looking to buy for prius v - Seattle

You can still get 40-42 mpg in hilly rainy moderately cold climates. Toyota is only discontinuing the car in the US, they are still selling it in Canada and Europe. In the US they have been pushing the RAV4 hybrid; more profit for them even though it is less mpg. In 2017 you could hardly find a Prius v on the Toyota lot. I would get a 2014 or newer if you buy the v; the 2012's did have a problem in their crash test that was fixed later. Other than that the car is very similar to all the other Gen 3 Prius' vehicles out there. Don't buy something with more than 100,000 miles and don't overpay. Any car except perhaps a Tesla will lose value over time. The old rule of thumb used to be 50% every three years. Obviously, a Prius may do slightly better than that if they can get $16k for a 2014. Again mileage is a big factor. Three or four years from now that car will be selling for $8k. One thing to consider is the new 2019 Rav4 Hybrid and 2019 Honda CRV Hybrids, both "compact SUVs", are extremely likely to have the same mpg or better than a Prius v. So if you want to wait and buy new next year, those cars may be a good option.

 

I wouldn't spend that much but everyone has their own comfortable price.

A private party sale with maintenance records and CarFax check is another good option if money is important. Since you are in California you should be able to find a car with the longer hybrid system warranty and that's a huge deal on this car.

Mileage is somewhat worse anytime it's cold enough to run the heater mainly because the traction battery has higher losses when its cold, but it's still far better than the CRV. Just because you own a Prius doesn't mean you have to obsess over fuel economy. I don't. Just drive. You'll be happier.

When the kids are car seat age, nothing beats a powered sliding door.

Maybe ask in the Honda Element forums how it has affected those owners since the Element was discontinued a few years back.

Do you drive at least 10,000 miles per year? At least 12,000 is better. If you don't drive a lot, don't buy a Prius. Are you sure the regular Prius won't work for you? It gets much better fuel economy.

I broke the 100,000 rule, but my 2014 was $3600. It cost me another $1000 to get it the I way I wanted it, but most of that wasn't strictly necessary. With so little in the car, I don't carry collision insurance which results in further savings. If it suffers a major breakdown or wreck, I should be able to get most of my money back out in parts. Besides there is nothing special about 100,000 except for being exceptionally round. So really the advice should be don't overpay based on mileage and condition.

My boss has a Tesla which has depreciated despite its excellent condition. Traction batteries wear out and are expensive to replace so depreciation is expected.

Your homework is to investigate the warranties on the car and especially the hybrid system warranty. The car has a lot of solid state components compared to a conventional car which increases reliability, but if you have to replace a traction battery or inverter on your own dime it's going to cost you.

 

You are hearing pure BS from some of those salesmen. You don't have to buy an extended warranty to buy the car; I would talk to the dealer's manager and write everyone's name down with their quotes and let them know a letter is going to Toyota. In fact, the smart move is to not buy it, don't add it to your financing, limit the years of the loan, save big on interest.

The v is great in rain and on hills and gets 30-40% better mileage than a Rav4. Look at my info on the left. Texas Hill Country. Many severe hills, some with curves driven at 70 mph and it is flash flood central here. I live up a private road that rises 300 ft in a half mile. No problems.

Either car is fine but the v's are in limited supply. I REALLY would wait until the 2019's arrive; you might be sorry otherwise.

Tires make a big difference on any car's handling and ride. Get Michelins when you need tires. They last me 90k-100k miles and are far superior to most factory tires.

The Toyota extended warranty is available on a used car until it reaches 36 months or 36,000 miles. There are several lengths of extended warranty, but realize that every Toyota hydrid comes with a eight year, 100,000 mile factory hybrid warranty. Plus you will get 150k-200k miles on these cars without a problem. The taxi drivers sometimes get 300k-400k and "maybe" replace a battery and a few parts. I believe Taxibuddy bought his with high miles as an ex-taxi for low dollars and is still driving it around Atlanta with passengers.

Over the pond in Europe, the Prius v is the preferred taxi, smooth and quiet, not belching exhaust into the passenger compartment and excellent on $6 a gallon gas. Just wait until we bomb somebody again and the gas prices skyrocket. Every hybrid will be gold again.

The warranty costs the dealer around $1000, everything else is pure profit for them. Don't buy warranties when you buy the car unless it's within $200 of that number. Don't finance a warranty. You pay interest on it plus a big immediate profit for the dealer. You can buy it later. You really don't need the extended warranty and will probably hit 100,000 miles by the time the car is five or six years old anyway.