Is a 2012 Toyota Certified PiP with 80k miles for 14.5k a good deal?

First of all the main battery in the Pip is different from a regular Prius and since the Pip is relatively new, not many of those batteries have been replaced, but they are more likely more expensive than a regular Prius $2500-$3000 battery. By 60k miles all warranties will be finished on the Yaris, by 100k to 150k miles all warranties on the pip will be finished. The pip will ride smoother, hold more and has more luxury features, so the choice is yours, but if it were me, I'd go for the Yaris.

 

For comparison, I bought my 2012 blizzard Pearl (a $400 premium when it was new) Prius PIP w/ 37k miles for $14,998, but this was about 3 months ago from Carmax.

So the one you are looking at for $14.5 seems kinda high for something that high mileage.

I wouldn't worry about the battery because you already know of the 10/150k mile warranty on the hybrid components.

But, at 80k miles, you are near a lot of expensive maintenance, will add to that $14.5 you originally thought was the cost.

Does not sound like a bargain, I would say walk and keep searching.

With you driving only 6.5 miles and access to free electricity, you will save a ton on gas.

The almost 3 months that I had my PIP, I have not been to the gas station yet!!!! (I go to free charge stations and at work when I can). Yours is more convenient, work and home.

The money I saved will go to my car payment.

Also be aware, that your insurance premiums will go up.

Last thing, I am not sure what you mean by certified since it is from Carmax. Mine has that certified sticker to, but I don't think it means anything like what a Toyota dealer certified means (an additional 100k mile warranty).




iPhone ?

 

Last year before prices fell so much, a 2012 Toyota certified PiP (low miles say 30k) was around $20-21K but there were a few higher miles used 2012 PiPs in the $15k range. So Its a good deal but I think at this time you can get a lower miles 2012/2013 PiP that might be a better deal overall.

I personally have some (perhaps unfair) concerns about 2012 PiPs that came into port during Hurricane Sandy in the east Coast. So I'd personally be partial to a PiP I thought missed that problem, either before or after.

As far as CARB, you need to tell us your state, and the state the car was orig sold and registered in. Then we can tell you if you got that stuff right.

We have had no PiP batteries replaced to my knowledge and there is not price on the Toyota price list. So that is uncharted territory...sort of like those of us who bought Prii in 2006 had no idea.

Release of new PiP2 would not in my mind impact us too much in the East. Not even sure we are going to see it yet.

 

My commute is 6.5 miles each way (13 total), and if I avoid the freeway, I can barely complete the trip spring through fall. During the winter I fall about 1 mile short. I'm averaging 90 MPG lately due to commuting mostly in EV.

I don't know the cost either, but your battery is warrantied until 2022, which is likely longer than you will own the vehicle. Now, Toyota wouldn't engineer the battery to fail close to that date because they don't want to pay for warranty repairs, so you will likely get much more service life out of the battery. By the time it does need replacement, you should be in a better financial position, and the cost of battery technology should be significantly less.

Total cost to own varies for each person because there are so many variables involved, most of which have to do with how long you intend to keep the vehicle, how many miles you will drive over that period of time, and what your typical commute looks like (long or short trips).

I created this Total Cost of Ownership spreadsheet because I couldn't find any other calculators that took into account of this many variables, or could compare gas vs electric vehicles. You can compare 2 cars side by side by entering values in the top fields, and observing the auto-calculated costs in the lower fields. Of course, some fields have to be estimated such as annual maintenance and repair. For a battery, you would need to get a replacement estimate, and then divide that cost by the number of years you expect it to last.

The release of the new PiP will result in plummeting prices for the outgoing model. How much it plummets will depend on how desirable the new model is. If range isn't increased much, then fewer people will feel the need to upgrade. Rumor has it the new range will be 20+ miles.

If you can continue borrowing the vehicle at no cost, that is by far the wisest financial move. Cars are usually the largest depreciating asset that people own, and if you can get access to one without paying for it, then you save a ton of money.

I sat in a Yaris once and hated everything about it, most of which was the center mounted speedometer. Every detail of the car was an exercise of cost-cutting. The center mounted speedometer was done so that the assembly line didn't need to have 2 different tools for right-hand and left-hand driving, for example.

That said, the Yaris is likely to depreciate slower, and you will probably never save $3,000 in fuel by driving the Prius. It comes down to whether the extra features and utility of the Prius is worth $3,000 more to you.

 

Bought my pip with 30k miles for 15k even. Just as a reference point. There were a few more at about that price at the time. Actually, one was $16k with only 12k miles the week after. Kicking myself a little for not finding it first.

I too am in a lab with free charging. Averaging 79 mpg over my last 400 miles with long ish weekend trips.

The pip is a nice car though.

