Do you know which is smarter? New Prius 2 /2014 vs. Used Prius 2/2011 or 2012?

Didn't say I agreed with it, but having had to buy a $5,000 engine just after the warranty expired, I can't fault it or extended warranties either. I think he mostly wanted new, but we all get to make our own choices and I try not to criticize anyone for theirs. Even with the $5,000 engine, I still think I did better by keeping mine for 16 years and 162,000 miles, though I don't have numbers to back that up. What I spent in other repairs, he spent in the purchase of the next car. It would be nice if he had the purchase prices for his last 16 years, maybe I'll remember to ask him.

 

I bought used--certified pre-owned 2011 Prius 4 with 18,900 miles with leather, solar moonroof, nav, touchscreen, bluetooth, JBL sound, 3 months free satellite radio, etc. This was $5000 less for the exact same package (sans the Entune) in a new car. Mine is "like new." I required leather seats so I looked specifically for a 2011 or 2012 with low miles. Depending on what you desire, new may be the better way to go for you.

 

My '04 Prius has ~ 170k miles. At first my daughter balked at my $7000 price, but after looking around for other cars in her Portland Oregon market she conceded that she was getting a fair deal, all things considered.

I figure she will end up paying about $100 a month in capitalization costs (or my wife will force me to do the repairs for free.)

 

Absolutely not.
There is a law preventing this:
Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reader's Digest Version: They have to honor the warranty claim unless they can prove that the backup camera (or any other modification) actually causes a problem.
Also: You do NOT have to have anything at all done at a dealership in order to preserve your warranty. You have to document the maintenance - but writing it down and keeping receipts qualifies.

I would be wary of this dealership.

Good Luck!

 

You're welcome.

I would be wary because THEY should be answering your questions instead of us.

Priuses are pretty darned good cars.
I know....because they won me over after a fight.....(long story.)
However (comma!) some of the dealerships aren't quite as darned good.

Good Luck!

 

I think you will be much happier and better off going with the new one. That is a good price for the new one. You will have a new car and you can drive it for a long time with no problems.

 

I didn't mean to imply you did agree. I was just stating that I don't understand that type of logic. I'd be very interested to see some financial analysis on this method as opposed to someone who keeps a car to 100,000 miles or more. What went wrong just after the warranty expired that cost $5,000? I should mention I have no concept of what repairs actually cost because I've always done them or helped my dad do them for me.

 

There generally isn't a lot of markup in new cars. I found TrueCar to be pretty good. Also if you have a dealership near you that works with them you're guaranteed to get the TrueCar price. I'd still check with another dealership that might not be a TrueCar partner and see what they could do, it might be better. I ended up going with one that isn't a TrueCar dealer and got a price a little above the TrueCar price but I've established a working relationship with them and will go there for service. They are also a lot closer to me than the TrueCar dealer who is about 50 minutes away vs the 5 minutes for the local one. The TrueCar dealer never called me back, so that lost them business right away.

 

At 21.3k, the best negotiation is to grab the car and say thank you.

 

In order to negotiate a car (or anything) you need clout. In this instance, the dealer wants to make their monthly numbers (reason why end of the month is a good time to buy a car) and the salesperson wants the commission. You hold the key to their desires. Decide what price you will pay (be realistic) and tell them if they can meet it you will sign on the spot. If they decline your offer, walk, but then call them back in a few days and ask if they have changed their mind. Tell them you would really like to buy from them because they're convenient, have a good reputation, etc. but you just can't afford to pay more than XXX. It also helps if you have 2 dealers to play against one another. Based on what you have said, and my recent experience, I think the dealer has at least a $1,000. wiggle room.

A person with the skills to figure out what might be wrong with a car, how to fix it, how much a repair should cost, etc. is going to have a very different outlook on the subject of buying new vs used. It helps to weigh these factors (among others) against your personal situation before making a decision on a used car.

 

Very true, but in the end a two year old car has used up some 10 - 15% of its road life. For a $20k car that works out to between $2000 - $3000.

One other aspect of buying a ~ 3 year old car: that is around the time tyres and more involved maintenance will be due. The maintenance can be inexpensive for a DIY'r, but the tyres are $500.

