Noob looking for some answers

The Toyota Platinum Extended Warranty is transferable. So, if you look at a used one, you might look for one with a transferable warranty. Also ask for the CarFax.

 

1) On inexpensive cars (under 30k), esp on the Prius, the cost difference between new and used is minimal. Forget about an used one, and just go with a new one.

2) The stroller should be no problem, but it will likely consume most of the area. For a growing family, the V is a much better choice.

3) MPG may be slightly less with heavy A/C usage. Areas with hot weather or mountainous terrain may suffer from reduced battery life, but there have been no hard #s on the exact impact this may have. Do remember than in AZ you do not get the 150k warranty on the battery, and extended warranty will not cover it. Luckily there have been few battery failures before 150k. Do consider that a traction battery failure will likely cost around $3500 at the dealer. Rebuilt batteries may not be viable options (as new data shows) so your options are either used (iffy) or new.

4) Realistically I would expect something in the 45 range, give or take some. A V is probably going to be 10% less than that. To be honest, unless you really have to get a new car, it makes zero financial sense to trade in your perfectly good 300 for a Prius; it will be much cheaper to keep putting gas in.

:welcome:

 

Exclusive: 2012 MY Prius - Changes and Additions | PriusChat describes the changes to the '12. The note about backup camera on the model 2 is wrong (or Toyota changed their plans... whatever the case, it's not included on the 2).

Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Announces Prices for 2010 Prius / Toyota has what the old model matrix looked like (prices are old, ignore them). On the later 2010 model III (now Three/3), you'd get USB if you have the nav system. You don't need to get any nav to get USB on the '12.

3. The HV battery is warranted for 8 years/100K miles in most states (10 years/150K miles in CA and CARB states. AZ isn't one of them). I would be semi-concerned as it seems like HV battery failure is correlated w/hills and/or very hot climates. Failed traction (HV) battery, what to do? - Prius Wiki should help, if you have an out of warranty failure. I'd suggest parking it in the shade/covered parking, whenever you can.

4. It's not very useful to measure mileage by how many days/weeks a "tank" lasts. We need to go buy # of miles driven divided by gallons needed to fill the tank for those miles or mpg.

How often people fill depends on how far they drive, their habits, how long each drive is, the type of driving, mileage, how low they run the tank, etc. I was going ~a month between fillups when I lived in WA since my drives were so short, but I wouldn't get many miles on a "tank" since my mileage as poor (due to the short city drives and cold weather).

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/02/the-most-fuel-efficient-cars/index.htm lists what CR got on their tests. For comparison, when CR tested an 05 Chrysler 300 Touring V6 w/3.5L V6 and 4-speed auto got 12 city/29 highway, 19 mpg overall and 23 on a 150-mile trip.

 

Sonata Hybrid's mileage is nowhere near close to the Prius or even the HyCam. See The most fuel-efficient cars.

HSH and KOH are Hyundai/Kia's first hybrids that I'm aware of. They use lithium ion and there is not much past history in their use for automotive application compared to NiMH.

The JDM only NHW10 Prius which we never got here started shipping in late 1999. That car seemed to be a science experiment. We (the US) got the NHW11 aka "Classic" Prius in August 2000 per http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-history.htm.) Toyota's been using NiMH the whole time for non-plugin hybrids as have most automakers, until recently. http://prius.wikia.com/wiki/Lifespan/Operating_costs can give an idea about NiMH lifespan.

If you're going to consider the HSH, you should consider the HyCam too. Besides the HSH being less efficient than the HyCam, it's also much slower (2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid vs 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE vs 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE Comparison - Motor Trend).

If you're going to go w/a used '10, it likely has little/none of the 3 year/36K basic warranty left and only some of the 5 year/60K mile powertrain warranty left. If you go certified (but have to pay more), you'll get http://www.toyotacertified.com/warranty.html.

If you are concerned want an extended warranty, you could go with http://priuschat.com/forums/sponsor...rius-extended-warranty-service-contracts.html but it has to be done before the 3 year/36K expires.

 

To be honest, my 2011 Prius had had the worst build quality of any car I have ever owned or driven, outside of my 96 Saturn. It squeaks and rattles from every corner after 32k, though I've heard that the 2012s may be better.

My mother is in-town this weekend and after driving her 2010 Altima 3.5SR around, the Altima feels like it cost $10k more (in fact, it cost 2k less than the Prius). So, if you are going to estimate a car's reliability based on its build quality, you may be disappointed with the Prius.

With that said, the Prius is generally quite reliable, but it does have the potential to be quite expensive if something does break out of warranty, especially if there is a shortage of hybrid specialists in your area. Repairs if any, are likely to be very inexpensive (under 1k) on your 300 so cost wise you will probably still come out ahead in the long-run. Even if you were hosed a few years back, why make the same mistake twice?

 

Heh, I've talked to The Critic about his Prius annd the Altima in question.

I don't own a 3rd gen, so I can't comment on rattles, but definitely have seen complaints here on Priuschat about 3rd gen rattles. I do have a rattle or two in my 2nd gen but the car is totally different.

The Prius does have a very good reliability rating. See Car reliability, most reliable cars. Ignore the comment about "brake problems that plagued the current design." See my responses at http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...-w-other-reliabliity-tidbits.html#post1408214. Basically, a bunch of people didn't follow directions when answering the CR survey during the Toyota recall PR fiasco.