 

your weekly commute is about 65 miles total, so in a Yaris you would use about what.... 2 gallons of gas tops? So (let's say gas is 2.50 a gallon) that's around $5 a week for "work gas". the $3000 price difference would get you around 600 weeks worth of work gas. Even with the difference in MPG for your weekend driving it will take a long time to break even on that kind of price difference. Go with the Yaris.

 

I think that is a great deal specially compared to what they cost new
I also drive about 6 miles with access to free charging
I don't think u will be disappointed

 

That seems to be a lot of miles for the price! I would pass as there are lots of deals out there. Be patient and something attractive will come along. I would also pass on the Yaris as well. The Prius by comparison has some great features.

By way of comparison, I was not going to be looking for at least another year. My 2005 Prius with 129,900 miles was mechanically reliable and doing well(not burning any oil). I happened to be on Craig's List one day just surfing and saw a dealer (not Toyota) selling a 2013 Prius Plug In Advance model with 26,100 miles. I went, looked and negotiated $16,500 for the vehicle. It happened to be at the end of the day (they admitted they had not sold any cars that day) and were anxious to have me purchase.

A week after I purchased, I happened to see a 2012 Prius Plug In Advanced model also on Craig's List with less than 15,000 miles for $15,500. This was from a private seller.

Going to Toyota to purchase may not be the best place to try and get a great deal. Most of the Toyota dealers I looked at prices seem very high. The "highline" dealer I purchased from clearly admitted to me that they would be able to get more money for the vehicle I purchased if they were a Toyota dealer. I believe that to be true. My 2013 was a trade in with remaining factory warranty.

I love the features on the Prius. Yaris seems like such a boring car (sorry). So be patient and a "real" deal will come along under the right circumstances. Possibly prices are still coming down.

 

In the two months I've had my PIP, with daily charging, I've saved a whopping 10 gallons of gas. So, that's about 20 bucks here. Still, it's nice to have free money. I would still prefer a used Prius, PIP or not, to a yaris from a longevity point of view. I drive cars until they die (and it sounds like you do too!)

Keep doing what you are doing, save for a down payment or a deal too good to miss.
Happy driving.

 

i think prices will drop even more, late this year, if the new pip comes out.

 

13 miles * 5 days/week * 50 weeks = 3250 miles. High estimate on your gasoline bill - $2/gallon and 20 mpg on the car = 10 cents per mile = 325 gasoline bill. Low estimate = $1/gallon gas, 50 mpg (like a normal prius) = 2 cents per mile = $65 gasoline bill. --> max savings would be $260. Driving a PiP for 3250 miles, you can get about 3 or 4 miles per KWh of battery charge (3 KWH battery - I might be a little off here). You might even be able to get home round trip without charging at work. 85K PiP might only get you 9 or 10 miles in EV mode. At 10cents per kwh, if you had to charge at home, it would cost you 3250/3 =1100 KWh or $110 for the electricity.

So getting a cheaper regular Prius would cost you only $65 in gas to drive to work all year, and you could probably get that car cheaper than the PiP ($65 vs 0 for 10 yrs = 10*65 = $650). So if you can get a regular prius for $650 cheaper than the PiP, then you will be ahead in the cost game.

 

WOW!
That car has high miles for the asking price IMO.
Then again with those high miles, look at the service records to see what the owner has replaced/serviced.
High miles and a new batteries...good deal...no new batteries or oil changes...bad deal.
All depends on how well the car was serviced or not.

 

Stay away from the Yaris if you don't want another POS vehicle. Can't say whether you have a good deal or not, but $14.5K on what is basically a 4 year old car is pretty telling. These sold from $34-40K when new. The Prius PHEV is far more advanced than the Yaris on all levels. So you will be getting far more value than the $3K difference. I'm just a little disappointed that the 2012 PHEV ends up with such a low resale value.

 

looks like i'll be keeping mine awhile...

 

Yeah, it keeps getting harder and harder for me to justify jumping to a new car again any time soon.

back to OP's questions - Yes, seems like a good deal even with the high miles. PIP is really low maintenance. The batteries should last a long time. Don't worry about it. Even if they died it's 2 to 4K to replace depending on buying salvage or new (someone correct me if I'm wrong). You have the perfect commute and workplace setup for this car.

 

in a way, it's saving me money. my car is like brand new with 40,000 miles. we'll see what happens in the summer of 2017 when there are some primes at the dealerships.

 

As another data point, I got my 2012 PIP with 117k a month ago for $10k (outside Boston, MA). I'm still overjoyed every time I look at it. As others have noted, the car was $35-40k when new. Some may say the mileage is high, but I still have my 2010 which I bought at 59k and have now driven an additional 199k. Of course this will not be representative of average mileage, but I took a 16.4-mile trip today on a full charge and got 101 mpg. (see photo below) On a recent 61-mile trip I got 70 mpg. These are trips in near-freezing temps. Still learning the car.