Wondering whether to buy or not to buy a Hybrid Camry / Prius

Welcome aboard Vanya! Don't think you would go wrong with either one. If you have the van, I would go with the Prius. You can find Toyota certified Prius with extended warranty and or you can buy an extended warranty.

Buying any used car is worrisome.

 

If you are driving the car less than 10k a year, just get another newer Camry 4 cyl. At 15k a year the hybrid makes more sense, unless of course you pay the same price for a Hybrid as a regular gas car. By that I mean if you have two similar Camrys, one Hybrid and one Regular at roughly the same price I'd get the Hybrid.

 

When reading posts on a car forum, remember that you will see an unrepresentative number of posts about problems and expensive failures. People don't bother to post when their cars are running well, only when something fails.

Tom

 

we have both and i love both. no problems at all except a few small warranty items. but if i only had $16,000. and no money for large repairs, i would stick with the regular camry. hybrids are pretty bulletproof, and as tom says above, problems tend to get overblown in these forums. but, if you do have a major problem, it can be a lot more expensive than a regular gas car. all the best with your decision!

 

for your price range it seems you'll be aiming for a genII with a little under 100k miles (15k)... for over 100k miles they run about 10k. you may be able to find a sweet deal on a genIII for more towards 20k. shop around. time always wins with this process (it helps to look in and out of your local areas)

 

i think you would do well with the prius. especially for the mpg's over the hycam. you should rent one and stuff everybody in to see what they think!

 

Since you are in a CARB state, which gives a 10 yr, 150K mile warranty on hybrid components, e.g. the big battery, you can afford to look at higher mileage Prius. Pay attention to options -- smart key is particularly handy. I know far more people with dead non-hybrids (blown engines, transmissions etc.) so don't worry too much about major repairs. I'd suggest trying to find a car with less than 100,000 miles for around $12,000, and put the extra $4,000 in an emergency fund for car repairs, medical bills, etc. $4000 will definitely cover any Prius repair, just not necessarily at a dealer with new parts.

 

You can get an extended warranty for the prius before it hits the 60k limit right here on PriusChat: http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...rius-extended-warranty-service-contracts.html but I'm not sure about used.

The prius beats the camry hybrid by a very significant 15mpg in the city so if that's where you mainly drive it would save more and use less.

 

Hybrids
- Camry for the confort
- Prius for the space
- CT200h for the luxury

Remember that HSD based hybrids, versus parallel hybrids (KIA, Honda), are two different beasts.

The parallel tends to "win out" price wise on larger sized cars, because between the gas motor and single electric motor, there's a clutch system, then it's connected to a standard automatic transmission.

HSD based are CVT transmissions, have two sets of electric motors, no clutch. More expensive, better MPG performance, and so far - better & cheaper upkeep.

IOW, the parallel method is simply improving on old tech, but you still have the maintenance problems of the old tech.

HSD vehicles, used as Taxis and haven been driven a half million miles with Zero repairs...including brake jobs.

Heavier car = more brake jobs, however because the HDS's have two electric motors to capture energy when slowing down, brakes are hardly used, thus don't wear out.

My previous Toyota Sienna was more expensive to own & operate than the Prius over the same 5 year period; higher gas usage, tune-ups and brake jobs being to root cause the Sienna was costing more more.

Gas savings at 4$ or less a gallon between all the "good" hybrids is negligible if you do less than 20,000 miles per year.

Go try all the hybrids before you buy. The "best bang for the buck" would be a 4yr/5yr used Prius. Go for one with high mileage, thus reduced price, but wasn't involved in an accident.

You'll probably get 5 years & 150,000 miles on it w/o having to do any significant repairs, with the original battery. Just the cost of gas, tires, wipers, oil changes.

 

Hi Vanya- your car strategy is just like ours - one minivan and one Prius.
I waited some years for Camry Hybrid, when it finally came out in 2006, I was disappointed in MPG and trunk space, went with the Prius instead feeling it was better MPG and hatch back is wonderfully roomy design. That was the best decision for us. It was a little easier for us as empty nesters. The Prius gets about 80% of our total mileage. Prius probably less comfortable seating for long hauls.

 

Our 06 has been trouble-free except for some recalls.
Some have had probs with the special HID headlights (we do not have that option) and reportedly water pump can slow leak anti-freeze needing pump replacement earlier than expected, but we have not seen on our car. We did not purchase extended warranty.

 

Picking between the Camry Hybrid and Prius I'd pick Prius: it wins both on mileage and practicality. The more practical a car is the more you can drive it and the more of your driving you do in the Prius the more it pays you back.

I'd say that if a car just has small dents and scratches you might get a good deal on it since some buyers would be put off. It's the big stuff like maintenance and no significant accidents that matter.

 

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