Purchasing Question

welcome!
that's a big range, 2010-2015. i would try to stay with 14 or 15, due to the blown head gasket problems.

what is your budget? a gen 4 would be your best bet, or even a new prime may be available for around 20k.

 

gotcha. it's a tough used car market these days. all you can do is look around and educate ourself on prius frailties.
an older prius with some miles on it could be expensive to maintain, unless you are a serious diy'er.

 

this information would be great up front. If not, we believe you can make a new car purchase.

 

Where would this 20k new Prime be located? I'd like to buy one.

 

I think I asked the same question....

You'll have to find a dealer than has them sitting unwanted on the lot and is offering incentives.
(I couldn't find any in my area or any of the other regions I looked at...)

I also thing the "sub-$20K 2021 Prius Prime" depends upon you being eligible for an electric vehicle tax credit or rebate of $5K or so.

Best price I could find on a new Prime was about $32K

 

Used car prices are a bit crazy right now, and used Prius a bit more so. A better way to go about it might be to see what listings come up at your budget price point, then see what condition they are in. I would also suggest planning on having $2-3k on hand for possible repairs as older Gen3 have a number of known problem areas.

Once you have done all of that then you should also look at what you can find for a similar Corolla, Yaris, Civic, or Fit. The mpg won't be as good but these are all pretty good cars that generally will do better (ie,.more reliable or less money to repair) as they age compared to a Prius.

Be sure to have any pontential purchase inspected by a competent mechanic.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

What he said.

If for no other reason than that a conventional car of any brand can have most of it's maintenance and repair done at any shop; not so for a hybrid.

And the "premuim" you pay for a hybrid will likely never be recovered by spending less for gas.

 

northeast, see the prime pricing thread.

check out post #4873 as an example

 

Car prices in most parts of the country are SKY HIGH right now.......and likely to stay that way for at least another 6 months or longer until the new car inventory builds up again.

So.....I suggest that you look at other low mileage, recent model small (compact) cars.......like a Corolla or even smaller if you can stand it.
The highway gas mileage should be close to what a hybrid gets........because the extra battery equipment really doesn't do much for you at steady (high) highway speeds.

Once you get an idea of what might work for you, a search of Internet forums for that model of car should get you some "real world" gas mileage numbers.

Good luck.

 

Banking on fuel savings by getting a used hybrid is a chancey gamble. Any savings can get wiped out by one or two high ticket (Prius specific) repairs.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

This. At a Gen 3 Prius , even at the latest one (2015) you are pushing on 6+ year old battery (which is decent and not bad). You might get a "deal" for a nice used one but the repairs are going to catch up to it soon.