The times I have analyzed this choice, it comes out to enough of a wash that I always prefer not having the uncertainty of how a prior owner behaved and took care of the car*. HOWEVER, this assumes long ownership of the car. People who do not keep their cars for the long horizon are spending quite a bit more money no matter how it is arranged, although for them buying used would be somewhat less expensive.

My calcs set interest or savings rate equal. People with poor personal credit ratings would find that buying used saves more interest, and that might tilt the calc in favor of a used purchase.

 

Unless saving money by buying used over new is your #1 concern, I'd advocate for the 2014 over an older model.

Why? You get the latest kit AND a new factory warranty.

I don't think the 2014 is much improved from the 2013, but the ergonomics were somewhat better (IMO) than 2013 and prior. You get LED daytime running lights (nice), and now that Entune and Nav are a bit different, you might be happier with a Prius 3 or 4 model with those features.

 

The cars are improving every year, I suggest you buy the best and newest you can afford

 

And I didn't mean to imply that you were implying....... Like I said, I think he just wanted new stuff. When I was growing up, it was pretty common to trade often. In fact, our Chevy dealer had standing agreements to trade every year for a payment of $500.

Anyway, a head gasket blew and the engine was toast as a result. No amount of prodding, nice or otherwise, would move GM to help with the repair cost, not even to offer parts at cost. That might not be the case with the "new" GM, but they'll never get a chance to prove they've changed. The dealer is no longer in business, but I think they were miffed that I didn't purchase the extended warranty. My wife thinks they sabotaged the vehicle, but I'm not into worrying about theories I can't prove. It's only money and we're still ahead vs buying extended warranties.

I'm pretty pragmatic. I bought the Prius and probably paid more than others would have. I figure that given how long I keep my vehicles, the difference just isn't worth worrying about. This one might be a little different because if we end up liking it, I'm probably going to trade in 3 years after I see how the new model does. I did buy the EW this time because the technology is new to me and I know I won't be able to do the repairs due to lack of knowledge and age. We all make decisions that suit us and I dislike those who criticize the decisions others make, but that's another discussion.

 

That stinks about the head gasket. I know repairs where the engine has to come out can be costly but I think they gouged you at $5,000. That's ridiculously expensive, but then again I've never had to pay for that kind of repair before. If I had that happen and I had the luxury of time and an alternate vehicle I'd rather enjoy fixing it myself and learning about the engine.

I feel like I may have overpaid but I did get the convenience of buying from a dealer 5 min away vs 50 min away like the Mustang I had. They also did a dealer trade and got me the car I wanted. I didn't purchase an EW and I'm not sure if I should have or not. I might wait until my current one gets closer to running out and seeing how I feel about it then.

 

Yeah, it does and I'm sure having the dealer do the work did cost me more, but that's the way it goes. It was a new engine, the old one was beyond being able to be rebuilt, and we did have some other work done, so the engine work itself was more like $4,300 if I remember correctly. Had I not been working 60+ hour weeks, etc., at the time, I might have been able to tow it to my brother-in-law's where we could have swapped in an engine from the salvage yard. However, a previous bad experience doing just that made me opt for a new factory engine this time.

As for overpaying, I used the same logic and also did a dealer trade to get the Blizzard Pearl I wanted. I probably should have shopped around for the EW, but I felt I got a good enough deal with 2 years added maintenance, etc. Supposedly, I'll get a partial refund if I trade before it's up and I'm already considering doing that if we like the car on this trip and I see what the new models are like in 2-3 years. I don't know that I want to wait another 16 years for a new vehicle given how quickly technology is changing. If we're happy "going green" with the Prius, we'll probably opt to keep up with the technology more often, depending on what develops with electric vehicles, charging stations, etc.

When it comes to EW, I just advise folks to weigh the pros/cons and not look back if they buy it and never need it or if they don't buy it and should have. IMHO, it's a crap shoot and it really depends on whether or not you can afford the repairs, like in my case. I took a chance and it cost me, but it didn't hurt me financially. It wouldn't now either, but I just don't want to have to think about it during our travels.