Worth getting a Prius C as a second car

Hi all,

I am torn between buying a used prius (hatchback or prius c) and using a 2015 Acura MDX (recently bought 2 months ago) for a daily 90 mile commute from Oakland/Berkeley,CA to Silicon Valley area. My wife did not reject the idea but asked me to look into it well before committing to the purchase. So, i am just wondering whether it's the right thing to do.

I am going to pay the Prius in full. My commute is as such:

Early morning commute - all highway (low speed 70 mph or less). Can drop to about 55 mph in some short stretches (2 miles or so).
Afternoon commute - all highway (lots of stop/go traffic for about 1/2 or 3/4 of the entire commute). The rest is more like 50 mph along short stretches of the highway.

1) I dont really need a commuter car but I dont want to run my Acura down with such a long commute. Mpg is low as expected, and it can serve us well in the long run. I will mostly be or perhaps the only one driving the Prius as it is my commute car. My wife has her own car.

2) Leasing is not financially viable for me. Insurance per month becomes way too high.

3) I cannot get an all electric car as I live in an apartment with no charging facility. I can charge at work. However, I am not tempted by this idea. Due to my long commute, i intend to find a job closer to my area at some point this year (if I am successful). So, I dont want to take the chance as I may not be able to charge the car at all at my new workplace if i get a plugin car.

3) I checked with my insurance for adding a 2014 Prius to our fleet, and with full comprehensive insurance, fuel charges per month for Prius and 2 fueling charges for the Acura (i may need less than that) PER MONTH, i only need to add in about $92 per month to own a Prius. I can make that about $20 if I choose less insurance coverage on the Prius. I am guessing for a Prius C, the charges will be less.

4) With the same car and lower mileage (assuming I find a job closer to work (e.g. 30 miles commute), I need to fork about $120 per month for the Prius and 2 fueling charge for the Acura(i may need less than that). Again, I can make that $30 if i choose less insurance coverage on the Prius.

5) Worse case scenario, with a shorter commute, I can sell the Prius if money becomes an issue. Japanese cars have decent resale values.

6) Now all my calculations have been based on a 2014 Prius hatchback with lower mpg (i used average 49 mpg). Reading the forum about Prius C, I am amazed that you are getting >50 mpg. So, with much better mpg, my out-of-pocket per month will be less to the point where I may even save money doing so. So, now I am tempted to get a Prius C instead.

7) My intention,unless money becomes an issue in the future, is to run the Prius down to its last mile.

What are your thoughts?

I found a used 2012 Prius C three going for $8,900 with 106,000 miles on it. One owner. Good deal?

Thanks for any input.

 

Oh I intend to keep it as long as possible. It may also be a possibility that at some point, I may trade it in for a better Prius but not anytime soon.

SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?

 

Thanks. Due to limited budget, I may have to stick to a low end trim. So probably two.

Oh that's great to know that it will work just fine with a shorter commute. I don't think there is anything close for my type of job less than 6-8 miles from home. So,in that respect, I will have enough miles to warm up the engine.

SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?

 

Thanks. I will try to do so.

Is it worth getting a certified Toyota car or a used car with leftover warranty from previous owner will do?I will try to get something with less than 80000 miles. Cant afford lower than 40-50K miles.

From my experience with my recently bought Acura, the 'certified' car with all the inspection is not meticulous. There were a few electronic glitches with the Acura - it didnt beep or had lights flashing after locking, passenger window not working, car charger not working.. It was not a big deal but I wonder how they missed these things!

I was recommended by a forumer to bring the Prius for an inspection at a reputable mechanic around here for peace of mind. If I get a used car,i will do that. It's not cheap but probably worth it to get a decent car. Will cost around $500 or so for 3 hours of inspection/driving. I wonder what deal I should strike with the dealership then?

should i tell the dealership that:
A) If the car has issues, the dealer pays for the inspection and I walk away . If the car is fine, I pay for it?

or

B) Depending upon the issues, i ask the dealer to either fix them or minus off from the purchase price of the vehicle.

I will be leaning more towards option B unless its a massively flawed car.[/QUOTE]

 

i cant agree more. With my recent experience at the Acura dealership (I presume not all of them are like this), its such a waste of time. Takes me an hour of wait to only hand the car over them for servicing, then takes them a couple of days to fix the issues. Now i have to go back again for a wheel alignment as I have complained since day 1 that the car leans too much to the right. I think i will pass on the free coffee and donuts and rather pay for the repairs on my next car.

I see. Thanks. I will go with your advice then.

I wanted to test drive one tomorrow - a 2013 prius c three, 1 owner with 64K miles on it. Its going for $ 9.9K. If its not available, i will have to stretch the budget a bit more as I have not found nice ones around lately.

 

I found another car slightly over $10K.is that a good thing for a dealership to do this at around 46K miles on a car. From carfax.

"
Maintenance inspection completed
Throttle body cleaned/serviced
Fuel injection system flushed/serviced
Oil and filter changed
Four wheel alignment performed
Tire condition and pressure checked
"
I once had a very nasty experience with a used Civic to the point that i had to trade it in for another car due to serious engine, throttle issues. I should have followed my gut feeling and not purchased it. So, i tend to keep an eye out for these things.

 

It seems fishy. I am staying away from it. It's a
2013 Toyota Prius c Three. Total mileage on the car is 48,477 miles

 

Thank you for the kind offer. However I got one this morning. Got a 2013 Prius three with abt 71K miles on it. Was slightly under 10K.

Since dealership was halfway along my commute to work, guy allowed me to drive it to work and back. Was great. Got 50.8 mpg with 3% city traffic. Definitely can be better as I was pushing the car along numerous stretches of the highway.

SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?

 

I was not sure about these repairs done at less than 50k miles.

Throttle body cleaned/serviced
Fuel injection system flushed/serviced

I didnt see that in the carfax for other cars within similar mileage..

Yeah true. That's a lot of time wasted and am damn tired too. Need to change something about the commute this year..


SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?

 

Thanks. Oh that's great. So far I love the prius. Will see how the fuel economy goes.

SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?

 

I see. That probably explains the reason behind the servicing. So far the prius is great. I am still test driving the car to assess the alignment. It seems to be that the car steers slightly too much to the right.

SAMSUNG-SM-G920A ?