[USER]

My husband would like to buy a Tesla Model Y but I’m of the camp that we should run our cars into the ground first. We’d be replacing our 2015 Prius V that has less than 100k miles and runs perfectly.

His two main arguments for buying now are the following: the Prius’ battery will be costly to replace in the next few years and we should sell while we can recoup half of what we paid for it (according to Kelly Blue book) and EV cars’ substantial tax credit will most likely go away next year under the new administration. His commute is less than 3 miles from home.

Financially, even with 0% interest for 5 years, that’s still $500 more a month we could be investing.

We did the math and it’s potentially another $5-7k more we’d have with compounded interest in 5 years depending on how the market does but assuming around 7%.

The biggest downsides I’m concerned about is the lack of space in fitting 3 car seats in that thing for our three kids though we’d mostly drive our Sienna and the higher insurance premiums if it’s classified as a “luxury” vehicle as some are.

Arguments for buying an EV now (doesn’t have to be Tesla)? Should we wait a few years?

Arguments for running Prius into ground?

[Warren]

We own a 2010 Prius hybrid with 144K miles. Our hybrid battery and the car overall is still going strong today. We also own Tesla cars and bought them even though our Prius is still running well.

We enjoy driving the Tesla cars much more such that our Prius has been relegated to back up car (< 500 miles driven annually).

My spouse loves her Tesla. It gives her a lot of joy. Buying our Tesla cars did not impede our FI goals. So, no regrets in our household. Everyone is different though.

My take.. make pros and cons list as well as financial impact scenarios and go from there.

1) Keep Prius
2) Sell Prius and buy new model Y
3) Sell Prius and buy pre-owned model Y?
4) Sell Prius and buy pre-owned model X (more space for kids)? Also, Xcare warranty available.

[Scott]

3 whole miles. He should probably get the hummer EV. Math would say deal with the Prius until it breaks. I’m pretty sure your husband is saying he wants a cool car.

If it doesn’t interfere with your goals, get the cool car.

He’ll owe you one for when you want something that makes no sense.

[Krissteen]

Things that we didn’t know until we own the Tesla: insurance is 2x to 2.5x our normal full insurance coverage, and registration for Tesla is 2x to 3x our normal gasoline car…

What you save in gasoline, technically you pay back with the insurance and registration…

[Dew]

This depends on a few things. The first is what do you value? That’s the tricky point here because you don’t value this purchase at all, whereas he does.

The second thing is your financial situation. Would buying this car set you back from your financial goals?

How much longer would it take to reach FIRE if you buy this car?

If it doesn’t set you back much then I think it’s ok to cave in and buy something your husband values as long as it’s not a slippery slope.

However if it’s going to set back your FIRE plans then see if you can show him the math using one of the FIRE calculators so he can see why buying such a thing would be responsible.

Ultimately this seems like a difference in lifestyle choices. I’m biased since we drive the same car your husband is eyeing, but prior to that we drove a Kia optima for ten years.

I’m glad we went though that phase but let me say I’m putting that sort of lifestyle in the past.

It just feels way different to drive a new car, especially something fun like the Model Y.

One middle ground here is you could buy the Tesla but with the promise of driving it into the ground instead of being tempted to upgrade to the next best thing in a few years.

[La]

Tesla is equivalent to maga hat these days so that’s something to keep in the equation.it may or may not age well.

The promise of tariffs makes me want to make all planned big purchases today.

[Lee]

This should be a fun thread to watch! Sounds like a desire more than a math equation. I chose to have less economic cars for my enjoyment, knowing that it came at a cost.

However, the fact that you need 3 car seats, simultaneously, sounds like you already have math problems — that was a joke (kind of).

[Author]

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