Help! Need assistance with choosing the right Prius!

If you are looking for reliable transportation and can afford a newer car, I would suggest you buy the newer car. A car with 150k miles has a lot of wear, even with a new battery replacement, it's nowhere near the description of a "new" used-car. Was the replacement battery from Toyota? If not, the replacement is probably not going to be reliable in the long run. There are also many expensive components that can possibly fail at that mileage.

Paying $6200 is ideal but sometimes you get what you pay for.

 

Part of my decision, in your case, would be if I could pay cash for the 06. If not, I'd skip the Gen II and compare 30k mile Gen III or new 2013's from the dealers. What part of the country do you live in??

 

Wow...your two choices are so extreme it's hard to tell what you want.

Either NEW or a 8 model year old Prius with 150K....That's comparing an Apple....and a much, much. much, Older Apple.

What can you afford? What's your budget and comfort level?

It is pretty simple. If you think you can comfortably afford the New Prius...you get all the benefits of buying a new vehicle.

If you're not comfortable with car payments...or that level of investment, then used might be the way to go.

My logic might be a little paranoid, but I'd actually be a little suspicious of the used Prius. My thinking being, why would you invest into a whole new Hybrid Battery at 145K....then turn around and sell the same vehicle 5ooo miles later? I mean, if I was buying a whole new hybrid battery, I'd be buying it with the idea I was going to keep the vehicle for a lot longer time.

Makes me wonder if the battery was replaced...but then other problems arised?

But anyway....your question is basically USED or NEW...and you're comparing significantly older used to NEW...and that really sounds like a budget issue, only you can answer that for yourself.

 

hmmm. decisions, decisions. Paid off car is pretty attractive. I don't like payments. I'd still be leery of an 8 year old vehicle though. If it were me, I'd probably still look for a Gen III with low miles to compare and then check the new 2013's at a dealer too. In Austin, they have some big incentives on the new 2013's.

 

Go for the deal that Toyota is doing right now for the 2013's or find a gently used, low mileage Gen3.

I see you are from the midwest, howdy neighbor!! Im in Michigan. Prius are very reasonably priced here, so if you near Michigan and cannot seem to find "the one" switch your search to Michigan

 

You have to decide your financial situation in whether or not you can afford to make the payments on a newer car. If you can't or don't feel comfortable with doing so, you can consider the higher mileage car. The car having a new battery (hopefully Toyota), is a good start. Keep up the maintenance and it can last you for a while.

Keep in mind you may get into a situation where a repair would come up and end up costing $3000. If this type of expense is a deal breaker, then I would suggest you don't look at a used car with 150k miles.

 

I agree.

 

True true. Im looking at the bottom line. Because you stated you'd like to keep financing to a minimum. To me, that means financing the least amount possible. I get it, Im the same way. Alas, why I ended up buying a used 2007 Level 5 instead of a nice and shiny 2012 (at the time- I bought my Prius in Sept 2012).

A 2010 Prius III with 38,000 miles for $16,000. Perhaps you offer $15,000 and it gets accepted. so Lets say $15,500. 2.99% interest. 2010 Toyota Prius III
A bank note at 2.99% for 5 years is $278.45 according to bankrate.com's car loan calculator.

A 2013 Prius III with 0 miles for $26,854 at 0% financing.
New 2013 Toyota Prius For Sale | Troy MI
A bank note at 0.01% (it wouldnt let me enter all 0's!) for 5 years is $447.68 according to bankrate.com's car loan calculator.

I didnt take in account your down payment. But you can easily plug it in here: Auto loan calculator - Bankrate.com



If money is an issue for you and you do not like car payments drawn out for a period of time, then I'd go with option #1. If you want to pay $10,000 extra for a brand new Prius and get 3% less interest, then by all means - get the 2013 Prius.

 

I paid $13k for my 2007 with 54,000 miles in Sept 2012.

Of course, I opted for a Gen2 instead of a Gen3 so we are comparing apples to oranges vs. comparing apples to apples in your case.
Used Gen3's are much selling for much cheaper now compared to when I bought my Prius, otherwise I would've bought a Gen3. I simply did not want a big/long drawn out car payment. I hate having financial liability.

 

10 years from now both cars will still be running and worth about the same amount. The $15-20k you saved by buying the older car could be spent on an appreciating asset (ie house) or invested and you would have $20-30K in the bank and a good running used Prius to drive.

My opinion

 

This is very optimistic. You sell used Prius cars for a living so your response might be a little biased. A car that's new will not have the same amount of repairs as a used car. Yes they both can last 10 years however one will cost much more in repairs before it gets to the 10 year mark.

 

Well, your traction battery is covered for 8 years/100k miles. Unless you live in a CARB state and that bumps up the warranty to 10 years/150k miles.

Really, knowing what I know now, if I were to be in your spot right now... I'd be looking for a good deal on a low mileage 2010 Gen 3. You'll get the newer design, a newer powertrain, and a newer battery warranty

 

I don't know what rust does to Prii, that being said I would go for new and I would take a deep breath and buy a Prius 4, the power heated seat, and all the other stuff are worth it. It is a good time to buy, remember low gas prices =low Prius prices, come summer when gas prices are up Pruis prices will rise, both new and used. bargain hard and remember the 0% deals mean you leave $1000 on the table for the dealer-there is no such thing as a free lunch, so run the numbers carefully.

 

I just bought mine. 2010 Model 3 with Nav, tinted windows and 37k miles. I paid 16,250. I found a decent selection of 2010-2012 with mileage ranging 29k-59k for 12500-19000. I selected mine because I wanted black, I liked the low miles and it was in cherry condition.

 

But don't tarry too long; the '13s might not be available very long.

AND.....if you don't do a lot of high speed highway driving, don't overlook the C.
It really is pretty nice.......for a little car.