I'm interested in getting a Prius with the ATP package and I found a 2010 Prius Five sold by private party for $17,000 and also a 2012 Prius Five certified for $22,000. Both have ATP. Both have about 45,000 miles. What would you recommend?
If you have the money, get the 2012. It has a different, newer looking front end and rear tail lights. Also all the mystery defects from the early 2010 are not on the 2012 model. But the negative is, on the 2012, you lose the automatic parallel and reverse parking feature. They decided it was a useless feature that nobody would use. But it's just a bragging thing to have (my car parks itself)
i would check the service and accident history for both. after a long test drive with a weather eye on the mpg's and listening for any odd noises, all things being equal, i would buy the '12. but if you want to save money, go for the '10. don't forget to lowball both of them and negotiate the heck out of them until you get their bottom line. you may find that helps you to decide. all the best!
If you do private party, make sure you get it to a dealer to do a "used car inspection". I tried deal after private deal here in Greece, and every single time they discovered serious issues with the cars. Bunch of charlatans! I ended up getting disgusted and gave up on the local market. I located a car at a Toyota dealer in Germany via mobile.de so I took a morning flight and by 4:30 pm I was driving on the Autobahn with my new car . In Germany when a dealer says top condition, it really means top condition!
