First Prius - Buy new or used?

I'm new to the Prius also. I never considered a used Prius, but I wouldn't pass on a good used vehicle. It seems that most good quality used vehicles (all models) are going for a premium. With exceptionally low interest rates, I'll pay more for brand new. Check around, see what's available, take your time to make a informed decision.

 

I think it depends on many factors that are as individual as each person. What is important to you, how much can you afford or are willing to pay, the prestige of a newer car or the savings of a good used car? The average price range of new is $23,000 - 30,000. You can get a low mileage 07-09 for half that. I was in the car business years ago and from that decided I would never buy a new car due to the huge depreciation the first 2 years. The Prius does an excellent job of holding its value because of the great ratings, mpg, and ultimately, the demand. But it will still depreciate, though it will save you money in gas. If you have $30,000 you can spend on a car, $15,000 for the car and $15,000 in a relatively safe investment stands a better chance of increasing your worth instead of decreasing it. Not recommending this, just saying.

I think you can expect to pay $1,000-3,000 more for a good used Prius from a dealer than from a private party. There are advantages to going with each. The price of a used car is based much more on the age, mileage, and condition than on the number of owners. Of course there are exceptions. One way to think about this is that if you had two identical cars side by side on the lot and one was a one owner and the other had two previous owners, which one would the typical buyer prefer? Most would probably say the one owner. So how much more would the typical buyer pay to get it? I think most would then look at all other factors and conclude there is no difference in the cars and so would not pay much if any more for the one owner car. In fact, if the two owner car was $500 less, I think most would take the savings. For me, it's always worth saving a few thousand. I recently purchased an 05 for under 9k and enjoy 45-55 mpg and love my car. But it depends on what's important to you.

 

if you can pick up a new 2012 pkg.2 for low 20's, that's a great deal.

 

I'm kinda in the same boat. I can pick up a 2010 2 for about $17,000 with 50,00 miles or a new 2013 2 for less than $22,600. I do plan on keeping it for at least 7 years.

 

Welcome aboard! I go new myself now... got burned one too many times going used. If you plan on holding on to it and can afford it, go new.

 

If you can afford it... purchase new!

I've never heard someone complain "damn... it's covered under warranty".

 

$22,600. for a 2013? i'd be all over it! and same area as op.

 

We debated the same thing. Toyota's financing rate on brand new is better than an used cars, so make sure you factor that in if you're not paying cash. We decided it didn't make sense to buy a used prius because they really hold their value well.

 

Used but only private party from a motivated seller who has a reason to sell and the service records on the car to show that it was cared for and that, at the last service, there were no unresolved issues. You want a sale triggered by a death, divorce, move, family expansion, entering military, deployment, etc. You want private party because then you can negotiate and aren't paying documentation fees and sales commissions, etc. You want records because the possession of records and the willingness to share them shows the person cared for the car and has nothing to hide. Look at the oil change interval. More frequent than the book calls for equals cared for.

It infuriates me when I offer dealers the records and they throw them away.

I've both bought and sold cars this way. A car I sold was bought for cash by a person who didn't even drive it. He said afterwards, when I expressed surprise, that he could tell from the way I insisted on explaining everything about the car he was getting a loved car and there were no tricks I was playing. You want to be buying from the seller as much as you are buying the car.

Why take the initial depreciation hit of the first year if you don't have to.

If money isn't a big concern, sure buy new and get the warranty. You also risk any initial build bugs the car might have that a prior owner might have gotten fixed. Balanced against this is the simple wear and miles that means the car is nearer its next service, repair or replacement of things as trivial as wipers or as big as tires.

Over 40 plus car purchases (yea, I'm old) I've been disappointed as many times by new car purchases as I have used. And my best most reliable cars have been used 2-owners before me cars.

Roll them dice.

 

If you do some simple math, a 2013 2 should last for 175,000 miles, so ($22,600/175,000 = $.129/mile). So, if you take the 50,000 miles and times it by $.129/mile it equals $6,457. So, $17,000 plus $6,457 = $23,457 which is more expensive than the new car. Advantage new car!

Also, the 2010 would work out to $17K/(175K - 50K)miles = $17K/125K = $.136/mile, where the 125K is the useful life remaining on the car.

Or you could pick an amount of miles the car would last, say 200K. The 2010 car would cost you (200K - 50K = 150K). Or $17K / 150K miles = $.113/mile. The 2013 car would be $22.6K/200K miles = $.113/mile. So, it looks like 200K is the break even point.

Of course there are other factors involved!

 

Now you got to buy a camera so you can post a photo.

 

OMG that teaches me to reply right after reading the first line of the post.
Congrats on your new purchase

"I have done the comparison before my purchase last month. The first quarter of the year Toyota has been very aggressive in giving rebates and dealer discounts to 2013 Prii. I went into a few dealerships looking for a 2012 model or a good deal on a just off lease 2010. To my surprise they were not at all trying hard to sell the older year models, but instead pushed the just arrived ones. I bought mine with $1500 dealer discount, $1000 Toyota down payment match, and $1000 military rebate. They also give $1000 college grad rebate but I can't take both. The final purchasing price for the vehicle was $21,500 which was lower than the 2012 models and just a little more than the 2010s. I suggest shopping around for the best deal on a New, and wait if you can for the best Toyota rebates."

 

Same here, I wanted the Black Cherry Persona Series, but that was the only model with zero discounts over 29K , instead I save the 8K and put my own leather seats and wheels on mine.