If you want to see CR reliability for Prius and other cars, go to a newsstand and pick up a Consumer Reports (not some other random publication w/Consumer in the name) auto buying guide.

Although I don't trust JDPA much, see 2012 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study | J.D. Power Autos.

I wouldn't shop for cars by payment. See Confessions of a Car Salesman - Edmunds.com about the 4-square system...

 

Future costs for your vehicle are: gas, maintenance & repairs.

I don't know about their hybrids but Hyundai makes an average conventional car that judging by my coworkers seems to need a lot of regular maintenance. It may be relatively cheap up front but those future costs add up.

Throughout the 3rd Gen (starting with MY 2010) Toyota seems to continue "de-featuring" the car. Things that were standard become options or disappear but improvements are made where it matters.

The Prius is low maintenance, not no maintenance. I expect the brakes to last 100,000 miles. The Prius doesn't have parts that others have that need replacing.

I still fill up generally once a week but now buy half the gas.

I'd guess the 3 most expensive & likely failures out of warranty are: inverter, inverter coolant pump & traction battery. Hostile environments shorten electrical component life. You live in one. That doesn't mean that you are guaranteed to have a failure just that you are more likely to have one.

Buying a ScanGauge so you can monitor coolant temp & inverter (or inverter coolant) temp will give you peace of mind & the data you need to see a problem in its early stages rather than waiting for it to become a major problem. The idiot lights will give minimal or no warning before you are stuck on the side of the road.

If Chrysler owners worried about the major repairs they'll need to keep their cars running at 100,000 miles Chrysler would have stopped selling cars years ago. Relax.

Is the Prius perfect? No. Here are my complaints about my 2010:
The seat is often uncomfortable.
Radio reception is not the best. (I listen to my own music on a flashdrive.)
The nav unit has problems finding highway addresses (my Garmin has problems too).
In the winter the interior sounds like the insides of a popcorn popper.
The shifter physically jammed once. (I was able to unjam it.)
The sun visors are not deep enough to hold up my sunshade.

Here are my complaints about my 2000 Intrigue:
It burns a quart of oil every 3000 miles (Mr. Goodwrench told me burning a quart every 1000 miles is acceptable.)
Dex-cool coolant can turn gunky. I changed the "lifetime" coolant at 50000 miles.
It whistles.
The rubber trim around the windows wouldn't stay glued down, then eventually cracked off.
I had two problems with the AC around 80000 miles.
There was a steering shaft recall.
The only time Mr Goodwrench fixed anything in 1 trip is when he replaced a light bulb in a fog light.
The light in the gear shift knob failed out of warranty.

Since my brother got the car he had a problem with the courtesy light in the rear view mirror turning itself on & burning all night.

One of the window motors failed dropping the window.

The water pump is failing.

Historically the Prius has relatively low depreciation so finding a used one at a significant discount may be tough. I'd be very suspicious of a "steal at the this price" car. If you have to have something only available in an older model then buy the used one. If you are happy with the current MY then buy new. Since your family is growing check out a v as well as the standard hatchback. The v won't have the same FE but high numbers don't count if you can't use the car because it won't hold everyone or all your stuff.

As part of your shopping take all your stuff to the dealer & load the car. If it doesn't fit then that's not the right car for you.

Read through New car buying guide, avoiding dealer scams, new cars, used car buying & go through the dealers' internet sales dept.

Happy hunting.

 

Not sure I agree with keeping the 300

If its a Hemi then it is probably like my magnum and gets 12-15 mpg in town. If its paid for like my magnum was there is money for a car payment, and if it was recently built by Chrysler or during the bankruptcy years then rest assured corners were cut. My magnum had three seperate stereos, air conditioning would freeze solid on long trips, the sun roof often leaked, a back Panel replaced, three bearings, three transmission and was bumping in third gear when I traded it in, two window actuators, and it ate through tires, gas and oil at an alarming rate. Awesome, throw you back in your seat power, but everything but the engine was junk. The engine was amazing but expensive to feed.

Given the reliability issues, the gas expense, and again the reliability my prius almost pays for itself in economy.

Miss my Maggie but wouldn't trade back, she was too needy!
I suspect a 300c would be the same.

Wade

 

How long do you typically keep your vehicles? There have been a number of comments with concerns about the longevity of electronics/batteries in a hot climate. The Prius would have components under warranty for 8 years, 100,000 miles. Will you still have this car 8 years or 100,000 miles from now? If not, I wouldn't worry about this component of the equation.

As far as my 2010 Prius, I've not had the squeaks and rattles that others have reported. I also came from a 1989 Acura Integra where the whole dang car was rattling (21 years will do that to a car).

 

The Prii are about the most reliable and cheap to maintain cars you can buy! It seems most problems pertaining to hot climates are taxi drivers in foreign countries refusing to use the AC and the traction battery uses the cabin air to keep cool. There's a vent on the back seat that draws in the cabin air and if it gets blocked or clogged can lead to battery problems. Rattles are due to lightweight plastics and Toyota using clips instead of screws to attach the interior panels. More noticeable in frigid winter temps, shouldn't be a prob in AZ!