Helpful advice? Checking Carfax and Prius vs Corolla

Hi all! I am a longtime lurker but have recently gotten in an accident, and am now looking at my options. I wrecked the front end of my Kia (first car, donation from family) and am now looking at $8k in repairs, or so the shop says. Either way, I am faced with repairing or replacing or both- the first thought that came to mind was a Gen 2 Prius.

However, my husband owns an 05 Corolla with 197k miles and strongly recommends this over a Prius, due to concerns over the more complicated anatomy of a Prius and the related things that could go wrong. I've read through a few threads that go over this, and have essentially found that both cars are reliable but the biggest repairs (assuming battery is already replaced) would only be headlight or coolant related, and even then, none go above a few hundred for a dealer to repair. Additionally, the Prius maintains a higher resale value, on top of having a dedicated fan forum like the one here to troubleshoot any issues through.

I've been eyeing a specific 06 Prius that has a free Carfax, but seeing something on it made me concerned about my research; I saw that this one had both "Battery replaced" and "Hybrid battery replaced" and previously I thought that they were the same thing, so now I am wondering- do Prii have two batteries, and does this mean only the ones that mention hybrid batteries have had those replaced? At my current financial state I can't afford a battery replacement, so I am looking for those who have already had this done as a baseline.

I have also come across the wonderful Florida dealer who specializes in old Prii, Todd Thompson, who I found through your forums as well. I am also considering one of his Prii, but have noticed that he does not have free Carfax reports available, so this does still concern me. The one that I was considering from his inventory has a picture of what's under the hood as the very last picture. It is the blue one with 119k miles- I cannot post the link since I am new.

I have seen some other pictures of the hybrid battery featuring Toyota's stylized logo on the cover of it- so does this mean that the battery in Todd's Prius is a 3rd party? Or were they not stylized until later models? I want to be very cautious about what I get as there are limited finances involved all around. However, I don't want to just cheap out because I don't have enough saved yet- I'd also like to get a car that I can stick with and not want to sell later when my needs may change. I am not sure a Corolla could offer this- I have heard that the Prius is quite spacious (though I've never been able to test drive an old one, they are always sold out in our state). I plan on keeping what I buy now for several years until a good, long range, affordable EV is something within our reach. No kids planned, but lots of pets most likely, so space is a plus.

Any and all general advice would be appreciated, and I apologize for the long post! I'd like to make a good decision and be able to have it pay off in the long run. I also read that no matter what you read, you should get a good mechanic to look at your vehicle before purchasing. About how much do inspections like this cost, on average? If you have any other advice I'd love to read it. Thank you again!

 

Thank you all so much for your advice! I am definitely leaning towards the Corolla, both due to inexperience in DIY repairs (and lack of time to do them, as he pointed out to me as well; we both work odd hours and have just gotten first house) as well as the ABS issue that @Skibob pointed out. That ABS issue appears to be affecting the exact model range I was looking at- it is scary, and seems to have already caused wrecks... brakes failing while driving is never a good time.

It is a commuter car. At least 16 miles to and from work, stores, or really any other place we'd go, so 32 miles a day. Plenty of time to warm up, which I think a Prius would fit well with in general. We are also planning to move to another state several hundred miles away in a few years, and would like a car that can take long trips well. My husband has driven across states for events in his Corolla and has never seemed to have any issues with it, so it looks like that's a plus. I would still lean towards the Prius if I had DIY experience, and if it didn't have the ABS issues appearing that it does now. Toyota skating out of repair costs by using specific error codes gives me a red flag for the issue in general, too. If it cost 500 or less, and wasn't a significant crash risk during driving, I would look over the issue, but... yeah. I've always wanted a Prius ever since I saw Gen 2 but this is a pretty big bummer.

Perhaps in a few years, if a good EV isn't out yet, I could snag a Prius that has had the brake repaired due to someone having to sell it for that reason?

 

My instinct does want to go Prius, but my wallet is saying Corolla. Instinct in this case is likely fueled by nostalgia; it's an icon that I'd love to own and take care of. You are right though; the peace of mind of not having major systems fail that I'm unable to DIY is worth the compromise, and the Corolla is also not a bad looking car, imo. Perhaps after the ABS dust starts to settle for Gen 2, or I talk directly with Todd to address that, I could get a good deal on one then. My eye is on a fully EV Prius in the future though, without having to retrofit engines via 3rd party, so my hopes are in that.

We really do appreciate your advice! Thank you all again for being honest and transparent about the facts.