Car Shopping Part 2

So we went out and did some more research on vehicles. We took a look and sat in a few different cars, compared their roominess and convenience for carrying a baby and baby equipment. We also looked a fuel consumption and of course, sticker price. We’re now narrowed the field down to two options: the Toyota Matrix FWD or a Toyota Prius.

These two cars have come out tops for us in terms of reliability, cost of ownership (including fuel consumption and maintenance), potential resale value and convenience. They’re baby-friendly in the way their doors open and for putting things in the back. Both cars have about the same amount of space for baby car seats and carrying strollers, both have split fold-down rear seats, and both have reasonable amounts of headroom. The Matrix scores a bit higher in terms of space over the Prius but not radically. The big question that remains now is whether we buy new or used.

We ran the numbers on fuel consumption vs. gas price both for what we’re paying at the pump today as well as the peak gas price we saw last summer. The range is C$0.96/litre today to the all-time high of C$1.52/litre back in August or September. The lowest price we’ve seen since September is C$0.85 and that was only a couple weeks ago. The results? Based on 25,000 km/year (about 18,000 miles/year) we estimated we’d save between C$700 to C$1,120 per year in gas costs buying a Prius over the Matrix. As well the overall maintenance costs of Prius are lower than a Matrix but we didn’t bother putting that into the mix.

A new 2009 Prius costs about C$31,000 vs. $23,100 for a new Matrix. Which means it would take 7 years for the gas savings at the maximum gas prices for the Prius to recoup the initial cost difference over the Matrix. And at current gas prices, it would take over 11 years. As much as we’d like to get a Prius, this doesn’t really make much economic sense to us right now.

Then we noticed a few used Prius cars on the market for between C$21,000 for a 2004 with 50,000 km or C$24,000 for a 2007 with 40,000 km. When we compare these two Prius prices against the new Matrix, the numbers are more favorable – we’d recoup our costs immediately with the 2004 Prius and within between 2 and 4 years for the 2007 Prius. This makes a used Prius a very attractive option.

However we now have muddied the waters as were then told about the upcoming 2010 model Prius which will have even better fuel economy and features, as well as the Honda Insight which is being released in a couple of months. Both of these cars are very attractive from a pre-release perspective but we’re not sure we can or want to wait for them.

To muddy the waters more, we saw a number of used Matrix cars available for various prices. We now are contemplating buying a used Matrix (2005 to 2007 model) instead – despite the gas savings of the Prius. Our train of thought at this point is that we can pay off a used Matrix much quicker than either of the previous options, and then in 2 or 3 years if we really want a hybrid we will have more money saved up and more options to choose from.

Choices, choices, choices! We’re now going to ask a couple of the sales people we talked to if they have any used Toyota Matrixes that meet our specs. More news as it happens!