I've finally decided to go for a Prius. I'm just looking for some opinions as to whether I should buy new or used. I would really like to have leather seats, and navigation would be great but it's not worth shelling out a lot of extra cash for it. I can get a 2011 prius four with leather seats without navigation for 27,000 with zero % financing or I've just come across a used 2011 Prius four with leather seats, navigation and only 16,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, I can't get 0% financing on the used one. In the end, they'll both come out to about the same cost. I'm just not sure which to go with. Any suggestions?
We are extremely happy with our 4 without NAV....Couldn't see paying the $2000 for NAV especially when we have a Garmin with a lifetime upgrade package. My wife does enjoy the JBL sys with Sirius as well as handsfree phone use. Some people don't like to have the NAV sitting on the dash and would prefer to have it built in....and are willing to pay for it. Of course the upgrade DVDs cost more than the lifetime garmin upgrade.
I have the Toyota nav system because it is part of the ATP and I wanted the radar cruise control. The Toyota system does get me where I need to go but I don't think it's as user friendly as my old Garmin. In general the only good thing about built in nav systems is that they are built in. If I were in your situation I would go for the new car without nav.
It's not that difficult to remove the head unit and install a NAV head unit. Check out this video. From what I've read people like some of the after-market NAV units better than Toyota.
I used Nav on my smartphone last night and it got me home (as if I needed it) perfectly. I wouldn't pay the extra for Nav from what I hear about it. Good luck though and welcome aboard!
Keep in mind that nav also includes BlueTooth audio streaming (which I use every day with my iPhone). If that's not important to you, I think the new car w/o nav is the way to go. New car, 0% financing. Plus, I hardly ever use the nav function, and you can get aftermarket devices that enable BT audio streaming if that's important to you.
With the zero % available the new one is the way to go -- all the money you are spending is going towards the car . If you decide to get rid of it the new one will be worth more the then used on at any given time. In some states Why would you get a used car for the same price as new one with a full warranty? I bought a new five for less than thirty thousand zero for five years -- Are you getting the sun roof? I priced out a four no sun no NAV for less than 27k. It is a shame that Toyota does not offer a simple sunroof -- the solar roof is overpriced for what it is and does for the car
I'm not too crazy about the NAV as it has a pretty crappy screen. If I had a choice, I'd do without and use my iPhone instead. I'd totally get the hi res screen in the upper trim 2012 though. In reality, most of us don't bother upgrading if it's less than 5 years old. Once the OP buys it, it'll be a used car and they're both the same year, so it really boils down to whichever car has more miles at the time of selling rather than the presence of NAV.
32kcolors -- It will not have the extra 16k on it so -- so at any given time the the new car will be worth more ......... this is especially true when the used car is no longer covered by the factory warranty and the new one is. At 2.9% it is worth 2.5k and at 0% it is worth over 4k -- the new car is the way to go ...make sure that you have GAP coverage on a 5 year loan. 0% no money down is a very good deal
Thanks so much everyone, you've been really helpful. I think that I'm now leaning toward the new with 0% financing. You make a lot of sense. One last question: do I need navigation to have the rear camera? I think that it would be pretty helpful.
Yes for the factory system you do, and it is a very valuable feature because this car doesn't have a real great view out the back. But there are some pretty good after market rear view camera systems that can be added. You may find some information in this forum: Gen III 2010+ Prius Audio and Electronics - PriusChat Forums
Yes ... You do need the NAV to get the back up camera. The car does have a blind spot. Driving for two weeks and about 1k miles I have become more comfortable with the car and so the backup camera will be less important to me as time goes by. But this car will be driven by many people - so I felt that it was an important feature for me to get .. even with the high cost of the NAV package. The same goes with the cost of the sun roof. When I finally decided on the getting the NAV for the camera and to not get the Sunroof because of the cost -- I went with the five package w/o technology since they don't come with the roof anyway and I felt that the LED headlights and the wheels were worth the $1200.00 or $20 a month. You may want the roof
If it helps any, I have a 2011 Prius III w/Nav, and it can't find it's way from Carmel, ME to Nashua, NH. It tries to take us off the the west on every exit along the way.......the very long way there. And, I have the settings set correctly.
sounds like your getting a great deal on the new car, if you were saving a considerable amount on the used rig it might be worth it to have a small interest rate but it sounds like the depreciation just isn't enough to make up the difference.
