Should I buy a prius with 137k miles?

I'd go with a slightly used Tesla myself, just sayin...

 

Congrats!

 

It's pretty shocking to me how fearful a lot of people are of buying used cars with unknown or rough pasts.

I feel like a rebel, a daredevil. I'll buy just about anything for cheap and drive it into the ground. It has worked out well for me so far, and I don't have to deal with the insane depreciation that way. If the small chance of a failure actually does happen, I won't be out much and I'll have the cash to go buy another. I don't see much downside to that approach, especially when you consider that new cars can still crap out at any given time.

I suppose all of you who buy new feel the same way about me. "Why in the world would ANYONE buy a insert description here car?!" To each their own.

 

Like me, I assume you can work on your own car. I can fix just about anything (though at my age I don't enjoy the heavy lifting any longer). The problem with our used car tactics is, most people don't know much about cars and will spend a fortune paying someone else to fix it. Or, they don't know the real value of an old car and pay too much. So, looking for advise is good in their case.

I don't blame the OP. A car is the second most expensive purchase most people will make. I think the OP did well by asking advice from PC members. It's like a son or daughter asking advice from their father about cars.

There are many people that buy new cars every few years and spend a lot of money in monthly car payments their whole life (often a bad thing). But, there are other wealthy people that can afford to pay cash, and more power to them. It's what keeps our capitalist society going. If I had the cash to buy a new car every few years, I would.

My best value has been buying a 2 or 3 year old car with about 35,000 to 45,000 miles on it and driving to the ground.

To the OP, great job working through the process of buying a good car. I hope it serves you well.

Cheers!

 

You know, I am always amazed by the doom and gloom posted here when someone asks about buying a used Gen II Prius. Idk, maybe its just me but, I don't see it. I have personally owned 3 Prius with over 100,000 miles and never had a problem with any of them. One of them was a Gen I that was 12 yrs old when it got runned over by a reindeer. I currently own a Gen II (05) with just over 170,000 and it still runs like a top with no signs of diminished battery performance. Yes the battery costs about $2000 and will cost about $3000 to have it installed but unless you're buying a manual shift Yaris, an automatic transmission replacement will cost about the same. This is a highly reliable car that I would confidently recommend to anyone. Yes there may be problems with a used Gen II but is that really cause to try to talk everyone out of buying one???

I am especially intrigued by the OP's statement that he didn't realize the Prius was only for the rich????? I am far from wealthy but, let me tell you that the Prius is for me. I have no savings set aside for costly repairs and I won't either. Yes I'm a wrench turner but, there are so many step by step posts on here that walk you through any maintenance that may come up. Then you have numerous, detailed YouTube videos that do the same. Its so easy, even a caveman could do it.

 

Far less than that with a refurbished batt.

And maybe you missed the part about this particular Prius being in a bad accident? That isn't something for a penny pinching non-wrencher to mess with. Plus this one was waaaay too expensive even if it had been in good condition.

 

Congrats on Prius purchase. My daughter drives my 05 Prius. Incredible car with 175k miles. I enjoy the video game aspect of that car. My 2013 Camry Hybrid is not as fun.


iPhone ?

 

oh my, that looks like my daughters. 100k and nothing but oil, filters antyres. built like a tank! congrats, all the best.

 

..it's a beauty!

 

On a car this old you would only get liability insurance anyway, so you should have no problem insuring the car. Many older cars that would be fixed if newer get totaled and get labeled with the salvage title. I would have it looked at by a mechanic you trust and then buy it if it checks out okay.

 

I didn't miss that one. I'm not referring specifically to this thread. I'm referring to every time someone comes on here asking if they should buy a Prius, the most common answer they get is "NO". Then the doom and gloom starts which I believe is largely unfounded. Then they are told to buy a Yaris or Civic or Corolla etc.

 

Probably because most of the time the poster says s/he is stretching his/her finances to buy a used Prius that has six digits on the odometer, has no financial reserve to pay for repairs, and barely has any idea about where to find the engine oil dipstick, let alone being able to DIY any of the various repairs that might be required for a car that has logged that usage. If the poster was competent in Prius repair s/he would have no need to post, asking whether it is a good idea to buy a used vehicle.

 

Oops. Hit the wrong button. Sigh....

Anyway. My 2008 has 115K on it and it runs perfectly. It looks like heck because I occasionally tow a small trailer and am constantly backing into the trailer. Duh. That being said, it is really hard to judge a car when it has that amount of miles on it unless you know the owner. I was told by the dealership when I had about 90K miles on it (although it was battered in the rear by the aforementioned trailer) that the car was worth $3K.

If I were you I would go for a less expensive newer car. Gas is cheap now - well relatively - so that should not be too much of an issue. Work up to the Prius - start with something you can maybe work on yourself and parts are not so expensive.

 

OP already purchased a Prius.

 

Demanda, read through the whole thread. It is educational. It's a process that came to a good conclusion.