a very inviting forum with another breed of electrical nerd gurus that have modded to Prius so much. From back up cams with a toggle switch to DVD players in the Nav display, seems like I should have my hands full for a while.

You guys have been great all around and I'll miss my RL (SH-AWD, plushness of the leather, compliments of how cool the car is, etc) but with no regrets (a few) I will drive at at speed limit with a 55.5 mpg smile! *cheers*


BTW, I do have a Covercraft Sunshield visor that I bought for $75 which shields a lot of heat from the interior. It comes with a good case too. I'll be entertaining any offers. It fits both the TL and the RL. Any takers? I accept Paypal too!

 

sorry dude......no amount of explaining will justify the trade of a RL to a......a......Prius?

 

Yeah...I did get a chance though to show it to a few friends today and they were pretty excited. I was even more excited that they liked the car. I can see it getting boring fast, but you are right...there is no way of explaining or having a good reason. Money does talk though and my current situation supports the trade. I hope to see this forum in the next interation of the RL!

 

So... you had a 2005 TL (03/29/2005), then not even 5 months later you traded to a 2005 RL (08/06/2005)... now (07/11/2006) you traded the RL in for a Prius...

I suggest you hang onto your Prius longer than you did to the other 2 cars.

Anyways... what kind of incentives (i.e. tax breaks and etc) are there for people who drive hybrids in Florida?

 

You have paid tax and license on two cars in less than a year. That's gonna be at least 6 grand. How much gas does 6 grand buy? Not to mention the loss you had to have taken on your RL. You probably threw anywhere from 12 to 18 grand out the window. How much gas would that buy?

Sounds like throwing good money after bad.

 

You guys definitely make good points. I did dig myself into a huge hole, but finally, I do think that I'll be keeping this car for the long haul. Incentives remain the same as they do in other states such as the tax refund and the HOV Sticker deal. But as of now, I'm still new to the whole thing.

The taxes itself definitely did kill me, but the higher monthly payments, gas, and insurance added up (yeah probably lower too) and somewhat did just make the month to month seem a little bit more stable. I know that I didn't do a good job or am far from it. If I did have to do it all over again, either keeping the TL or actually keeping my first car would have been more ideal. It's a freaking hard lesson. A $20K lesson that has parlayed itself into each other loan over and over again.

 

Well, at least you'll now be able to savor the aroma of your own gas....

 

Too bad you had to trade the RL in. I do find it kinda funny how you are trying to justify it in your orig post acting like the Prius might be on par because of something like a touch dialpad. It isnt bad to just flatout say the Prius isn't an RL.

I hope you get great mileage but no way you get 55mpg.

Anyway, enjoy the car and hope you can hold onto it for a while and not take hits with quick car trading.

Oh and do realize that the money lost on the RL and taxes, etc will take YEARS to make up in gas but hey, if the monthly's are a lot lass then that factors in too...just don't think it makes financial sense because of the mileage unless of course gas skyrocketed to 10 bucks a gal soon. hehe.

 

Not to mention the fact that if you hold on to it for a few years, you'll have to replace the batteries -- which will cost you more than you've ever saved in gas.

 

DUDE:
1) Ditch the new job - it's not worth it. Bag groceries if you have to.
2) Good News: you can sell the um... Prius (it hurts just to type these letters) at a profit no doubt; just find some 'green' type.
3) Get your butt back to the Acura dealer, beg for forgiveness, and demand a good deal.
4) ENJOY!

 

A family member of mine just purchased an 06' prius with all of the electronic goodies. The best he has been able to achieve gas milage wise is 43.3 (mix of city and hwy). Which is still awsome. But man those wheels are small..makes me laugh.

 

Don't let eveyone bring you down. Yes, the depreciation loss, etc. will take time to make up, but cash flow is cash flow, and sometimes you gotta do these things.

Lesson learned, and move on. Don't look back.
Enjoy the new car. It's not an RL, but you'll find enjoyment in it.

Heck, I went from a new M5 to the RL. I still enjoy the RL even though it's definitely no M5!
(my reasons were different, but still... I can relate to the feeling)

 

I agree enjoy the Prius, I am sure the reasons make sense to you... and that is what matters.... I have been there and done that....best of luck.

 

Hey the guy admitted he screwed up. That takes guts to do that. Props to him. I won't pound on him anymore.

Cars are a bad investment!

 

did you know honda hybrid cars get better gas milage?

 

Hey Tareal, I wouldnt mind having that CoverCraft Sunshield if you still have it. Send me a private.

 

Let's see; assume the Prius gets 40MPG ave and the RL got 20MPG and you drive 12K/yr at $3/gallon. $900yr delta, heck let's round up to $1500 against the RL. Depreciation hit and taxes against the Prius. I think you're going to have to drive a Prius until the earth cools to break even. I can't imagine driving a Prius for 5 years or more.

Your exactly the kind of customer a dealer loves.

Keep the board posted on how you feel about the prius over time. I hope it works out for you.

