2012 Prius 5 w/ATP 27K Miles.... $23K... Should I?

Good morning PriusChatters!

Well, I have found the car in the subject line... Only feature it doesn't seem to have is the solar/sunroof. It came from FL (Which to us in MN usually means flood/hurricane car). Carfax looks decent... Owner traded it in at a Chevy dealer near Orlando and then they pretty quickly sent it off to auction, which is how it ended up up here.

It seems like a screamin' deal... $35,000 car, 1.5 years old for $23000. It's not certified, our local dealer does this "Lifetime Powertrain Warranty" thing where if you perform all scheduled maintenance at their facility, they cover the powertrain as long as you own the car. I'm sure this does not include the battery, but that's covered to 100,000 miles anyway.

Something in my gut is saying there's something wrong with this car. I'm probably going to be able to make it over there today to look at all the body panels, etc.... but I'm more worried about water damage.

Thoughts? Encouragement? Caution?
Would you take out a 6 year loan on this car to make the payments more affordable? I'd love to have all the fancy stuff (radar cruise control is my favorite thing, probably ever, and heads up display is just plain nifty).

Thanks for the feedback!

 

My thoughts exactly.... CarFax looks good. No wrecks/reported damage.... But yeah, I'm just not super confident with it... but it seems like such a good deal... hehehe.... dangit! I'd love to own that color combo (Blizzard/Dk Grey) with that feature set... and this is about the max my budget can handle, and the cheapest I've seen an ATP car priced at.

Would you concern yourself with Toyota Certified? That's essentially just an extended warranty, and they tend to be about $1K more than non-certified... and I've never suggested anyone to get an extended warranty. But, when considering spending $20K+ on a used car, it seems like an attractive thing...

 

Also turns out that the dealership group it was traded in at was a Toyota dealer. The fact that they didn't want to sell this car tells me something. I think I'm talking myself right out of this car already. Keep the comments coming if you want. Interested in people's thoughts... Thanks everyone.

 

I'm in Eden Prairie/Twin Cities area. I do have a mechanic friend that will look at it for me if I decide to move forward, and that is a good idea.

 

I also can't help but wonder if I should just wait for the 2015... will I kick myself if I buy this one now and the 2015 is even more the perfect car for the long-haul ownership plan? hehehe...

 

Thanks, Bucco, for the very well thought-out response! I agree with the financing for 3 years or less. Unfortunately, I've never been able to do that. I would agree that I have more expensive tastes than I should, but I love quality, and features. I've researched "consumer/commuter/road trip" vehicles essentially non-stop for 20 years. I've honed in on what I find is a perfect value, even if the cost is a little more than I'd prefer. To me, the Prius 5 is essentially a Lexus at, as a used purchase, a bargain price. My thought is if I purchase a vehicle with all the gadgetry that I find irresistable now, the likelihood of needing to change/upgrade/replace prematurely goes down. Plus, everyone keeps saying the Prius is a 200,000 mile vehicle even in the worst conditions (a friend of mine has beat the crap out of his (5 accidents) and it just turned over 200K, still runs like new). I bought my smart hoping it would last 200,000 miles, but I don't think that's likely at this point (90K). Plus, it's fine for just me commuting or running errands, and parking, of course, is ridiculous... but other than that, after 6 years, I'm kind of tired of it. (I can't believe I just said that! Sorry smartie!!). I want quiet and smooth, and I want to improve on fuel efficiency.

So, a well equipped Prius seems like the way to go. And I feel better (for some reason) stretching my budget for a newer one with less miles than finding a slightly older/higher mileage cheaper one; in the name of long-term-trouble-free ownership.

And yeah, I'm a geek about cars... the Prius 5 gets me all excited! ;o)

 

PS... do we have any thoughts on when we think the 2015's will become available? This fall? Next spring?
Do you think the 2012-2014's will drop in price significantly when they come out, or do you think that's already happening?

 

So, just a quick update... I went and looked at it, and LOVED IT!!!! Everything checked out... all body panels, etc looked unaltered. No moisture issues. Only two problems were allignment (pulled to the right slightly) and driver's door interior panel was broken (as if someone leaned REALLY hard on the arm rest and snapped it). So, I went home and crunched some numbers, and while I could make it work now, have decided (for now) that some aggressive debt reduction is in order first. If I buckle down for the summer, I should be in good shape by fall. if I can hold off until mid-2015 (when the new version might be out) I could have nearly everything but my mortgage paid off. So, we'll see. Now I have a carrot dangled in front of me.

There's still a part of me that wants to change my mind and make it happen... If I do, I'll take pictures. )

Good suggestion on the new 2014, but I really want all the toys (and have realized just how wonderful the lumbar support is on the 4 or 5). The radar cruise control, LED headlights and 17" wheels really make the car feel far more upscale and enjoyable for potentially longer ownership.