Hi all, I'm brand new to the community and thinking about buying one of these two cars next week in SoCal. Been lucky to read some great contributions by the members here, and would love to get your thoughts on which one to get: 1) $5,500: 2009 Prius with 157k miles in great condition - 1 owner. Serviced ONLY at dealer with complete and verifiable service history. Rewinding back to 65k miles the following major service was done at the dealer. I paid attention to this one given the replacement of the water pump - Vehicle serviced 60,000 mile service performed Drive belts checked Brakes checked Tire condition and pressure checked Oil and filter changed Drive belt(s) replaced Steering shaft replaced/repaired Water pump replaced Antifreeze/coolant flushed/changed 2) $8,300: 2013 CT200H with 170k miles in "excellent" condition - 2 owners; previously bought at 70k miles at Lexus CPO. Unlike the Prius, this one has no carfax service history. The owner states they have kept up with the regular oil changes through "jiffy lube / valvoline" I plan on getting a pre-purchase inspection with SD Hybrids in San Diego. The interior of the CT200H is nice, but getting over that I think I want to prioritize long term reliability and service-ability. Which one would you recommend? Thank you in advance for all your thoughts and feedback.
+ both cars have clean titles and have never been in accidents. Thanks for your responses in advance!
idk the reliability of the lexus. did they sell enough to even know? does it have the gen3 prius headgasket problem? 2009 is a good reliable year. but don't kid yourself, you're going to need a new battery, and many other fairly expensive systems unless you diy.
I say the 2009 Prius over the Lexus. Just because of the service records and its cheaper. Also the money saving can help with future cost problems if any. Also hybrid batteries can die but they also can last 300k with no problems. My 2009 has been rock solid at 190k now and you can uses Torque App to check the condition of the hybrid batteries for both cars. That's a $4.99 plus the bluetooth obd2 scanner on ebay for $20 or less. One major problem common on all 2nd Gen Prius especially 2008-2009 years are oil burning problem. Usually noticeable around 150k. Can be anywhere from 1 quart oil for every 1000 miles. So I keep an eye on my oil burning. I'm at 1/2 quart for every 1000. My Prius came with excellent records to but the Prius only take 4 quarts oil to be full. That's at the top dimple on the oil dip stick. GLWP. SM-J737T1 ?
