I'm looking into buying a Prius as my first car purchase, and I've been exploring the options/packages and took a test drive. I had a couple of questions: 1.) A CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) 2010 Prius 5 with 46k miles comes out to $22k OTD (Out the Door). Is this reasonable, or: 2.) A brand new, 2013 Prius 2 for the same price OTD. The HID Lights, navigation, alloy wheels, camera, hill-assist are all "Would like to have", so not absolutely necessary.
I went through a similar thing when I bought mine in 2009 (debated between Touring Gen 2 vs Base Gen 3). You can't go wrong with either. That said, used is usually a "better deal." But 22k OTD on a new car is pretty good too. Make your decision and stand by it.
Since the last year I moved, I would say < 15k miles per year. 60% city, 40% highway. Straight cash (or if we did do financing with the 0% APR, I would just pay that off almost immediately).
I'd get the new car with 60 mo 0% interest. Take your $22k and invest it in a good low cost mutual fund and make 5% or more per annum on your money! That's $1100 per year.
yeah i would go with the 2013 over the used car. in 5-6 years you'll be paid off and only have 50-60k miles on the car vs 100k. Just my thought.
I would go for the new car, hands down. You really don't know how well the used car was maintained. The used car is already gone through one quarter to one third of its expected life. Philosophically, I know they say buying used cars is a better deal, but I don't care. I have been burned more than once. I now go new whenever possible.
A 2010 could well be 4 years old by now. The extra frills of a 5 in no way offset 3-4 years in my mind even if I knew cars the complete history. I believe that all Gen 3's have alloy wheels and hill assist but HID stopped with the Gen 2 because of replacement costs.
If it were me I'd buy the new car. For me many of the options that you listed on the used car would not be anything that I would care about. I have heard a great deal of grumbling about the factory nav system and hill assist seems a bit silly. Brighter headlights are a big plus is your night vision is not great. The only feature when I was buying that was a must have was the rear camera. It is nice to have, but I find that I use it only rarely - only if I have the car packed up or if I'm parallel parking in a tight spot. If this is something that you wanted you can add an aftermarket system.
On the want list for car buying. Reliability trumps features and options. Newer is usually more reliable. If you still want to indulge yourself, step up to a three for another $1500.
I would always go NEW, never know what the other one went though................... in it's past life
New because there were refinements since the model year 2010 Prius. Plus the new front end looks saweet Mike
I have a friend [who I would never buy his used cars] never changes oil or filter drives hard until wheels fall off
I bought a 2010 Prius Two with < 18000 on the odo 3 weeks ago for $15900. I could've bought new, but I prefer pre-owned, provided I'm fairly comfortable about the condition/history of the car. The reason for my preference (besides letting someone else take the depreciation hit)? With a new car, I constantly worry about EVERYTHING - when is that first scratch going to occur...the first ding...the first dent...oh my god is that rock that kicked up going to leave a dent????....etc... I seriously lose sleep over such things with a new car. With a pre-owned...none of that! First scratch is already there and not my fault, so why worry about it anymore? No need to do a walk around every time I approach my car to look for new damage! It's honestly a relief!
Navigation, HIDs, and alloy wheels don't justify 46K miles to me, although the camera is a necessity to me.
