Hey folks! I was planning to buy the all new 2023 Prius Prime for my food delivery gig with DoorDash, but after doing the math, this makes little sense, since I'll be putting 4,000 miles on the car every month. So my question is, what would be the "best" used Prius with these requirements: - max $15,000 - max 90,000 miles - most reliable model year for the price What models and years should I avoid?
avoid 2000-2009, too old. avoid 2010-2015 too many problems 2016 or newer is good. can you really make money putting 50k a year on cars?
I retired early 10 years ago and got tired, doing nothing worthwhile anymore. I like to drive around, now I get paid for it, and I get to socialize a little. So far it comes down to 30 bucks an hour. I drive for about 3 hours in the late evening, 5 days a week, so its about $2,200 a month. With a hybrid it will be 2 grand after gas. I could buy a sports car from that money. Well I already own one. Either way, I'll just put a deposit down for the new Prius. I like the looks, and up to 60 MPG is new territory for me.
Not likely. It’s all about the generation. gen 2 was a beast, but too old now. Gen3 was tweaked poorly, and has egr and brake actuator issues among other things,. Gen 4 has been great and hopefully gen 5 will be. Corolla will use the same technology
Don't forget the prius c. Same powertrain as gen 2, but with a few modernizations. They kept the beast part: it's among the most reliable cars you can buy period. Within them, get the youngest you can afford, and watch out for the 16" wheel option... you don't want it because it kills the maneuverability and gives you a huge turning circle. Opposite of what you want for delivery work.
I thought prius c used gen 3 technology and following problems. All are high dollar Head gasket failure Brake booster problems Piston ring problems
Nope. Gen 3 moved to the 1.8L engine. The c model kept the old 1.5L from the gen 2. The c got its own brake booster- same technology, but not the same part number and it seems to have worked out fine. No widespread reports of brake booster failures in the c model. The piston ring problems seem to have stayed with the 1.8L engine. Again, just not much record of that problem or associated oil burning in the c models. About the only bad thing I'll say for the c is that it is slightly harder on its battery than the big Prius, because the battery is made of slightly fewer modules yet the overall vehicle weight isn't that much lower. So instead of expecting the hybrid battery to last 10-15 years, I expect 8-12 years from ours. The c model was unpopular because small hatchbacks were unpopular, not because this was a bad one. If you like small cars and mostly drive alone, these are simply brilliant. Yep, that's the exact car I'm talking about and this would appear to be a good example at least as I can tell from here using only a web browser. The price seems crazy to me, but all car prices seem crazy to me lately. Many dealers struggle to identify which trim is which. This one appears to have been correctly identified. If it has a split rear seat and a manual twist key ignition, it's a Two. The 16" wheel option I warned you about was only available on Fours, so you're clear. Worth an up-close look.
Well... no dealer could be specific about the new 2023 Prius availability, let alone for the prime, and I didn't want to mess around with a used car. I found a white Corolla LE Hybrid with convenience package, on a lot not too far away, at MSRP, and just picked it up. Drives super smooth, I'm impressed. Seeing 56 MPG so far. The gas savings, compared to my old work vehicle, will pay 70% of the monthly loan payment. No more worries about my minivan breaking down. Haven't used my single cab truck in a long time. Today was the day.
Congratulations! I just got a 2023 Corolla hybrid LE black in late November. I just went over 800 miles on the odometer. Mostly short trips (2-8 miles round trip) averaging 54 mpg on the 1st 2 tanks, but usually on my 4 mile round trip return trip from the Home Depot/ Target shopping center I get 82-88 mpg, my guess is it is already warmed up. Filled it up today $2.75/ gallon $25, expected mileage to empty 590 miles
Nice! I'm thinking a good proportion of people who were thinking of buying a 2023 Prius (for economy rather than styling) will go for one of these instead.
This was me. But the 2023 having substantially lower MPG rating (esp on highway) compared to the 2022 is what made me look at the Prius instead. Also the very small digital instrument cluster display on the 2023 Corolla Hybrid vs the 2023 Prius. I love that the prius can display so much info at the same time. Having said that, the 2023 Corolla does come with some very nice upgrades over the 2022 Corolla. I also think convenience package is the way to go. OP made the right call, esp if doordashing - congrats to them! Also happy to hear about the great mileage they are getting. That's fantastic
Yeah, I'm over 53 mpg on mine, I just went over 1000 miles on it. I think that it would be >54 mpg, except that most of my trips are between 1-4 miles in the city
Nice ride! Make sure you change out the oil at around 500 miles to flush out any shavings/metal stuff in there from the manufacturing process. (If you look at the oil, you'll more-than-likely spot little metal things in there and also inside of the oil filter...I did in my 2021 Prius.)
I put the first 4k miles on it and no issues so far. Changed oil at 600 miles, was pretty dark, no metal glitter to be found. Next change will be at 5k miles and then every 5k. For the last week I pushed that little engine a lot, making some good money DoorDashing. 200 bucks a day are possible within 5 to 8 hours. Seeing 51 MPG with a heavy foot, 54 when being very careful. While the new Prius looks better and is faster, for this gig job its not worth it paying 5 to 8k more. That being said, I may become a Toyota fanboy because this Corolla is so tight, easy to throw around corners, free of rattles and shows good build quality. Eventually I see myself also owning a Sienna that I will convert into a mini camper, much like my Dodge Grand Caravan. I'll sell my truck... keep the Vette around, for now.
