Would you rather buy a 2008 Prius with 100k miles or a 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage with 40k miles?

How many miles do you drive in a year?

If you don't drive that much, no need to get a hybrid that's eventually going to need a costly battery

 

If you're driving 15k miles a year, you would be better not buying an 8 year old hybrid. They have a battery that dies around the 10 year mark and replacement for a NEW battery is around $3000.

With today's low gas prices, you won't see that savings when compared to a smaller car that give 30mpg

 

In your case I would go with the 6 year newer 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage assuming it has a good vehicle history.

 

I was talking with the service manager at Toyota of Bend this week. He said that in his ten years at the dealership, they have replaced six battery packs. None of the vehicles had less than 200,000 miles on them. The cost today: a little over $2000 installed.

 

I'm not sure where "Earth" is but down here in the south, a six years newer a/c system would be a huge PRO in favor of that vehicle.

 

Tewie, you don't mention how the cars are equipped, how thorough the service histories are on them, your driving style and what type of driving you'll be doing with the car.

I absolutely love the Prius but if you're using the car in a fairly normal manner and you're a fairly normal driver the Mitsubishi with 6 years/60,000 miles less wear and tear on it is probably a better deal.

 

I am not sure I would want a new Mirage.

2014 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Test – Review – Car and Driver

 

In some ways, I think the question means more than any answer.
Coming into to "Prius Chat" and asking whether you should buy a 8 year old Prius with 100K miles or a 2 year old Mirage with 40,000 miles?

That's an Old Orange to Newer Apple comparison.

If your criteria is "reliability, fuel economy, cost of insurance, and maintenance costs" I'm not sure I'm thrilled with either choice.

A Prius would win hands down in terms of reliability and fuel economy, however at 8 years old and 100K miles, used...with no information about maintenance history or upkeep, you are definitely in the range where things could start to go wrong That would be true with ANY vehicle, with a 100,000 miles on it.

As others have said, a Mirage? I'm not sure I want that vehicle....period.

If you have a budget that can afford either...then I'm voting OR....
You should be able something that is better in term of that parameters in which you seek.
Keep looking.

 

What is your current vehicle, Tewie? If you have an old econobox now getting a Mirage won't seem like a major change. If you drive anything else, you most likely will not be at all satisfied with a Mirage.

What are these cars going for in your area? Outside of California, a 2014 Mirage with 40K miles shouldn't be more the $7000 ( I wouldn't even pay that much - I would be tempted if the price was say $5000 but then again, nah, not even that cheap).

You'd be much better off getting a Yaris instead of the Mirage as the choice opposite the Prius. A 5 year old Yaris will definitely outlast a two year old Mirage.

 

mirage. and no, you're not seeing things.

 

That price sounds too low for a new battery from a Toyota dealer. I recently replaced the HV battery for my 2006 Prius at 250K. The cost was around $3500 at Longo Toyota in southern California.

 

i've seen as low as $2,400. installed. lowest i've seen for a battery is $2,200. so that's cheap labor. it's hit or miss, and there's a thread here somewhere.

 

I agree. Tewie only presented us with the two options but there are a lot of other cars in the same price range with under 100,000 miles on them that are very good, dependable cars.

 

From what I heard Toyotas in general are damn reilable and Prius's can last a long time depending on how well you take care of them. The mileage on a car means nothing. I bought my 2009 Prius with already 160k miles off the lot about a month and a half ago and the car still runs great. No parts have been replaced or accidents of two owners before me. These cars are used as Taxis alot and many of them with 300-600 miles on them, still with the Hybrid battery!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Immediately coming to mind are the Yaris, Corolla and Honda Civic. I'm some other people will chip in with some others.