I have narrowed it down to two in my area. The first one is a 2008 Touring with 169,000 miles. It is absolutely spotless and runs great. The guy is asking $6,800. The second one is a 2007 non-touring with 88,000 miles. Looks like new. The guy is asking $8,400. My absolute top limit of my budget is $8,000 so I would have to bring down the second one to that. So is half the miles worth the extra two grand? If they are both just as clean, just as well maintained, and both run just as nice?
Here are the links: Red 2008 Touring: 2008 Toyota Prius Touring And the Blue 2007: Low Mile Prius like New
I bought 07 with 111k, new dealer installed hybrid battery for $ 7600.00 Make sure not salvage title, check maintenance records, overall condition (tires, interior wear, windshield chips, cracks- then make choice
Both clean titles, and assuming up to date and complete service (seeing that tomorrow), and identical condition, is the mileage important enough?
Yeah I keep reading that mileage affects the suspension, while time affects the traction battery. It really is such an equal call to me. Pay more for half the miles, non-touring suspension, or pay much less for double the miles and touring suspension that felt tight.
and there are other considerations that mileage affect such as transaxle, air conditioning, brakes, cat, just some things to think about. you could go 300,000 with very few problems. how are your diy skills?
The one car is out of warranty in FL at >100000 miles The 2007 is close to warranty at 8 yrs and <100000 miles, depends on when the orig owner bought car.
The 2007 is incredibly close to out of warranty. I might have a few months of warranty left. How does that work exactly?
well if the hybrid battery goes bad, Toyota would fix it for free under warranty. Sometimes if you are close then Toyota gives some decent compensation. The 2007 is closest, so that is one plus if it dies suddenly.
How far is too far to travel? I found this one about 2 hours from me: 2007 Toyota Prius Touring 4dr Hatchback In Orlando Kissimmee Altamonte Springs SIGMA MOTORS USA 2007 Touring, 105,000 miles $8k How much is the touring suspension really worth?
I would say 80k miles is generally worse than one year older. Heck, they could be only a few months apart in age, depending on date of manufacture. I would try to talk down the 2007 and go from there.
You know over the internet, it's impossible to really tell you which is best. Reading in between the lines, I get the feeling you really like the higher miles but cheaper priced touring model? And you want some validation that it's an OK choice. Well I always recommend that people get a Carfax. Ideally even an independent inspection. If this isn't affordable or possible, I think what I would definitely do is just go check them out in person. Sometimes sitting in them, looking at them and speaking to the owners in person can really give you a gut feeling as to which is best. You might find if/when you actually speak to the sellers, and/or actually see the vehicles, that the choice becomes a whole lot easier. And I would say, given the limited parameters of evaluating each ad? You'd be OK making either decision. Personally given one is past warranty and the other very close to being past warranty, I wouldn't factor that in too strongly. I might factor in the possible benefit of having 2000-3000 dollars left over from my budget to invest into a new hybrid battery if eventually needed to get one, or having a little left over for any repairs that might come up. So in short? If you end up liking the higher miles vehicle with the cheaper price tag? I wouldn't hesitate to make that choice. $1600 more for 1/2 the miles...may or may not translate into a greater benefit for the long haul. Either choice is justifiable...impossible to know which is best. How long do you typically keep your vehicles and how many miles per year do you project adding to the total? If you typically keep your vehicles a long time, and or drive a lot of miles per year, the lower mileage vehicle might be a better starting line.
I'm not really trying to justify the cheaper, it is the only one I have looked at. I was just wondering if it was worth the longer drive out to see the lower miles one. Extra question: how much weight does a KBB price have? For example the lower mileage is about $600 above KBB.
Fair summary -- you are well informed. If both cars lived all their years in FL I would choose the younger one at ~ 6K
