New here, hello all! So I’ve seen 1 forum of this but the difference stated was only $7,000. That said I would love to know thoughts with my situation. I have a 2nd gen prius and looking to upgrade to a Plug-in. If I go with the Prime I’d like the Advanced and with the 2018’s going away it’d estimate the cost (based off when I got quotes when the 2017’s were being clearanced) around $28,400 before taxes, trade in (only worth about $1,000-$1,500) interest (if I go with Prime I’d put 1/2 down and finance the rest for 2 years so interest should only be $400-500) but before tax incentives. (But heck maybe I can get the vehicle price for even less then I expect) That said, I’ve seen a few used PIP under $10,000 and one I am looking at is a 2012 for $8,988 (which I can easily pay in full) with about 89,500 miles. It states it’s an Advanced but I don’t see fog lights on it and it has cloth seats, both of which I thought only the advances had. Was it a mistake or am I mistaken? That said, is it still worth going with the Prime for $20,000 more up front ??? I do plan to keep it for long time. 4 seats doesn’t bother be in the slightest and since I’m coming from a 2nd gen the cargo space is perfectly fine on the Prime. Thank you for your thoughts!
Welcome! Your question is probably too personal for someone else to be sure of giving the best answer for you. Here are some things I'd consider. They may or may not be factors for you. 2012 PiP is going out of warranty soon on the hybrid system. Lots of warranty left on a new Prime. 2012 PiP from New York will probably have plenty of rust by now. My '13 came from New Hampshire and I got it in 2015. It already had quite a bit of corrosion but nothing in cosmetic or structural areas that I've seen. On the other hand, no car payments is a sweet place to be. Think about your commute distance and other typical driving. If it's out of range of the PiP but in range of the Prime, maybe the Prime is worth it to you. But even if it is, the PiP will still save you a ton of gas compared to your Gen 2. The PiP you mentioned sounds like a base model. Look for controls on the steering wheel for the dynamic radar cruise control. That's advanced only.
I agree exactly with Jerry...I would go for youngest PiP I could get. Your desires are not well enough described for me to make a recommendation, I mean I am with PiP for 5 seats and cargo space, you say that is not important. But most would say Prime..I am odd man out. But be careful when you say Prime cargo space is good as Gen2. Don't go with published space numbers because somewhere around Gen3 introduction, EPA allowed liftbacks to inflate cargo space quotes. Besides that, Gen2 has an under floor 2.5-ft3. Prime has no uinderfloor and probaly at least a couple ft3 less in the boot.
Nope. But this is ME and not YOU. I do my own maintenance. I have a spare car (three cars, two drivers.) I have a three mile commute. I have a place to work on a car. I live where gas is generally much cheaper than....ah....'other' places ($1.71 today and dropping.) But mostly? I like being car payment free! If you're on the front half of your life, you might want to consider getting off of the hamster-wheel cycle of buy-trade-buy-trade where your car payments and loan lengths (and insurance payments!) grow and grow all of your working life. Your call. Relatively few people who buy "advanced" Primes are motivated by frugality....but I still maintain that PipA > PrimeA for most people!! Good Luck!
Thanks for the base model confirmation @jerrymildred , I figured it was, it doesn’t have anything of what I know to be Advanced. Maybe me pointing that out to them I can get them to cut the price. I think if I’m successful I’ll go with the original PIP. @wjtracy I’ll be sure to take a better look at the Prime cargo when I go to the dealer, if they won’t budge on price with the 2012 I’ll definitly check to see about the Prime again. @ETC(SS) that’s the best reason why I’d want to go with the PIP, no payments/ value.. I am for sure in 1st half of my life, only 23 and the 2nd gen prius my 1st car. I figure if I trade to buy in full then and have no payments it’ll be a good life lol. But if I can’t get a good enough deal on the used, I’ll see about the pricing on Prime and go from there. But will not be trading in that Prime for eesh I can’t even imagine. Maybe when I’m 40 haha. So I wouldn’t be in that horrendous cycle. Thank you for your thoughts all. This is a great community that I’ve read a lot in the past.
welcome! if you can live with the smaller hatch space (yes, it has a floor raised 3" above gen 2) then i would go with prime. and you should be able to net out around 24k after fed tax credit if you shop around. if the 25+ miles of ev works better for you than 10 from pip, for a long term investment, i think you would be better off. prime has many improvements in mpg, heat pump and more, the deals won't last forever.
One other thing to keep in mind would be the safety advances of the Prime over the PiP. PiP is already super safe, but Prime is up another notch. I have no idea what dollar value to put on that, though. Back to the cargo space issue, neither the Prime or PiP has any under deck space worth mentioning. And with the Prime and all Gen 4 models, you surrender the second glove compartment. The one you get barely holds the owners manual. With either one, you'll lose the extra drawer under the console and that little slot under the radio.
cant compare the Prime with the PIP. I have a 2014 PIP and my wife just got the 2018 Prime Advanced. In my opinion the Prime is far more refined than the PIP. Better safety technology, longer battery range and the Prime on EV mode is very fun to drive.
If you are willing to travel road island and NJ after tax break can net you a Prime for $17500-$23000 That makes the math a little different and you get a new car warranty. If I were buying a PIP the only must have option would be heated seats and newer is better. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/754285252/overview/ I would likely push miles versus age to be honest and negotiate, PIPs are already long in the tooth so to say, so appearance means something Good Luck
Sadly in the area I live, our 2013 PiP still seems like magic to some people. Sometimes I show them where the plug goes and they act like they've never heard of a plug in before.
For what it’s worth... People ask in my 1999 Honda Insight is a new electric car. I had a few folks think my 1981 Comutacar was a Smart car and that thing is bloody old with a wood grain interior. I guess if the external paint job looks decent some folks must be stuck in a time warp, I had one guy telling me his 1969 Impala wasn’t an old car.
Agree totally, luggage space is horrible on the prime, that and NO SPARE!, I know I have one. What do they do when their cell phone runs out? oh, that’s right, start the engine.
