Sell gen 3 and buy gen 4 or wait on the gen 5?

You're looking at no more than $4,500 to $5,000 on trade in for your Prius. Even if you sold it out right your looking at maybe $6,000-$6,500 with 125K on the clock. I can score a used 13 III with 20,700 miles on the clock for $13K.

Me, I would wait for two or three years and grab a low mileage used forth gen.

The only reason I bought my 2010 III new was Cash for Clunkers where I got $4500 from the Fed and $500 from the state for buying a hybrid.

I traded in a Volvo wagon with 370K miles on the speedometer.

Next Prius I buy is going to be a low mileage used one.

 

Wait and enjoy not having another car payment.

 

I would just wait. You have nothing to lose

 

I thought the prime was the 5th gen? 1st gen 1997-2003, 2nd gen 2004-2009, 3rd gen 2010-2015, 4th gen 2016, 5th gen Prime.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Technically the Prime is a second generation of the prius plug-in. The Prime is largely based on the fourth gen Prius.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Toyota's flagship hybrid is finally getting some real competition from other car companies - Hyundai, GM, and eventually Honda and Tesla. There will probably be double the number of hybrids in a few years compared with now. Toyota will need to step up their game if they want to keep their title of best hybrid tech. I'd expect an even greater number of improvements from them going into Gen 5.

By then people will be more comfortable with hybrids. More mass production will drive down the cost of that technology

 

Gosh, seems like simple answer here.
Buying a new car week cost you $20,000 ?
But it will only save you $150 a year. (if you go from 45mpg to 90mpg)
And you're a tightwad ?

Wait !

 

I don't know, my old 4 cylinder Turbo Volvo got 20 mpg and my Prius that replaced it gets 45 mpg (Short trips mostly). At 9,000 miles a year I'm saving $825 in fuel costs per year. Volvo used Premium 91-93 octane vs the Prius using 87 octane. Over 7.5 years that I've owned my Prius that is a savings of $6,188 based on today's fuel prices.

 

Correct.
Every doubling if gas mileage halves the expense.

In eau numbers that apply to most people:
15,000 miles a year at 50 mpg towels 300 gallons a year.

Get about a hundred mpg?
That's 150 gallons. I.e. $335 a year in savings.

Ok, so save about $300 a year in gas.

To my point - not frugal to spend thousands or maybe even $20,000 to sane that in gas.

 

I use this formula for calculating gas savings:

Savings =
[miles] × [price per gal gas] × (F2 - F1) ÷ (F2 × F1)
Where F1 is the MPG of the car you have,
F2 is the MPG of the car you want to get.

For example trading in a gen 3 for a gen 4 and driving it for 200,000 miles with gas at $3/gal would save you $461.50 compared with just keeping the gen 3 for another 200,000 miles. This doesn't take into account the costs of depreciation, insurance or maintenance.

 

I would keep what you have and wait until you hear about the Gen 5, usually you will have enough information and pictures before it comes out (probably sometime in '21) then you could snap up a leftover new gen 4 or a new 5, yours should probably last until then.

 

The gen 5 won't be out for several years. DIdn't the gen 4 prius just come out in 2016 model year?

 

Make sense. Pruis has been upgraded every 5 years. Gen 1 97-02, Gen 2 03-08, Gen 3 09-14, Gen 4 15- probably 20, Gen 5 probably 21-26.

Unfortunately, that means we probably have to wait at least two years before the ugly duckling Gen 4 is replaced with something hopefully more streamlined and attractive (IMO) like the Gen 2 and 3. I was looking at the back of a Gen 4 the other day. It seemed there were way to many lines and angles. It didn't add up to a cohesive, attractive design. It looks like an illustrator from Marvel Comics designed the Gen 4.

The Gen 4 is better in many ways than previous versions. But I think bad looks are a primary reason why the car isn't selling as well as the Gen 2 and 3. I hope Toyota fixes this with Gen 5, for example, by emulating the sleek, beautiful looks of European cars, such as BMW, Audi, Porsche and Mercedes.

 

There is a rumored facelift for 2019.




From 2019 Toyota Prius (facelift) look similar to Toyota Prius PHV - Amazingreveal

 

You know what's the right move financially. Emotionally, you hunger for some new car excitement. This is good advice to keep most of your money by scratching that itch. Elaborating on mjoo's suggestions:

•Your Prius's standard "double DIN" stereo hole gives you a very broad selection of aftermarket navigation units, most of them much better than the OEM nav was. Lots of them support fun functions that weren't even available then, and a good aftermarket installer can tie the unit in to your existing steering wheel controls or even offer you a wireless remote. Crutchfield.com is a good reference (and a good merchant, if you're handy) for a quick glance at some of what's available for your car.

•A nice pair of 17" alloy wheels can really dress up the car and give it more of a sporty look than you'd suspect, for half the money of replacement OEM wheels. Tire Rack is a reputable business and has a very nice selection.

•Katzkin.com seems to be a reputable business, and sells a full set of leather seat covers for your car for $1,500-$2,200 in your car's interior color.

 

I'm selfishly delighted with the Gen 4's horrible appearance. When it's time to replace her Gen 3, she doesn't give a damn about the new one's amazing ugliness, which means she'll be happy for less money. Nothing but good news there!

 

rumored facelift looks as bad or worse than current. won't sell any more hybrids, but oil is rising...

 

Maybe the boat has sailed, regarding styling: I suspect next gen will be even "better". Love to be proved wrong.

 

Maybe the Gen 5 will be a dog, and the Gen 4's will be highly valued. I will have to say that the Gen 4 is a great car. At 125,000 you are probably at the sweet spot for ditching the Gen 3. And the beginning of the period when significant failures might occur. I'd dump the Gen 3, upgrade the ride to a Prime or Gen 4 and see what happens with the Gen 5.

I love my Gen 4. My only regret is ... yeah, can't think of any. I have 62,000 miles on my 2016. Nary an issue except a 12 volt battery replaced under warranty and a set of new tires for the front.

 

They will get worse. Look at the 2019 Avalon

2019 Toyota Avalon: Looks weird, but it’s better across the board