I am 100% committed to buying a Prius at this point (meaning, it's the car I want and my current car should sell any day now!), but being the tightwad that I am I'm struggling to decide which option to go for. Option 1: 2012 Prius 2 with 57k for $12k (dealer serviced, no accidents, etc.) Option 2: 2013 Prius 2 with 96k for $9k (dealer serviced, no accidents, etc.) Obviously I could work the price down a little on both of those and they're both private sellers. My plan is to put $2k down and finance the rest for either car - for the 2013 it would be $190 a month for 36 and for the 2012 it would be $250 a month for 48. I can afford either of those easily, but I don't want to save money up front only to spend it later. In the next year I will drive 30k miles and in the years after that I'm moving to the city, so my mileage should be about 15k per year. Car 1 would have about 130k miles when paid off and car 2 would have about 155k when paid off. I would love to save the money if possible. I know that after 150k miles repairs start cropping up but I've only ever driven euro cars before so as cheap as Toyota maintenance is I'm 100% ok with that (for context, an oil change on one of my Volvos cost me $90 and shocks are about $2k). I just think that financially a higher mileage car makes more sense. I've also heard that the batteries last longest when used the most, so being that the higher mileage car is also newer it should be perfect. Any advice?
There's others with far more expertise than me, but since no one's answered yet, I'll do my best. 1. Pay cash, don't finance :-P. 2. The consensus seems to be Priuses handle mileage better than age. Option 2 would be my pick with the big caveat: 3. The Gen 3 (2010 - 2015) has a known issue with egr clogging leading to head gasket failure. Search the forums for the threads on EGR circuit cleaning, and installing the oil catch can. If this isn't something you're willing to do yourself, or pay someone to do for you, the Prius becomes a financial time bomb after 120k miles. 4. Other than the items in #3, the Prius is a remarkably low-maintenance vehicle. Other than the occasional battery failure, not much is needed beyond twice-a-year oil changes.
I think you would be perfectly ok with the 2013. A $3000 dollar difference in price is significant. Besides that, the 2013 seems like a better $ deal.
Have you seen and test driven both? If not, maybe first hand impressions will help you make up your mind. Maybe the 2013 is an Uber vehicle for example, and it shows? I'd second paying cash, even just shelving it till you can. Don't put too much weight on dealer service and no accidents. Look them over, outside and inside, underside, under the hood, check the spare tire and tools, verify two fobs in good order.
All things being equal -- the lower mile vehicle. Short term: While cars do last longer -- the values tank after 100k ... it's still a milestone. Long term the year will make little difference -- even .10mile comes out to 4k .. the difference is 3k. lower miles wins again. Again -- only you can look at the two cars and understand what the differences are. Garage kept/ dents scratches/ tires ... service records. The high mile is closer to needing more services -- so there is an additional built in cost favoring he lower miles vehicle.
I wrote a big rambling piece but then erased... In short? You probably owe it to yourself to have either choice checked out as thoroughly as possible before purchasing. On paper? I kind of like the 2013 with 96K. But as with any used car purchase, what looks good on paper, and what is actually good when you see it? Sometimes differs. I'd investigate the 2013 first.
Option 2.....all other things being equal. Easiest question I'll answer today!! I'd lean towards option 1 only if it were evident that it were garage kept, or better maintained.....but the age and mileage delta are not otherwise worth the $3K....which is the OP does their own maintenance can be used to cash-flow future repairs. Advice: 1. Get the car thoroughly inspected by an independent agent 2. CHECK YOUR OIL regularly to make sure that your car isn't a drinker. 3. Read, read, and repeat articles in this forum about maintenance practices including transaxle fluid replacement, EGR and Throttle body cleaning, etc. 4. Consider a 5k oil change interval for whichever car you get. Good Luck!
I would consider having an independent Prius-specific mechanic check over the car you finally decide on in a “pre-purchase “ inspection. Mechanically , that inspection should include level and condition of all fluids including oil, coolant, the fluid in the transmission, and brake fluid as well as the standard mechanical aspects of the Prius. But additionally, you need a mechanic with really good hybrid experience to correctly and completely evaluate the high voltage battery pack. I would expect to pay $200-300 for such inspection, but for me it would be worth it, especially if I can work with the mechanic and see what condition each system is in. (I'm used to this procedure on aircraft purchases, but have also done it for a car purchase.)
Thanks for the info everyone! I knew about the EGR issues around 100k, and while I'm not sure how much it costs to address that, I'm not too worried about it. Just to replace the shocks and brakes on my current car would cost me $2500, and every 100k miles you have to drop $1500 on it to keep the engine from getting ruined (no joke). Oil changes are super pricey. Tires are $700+ for the set. The headlights are $500+ a piece and I've heard that they go around 200k. So to keep this car another 100k miles I'll be looking at easily $6k in maintenance. I can't imagine that the EGR and battery would run me even 75% of that, plus I'll be getting more than double the gas mileage (21 MPG to 45+MPG). Correct me if I am wrong. I understand the advantages of paying in cash but my excellent credit gets me absurdly low interest rates. I've weighed the options and I definitely think it would be wise to finance. Also thanks for the advice on making sure I'm buying a clean one. I have a lot of friends who know cars very well (for example, my uncle owns a classic car restoration shop that restores cars worth millions), so I usually get one of them to go with me. I would never buy a trashed car. Feel free to assume that any car I would consider has been pampered and would be thoroughly checked out before I would purchase it.
There is a service bulletin on the EGR, but a lot of owners just throw up their hands and DIY. Not a good sign Toyota...
