Buy New or Used?

Your expectations sound reasonable, but it all depends on your budget.

If you could afford $18k-23k, I would buy a used 2010 model with low miles, which most likely will be a dealership loaner or someone who changed their mind. They're out there, you just gotta look. It'll save you at least ~$2k-3k. Take your time shopping. There are plenty of Priuses in the sea.

 

I'll assume you also took into account the current 2 year / 25,000 mile free maintenance on new (2010-2011) cars.

On the other hand, the 2010- on model "requires" synthetic motor oil, which can drive up maintenance costs after the initial 25,000 miles. But the oil change is only every 10,000 miles compared to the 2007's 5,000 miles with standard motor oil.

The 2010 model doesn't have any external belts, so that should be a plus on wear and tear for that year.


If it's a wash between the two financially, I'd take each out for a test drive and see which car you like better.

 

I agree.... buying a used latest model with low miles will save you a lot of money. Also if you buy it as a Toyota Certified Vehicle, you get additional warranties and be pretty sure it is well checked by Toyota. I got mine as a TCV and have had absolutely no problems with it at all (knock on wood). Of course there are costs involved like tires, wiper blades, oil change, servicing etc. I do not have the navigation package since I have my Garmin GPS which I can easily upgrade as the maps get old.

 

Honestly, neither one is a bad choice (new or used).

For your situation, I say go with new. You'll have warranty/newer body style/small increase in MPG + I think when the day comes that you sell the car (obviously you keep them for some time), it will be worth more per dollar spent (% wise) compaired to the older Gen II body style.

Everyones thinking on this is going to differ quite a bit. Myself, I like to buy used high mileage vehicles that look (and run) like they only have about 40k on them. Why? Well, I can buy the car for less because of the mileage, put 30k to 50k on them, and usually sell them for what I bought it for. You can't do that with "new".

Good luck with your buying decision.

 

Life Expectancy: as long as parts are available and you are willing to pay for repairs, you in theory can keep a car running. My question is when you will get tired of spending four-digit amounts on those repairs as the car's market value approaches or drops below the repair costs.

Battery Replacement Cost: Yes, your budget is reasonable assuming that you are going to pay a Toyota dealer service dept for this work. It is possible to purchase a salvage battery for ~$500 or so currently.

Deferred Maintenance: I do not think there is any basis to believe that the 2010 model will have substantially lower maintenance and repair costs over its lifetime. The 2G serpentine drive belt is a minor maintenance item. Assuming that a set of tires lasts 40K miles, you might need to spend $2,500 just on tires over 300K miles. Therefore I think your budget of $4,000 is insufficient. Since you have provided for battery replacement cost as a separately budgeted item, and assuming you will rely upon dealer service, I suggest you budget $8K for maintenance.

I question your desire to purchase a model with factory nav, since many owners have complained about the high cost of CD updates along with the general out-of-datedness of the nav data even with a current CD.

 

Hmm....

You expect a long life and drive above the average per year. Since as presented it doesn't sound like initial purchase price is a huge factor, since new or used it sounds like you can and will pay it off A.S.A.P., personally I would buy new.

With 30,000+ miles per year...I think having the new car warranty in place, and the Hybrid Battery warranty starting at day one...could be a big advantage.

Also right now might be a real good time to make a deal on a "new" 2010.

 

I just posted this on another thread, but I was saying that if I could buy a Prius all over again, I would buy the cheapest Prius (in good working order of course) that I could find, and modify the hell out of it.

 

Ditto...
actually, I purchased a "salvage title" Prius.
the repair shop makes a living re-doing Prius.
mine had all the "before" picture to verify damage.

no problems so far (knock on wood).

 

Since you drive them so long, get a new one. A used 2010 is not really much cheaper than a new one. I got my II for $20,549. I am going to ad the Rosen nav to it, which is about $900.00. So far I really like the 2010.

 

In your case if you can basically pay cash for the car and drive it into the ground, just stop the analysis and buy a brand new one ;-)

In the long run it's probably cheaper to buy a used one but you don't know the history of the vehicle. Just buy new and sleep well.

 

I bought my 2008 Prius touring with 31k miles, leather, navigation, jbl, and smart key for 16600. If I had not found this deal I would have bought a new one.

 

I think the oil change thing is a wash. i pay $59 every 10k miles, i would think buy regular oil for a older prius would cost $30 twice as often. To the OP go out and drive both models and keep looking untill you find one you like best.

 

You're over-analyzing this. OK, so I kinda got attached to the car and just bought it. I bought new, paid cash and have no regrets.