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

It is not. The financial outcomes are not equal probability. EW has a built-in house advantage (read: profit), *and* the customer pays for the cost of setting up, advertising, and running the warranty. The customer also pays for the fraud and dopey demands of the other participants in the pool.

So by all means, gamble with an EW or take your money to Las Vegas. I certainly do not care. Are you throwing money away over time, or as an average ? Of course.

 

My 2 cents.... The only time I've paid for an EW was on a Ford Explorer. All I can say is, I'm glad I did. I certainly ended up a head of the deal. (i'm not adding my Harley to this conversation, that's another deal entirely).

As far as my Toyota's are concerned, I never have purchased one. Touch wood... I haven't needed it.

To the OP, just remember you are in SoCal... Toyota dealers are all over the place here. Especially this time of year they are generally wheeling and dealing right now. Shop around.

 

That's not that bad. Yeah, salvage cars can be a gamble. I have a 2000 Contour that was a flood car, a creek rose during a storm and the water got in the car, they moved it to higher ground before much damage could be done. I pulled up the carpet cleaning that thing out inside while my dad replaced a few bad bearings. My sister had a 1996 Explorer that was a flood car as well and the engine was seized in it, dad had to do a complete rebuild. My sister could care less and just shampooed the upholstery and carpet but wasn't interested in the engine repairs. I helped with the engine repairs more than she did. Interestingly, the car still smells funny inside while the Contour smells fine.

I love this car for all its technology. I would like to upgrade when technology improves on it, but I do see myself keeping it a while. I'd like to keep it until my son (who is only 16 months) learns to drive so he can drive it.

EWs are like insurance, you pay for it and it's a gamble if you'll need it and when.

 

Comments deleted, not worth the effort.

 

I would say no way. My partner worked for Hertz and Enterprise for years. He says that people beat those cars up so bad. They will also reset the oil life monitors if the car needs an oil change but they have to many reservations and need the car.


iPad ?

 

Setting aside the fact that you have no idea who drove the car, whether or not maintenance was done on schedule, etc., I find it hard to believe that renting to own would be a good deal financially. IMHO, unless Hertz is actually charging fair rates, rent-to-own is second only to payday-loans when it comes to fleecing people who have little choice. My guess is that if you compare the cash price to the final rent-to-own price, you'll find that the effective interest rate they are charging is quite a bit more than a car loan from a credit union, maybe even some dealers. I would think you could find a comparable car elsewhere, get a regular loan and save money. If the Hertz price is that much cheaper, I'd be even more skeptical. Besides, when you say "under" 40,000 miles, I suspect it's not all that much under and that seems like kind of a high mileage car to me. Just my $0.02.

 

Buy the new one, many many used cars are traded in for a reason, you might know the reason when you look at it, it may take a few weeks to find out

The used prius are too expensive compared to new, new ones are like 21 grand for a two as you have seen. Better financing if you need it usually and you can pick inside and out colors as most dealers still have quite a few 14's on the lot.

FWIW I had a 2011 that I loved but it got totaled and I just got a 2014 and it is improved IMO little things. I got the three package this time in stead of a two. The blue tooth is nice, the nav is nice, back up camera, the 3 smart door handle things. All worth the extra money after having the two for a few years.

 

Duplicate post

 

Just wanted to add several bits of anecdotal experience after 25+ years of owning cars:

Generally, used cars have more problems than new cars. Some portion of new cars will be lemons, and a disproportionate number of those will be dumped into the used car market. That said, the market seems to do a good job of pricing these things in. We bought a used Taurus and it was nothing but problems, but given the steep discount compared to a new one it wasn't that bad a deal financially.

Never got an extended warranty, and never had a car where I wished I had it. I might consider one if they offered bumper to bumper out to 10 years/150k miles, but strangely, all the EWs tend to expire about the time that the problems start mounting. It might be a good deal if either a) you can't take the risk of having an expensive repair, or b) the car has a recurring issue under the factory warranty that you suspect may continue to be a problem (or you could just dump the car on the used market

Finally, we try to keep at least one car in the family fleet that's new and under factory warranty. We have aging parents out of state, and may have to take a long trip on short notice and need a reliable car. Years ago, when we had aging vehicles that were running fine at the time, then a family member had a heart attack and we were doing a lot of travelling back and forth. Of course, that's when a water pump blew, and a wiper switch went up in smoke, both in the same week.

 

Yep.

However, not all Insurance offers are created equal. One way to analyze them is to ask what fraction of the collected premiums are paid out to claims. Good ones are about 95%, bad ones are less than 5%. I have my suspicions where a Toyota EW sits. In any case I only point out that simply calling it insurance leaves the biggest question unanswered.