 

You guys are definitely awesome! I just had a collegue of mine today (a day too late) how much would I sell the RL for. Of course, I couldn't go without telling him to get a new one at the dealer for $43K. So, I don't feel bad. He actually even told me to ditch the future job and just go back into doing what I was into before. "You don't even have a family yet!" he exclaimed with a disappointing knod. Driving the Prius definitely does get you some bad and good looks. I do hate being categorized as "green" but who cares. I have a girl and she knows me well. The dealer financier even asked if I had a girlfriend because he knew what I was getting into isn't the best chick magnet. =)

Batteries are going to be a bit*h, but if that company in CA is doing an outfight that lets you plug in an change then out, it might be worth the upgrade later on (after 25 years of paying this whole ordeal off). Cars are definitely the worse things to financially be burdened with with the exception of a school loan, but what else can I say? I have my life ahead of me to never make this mistake again and hopefully pass on some reasonable knowledge. =)

I definitely get excited when I get in the car and am able to play around with it. Going into the "glide" mode rocks (only battery power and engine is shut off) and just trying to maximize the mpg. It's a game in and of itself. The acceleration isn't there, but filling in that void of luxury and plushness is the continuing gadgetry that is in the Prius. Plus, there are quite a few mods on it too. And yes...these mods are very minimal in cost (<$10 at Radio shack)

 

OMG, you shouldn't be confessing these things on an internet board but only to a priest. You're filling the void of plushness, lack of girl attraction, and luxury with the thrill of maximizing MPG and <$10 Radio Shack mods? You could have put a hot tub in the RL for what you lost on this deal. You're 24, buy a Hemi.

 

The RL is a chick magnet? At least with the Prius you can get the ones who don't shave their legs (!).

 

Yeah, and they're cheap dates, too, because granola and soy milk don't cost much....

This thread has me giggling.... Good luck with the new ride!

 

I didn't necessarily think of the RL as a chick magnet but when comparing it to the Prius, it definitely is. I guess it is all dependent on which chicks you want to attract, but I could do with granola and soy milk, but the shaving of the legs...can't do that. To say the least, I dislike being classified or stereotyped as "green."

 

Might I suggest a Honda FIT? Or perhaps a Mini Cooper (massive chick magnet and a hoot to drive).... or a Mazda MX3 5-door sport (which you can get with leather and a navi system, and not feel like you're giving as much up?) All of these are priced around the area of the Prius or less, get pretty much the same gas mileage, and are, well, COOL as opposed to the "Rolling Birkenstock."

And granola babes are fine, and the spirit of "free love" ain't quite dead, if you don't mind that they're all now usually Wiccan and stink of patchouli. But the crunchy Wiccan ones also tend to be bi-curious, so......

 

Am I the only one who smells a troll?

 

Two guys in a Mini Cooper... boyfriends. Two guys in a VW Beetle... boyfriends.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that)

 

Yeah...but two guys in a Prius?!???!

 

Life partners? hehee... j/k

 

What an assenine comment. If you're driving an Escalade should I think you're a black homey ? Or if you're in a Corolla should I assume you're Mexican or a Rice-man ?

I bought a Mini Cooper convertible (as a second car) because our Infiniti G35 sedan was (a) averaging 12MPG [primarily city driving] and (b) it had the same 'utility' as the RL.

To be perfectly honest, the Mini is better in just about every driving aspect than the RL. Steering, braking, throttle - you name it.

 

Well, duh -- it's 1/3 the weight, has an engine with a nice flat torque curve, and has a sport-tuned suspension.

But that's not the point, is it?

And for the record, I think one looks a lot less fey in a Mini than one would in a Beetle.

 

The Beetle was an option (as were a Miata and used 325Ci) but I couldn't get past the image of flower petal wheels...

 

lighten up lindros. Mini's are very fun cars to drive, but you have to admit there's a feminine quality to them. Even so, I'm considering one as a track car because they're so fun to drive, and economical.

That being said.. there's not a single thing masculine about a beetle. Those cars are 100% female. When I see a male driving one, I assume several possibilities about that person:

1) He's gay
or
2) It's his boyfriend's car
or
3) He's very gay
or
4) He's queen of his castle

Any car that has a little flower holder thingy inside it... I mean come on.

 

Oh, I know. Stuff like that simply can't be tolerated by you manly butch cowboy types in Tex-ass

 

Just make sure you have a hot woman with you and are secure in your, er, manhood.

Now maybe it's because I live in San Francisco that I think gay men and women own Mini Coopers but the car does have that reputation. Just don't wear your white tee shirt, blue jeans, crew cut, and black leather jacket when you drive it!

 

http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayprodu...tp/gaycars.htm

I've driven Mini Coopers. The 'S' model is tons of fun. I just wouldn't own one but they are cool cars with bad ergonomics.

 

Damned straight!!!

Sounds like you need to lighten up too.

 

The Beetle is definitely feminine. Hence the limited market (that an an outdated platform).

I took more offense to the MINI comment since I just bought one.

After a little getting used to it's not bad (ergonomically).

 

Hey it's alright. I thought your comment about Mexicans/Asians and Corollas was amusing.

 

My mom has a Mini Cooper S. Of course it's automatic .

I agree with the Beetle comment. Also, 2 guys in a convertible anything (except supercars) are generally boyfriends. Trust me, I've seen it.



Anyway, wouldn't the OP miss the luxury of the RL? For me, anything less luxurious than an EX-L Accord isn't going to cut it.

 

must...resist....commenting...on... youngTL's....icon....

oh, crap, I just did.

 

Funny link.