'06 for $4500 w/ 150k -or- '12 for $6500 w/190k?

Verify that the '06 has a real Toyota battery. I don't yet have the impression that the aftermarket offerings are worthwhile. If it's the real deal, it's probably the best option on that menu. Even if it isn't the real deal, the price isn't too bad- just keep the leftover savings handy as there is an elevated possibility of needing it for battery replacement.

Personally I place zero (or even negative) value on factory navigation. The pros: it's built in. Cons: very out-of-date maps, clunky interfaces, slow processing, difficult and/or expensive update procedures. $50 in any pawn shop will get a used Garmin or Tomtom that can run rings around the factory stuff. Another $100 at a stereo shop gets it permanently mounted & wired in.

 

Welcome to Prius Chat .

Sorry to hear about your husband.

Some questions:

• Who will be performing the maintenance for you?
• Will you have more funds set aside if something fails?
• Higher mileage cars will require more attention. Do you have a plan for this given your live in mechanic passed away?
• Friends don’t let friends buy used civic hybrids.
• Hycams are a bit harder on the hv battery. That battery (if original), is over 10 years old. If the battery failed, how would you address it?
• Does the 06 with the “new” battery have any documentation to prove its from the factory new or is it new to the 06 and rebuilt using old modules?

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

corolla

 

Or regular Camry, Matrix or Yaris.

 

anything a local mechanic can maintain easily for you, not prius.

 

My vote would either be the 07 with 95K because it has the lowest miles or the first one because it’s cheaper and you could save up the difference in case that battery goes out again or something else expensive breaks with the high miles.

Yeah at that price range a regular car like a corolla would probably be smarter but I get just wanting to drive a Prius or hybrid and if that’s the case the above is my 2 cents.

Good luck!!

 

How many miles per year do you project you will be driving?
Why are you committed exclusively to Hybrid purchase?
Are or should you be?

If you are on a budget and not versed or ready to do a lot DIY, then I think the priority has to be condition and best shape.

You're given list has only one commonality, and that is they are all Hybrids, the vast majority over a decade old.

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your husband. BUT...if he was the one that routinely did the repair and maintenance? Then going forward you might want to make hands off reliability the highest priority.
That's nearly impossible to determine given your list. The best vehicle in this regard is not always the chronologically newest, nor necessarily the one with the lowest miles.
You would really need to have the vehicle checked out by an independent mechanic.

If I projected my yearly miles driven per year to be low? I might consider expanding my search beyond the realm of Hybrids.
If you cornered me and forced me to take what is essentially a full fledged guess and opinion?
I might say the 07 with the lowest miles. Hoping that meant that more of the peripheral mechanical aspects to the vehicle would be in better shape.
With all those choices, even the one with the reportedly "new battery" I would save, and expect that hybrid battery replacement MIGHT become necessary.
That put's about a $3000 plus or minus, further investment on either a near or distant horizon.

Whatever you decide, a Carfax revealing the vehicles reported history...can't always trust the seller-dealer or private party-and a pre-purchase inspection would be my baseline.

 

Sounds like that '06 is a good candidate.

Seek an independent mechanic specializing in hybrids. When relying on an older car (any brand or model) you'll get eaten alive by dealer-branded service costs. A good local indie can save you between 1/3 and 1/2 and often provides a better standard of auto care, even if the waiting room is shabby and they don't have free wifi or coffee. They have access to recycled parts and the knowledge of which ones are okay to use and when to insist on a new one, if brand x is okay vs. Toyota parts etc. It adds up to savings for you.

There is a tipping point with any used car. The bad news is that there is no certainty on where you'll find it- and it won't be the same from one example to the next. That point is dependent on a long list of factors that you can't control or even track easily. This is the kind of advice an indie mechanic can give you when they've seen the car up close, and the dealer mechanic can never give because that isn't in the technical manual.

The best used cars come from private sales where the seller always had the money to maintain the car properly and is moving on because they either need more seats, major relocation or they're giving up driving.

Cars on used lots are more of a gamble, because the dealer is deliberately trying to break all links to the car's past life.

Carfax is incomplete and misleading at its best- it is an occasionally useful ancillary information source, but (taken alone) it isn't accurate or comprehensive enough to use for a tiebreaker. Pre-purchase inspections are often worthwhile- best when you're taking them to a mechanic you already know from past work on your old car.

 

Personally I would never buy a car with over 100,000 as my only daily driver.

 

Take the 07 w/95K...If all goes well you'll drive it for more than 100K and still no need for major repairs... That what happened to myself, as well as many others.

 

My husband would normally advise and repair, but sadly, he passed away.
This will be my only car, a daily driver. I have another vehicle but it is a small motorhome.

I'm try to decide between these 3 Prius plus a couple others. I'm a cash buyer so will try to negotiate a bit:

3. '07 for $6300 w/95k (and Navigation which I prefer)
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Do you really need the navi from the car? It's just extra bells and whistles to me. I use the navigation apps from my phone.[/QUOTE]

 

We pay about $22 for the same miles in our Prius, just to give an idea of what you'd be looking forward to.

Don't forget the Yaris! (or the matrix, corolla etc.)

As nice as a Prius can be, those 3 are on an even higher level when it comes to later-life reliability. Yes, you'll pay more at the pump, but there's much less chance of an expensive surprise repair vs. any hybrid once the odometer has a long story to tell.

Also a considerably wider menu of indie mechanics to put it right when something does go boom.

 

This is why used cars w/100K miles are so affordable. It's based on the false logic that cars that were sold 40-50 years ago that were only good for 100K miles are no different than most cars sold today, which have engines that are good for 300K miles. All us people who don't like to waste money are grateful for people like you. I bought a Prius with 104K miles on it in 2012 and still no maintenance issue of note at 230K miles. Here's a Post I did back in 2013 that over a 100 people have posted their success story of buying a used Prius with 100K miles: Did you buy a Prius with 100K+ miles? Share your story here! | PriusChat

 

I think you're doing a disservice to your own point by reducing it to a binary true/false evaluation. I agree that 100k miles is a very dated and artificial limit. Only about 20% of the cars I've ever owned came to me with less than 100k on them.

That said, auto repairs are more expensive than ever. Labor, real estate and technology have combined to increase the frequency of repair bills with commas on the bottom line, even for inexpensive commuter cars. And commuters have less savings than ever. A lot of cars are getting traded in because the "100k mile maintenance package" can't be financed, but a replacement car can be. (And as a rule, the dealer doesn't do the maintenance before reselling the car unless a hawkeyed buyer notices and negotiates it into the deal)

If you really understand cars and have a little luck, you can still get good used cars with high miles. But a lot of people are (sadly) winding up putting their last dollars into shined up basket cases. And with no buffer left to handle the catch-up maintenance that the last owner couldn't afford, it doesn't go well.

 

Yes, and in our hyper-consumptive society, people who know nothing about cars are more than happy to pay for one upside down car loan after another to "avoid" expensive repairs. What it really comes down to is that there's far less education / training for car owners of today. Growing up in the 80's in public school I took metal shop, wood shop, basic computer programming and auto shop classes almost every year and many students had to take these types of classes, it wasn't just an optional class. We spent way more money in public schools on this type of curriculum back in the day.

The other issue is repair cost are so high, a mechanic says, "you're better off saving money and getting a new car way, way more often than they used too!"