When I bought my first Prius in 2004 I seriously considered buying the Toyota EW for two reasons:

1. The technology was new and reliability not well established
2. I thought that if I decided to sell the car three or five years down the road, the warranty would be a strong point in the car's favor

By 2007 (when I had to decide) the reliability was already clearly excellent, and I was keeping the car.

 

Would the warranty have prevented those failures ?

OK, needling aside. A new car will have less repairs than an older one, all else being equal. The 'not equal' comes into play e.g. when talking about different models, different manufacturers, and whether the new car is a new generation.

Buying new every three years from a reliable manufacturer is a good bet not to get stuck on a long trip, albeit an expensive approach. A lot cheaper and approaching the same good bet is to keep on top of preventive maintenance. I recently sold my '04 Prius to my daughter. Prior to the sale I replaced or verified that she had functionally new tyres, spark plugs, belt, coolant pump, coolants, oils, and thermostat. I'm confident that she now has a car that will not leave her stranded.

 

You're absolutely right, insurance is the wrong term because, as you've said before, insurance covers a lot more unforeseen things that could cost one dearly. An EW is simply an extended warranty that some are willing to pay for, right or wrong. My only nit with the arguments against generally end up only deriding (at least to some degree) those who purchase them. I backed out of my last EW purchase and it ended up costing me over $3,700. If I never use the one I purchased with the Prius, I'll be fine with that. I knew all the rationale against buying one, but right now I simply want the peace of mind when we're traveling. If we weren't on the road 4-6 months out of the year now, I wouldn't have purchased it, simple as that.

 

'Peace of mind' is so nebulous I don't think it actually means anything.

I can however see some rationale behind your choice. A car broken down away from home can have substantially higher costs that a warranty would insure against. For one, you have little choice in mechanic; and two, you have little choice in how to repair the car. E.g., used parts would pretty much be out of the question. And lastly, on the road time is a valuable commodity. Having something repaired without delay is likely going to be quite a bit more expensive than having the luxury of choosing a cheaper but slower repair.

addendum: I was mulling this over ...
Does the Toyota EW come with a towing package to the nearest authorized repair shop ? If not, then the cost of the warranty also should consider the cost of a long - distance towing insurance.

 

Good point about all else being equal. My first new car (A '97 Mustang) had 3 transmission replacements in the first year under warranty. I still own it and it's been very reliable since then and still looks new. It's amazing how much better cars last when not driven in snow and salt.

Buying new every three years is expensive, that's why we rotate our stock. We do buy a new car every 3-5 years, but we're trading in cars that are 8-10 years old with 100K+ miles and usually a few problems (balding tires, check engine light, RUST, etc.).

 

deleted by mods.

 

To the nearest Toyota service center and was one reason for my decision. I have no doubt I could probably get by upgrading my AAA membership, but I simply "feel better" with the EW this time around. And, yes, I know how nebulous that sounds. I should be giving more weight to failure rates, what's covered by longer standard warranties, etc., but then it would be a purely financial decision. And I suppose I would have done just that if I couldn't afford it, but it's worth it to me for no other reason than it just is, no matter how high the probability is that it's wasted money. Trouble is other than the fuel savings, buying a Prius was probably a waste of money in the big scheme of things. I'm going to save about $500 in gas vs our van on our upcoming trip. I'll let you know in October if it was worth it to do my part in going green vs just buying a new van. The bottom line is there is nothing I can say that will justify purchasing an EW to you, we're just too different, with different experiences, goals, priorities, etc.

And to be quite honest, I didn't really think that much about this when we drove our 1999 Montana van to Vancouver BC and down the West Coast a few years ago, but not every mechanic is qualified to work on the Prius and I just felt it was worth the investment FOR ME. I pay extra for Verizon cell service because I know from experience that it works where others don't. The mods forum is full of people who buy a new car and then change wheels, tires, audio systems, headlights, license plate lights, etc. Most of those mods make very little, if any, financial sense and some even make the car ride worse, reduce mpg, etc.

 

I may trade in 3-4 years only because I'm already thinking I maybe should have tried finding a BP Five or a BP Four w/sunroof rather than settling for the Four we bought because it was available. A lot will depend on how our trip goes next month and what changes Gen IV brings to the table. It will also depend on what else becomes available between now and then. Prius has enjoyed a lead, but that lead seems to be shrinking.

 

This is my first experience in many years buying a new car and not purchasing the EW. The reason I didn't buy it for the Prius is because everyone said Toyota reliability is high and it would likely be a waste of money. This has not been my experience with American made autos. In every instance I used that EW and it saved me a good amount of money. I tend to keep cars 5-6 years, and most big problems begin after 4 years, so I just hope I've done the right thing.

 

You can purchase an EW up to 3 years 36,000 miles

 

In the car rental business "rent to own" means that some or all of the rental fee can be applied toward the purchase of that car. I believe when renting from a Toyota dealer some will allow the rental to be applied to "a new car" purchase.