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2010 Prius Advice: Tuition Payments Versus....?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ElectricSpike, Jan 6, 2016.

  1. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    Hi Again, we are still in our pursuit of a Prius. Lower cost is very important with 2 in college (one finishes in May), and we wouldn't be purchasing at the moment if we weren't fairly worried about our '93 Volvo, though we really would love to buy a Prius (we would wait a bit more if we could because of $/college.)

    Questions; on the market:

    Behind Door Number One: there is currently a 2010 with almost 145,000 miles - it has everything we need at a under $8,000 (backup camera, bluetooth - it also has solar roof, which we don't need.) The records are sketchy on the Toyota Owners' site.

    Behind Door Number Two: there is also a 2010 which is currently very overpriced, but I have questions and comments in to the dealer (not a Toyota Dealer) - hopefully they will reduce the cost to a reasonable amount. It has about 57,000 miles on it, and what we need, with excellent records on Toyota Owners.

    Behind Door Number Three: last, there is a 2010 which has everything we need, with about 85,000 miles - however, there are no Toyota records until 50,000 miles (no listed oil changes - nothing) for the "first owner" when it was a lease. Records only began once it was "sold" to the second owner.

    Would you risk sketchy records, hoping the car would last at least 3 more years (until my 2nd kid finishes college) for the "cheap" car, or hold out for a Prius with good records/wait for another Prius? Once the kids finish college, we may even buy a Gen IV Prius! (I don't want to sound like I feel like cars are disposable - we've nursed along the '93 Volvo - it is just beginning to cost a lot, and we need to think of options.)

    Thanks so much for the experienced advice!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would look for a non hybrid that suits you. you can probably get lower miles and repair costs.
     
  3. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    Thanks Bisco,

    That surprises me. We wanted a Prius because of the reliability and safety as well as the environmental concerns. While gas prices are down, we want to use as little as possible. We also need a hatchback (art teacher who hauls a lot, and we need to bring our recyclables/trash to the transfer station - also known as "dump" - ourselves.) We also need a backup camera and bluetooth on the steering wheel. My husband is also really tall. We considered a few other cars, but the Prius appears to be the one to fit our needs and size. My husband doesn't fit many hatchbacks. He is 6'5".
     
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Hmm, typically leases require that you follow the maintenance to avoid surcharges at the end. After all, the lessee is renting the car from Toyota Financial so it's in the best interests to Toyota that the car is well maintained so that it can be resold after the lease. Does the 2nd owner know where the car was originally bought? Perhaps the original seller dealer can help if the lessee serviced the car there.
     
  5. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Don't put too much stock in the Toyota Owner's site.

    I meticulously maintain my Prius. Odds are all you'd find is the recall work done on my Prius. I do all my own work (so far), and I don't waste my time reporting it in as I do it.

    If a person can produce a list showing when things were done and receipts for a warranty claim to Toyota, that's good enough that the work was done.
     
  6. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    You may consider a Prius v (lowercaes v for the Prius v wagon) instead of the regular Prius hatch back, it has more cargo area and basically the same MPG economy
     
  7. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    You are looking for a III, IV or V with the NAV, SOLAR, or Adv. Tech Packages.

    Dealer service records are only as good as the input. The service record can show the oil was changed every 10000 miles. How much oil was added in between? Zero? One quart? Did anyone ever check? I'd put more faith in a visual inspection.

    Car#2 probably retails $12000-$14000 depending on the trim & the package.

    Car #3 may have been bought before ToyotaCare started (in January 2011?). Perhaps the original owner went to an indy shop or a chain or DIY. If TFS asked for maintenance documentation it was tossed when the car was sold. I would think TFS would have had the recalls done.
     
  8. TCW1184

    TCW1184 Junior Member

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    You should be able to fetch a pretty good deal on a Prius right now. There's two here locally on Craigslist, one 12 with 55k for 13 the other is a 13 with 35k for 14. Lots of gen 2s with decent mileage(less than 120) for under 10k.


    iPad ?
     
  9. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    Tideland Prius, I was surprised by that as well. The dealer is a non-Toyota dealer, and did say that the second owner purchased it directly off a lease (their own lease) - there is no documentation of this, but directly after the purchase, good maintenance begins to show up on the Toyota Owners site.
     
