Advise on whether I should keep my new Insight or get a used Prius...

Here's my advice:

1. It is really costly for you to change your mind about the car you are driving. Each time you purchase a vehicle represents another profit opportunity for the dealer and a way for you to be separated from more of your financial resources.
2. You are thinking about buying a used Prius which is supposed to be priced at $9K to $10K, and the idea is that you will pay $300/month for 60 months. Hence, you will be paying a total of $18K.
3. Since you want to terminate the Insight lease early, it sounds like you will have to pay $3K to get out of that lease. (It was a mistake to lease the car if there was any significant likelihood that you would not keep the car for the entire lease term.)
4. $10K for the Prius plus $3K for terminating the Insight lease = $13K.
5. Doesn't it seem silly to you, that you are asked to pay a total of $18K for a transaction that should only cost $13K? This is a really bad deal for you and a great deal for the dealer.
6. The Prius may in fact be worth $4.5K after five more years. Whatever the value is, that is irrelevant to my analysis in #2 through #5 above.
7. If you are determined to early-terminate the Insight lease and buy the Prius, you should arrange your own financing instead of accepting the dealer finance offer which has an extremely high interest rate associated with it.

 

Regardless of what you call the Insight payoff, the bottom line is that you need to pay $3K to be rid of the Insight, and $10K for the Prius. That is a total of $13K. If you are being charged a 2.6% interest rate over 60 months, the monthly payment should be much less than $300.

 

Yes. If the total transaction costs $13K, then the monthly payment should be $231 over 60 months. To the extent that the actual number is greater or less than $13K, just prorate the monthly payment accordingly.

 

Your not happy with what you have , found a deal that will make you happy , go for
It , no more night after night thinking about the mistake ... As for the money ,
Some times money does buy happiness

 

Hmm, the choice is between continuing the lease on an almost new Honda Insight or replacing it with a 6 year old Prius that already has logged 101K miles. From what you have written, the monthly payments will be about the same (although I do not understand how that could be, see my previous comments above.)

If you really can't stand the Insight, then I suppose you will need to make a change. However, you say that your luck with used cars is not very good which is why you decided to lease the new Insight 5 months ago. Therefore, I hope that you have a four-digit contingency repair budget available in case the Prius starts to develop problems.

 

Consider this fact.

2600 miles in five months time equals out to about 6000 or miles per year. I am trying to base this on what little data is provided.

So with five years time passing, that would make the Prius 12 years old and at least 130K on the odometer.

You haven't said anything about the traction battery or the transaxle being replaced in that car. Either one of those will be a hefty 3 to 5 K repair figure that could very well be incurred during your time of ownership on said Prius you are considering.

Does it make sense to buy a used car and finance it for five years with high mileage such as this one? IMO it is a big risk that you are taking.

If you don't like the insight, go ahead and get shed of it and pay the 3K difference. But don't go out and buy something used with high mileage and finance it for five years. If you have to finance, have good credit and can afford it as you say you will be better off buying a new 2014.

Then you won't have to worry and you will be free from the Insight. Your payments will be higher, but like you said you can afford it.

If you have 5 to 8 K in the bank you could spend on repair of that Prius if needed and don't mind spending it down the road, then go ahead and get it. But in the long run you are paying out way too much money in my book for what you will be getting. You would be better off completing the lease and not take a loss, then finding something you like at that point rather than refinancing the 3K plus taking a risk on with a high mileage used car.

 

Have you considered selling the Insight yourself (if you can, I don't know how that works with a lease)? Maybe you can get more that way.
As has been said, with a Prius with that many miles, make sure you have a few thousand set aside for repairs.
Do all CVT Insights have the same "stumble" issue off the line, or is it just the way you're driving it? Have you asked about it on an Insight forum? Seems like its working well for you mileage wise, if that's your only issue, I would see if there's anything you can do about it, first.

 

I do agree that there a several in the 2K and 3K groups. But be aware that there are also quite a few post's here on PC about transaxles failing and traction batteries needing to be replaced. The bulks of the reports range anywhere from 8 years and 101K miles to 10 years and 150K plus, however there are also reports of failures in less time and miles.

I understand you are unhappy with the Insight.

But you do need to understand that anytime you "refinance" such as what you are considering, you will be losing money. Plus in the end you will have a car that will likely need to be traded soon and have to spend more money. Take a few moments to think about the what if's and the future. It's all about risk. You would be better off paying off the 3K out of your pocket then refinancing the amount.

If you really want to save money, consider completing the lease and saving some money towards a down payment on a new Prius. If you were to do that and put down a large amount of cash, your payments would be considerably lower plus you could get the next gen Prius you dreamed of. That was your thoughts three months ago according to your post here on PC.

 

As much as you may dislike the Insight, I think you'd be putting yourself in a very undesirable position financing a car like that.

 

Exactly what I was popping in to say!

I once bought a 2004 Sebring Limited (4 door, not the drop-top) brand new at the chrysler shop with my dads discount. Traded in an SUV for it. Right away, I hated it. Even though I bought it brand new, off the dealer lot with 14 miles on the odometer, I had constant transmission problems.

10 months later, I traded it in for my 2002 Envoy. I got the Envoy for a very good deal, it was 2 years old and I was able to get it wholesale. Therefore, the most unfavorable hit I took on the negative equity on the Sebring was a less jagged pill to swallow.

I never looked back. Kept the SUV for 8 years, just sold it last year to get the Prius. I paid it off early, in spite of the negative equity rolled over.

If you can afford it like you say, then what are you waiting for Austin!?

 

Where does the $17k owed figure come from? Is that the current buyout number from Honda? If so, you might consider buying out the car and selling it yourself - you'd likely come out much better than just taking the dealer's offer.

The other option is to try and sell the lease via one of the sites that specializes in this.

 

Why not sell the lease? There are websites dedicated to this kind of issue.

We bought a lease from somebody before, a GM vehicle - we paid $300 fee, everything got switched over to my name and we took over the payments. Turned the lease in at the end of the term, all was well.