Advice for first time Prius buyer - which Prius to look for?

I do see posts, “see a hybrid specialist.”

 

Why does anyone need to see a hybrid specialist to get a blown head gasket taken care of?

 

I find all the claims to "get a corolla" to be very misleading. Corolla is a compact, Prius is pragmatically a midsize. We specifically upgraded from our compact to our Prius *because* of the larger size to fit family. The accurate comparison here would therefore "get a camry."

Comparing a 50 mpg prius to a 26 mpg camry (for 2010), averaging 15,000 miles a year and 3$ a gallon, you're saving $800 a year. If the car lasts you even just 5 years, you've saved $4,000, enough to finance whatever item on the repair lottery you hit in a 5 year span.

And that's before you start factoring in brake wear and other repairs the camry may need beyond what the prius would.

 

Very good points- and you’ve provided enough data for readers to use to make further comparisons.

I do offer:

• You can’t (easily) use year 2-5 savings to pay for repairs needed in year 1. Used car “flipping” increases the number of used cars needing significant repair in the first year.
• At least some used Prius shoppers are interested specifically because they’ve bought in to the mythology that a Prius is a car that needs few repairs. Transitive logic suggests that if they don’t drive much then it ought to be extremely cheap to keep. So... there’s a lot less in comparative fuel savings being realized, and some unfortunate expectations being formed relative to the TCO of a used car.
• You mentioned that your other car was “a compact” but didn’t indicate that it was a Corolla. I think it’s worth considering the thought that the Corolla has also grown to be a midsize car. A 2010 Corolla at 30MPG closes the illustrated savings gap by 25%.

 

The 2019 corolla is what the same size as what the Camry use to be about 15 years ago

The corolla and the Prius are now quite related since the new corolla hybrid and Prius are built on the same platform hence the reason for the corolla hybrid in the first place

The corolla is also very much related in size to the rav4 too.

Now the Camry/Avalon are and have to be more refined then the Prius to even entertain the price that they command. We had a 2008 camry hybrid that was fantastic and reliable.

So honestly if one wants to buy a used Prius to save money, they might for the first 5 to 7 years of its life. In the long run however, the difference between 45mpg and 35 mpg is not significant enough for the price gap

 

Actual mpg, you'd want to knock 5~10 percent off the displayed numbers. This is why Toyota inflates the display numbers. Sure everybody knows they're exaggerating, but it's much more handy to quote displayed. Funny thing is, a scanguage, just reading what comes to it through the OBD, can show very accurate mpg, so it's just a little last-minute slight-of-hand by Toyo.

 

My display MPGs are high by an average of 2.9% with 220 fill-ups according to my manual calculations. But that doesn't matter as far as that discussion, I was pointing out the relative MPGs for a short trip compared to a long trip.

 

I would disagree Corolla is normal car with hybrid option while Prius is from ground up a hybrid car

 

Hopefully, with all the feedback given, the original poster can formulate their decision. For myself, I have worked on all the cars I have owned since I was 16 (a span of over 4 decades), thus, I draw my conclusions not only on the cost of the car, but personal experiance. Whatever is decided, I feel the decision will satisfy the OP. All of us who have driven and experienced car repairs for many years know the benefits of just making payments, tire rotations and oil changes for 5 years!! It is surely wonderful! Why? Because we have experienced making payments and making large repairs on a car that was running fine for the first 3 years and then as soon as you hit the 4 year and the warranty is gone.................wham!

 

Yes but both ride on the same platform and have the same drivetrain. The under linings of the gen 4 and the corolla are basically the same with one having different sheet metal then the other

This is why Toyota limits the option and trim level of the corolla hybrid as sales would actually trump the Prius if they allowed certain options to be included.

For example you can get blind spot monitoring on a Prius LE but you can’t on the corolla hybrid le.

I own a 2015 Prius 3 and a 2006 package 7. If the gen 4 exhibits some of the potential issues that the gen 3 has, I would go with a cam hybrid or the Rav 4 hybrid or back to an ice powered car

 

you all forget a cool thing about the priues - you can run A/C or heat all night, and go camping in it. No need to spend $200 a night in the Keys - just put the rear seats down flat, put a mattress on it, and sleep. Use that $200 for your roth IRA.

 

I can't speak for everyone, but I hadn't forgotten about that. But then the conversation shifted to reliability/longevity and the adjacent issue of repair affordability later in life.

Nothing wrong with choosing to live in a car, but in terms of reliability, operating costs and asset valuation it is still a car and best treated as such.

I still suggest getting the youngest car you can afford and trading up whenever possible. This is not just for the sake of reliability- there is also an element of social compatibility. Not everyone is going to have a positive or neutral attitude about an old car with a fulltime resident showing up in their area.

 

I don't believe this is relevant. This thread, and my post, were concerning the gen 3 Prius. The gen 4 Prius is a different car with different tradeoffs (such as not being available under the OP's $10,000 limit).

 

So is the gen 4 considered to be more reliable than the gen 3, or is the jury still out on that one?

 

Honestly that is the question. Being a gen 3 and a gen 2 owner, the gen 3 has a whole slew of issues that are not present on the gen 2. The best gen 3 from what I have been reading has to be the 2015 model which I have.

They were suppose to have fixed the radio issue with the 2015 model with the introduction of duel antennas. I can tell you it’s not fixed and you end up with dead spots and a nav that will miss direct you.

 

sounds like a good plan

 

Thanks for the update.

Makes a lot of sense.

 

Just the other day our neighbor told us that a member of her family has a Subaru with the head gasket problem that is (she says) common to Subarus -- but I don't know what model or year.