  10. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    mrbigh, we looked at one Prius v, but there was no difference in the seat comfort for my husband. They are also a a chunk more expensive around here, so we are looking at the regular Prius hatchback for now.
     
  11. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    qdllc, I've been looking through all the sites, and Craigslist. There are not too many being sold by individuals. The fewer I've seen with what we need (backup camera and bluetooth on the steering wheel) are fairly expensive - there is an individual selling a 2010 Prius IV currently listed for $15,000 (I can't afford that) - there are plug-ins, and cars with over 100,000 for over $10,000. Then there are pre-2010 cars - we want to stick with the Gen 3 cars because of snow/traction control. I was hoping $10,900 for a 2010 with about 80,000 miles on it. Maybe that's unreasonable?
     
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    It depends how far you're willing to travel.

    Backup camera on the 2010/2011 requires navigation. Bluetooth came with a 2010 Prius III. So the minimum you would be looking at is a 2010 Prius III w/ Navigation Package (original MSRP: $24,800) a 2011 Prius Three w/ Navigation Package (original MSRP: $26,080. There was a price adjustment in May 2011. +$470).

    2010 Toyota Prius 5Dr HB III

    This one has the Solar Roof package (which includes navigation)
    2010 Toyota Prius III w/Navigation

    In CT, 55,000 miles
    2010 Toyota Prius - LOW MILEAGE
     
  13. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    FWIW, you can install a backup camera on the Prius Two (with MFD) for about $200 DIY. I did a thread on it.

    I wasn't going to shell out $1,500 more for just the one feature I found useful on the Prius Three.
     
  14. yeldogt

    yeldogt Active Member

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    Are you paying cash? A friend in a similar situation bought a new lower optioned one for a bit over 20k -- 5 year 0%.

    I think he is around $375M. He was going to pay 12k for a used one. I told him to bank the 12k and use the money to pay down the loan - if he can add $100 month to the kitty he is out to 40 months until he is out of money. By that time his kid is out of school... almost no maintenance costs and the car is under warranty.
     
  15. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    yeltdogt, we will need to take the money out of our home equity line of credit, so it would be cash. We don't want to take out more than 11,000, because we don't know what the Financial Aid office will offer us for next year for our daughter, when our son will have graduated.

    Also, as a heads up to anyone else reading this, depending on if colleges require the FAFSA or the other "dreaded" CSS financial aid form/s, financial aid officers may count that $12,000 as income to be used as tuition. (Especially the CSS). I also definitely do not want to be sitting across from my daughter's financial aid officer explaining why I need aid when I just bought a brand new car. Your logic makes sense, but I also do not have $375+ a month for a new car at the moment.
     
  16. Snow

    Snow Member

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    I'd honestly look for something like a Corolla. I helped my girlfriend purchase a 2007 with 100,000 miles for $7,000 which you just can't beat. With gas prices as low as they are you'd be using the car for years before you caught up to that $11,000 mark to justify the gas savings in the Prius. There's also some Corollas around me that are practically new for $11,000 so it'd last for many more years than a high mileage Prius. I love my Prius and think it's a great car, but in your circumstances I would go with a non-hybrid, but still a good gas mileage car.
     
  17. ElectricSpike

    ElectricSpike Member

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    Thanks Snow - my husband, at 6'5", doesn't fit in a Corolla (his legs are relatively longer for his body). We also looked at Camrys, which do fit him, but for our situation, which means hauling a lot (as an art teacher), we really need either a hatchback or a wagon.

    When we bought our Volvo 940, about 13 years ago, it had 148,000 miles on it, or so, and we bought it for $3,000. We truly "won the lottery" with that car (we call it Dory, because it is blue, and it "just keeps going") With almost 250,000 miles, I wish it would just last three more years. Then we could buy a 2016 Prius off lease! We've been back and forth on this, and last night decided that I would keep up with the market of available Priuses/Prii, (I can never pluralize that word!), pay for an entire new exhau$t system on the Volvo, and cross our fingers. If Dory dies, we can rent for a week or two while finalizing which Prius we will buy. We would both prefer the environmental benefits of a Prius, but maybe being uncertain with Dory is the prudent move right now. I would be a little more comfortable with this decision if it were warmer weather out - I'd hate for one of us to become stranded. Thank you!!!
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've heard volvo's can go over a million miles.(y)